No admissions test, 3x interviews
Interview 1: Questions on Ancient history; Interview 2: Questions focussed on archaeology; Interview 3: Source-based questions; Questions on both Ancient History and Archaeology
Read books around subjects mentioned in personal statement; Went over personal statement; Completed mock interview
N/A (no admissions test taken)
Say what you're thinking even if it doesn't seem right, and the interviewer might help you along!
Remember this advice isn't official. There is no guarantee it will reflect your experience because university applications can change between years. Check the official Cambridge and Oxford websites for more accurate information on this year's application format and the required tests.
Also, someone else's experience may not reflect your own. Most interviews are more like conversations than tests and like, any conversation, they are quite interactive.
Test taken: None
Time between interviews: 1 day; 3 days
Length of interviews: 25-30 minutes
Online interview: Yes
My written work was actually not looked at once. In the first two interviews, at Somerville, resources were sent through 20 mins before hand and I had time to read through/look over them and highlight any particularpy interesting points.
The first interview was focused on ancient history, but it was about niche ancient practices which I found quite challenging.
The second interview was focused on archaeology, which was much more in my comfort zone and was something I had mentioned writing an essay on in my personal statement. One of the professors is focused on the particular period mentioned so
I had another interview later in the week with Keble College, which combined ancient history and archaeology. I don't remember what else was brought up but part of it was about an ancient Roman piece of art, and why it was made/ what we can learn from it.
In the second two interviews, the interviewers were very helpful and agreeable but, perhaps because I struggled to get into the material for the first one, the interviewers seemed a bit more distant and flat.
I read various books on the subjects I had mentioned in my personal statement. I also had my written work with me, but I didn't focus much on it when getting ready.
I had two
I also looked through my personal statement and prepared arguments/read more on stronger points that it seemed the interviewers would be most likely to bring up.
Ultimately you can't know if your written work/personal statement will be mentioned strongly. Bring all these things along as well as highlighters/a pen.
Say what you're thinking even if it doesn't seem right, and the interviewer might help you along, or you might already have what they're looking for. Look forward to it - from my experience talking about your subject is fun!