Test taken: Classics Admissions Test (CAT), English Literature Admissions Test (ELAT)
Number of interviews: 6
Time between interviews: Mostly I had two a day (for three days) which were a few hours apart, sometimes even with huge gaps to relax and walk around in!
Length of interviews: 30 minutes
Online interview: No

I had 3 Classics interviews, 2 English, and 1 Classics & English (at a different college I was pooled to). First interview was English, where thee tutors, who were really lovely and relaxed, asked about what I was reading and they questioned me on what I thought of that particular book. Then they asked about books and ideas I mentioned in my personal statement – the theme was largely on books and plays in their social and historical contexts, such as performances and readings of Shakespeare nowadays compared to his day, along with 18th century and Victorian, as well as some modern playwrights' work too. It was interesting and moved quite quickly as we only had 30 minutes but still felt calm and relaxed. Then I had a Classics interview where I was led to a room and given an Ancient Greek poem (in English) and given 20 minutes to annotate and work out answers to any puzzles in the text. Then in the interview we talked about the poem and what I thought it meant (it was by Sappho) as well as some interesting lines in it. The next day I had another Classics interview but it was located in the department rather than the college I was applying to, because it was focussed on language aptitude. The interviewers asked me some questions based on sentences in English they gave me, to do with their grammar and syntax, and it was relaxed and enjoyable. I also had another English interview, in which I was given a poem to read and told to work out what the story was in the poem, and later on that day I had another Classics interview in the college. In the interview we had an interesting conversation about the topic and what metaphors had to do with literature and theatre, and it got quite philosophical, but still perfectly manageable, and if I went off-course the interviewers would always gently guide me back to where I was supposed to be. For my last interview, I was 'pooled' (made to have another interview at a different college who wants to see you) so I was taken by a student helper to the college and on arrival met by more helpers (they are so kind and easy-going!) I was given a poem to prepare. In the interview, they asked me about this poem and when it could have been written, who by, and what the topic was. Then I was asked about a photo of some archeological remains of a  statue, and even though I got some guesses about it wrong, they still wanted to delve into my ideas and challenge them, so even if you're not right, it's about being flexible and inquisitive and responsive to new information! Also I had amazing food in the hall with other people studying my course and some who weren't, and we went out a couple of times to go and see Oxford and its many attractions! Overall, though, I had a lot of fun, and as stressful as interviews can be, they really want to see you being creative (within reason) and inquisitive with your ideas!

I got two of my teachers to give me practice interviews, where they would ask me about my personal statement, as well as give me a text to talk about in the interview, and then maybe ask a more difficult question such as 'what's your least favourite book and why?' or 'how do you define literature?' I also read and annotated my own personal statement like crazy because I knew they'd interrogate me on it so I thought I'd make sure I had something to say for every sentence I had written (and it paid off, they asked me a lot about it!) Along with all that, I just read one or two books. For humanities subjects (English, History, Classics, Philosophy etc.) they are bound to ask you what you're reading at some point, so it's worth knowing what you'll say. I read a couple of fairly light fiction and non-fiction books and just made sure I had some thoughts and opinions on them if the interviewers asked me.

I found lots of past practice papers for the CAT and the ELAT on the Oxford University website, and initially just tried working through them at my own pace, then once I got the hang of it (it took me a while!) I started setting timers. For the English test, I would also find a poem every day, no matter how well-known or unknown, and just work through it, working out patterns or imagery or people and places in it, so when it came to the test I was prepared to just pick it apart. The test requires you to compare two (or three) poems/extracts on the same theme, so I also practised finding poems and extracts like these to compare (there are loads in the past papers online!)

If I applied again, I'd strip back all the hassle and stressful reading and writing I did to just the few important things – such as one or two books to know really well, so that you are absolutely clear on what you're talking/writing about. Know it inside out, answer your own questions. Also, during interviews, breathe. Take your time to answer a question and to think. Even if you do think you're on the wrong path that's totally ok, just do all of your thinking out loud so the tutors can see your process!