Classics And English @ Oriel, Oxford in 2021

Interview format

Classics Admissions Test, English Literature Admissions Test, 3x interviews

Interview content

Discussions on pre-read extracts, More general conversation on wider reading

Best preparation

Planned out questions based on personal statement

Test preparation

Completed past papers

Final thoughts

Don't be afraid of asking for a moment to think about a question in an interview

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.

Interview Format

Test taken: Classics Admissions Test (CAT), English Literature Admissions Test (ELAT)
Number of interviews: 3
Time between interviews: 1 day
Length of interviews: 30 minutes
Online interview: Yes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

For both my Classics and English interviews I was given an extract about 15 minutes beforehand to form my thoughts on, and the first half of my interview was having a discussion about it.

Sometimes the interviewer would ask more specific questions to guide me and sometimes they would let me talk through my thoughts.

The second half was a general chat about what I’d been reading recently. I definitely relaxed into it and found myself having fun! The interviewers weren’t trying to catch me out, they were looking for an engaging conversation

How did you prepare for your interviews?

My college did practice interviews with us which was helpful so try to organise something with your teachers! Otherwise prepare by reading a lot around your subject, in the areas you’re most interested in. And plan out as many questions as you can based on your application so far, especially your personal statement, although don’t plan answers word for word

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

The only things I did were practise papers and for the ELAT there were also examples of answers that got good marks

What advice would you give to future applicants?

My advice would be to not be afraid of asking for a moment to think about a question in an interview. You don’t have to rush into an answer!