Classics @ Brasenose, Oxford in 2016

Interview format

4x 20 min interviews, over 2 days

Interview content

General discussion, personal statement, visual aides, text given beforehand

Best preparation

Practice translations from Latin texts

Advice in hindsight

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Final thoughts

There are many different ways to shine in an interview; don't treat it as a test.

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: CAT

Number of interviews: 4

Skype interview: No

Interview spread: 2 one day (a couple of hours apart), 2 on next day

Length of interviews: about 20 minutes each

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

In two of my interviews I was asked very generic questions, which at first didn't seem altogether that related to my subject - but this was done to level the playing field between students from different educational backgrounds.

In one of my interviews I was also asked questions based on my personal statement, so I would advise thoroughly going through that before the interviews, and definitely not saying you have read something you haven't.

Also, in some of my interviews I was given either visual aides or written text (for these I was given time before the interviews to read through them) and asked to discuss these.

How did you prepare?

I practised translating random selections of Latin texts for unseen translation. I was unfortunately not given a lot of material to help with prep.

What advice do you have for future applicants?

Looking back, what advice would you give to your past self?

Generally, in each interview we jumped through about three different questions / topics of discussion, so even if one is a bit weak you can make yourself seem better on the other questions. So don't worry if you feel the interview hasn't gotten off well, as one of mine started very badly but ended well, with both the tutors and myself left smiling.

Also, the main thing to remember is that they are not actually 'interviews', but simply discussions with experts, so take the opportunity to enjoy yourself with some very clever people, and don't think of it as a test.