5 x 30 min interviews, CAT
Unseen passage to look at beforehand (for 20-30 mins) and then we would talk through my ideas about that with a lot of guidance from the tutors interviewing, personal statement
Wider reading, mock interviews
Practice papers, A-Level revision
They can see potential you might think you lack, and they want the best for you. It’s easier said than done, but try to enjoy it!
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: Classics Admissions Test (
Number of interviews: 5
Time between interviews: Varied between a few hours to 30 mins
Length of interviews: 30 mins
Online interview: No
It varied! Mostly I would have an unseen passage to look at beforehand (for 20-30 mins) and then we would talk through my ideas about that with a lot of guidance from the tutors interviewing. They’d ask me questions about my PS and were generally very supportive. At the end of my St Anne’s interview (where I am now), they asked me what I wanted to stick my teeth into, and I said I didn’t really know anything about classics, so any area! The tutors were so friendly that I didn’t feel like I was being tested, and being honest about what I thought felt very natural.
I tried to do some extra reading (as well as the stuff I’d said I’d read on my personal statement!) in areas around what I was studying in Latin at school, but mostly around what I had discussed in my PS. I had a few
I sat the Latin CAT test. There were two practice papers available so I did both about a week before. Otherwise I just revised lots of vocab and worked on unseen passages, which was basically what we were doing in my classes at school. So not too much extra work! Just sticking at my A-Level revision
If it’s on your personal statement, read it! You don’t need to say you’ve read 15 books by each key scholar, so just two or three key points is enough and that way you’ll have a grasp on what you think and be able to discuss it far more easily and enjoyably. Remember that the tutors aren’t trying to catch you out, and ultimately they know what they’re doing. They can see potential you might think you lack, and they want the best for you. It’s easier said than done, but try to enjoy it!