Classics @ Trinity, Oxford in 2018

Interview format

4 x 20-25 min interviews, CLAT

Interview content

Pre-reading in English and discussion; philosophical problem; coin replica; English grammar

Best preparation

Personal statement mind map, mock interviews

Test preparation

Practice papers, untimed then timed

Final thoughts

Be vocal about your thought process and don’t be afraid to ask questions or ask for clarification.

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 Language Aptitude Test (CLAT)
Number of interviews: 4
Time between interviews: They took place over 3 days
Length of interviews: 20-25 minutes
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

In three of my interviews I was given a text approximately 15 minutes before the interview itself to read. All were in English. We were just told to make notes of what interested us and those points were used as starting points for the interview. In one of my interviews I was also presented with a philosophical problem, and in another I was presented with a replica of a coin. In my faculty interview (all people applying for Course 2) I was asked about English grammar - which is surprisingly tricky!

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I created a mind map based on my personal statement and just wrote down my thoughts on various aspects of it. I was also very lucky in that I was able to have a couple of practice interviews before the real ones. It doesn’t matter if your interviewer isn’t an expert on your subject, just that it’s not someone you know very well. It’s honestly just very handy to talk about your subject for 20 minutes - not something we tend to do in an academic way very often!

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

The CLAT tests you on identifying patterns in languages, so I prepared by doing practice papers. I’d recommend doing them untimed to begin with, and then when you’re feeling a bit more comfortable start doing them to test conditions!

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Be vocal about your thought process, it’s really helpful for your interviewers to know how you get to your answers, what goes through your head. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or ask for clarification. An interview is more like a conversation than an interrogation. Most importantly, try to enjoy them - interviews are a pretty unique experience and whatever the outcome, they’re something you’ll never forget.