2 x 20 min interviews, CAT
Personal statement, focused on literature; history and philosophy pre-reading, logic problems
Read things around my personal statement, widening beyond what I had mentioned
Practice papers, vocab and grammar
I think don’t panic too much if your interviews go well or not - it can be hard to tell and how you think you have done doesn’t always reflect whether you get an offer or not.
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: 2
Time between interviews: 1 day
Length of interviews: 20 minutes
Online interview: No
My first interview was talking about stuff in my personal statement and it was a really nice conversation with two tutors, focussing on literature. It was largely an open dialogue with not too many probing questions. My second interview was about history and philosophy where I had to read a bit of ancient history (in English) and then think about some questions on the extract. The second half of that interview was being guided through logic problems. I found it quite hard so don’t worry if you do too.
Read things around my personal statement, widening beyond what I had mentioned
Practice Papers, learning vocabulary and going over grammar points
I think don’t panic too much if your interviews go well or not - it can be hard to tell and how you think you have done doesn’t always reflect whether you get an offer or not. Also, enjoy the process as much as possible - it’s a good way to meet other people like you but also different from you.