Classics @ The Queen's, Oxford in 2019

Interview format

2 x 30 min interviews, CAT

Interview content

Extract to analyse then personal statement

Test preparation

CAT past papers

Final thoughts

Don't feel pressured to cram in your best nuggets of information. It works better if you just approach it as a conversation.

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)
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: A day
Length of interviews: 30 mins
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

Two different interviews. First was a literature and language interview. The second was a philosophy interview. For both, we were given an extract to talk about and analyse. For the second half of each interview, the questions revolved around our personal statement.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

One of the best things which I did to prepare was to read the previous experiences of those who had applied to do classics at Queen's before me from my school. Other than that it was about being very aware of what I had put in my personal statement and the topic of the two essays which I had submitted. Practice interviews are useful, both on my personal statement and on some piece of Greek/philosophy.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

By doing old CAT paper as supplied by my head of Classics and vocab.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Don't feel pressured to cram in your best nuggets of information. It works better if you just approach it as a conversation.