Test taken: CAT

Number of interviews: 3

Skype interview: No

Interviews spread over 2 days

Length of interviews: 20 minutes each

I applied for Classics course II (Classics with no prior ancient languages), which means that on top of my two interviews in college, I also had an interview at the Classics Faculty.

In my first interview, I was given a long inscription, translated into English, to read through before hand. We spent the first 15 minutes talking through various aspects of the text, and then the tutor showed me an epigram and asked me for my immediate thoughts about it. I felt fairly calm during the interview, with the tutor assuring me that it was ok that I didn't know the answer to some of their questions.

My second interview was also in college. This interview focused on my personal statement and the written work I had sent in. The main tutor used parts of my work in order to lead a more general discussion on the topic. I felt more nervous in this interview, because the tutor was more antagonistic, in the sense that they pushed me a number of times to justify my opinions.

All of the Course II applicants had a third interview with the faculty. I was taken into a small room in the faculty and asked a little about the CAT, and how I found it. They also asked me a few questions about grammar, and how one goes about learning languages.

I made sure that I read through my personal statement and submitted work a couple of times before I came up to Oxford, and I tried to read through any important bits of texts I had mentioned. I spoke to my mum, and my teachers, about how best to come across at interview, and the night before I spent the time relaxing - the main advice I was given was that trying to go in relaxed was the best way of going about it.

In terms of expectations, I thought the rooms would be scarier - I was imagining some sort of interrogation room! Instead, I walked into an office space with sofas and books everywhere. In a way, the relaxed setting threw me off a bit, because it was so unexpected.

My advice would be that tutors aren't expecting you to have all the answers already. They want to see how you react to new information and adapt your thinking accordingly, how you react to being challenged or pushed on what you're saying, and also your willingness to throw out a random idea and see if it sticks. I lost count of the number of times I said 'I don't know' in my interviews, and that was fine, because learning the facts is what university is for. Interviews are mainly a way for them to see if you're the sort of person who works well in a tutorial setting- it's not about how many facts you can rattle off.