Earth Sciences (Geology) @ St Edmund Hall, Oxford in 2020

Interview format

2x interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: maths based; Interview 2: personal statement and EPQ

Best preparation

Practised interview questions, went over personal statement, mock interview

Final thoughts

Be open to knowing you could be wrong

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: None
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 1 week
Length of interviews: 30 minutes
Online interview: Yes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

My interviews were online because of COVID. The interviewers were really friendly and we started with basics like why did I want to study geology and what is my favourite area. Then the first interview was maths based mainly. I wasn’t too sure about some bits but I was guided through and my advice is talk about what you are thinking even if it could be wrong. I got one of the answers really wrong but once they gave me some hints I managed to correct myself so it’s more about showing you are teachable and willing to learn. My second interview we discussed my personal statement and mainly my EPQ as well as some other questions about geology based on my A-level subjects.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I did a lot of googling of earth science interview questions and practiced answering them. I went through my personal statement and wrote down key points about everything I had mentioned then with my friend we took it in turns to ask each other questions about our personal statements so we got comfortable talking about them. I had a mock interview with my geography teacher which was good because it put me in a pressured environment and I could practice answering difficult questions on the spot.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Main one is check your junk mail because I didn’t see my interview invitation until the day before which was stressful. In the interview just be yourself, be smiley, be open to knowing you could be wrong and show you are reachable, listen intently. You basically have to show they why they would want to teach you. You will have to talk about your personal statement so don’t put any books in there you haven’t read.