Test taken: None
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 2 days
Length of interviews: 40-45 minutes
Online interview: Yes

My interview was online so I never went down to Oxford and sat in a room with interviewers, which I can imagine is a slightly different experience, however, what I’m sure is the same is that the interviewers are very good at making you feel relaxed. I felt like my ideas were listened to but also helped along when I went blank.

My two interviews consisted of the first one being based more on geology and theoretical questions with very little maths although, I was asked to look at a graph and interpret what it could mean. Questions usually stem from a main question. To probe your thinking they then ask questions about your answers. This isn’t a trick; they are genuinely curious in what you think.

My second interview was heavily maths-based and I had to solve two problems. The maths wasn’t overly difficult but it was applied in a way I’d never thought of before which meant the two questions took a while to complete. That’s completely normal and you shouldn’t feel like you’re going too slow or you’re taking a while on a question because that is normal.

The nerves will be there no matter how much prep you do. The best advice for Oxbridge interviews is by far say everything that comes into your head. Mistakes will happen and that’s fine: they don’t mind as long as you can explain your way through your thoughts clearly. So definitely think out loud!

I think for Earth Sciences the most important thing you can do is definitely be prepared for all questions on Maths and Physics. Some content is stuff you may learn in the second year so be prepared to be stretched and maybe look up some of the second year topics.

Have a look at a few things from the world of geology such as rocks and climate science. Be aware of what is happening in our current climate and how we may prove that it’s changing.

However, the questions are all designed to be problems to try solve so don’t panic if you don’t know something when you are in the interview. They are great at helping you through questions.

If you can get a mock interview then do get one. If you can’t, a good way to get a similar experience is to ask friends, parents, and even teachers if they’ve got a spare minute to ask a couple of interview questions.

Example Oxbridge interview questions can be found quite easily online. Most of them don’t have answers and that’s because they want to see how you think not what someone else has said. So when you do the questions just ask your friend to try to dig a bit deeper into why something may be happening to challenge your thinking.

I think the most important bit if advice is to think aloud.

The interviews for Oxbridge are designed to replicate a tutorial or supervision and they’re often small group scenarios where a tutor is looking for you to speak your mind openly. The interviewers are looking in the interviews for someone who can do this.

As much as they’re looking for bright people they’re looking for people who will get the most out of Oxbridge's teaching system. So practice talking through your ideas. Whether it’s just talking to yourself out loud while revising or talking a problem or idea through with a friend, practice.