English Language And Literature @ Somerville, Oxford in 2018

Interview format

2x 20 min interviews, 2 hrs apart

Interview content

Both interviews: text given 10 minutes earlier, personal statement

Best preparation

Past papers; comparing prose; English textbooks

Advice in hindsight

-

Final thoughts

Ask people for help (if you can).

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: ELAT

Number of interviews: 2

Skype interview: No

Time between each interview: 2 hours

Length of interviews: 20 minutes each

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

In both interviews I was given 10 minutes beforehand to read through some unseen pieces of literature, which we then discussed for the first 10 minutes. I was asked to talk the interviewers through my thoughts on the piece and then they picked up on certain things I said that they found interesting or noteworthy and asked further questions or challenged the point.

In both interviews my personal statement was the main focus for the remainder of the time. I was asked about the books and authors I had mentioned, as well as my relevant extracurricular activities.

Though I was very nervous beforehand, the student helpers really helped to calm us down by playing board games and just chatting until it was our turn. I ended up actually enjoying the interviews in the end, as they turned out to be more of a conversation than a series of questions.

How did you prepare?

I used the past papers online. I also took examples from a book of prose and compared them, as well as reading English textbooks to brush up on my methods

What advice do you have for future applicants?

Looking back, what advice would you give to your past self?

If I could give one piece of advice it would be to ask for help. I asked my English teachers to mark my practice papers when they could and the feedback they gave me was invaluable. I also got in contact with my local Oxford alumni group and through that was able to meet up with an Oxford graduate who put my mind at ease in terms of the interview process and gave advice on how I could prepare.

Another really good decision I made was to attend an interview skills event for state school students that my college had organised. It gave me a chance to not only see firsthand how a typical interview was carried out, but also to meet others applying for the same subject.