Geography @ St Hilda's, Oxford in 2019

Interview format

Geography Admissions Test (GAT); 2x interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: human geography; Interview 2: analysing maps and graphs

Best preparation

Reading up on current affairs

Test preparation

Practised analysing graphs

Final thoughts

Don't be scared to take time to think

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: Geography Admissions Test (GAT)
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: A day
Length of interviews: 20 mins
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

My Human Geography interview started with more questions related to my school reference, which included some of my A Level presentations and knowledge gained. It then moved to some broader human geography issues to get my opinion and thinking around the subject. To finish off, the asked me to analyse some graphs and maps and suggest the reasons behind patterns, inequalities and development. Overall the interview was enjoyable, an interesting discussion around a subject which I like, so it was easy to feel comfortable. The tutors try their best to smile ans encourage you all the way through, and I felt like they just wanted to get to know me, my knowledge and thinking process.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I did two mock interviews, one with try geography teachers (head of geography) and another one with the head of another school, who had studied Geography at Oxford. I read around the subject, National Geographic and Geography Review as well as just the news. 

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

My year was the first to have had an admissions test, so to prepare I practiced doing the Cambridge admissions test which was quite similar. Another practice exercise could be analysing any graph that’s found on a textbook as this is pretty much what appeared on the admissions exam.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Be as relaxed and confident as possible. There is nothing to worry about, the interview experience is simply supposed to simulate a tutorial scenario, so they want to aie sure you are comfortable under their teaching methods. Share as much of your knowledge as possible, but try and keep it relevant. Don’t be scared to take some time to think, but also try and think aloud so they know what your thinking process is like. Smile, be yourself and try your best!