Geography @ Mansfield, Oxford in 2021

Interview format

Thinking Skills Assessment, 2x interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: Questions based on human geography, Questions on personal statement, Scenario questions, Source interpretation; Interview 2: Questions on physical geography, Questions on current affairs

Best preparation

Re-read books mentioned in personal statement

Test preparation

Used YouTube videos and online resources

Final thoughts

It's ok to change your answer in interview!

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: Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA)
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 2 days
Length of interviews: 20-25 minutes
Online interview: Yes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

My first one was human geography online - the first Question was based on my Personal Statement and exactly the same as on my Zero Gravity mock interview!! They asked me scenario questions that don't appear to have much relevance to geog but allowed critical thought to happen, and it's more than fine to change your mind or show your personality in it! They also showed me a map without a key and got me to guess what it was about (again you can be flexible here with your views).

My second was physical geography (online) and I got asked about something in current events at the start so reading the news is vital!! I'm not really a physical geography person but if you work your way through it logically it doesn't seem as hard - go step by step with your answer and gradually scaffold it. In both interviews the tutors were super friendly and put me at ease so remember they're just normal people :)

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I reread every book/article in my personal statement, I also took part in Zero Gravity (give it a Google) and my mentor, a Cambridge geography student, gave me a fab mock interview that was SO similar to the real thing.

Contacted the local private school and they did mini tutorials with me and someone else applying for Oxford Geog which really helped with talking geography out loud (I'm the first person to apply for geography at my comp state school so they didn't know what to do).

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

Have a look at TSA Ninja to replicate the online test, if you run out try BMAT ninja too for one of the BMAT sections as they're in the same style - it's a lifesaver!!

Type youyouxue into YouTube for help on TSA questions - it's videos of workshops going over how to do each TSA question in turn. Both of these helped me get a score of 70.4 in the TSA :)

What advice would you give to future applicants?

It's ok to change your answer in interview, and good luck!