Geography @ Keble, Oxford in 2021

Interview format

Thinking Skills Assessment, 2x interviews

Interview content

A mix of source-based questions

Best preparation

Read around the subject and revised key notes

Test preparation

Completed timed practice papers

Final thoughts

Read books around your subject

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: A few days
Length of interviews: 30 minutes
Online interview: Yes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

One of my interviews was more 'good cop' and the other more 'bad cop'. I had a mix of questions and talking about sources - one of which I had a few minutes to read through in advance. The interviewer would wait for your response and then prompt you in the direction they want to take you towards finding an 'answer'. Try to say your thinking process outloud - even if you have no idea what the answer really is!

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I did a mock interview at school which was helpful - you could always ask past students to interview you if this isn't offered at your school. I googled past interview questions and asked family members to ask me them - I think this was the most useful thing as it got me to start thinking on my feet about how to answer questions as best as possible even if they seemed really outlandish or hard.

I also made sure to read around my subject and jotted down some key notes/facts to revise for the interview that I could apply to questions where possible to show my further reading.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

Lots of practice papers (did sections under timed conditions)

What advice would you give to future applicants?

The interviewers are looking for somebody keen and interested most of all! I would advise you to read books on your subject and keep up to date with current breakthroughs etc. Then just practice answering questions on your feet.