2x 20 min interviews, over 2 days
Human geography: sustainability in cities, ocean plastics, my geography A-level; Physical geography: mostly general discussion with one source
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Know your personal statement; relax and make friends; have confidence.
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.
Number of interviews: 2
Skype interview: No
Time between each interview: 1 day
Length of interviews: 20 minutes each
Both my interviews were separated into 3 sections, alternating between two interviews for both.
In my human geography interview we talked about sustainability in cities, ocean plastics and the geography A level course I did.
In my physical geography interview, I was asked to read a map and answer some questions, and was guided towards the right answer. We talked about the topics I wrote about on my personal statement, like desertification and food security in the context of climate change; and the role of the scientist in society. It was mostly general discussion, with one source: a graph and a map.
I felt okay. I was a bit nervous for my first one, but definitely relaxed into my second interview which was in the late afternoon. I’d say the atmosphere in my Human geography interview was a little more tense than that in the Physical interview, which I enjoyed more.
So I didn’t get to do a practice interview because my school has no access to that sort of thing, but
I didn’t prepare for my interview academically, but did read over my personal statement and made sure I knew the content of any books and articles I’d mentioned. The BEST thing I did, and I can almost guarantee this made my second interview experience better, was sitting in the JCR and watching football with the other applicants before my interview. I didn’t hole up or try to cram information, instead I just relaxed and went into the interview so much more calm. I think looking back, some advice for current students applying would be to make friends during interviews, they will
Go into the interview knowing that you know things and that the uni wouldn’t have asked you to interview if they didn’t think you were capable. Have confidence, be relaxed, and don’t be too robotic or have any rehearsed answers to questions. They want to see your personality, how you react to an academic challenge and the way you interact with the