History Aptitude Test, 2x interviews
Interview 1: Questions on history course, Questions on personal statement and submitted work; Interview 2: General philosophical discussion
Looked over A-level notes; Looked over submitted work; kept up to date on current affairs
Completed past papers
Even if a question seems impossible just say something that you can relate to it and follow that train of thought.
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.
Test taken:
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 2 days
Length of interviews: 40 minutes
Online interview: Yes
My history interview focused mostly on my history course and my application (personal statement and the essay I had handed in) but my politics interview was much more of a general and philosophical discussion and hardly referred to my personal statement or course at all.
The questions were challenging but the interviewers were friendly, they definitely weren’t trying to catch me out at all. I was very nervous to start with and I was worried throughout that I didn’t “sound smart” enough because I wasn’t using very “smart” words, but they’re listening to what you’re saying not how you’re saying it!
I looked back over all of my A-level notes for relevant subjects so I could answer questions that they asked on that, and I made sure I knew the content and debates around the things that I talked about in my personal statement.
I also looked over the essay I sent in as a part of my application and made sure I knew what I wrote well.
I made sure I was up to date with current affairs on the politics side.
I looked up the past papers and did some of them
Speak your thought process out loud even if you don't normally tend to do it (I'm usually someone who wants to present a final answer and that's it)! So often they ask questions where there is no one answer/questions that they are well aware you may not be able to answer, they just want to see how you tackle it and how you think so think out loud!
Even if a question seems impossible just say something that you can relate to it and follow that train of thought, but if you need a few more seconds just ask them to repeat the question! Don't be afraid to change your mind if you answer a question and the interviewer gives you some more information/the other side of the debate - they don't want someone stubborn who thinks they know everything, they want someone willing to learn!