History Aptitude Test (HAT); 1x interview
Interview 1: discussion of written work
Prepared to talk about submitted work
Past HAT papers
Practice forming arguments on the spot when confronted with unfamiliar questions
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: 1
Length of interviews: 1 hour
Online interview: Yes
Almost my entire interview, aside from introductions, was spent discussing the History essay that I had submitted. I was told that we would discuss my personal statement as well afterwards, but we spent so long on the essay that we didn’t have time for it. I was asked many different questions about the essay, and I was challenged on some of my arguments. I felt pretty comfortable, but I had never been in an interview solely focused on discussion/argumentation, so it took me some time to settle into it.
I knew my History essay that I submitted would be discussed during the interview, so I reread it a couple of times, and then reread my textbook and notes for the time period that I had used during school when the essay was written. I tried to accrue as much knowledge as I could on the essay’s topic.
I used past HAT papers to practice.
For History applicants, I would suggest submitting an essay on a topic you are familiar and comfortable with, and if possible, to practice discussing the essay beforehand. Knowledge is important, but the ability to think on your feet, respond to arguments, and form arguments of your own is much more so.