History @ Somerville, Oxford in 2022

Interview format

History Admissions Test; 2x interviews.

Interview content

Interview 1: personal statement, submitted work; Interview 2: journal article.

Best preparation

Mock interviews, read up on historical journal articles, read over personal statement.

Test preparation

Looked at primary sources exercise on the University of Cambridge History Faculty website, read widely.

Final thoughts

If you get stuck, drink some water and say to them you want to think for a few moments - take your time and breathe!

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: History Admissions Test (HAT)
Number of interviews: 2
Length of interviews: around 20 minutes
Online interview: Yes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

1. I had a discussion of my personal statement, leading to a discussion of my written work. The questions did get harder but they were only trying to get to know your opinions and are not trying to catch you out!

2. I got emailed a journal article 30 minutes prior to the interview. I made notes and was asked a few questions which led on to a discussion. There was nothing to be scared about- remember- you have applied because you are passionate about the subject and it is a great opportunity to share that passion with the experts in the field, you have so much to learn from them, if you made it to interview it was impressive already!!! Please congratulate yourself for that!

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I'd suggest asking your subject teacher to arrange a mock interview(s) if possible, also talking to your friends about the subject! One of the interviews was talking and discussing a journal article - so get yourself familiarised with them and try summarising journal articles and having a discussion (even to yourself!), make sure you know your personal statement and the written work off by heart in terms of the content and the arguments. It is also ok if you have changed your mind about some of them - remember one of the things they are looking for is flexibility of thoughts and whether you are 'teachable' so it is ok to change your mind even during the discussion. They really see the interview as a 'mock-tutorial' to see if they are happy to teach you in the next three years - be flexible, be imaginative and enjoy them!

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

I started off looking at the primary sources exercises on the History faculty website at the University of Cambridge. I know that the HAT can be intimidating so these short exercises are a good way to get to think about primary sources and what they can tell us. I started thinking about the HAT around June time but only started seriously practising past papers from August onwards. It WAS challenging, however, also very rewarding and you should definitely view it as an intellectual stretch and exercise. No prior knowledge of the historical period of the source is assumed and you are not permitted to draw on external knowledge HOWEVER I do think that if you know something about the period it is always helpful, so read widely, so you know what themes might be important and why.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

DON'T PANIC! I definitely did panic at the time, but there was no reason that you should be! If you love History, and want to talk about history, nobody is trying to catch you out and the tutors are very friendly! If you get stuck, drink some water and say to them you want to think for a few moments - take your time and breathe!