History And Politics @ The Queen's, Oxford in 2018

Interview format

1x 20-30 min interview & 1x 30-40 min interview, over 24 hours

Interview content

Interview 1: written work; Interview 2: source (extract and questions, discussed separately)

Best preparation

Read over books on personal statement

Advice in hindsight

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Final thoughts

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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: HAT

Number of interviews: 2

Skype interview: No

Interviews spread over 24 hours

Length of interview 1: 20-30 minutes; Length of interview 2: 30-40 minutes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

The first interview was based on my written work, whilst the second interview had two parts to it- I had 20 minutes or so to answer a question/problem sheet and look over an extract, before having a first mini interview with one tutor about the question and the other mini interview with the second tutor about the extract.

The first interview felt more relaxing than the second, but they were both fine and I felt at ease.

How did you prepare?

I did lots of practice papers and gave them to teachers to mark and for feedback.

I also had mock interviews with my teachers, read the books on my personal statement, and tried to think of the different questions they could ask and how I would go about answering them.

What advice do you have for future applicants?

Looking back, what advice would you give to your past self?

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