Law @ Christ Church, Oxford in 2018

Interview format

2x 20 min interviews, 1 day apart

Interview content

Interview 1: personal statement, discussion of concepts using scenarios; Interview 2: analysis of scenarios under law given

Best preparation

Practice papers

Advice in hindsight

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Final thoughts

Ask questions in your interview!

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: LNAT

Number of interviews: 2

Skype interview: No

Time between each interview: 1 day

Length of interviews: 20 minutes each

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

The first interview began with two questions from my personal statement. They were straightforward and not difficult, just a question about elaborating on certain ideas I highlighted. The majority of the interview was focused on a discussion of liability and intent, through analyzing different scenarios. It was a stressful interview because there were two tutors, but they were really patient and let me talk through my ideas.

The second interview didn't ask any questions about my personal statement. It started immediately with a law on a piece of paper, and the analysis of different situations under the law. The atmosphere was definitely a lot more chill, and also because I was more used to the format of the interview. I did retract some statements I made after the tutor would ask pointing questions about my analysis, and asked a lot of questions to clarify what they were asking. I think clarifying questions show you are paying attention to the intricacies of what the tutors are asking.

How did you prepare?

I did practice papers from online and books. I couldn't really prepare, as I don't study law and the prep material asked us to just come with our own insights.

I reviewed some ethics questions with an English teacher and read over my personal statement numerous times. The interview prep varies per subject, but I think for law it's difficult or more or less impossible to study for, as there is no prerequisite knowledge but to be analytical. There are some terms I employed, such as 'intent' and 'motive', that could be useful to future applicants to use.

What advice do you have for future applicants?

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

At the end of each interview, I could not tell how I did, and I think overconfidence doesn't signify much in the end. I expected it to be harder, but it was challenging at an intellectual level and the tutors were very supportive throughout.

Definitely ask questions, it doesn't make you sound like you don't understand, but it shows that you're paying attention, because the information that they give you is sometimes purposely vague.