Test taken: LNAT

Number of interviews: 2

Skype interview: No

Time between each interview: 1 day

Length of interviews: 30-45 minutes each

My first interview had surprisingly little discussion on why I chose to cross the sea to study a foreign legal system. Instead, the interviewers sought to examine my aptitude for verbal reasoning. They would give me a fictional scenario and ask me to describe it using various general and moral concepts. They would then slightly change the scenario so that my description no longer worked, and we would talk about why it did not work, etc. My first interview was relaxed and I was allowed by the interviewers to independently develop and explain my thoughts.

My second interview was a case-study. I was asked to read a short but famous legal case for about 20 minutes before the interview. I had never read a case before. (In fact, I did not even know the UK had a case law system!) Then, I was pressured by two professors about my understanding of the case through various questions. Due to my inexperience in reading cases, I did not understand much of the case. However, it seemed they were mostly interested in checking my ability to explain my thoughts, whatever the quality of those thoughts.

I studied the mark schemes to isolate the different 'types' of questions and familiarised myself with the different alternatives. As an example, a common type of question is where the candidate is asked to explain why a written argument is wrong - there are only a few different ways it can be wrong, so it is worth getting to know these options and how to recognise them. In short, taking and evaluating practice papers in a 'structured' way is helpful.

I did not prepare much for my interviews, because I felt cocky and invincible at the time. This was foolish. There is definitely scope for preparation, although not in substance. There are often no correct answers. My view is that most people who make it to the interview stage are smart enough to study at Oxford. The interview process is more about finding those whose learning style is well-suited to the tutorial system. Therefore, the key is to explain your thoughts.

When they ask you a difficult question, ask for ten seconds of thinking time. Explain your starting point, any concepts you are unfamiliar with, and walk them through your thoughts. The tutorial system requires candidates to be able to articulate their thoughts accurately and precisely.