Test taken: MAT

Number of interviews: 4

2 interviews per day, 2 hours apart on each day

Length of interviews: about 30 minutes each

I was very nervous going in but all the tutors were very relaxed - in one philosophy interview he was slouched on a sofa, which immediately showed me that it wasn’t going to be super formal and intimidating. One philosophy tutor based his questions initially on my personal statement, but instead of asking about the philosophy I had talked about, he picked up on my mention of playing piano, and decided to ask me about philosophy of music! Naturally I’d never come across this stuff before, which was slightly scary, but I quickly realised that this was kind of the point. He seemed to care most about how I interacted with him and how I was able to consider different suggestions that he put forward during the debate, in addition to seeing how well I could present my thoughts.

My maths interviews involved being welcomed and then trying to work out a series of questions.The main thing I realised was that they wanted me to understand it, and the more I spoke as I thought and worked, the easier it was because they would prompt me, and if I was slightly wrong they could direct me back on course so I didn’t waste time. Also, admitting I didn’t know things was immensely helpful - the tutors want to give you the opportunity to show what you know, and so won’t want to give hints if they think you might be almost at that point yourself, but if you think out loud and say you’re not sure where to go next, they’ll then give a suggestion or hint to keep you going.

Practising longer answer questions is more useful than ones similar to your school ones, as the test is more about problem solving and showing your thought process - even if you don't actually know the answer or how to properly do the question.

Don’t let other people’s horror stories scare you! Also, if you come out of an interview worried you got everything wrong and the questions were super hard, that’s probably a good thing because it means the tutors thought they could push you beyond the simpler questions!!

Be willing to admit you’re stuck or not sure on something, and think out loud so they can keep track of where you are. This is a super useful trait they’re looking for in potential students because this is how tutorials often work. Related to that, practise talking through your thinking with somebody, even if they don’t know much about your subject: just explaining to your mum how you got to a maths solution could help, or explaining a historical essay to your friend, etc. (Of course a maths teacher is useful to help practise the getting-hints part but it’s no means necessary, I didn’t practise this part and was fine because I’m naturally quite comfortable in conversation anyway.)

My main advice is to never say anything in your application process that isn’t true, because it could jeopardise your otherwise strong application. For example, don't say you’ve read something that you then haven’t (and if you’ve mentioned reading something or a particular field of interest, reread and remind yourself of that information before interview so you’re not flustered if it’s mentioned in small talk in the beginning!).