2 x 30 min
Chinese culture, history, and language, things mentioned in my personal statement; poetry/prose pre-reading and discussion
Researched what I'd written on my personal statement, and about China's culture, history, philosophies and language
Don't rehearse answers to questions you find online
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.
Test taken: None
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: A day
Length of interviews: 30 min
Online interview: No
We talked about Chinese culture, history, and language. I was asked about a book that I mentioned on my PS, as well as a film I mentioned. There was no problem sheet for my first interview at my college, but for the second interview, at the China Centre, I had a choice between two texts - one prose, one poetry. I had about half an hour to prepare (note taking about my chosen text, things to talk about in the interview). I remained calm and I think this is really important. The atmosphere in the first interview was slightly scary, but the interviewers are very friendly. The atmosphere in the second interview was great - my interviewers were really interested in my personal statement, and I had an amazing time. Even if you don't have a great time though, there's no way of knowing how you did. Some people say their interviews all went catastrophically and they got in!
I prepared by researching what I'd written on my personal statement, and researching about China's culture, history, philosophies and language. I met someone who was memorising everything on his personal statement... don't do that. Simply learn the important bits.
Bring a water bottle if you'd like to, you're not guaranteed a glass of water (if they're not online). There's no need to go looking for old interview questions, yours will be completely different and you'll come off as rehearsed and fake if you come out with stock answers.