Philosophy, Politics And Economics @ Exeter, Oxford in 2017

Interview format

2x 20-30 min interviews, 1 day apart

Interview content

Interview 1: discussed text given beforehand; Interview 2: discussed problem sheet and broad ideas

Best preparation

Past papers, TSA book

Final thoughts

Had mock interviews; read as much as possible; practised making counterarguments

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: TSA

Number of interviews: 2

Skype interview: No

Time between each interview: 1 day

Length of interviews: 20-30 minutes each

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

My philosophy interview was based on the reading they had given me. It started with a discussion about the passage and then moved to wider discussion of the theme of the passage.

I had a joint politics/economics interview (10-15 mins on each). Economics was just working through a problem sheet, politics was a general discussion on one theme.

How did you prepare?

I did some practice papers, and also used a book called 'Ace the TSA'.

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

I did some mock interviews, which were useful to get used to the pressure. I tried to read as much as possible and practise coming up with counter arguments to what I read.