Test taken: TSA

Number of interviews: 2

Skype interview: No

Time between each interview: 1 day

Length of interviews: about 20 minutes each

In the Economics interview I was given a sheet of paper with exercises on game theory. The tutors led me through them and I gave the reasoning and the answers to the problems. Then the tutors checked my knowledge on differentiation and about the graph of a quadratic function. The tutors were very friendly, attentive and ready to help if there was a need to do so. It helped me manage my stress.

In the Philosophy/Politics interview the tutor asked me what I'm interested in and I told him that I'm interested in moral philosophy, so we discussed consequentialism and deontology. Then the tutor asked me quite a confusing question about knowledge, but I gave him my reasoning out loud and he seemed satisfied. In the Politics part we talked about a topical issue and it was really enjoyable. At the start of the interview I received a cappuccino, which made me quite relaxed really. The tutor and his assistant were really friendly as well.

I did practice papers from the TSA and BMAT section 1.

I read the books and did the exercises that Cambridge Assessment recommends.

I also looked up examples of similar exercises I struggled with on the Internet (for example, spatial imagination exercises).

For all the interviews: (1) I re-read my Personal Statement many times and made a list of 20-odd possible questions that the tutors might ask about the content (from the books/articles I read and opinions I presented on my activities), then tried to answer them to myself out loud (2) I watched many Youtube videos and read some internet articles about preparation and other people's stories, which helped me understand how important talking out loud and communication with the tutor are (3) I did some logical puzzles on Ted-ed YouTube. I've heard that these types of questions may occur and I found all of them helpful in a sense that they all made me think and some of them actually were similar to my Economics questions

For economics: (1) I re-learned the formulas for differentiation (they were useful!) (2) I did some exercises on game theory (also very useful!) (3) I made sure that I knew about what I had said in my Personal Statement about economics and that I knew how to elaborate on the topics I mentioned (4) I did some preparation with my friends on the example economics interview questions from the University page (the feedback we gave each other was useful!)

Politics: (1) I read a lot about politics to be aware of what was going on, but I read politics anyway (2) I made sure that I knew what I said in my Personal Statement about politics and that I knew how to elaborate on the topics

For Philosophy: (1) I watched 'Crash Course Philosophy' (didn't prove to be useful eventually, but it was really interesting and I enjoyed it a lot) (2) I made sure that I know what I said in Personal Statement about it and that I know how to elaborate on the topics (3) I read example questions from the University page

For advice I spoke to my friends who study PPE at Oxford and other applicants.

The best thing I did was re-learning the formulas for differentiation.

Preparation helped me do better at the interviews, because some of the material was actually in the interviews and I felt much more confident being prepared about my Personal Statement and some other topics.

I expected a challenge and the questions were challenging indeed. I also expected nice tutors and the tutors were very friendly.

I wouldn't change much about how I prepared.

Now I understand that communication with the tutor during the interviews is insanely important. How else will the tutor know that your reasoning is correct, or that you can learn if it's faulty?

My advice is to check your Personal Statement and to practise with the past questions that the university provides for the interviews.