Test taken: Modern Languages Admissions Test (MLAT), Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA)
Number of interviews: 4
Time between interviews: 2 on day 1, 2 on day 2 — 3 or 4 hours between interviews 1&2 and 3&4
Length of interviews: about half an hour
Online interview: No

The atmosphere in all of the interviews I had was very calm and relaxed, the interviewers all seemed very chilled and it felt conversational. In my linguistics interviews I was given a work sheet similar to that of the MLAT - one interview gave 30 minutes before, the other did not. In my Psychology interviews I had to discuss different studies and then talk about the possible theories relating to them. From my personal statement, I was only really asked about my Extended Essay (similar to an EPQ, but part of the IB, which is an alternative to A-Levels) which was relevant to both of my PPL subjects. The themes were much more heavily focused on critical thinking based on the relevant tasks I was given. It was not like an interrogation at all; although I naturally felt nervous, the interviewers did their best to reassure me and ensure the atmosphere was the least intimidating it could be.

I had a mock interview at my school which was extremely helpful as they were knowledgable of the application process. Independently, though, I made sure to have read everything mentioned (books, articles, etc) in my personal statement and also come up with a few arguments I could talk about with certain topics. I wrote down arguments for opposing points of view on psychological/linguistic theories in a notebook and added to this in the week before my interview (only theories relevant to my personal statement) — I found this quite helpful as although I didn’t use many of the arguments, I was prepared to think about opposing theories. I think the most effective preparation I did was a practice interview. The content in the practice interview at times was not relevant, but the process of being interview by someone, even if it’s just a friend or a parent, is the best thing you can do. It made me feel much more confident and like I knew what to expect (even if I didn’t know the exact questions they’d ask).

TSA: past papers, MLAT: past papers and questions from the linguistics olympiad

I would definitely say to all applicants, don’t hold back. The interviewers are looking for what you as an individual think, and so it’s important that you try to stay as authentic as possible (which can be difficult in such an environment, but it’s worth it). I was expecting something much more intense and rigorous than what I actually encountered, and so I would say that it’s important to not become too stressed or fixated on the interview process - this may become a detriment to your mental health. However, it is important to prepare thoroughly - even if you over-prepare a little, you will then feel more at ease. Your mental health should be your number one priority though.