Test taken: TSA
Number of interviews: 4
Online interview: yes

Both of my Psychology interviews largely revolved around data and images I was given - one of the interviewers shared their screen, I could see the data they were presenting, and I was asked to discuss what it might mean and what implications it might have on the topic it referred to. I was also asked how I'd go about designing a certain experiment to test a hypothesis we discussed, and how I'd go about using various research methods to ensure the validity of my study, and to address ethical considerations. For my Linguistics interviews, I was given some excerpts of a niche language I hadn't seen before, and asked to find patterns in the language and translate some sections of it. I found this really fun to do, even though it was something I'd never done before, and whenever I made a mistake, the interviewers would guide me back on track. We also had some more general discussions about various linguistic concepts such as language change, and differences between global languages.

I didn't do too much preparation for my interviews. The most helpful thing to me was discussing various Psychological and Linguistic concepts with my friends, to get used to the feel of an academic conversation in this sense. When my friends weren't available, I found some potential questions online and recorded myself giving verbal answers to them, so I could watch them back and notice how I came across, so I could work on my speech fluency and confidence.

I went through all the TSA past papers available to me. The first few I did untimed, to focus on getting the questions right, rather than quickly, but I aimed to finish the paper faster each time. When I'd completed the paper, I went through and looked at every question I'd got wrong, and spent time working out what I'd done wrong and how I'd get the right answer if I did it again. I soon noticed a pattern, that I was doing much better in Critical Thinking questions than Problem Solving, so I printed some GCSE Maths non-calculator past papers, to work on my mental maths and problem-solving skills - the TSA doesn't require Maths knowledge beyond GCSE level, but I hadn't studied Maths at all for two years so I was rusty. To improve on Critical Thinking questions, I worked on my ability to predict an answer before reading through the options, which vastly increased my accuracy.

The interviews are a really enjoyable experience, so don't worry about them too much! They're an insight into how you'll be taught at Oxford, and a chance to talk about the subject(s) you adore with some of the most prestigious academics in these fields. It should be an opportunity for you to think about familiar concepts in new ways, and should challenge you to broaden your perspectives.