OXBRIDGE INTERVIEWS

With interviews at Oxford and Cambridge now just weeks away, some students are panicking already, while others try to forget about the whole thing until an invite has actually dropped through their letter box. Neither group is doing the right thing: it’s best to engage in some calm, focused preparation right now.

Here is stage one, which you can undertake by yourself:

·        Check that you are can knowledgeably talk about ALL the personal interests, books or maths problems you have mentioned in your UCAS statement. Dons will know if you are bluffing.  

·        Make sure you can understand, define, SPELL and confidently use the main subject terms. You don’t want to muddle up history with historiography, or diffraction with diffusion, on that stressful day.

·        Look at past interview questions in your subject. The most useful examples can be found   in OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES. Although questions vary slightly each year, interviewers tend to seek the same general skills and knowledge base, often by asking a simple question like: “How does it work?” You'll need to give a clear answer, whether “it” is your heart, a combustion engine or parliamentary democracy.