TIME TO SHARPEN YOUR OXBRIDGE INTERVIEW SKILLS

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge

 

According to press reports, applications to Oxford went up by 5 per cent to a record 18,325 this year. Cambridge figures, on the other hand, are thought to have dropped slightly in 2014 after it raised A-level requirements to AA*A* for nearly half its courses. So, there will still be five or more well-qualified applicants chasing the average Oxbridge place.

 

While this can sound worrying, you may nevertheless get in, of course, if only because the success rate for some Oxbridge courses remains considerably higher. More importantly, each of the two universities will still admit some 3,000 new undergraduates from a range of schools and backgrounds next year.

 

Putting Oxbridge out of your mind until an invite or rejection note drops through your letter box, though, is unwise in the circumstances. You would be much better off sharpening your interview skills. Here are the three most crucial ones:

 

·     The first is to listen carefully. Does your interviewer want to know what happened in 1914 or in 1941?  Are you being asked for a fact, an explanation or your opinion?

 

·    The second skill is to order your thoughts before replying in two or three reasonably short sentences, using proper subject terms. Don’t just ramble on, hoping that the right answer will eventually come to you.

 

·    Cambridge applicants, who sit any written subject test during their interview, also need to answer test questions more formally. What this means is that you must drop all text speak, write in full sentences and watch your grammar. You should know, too, how to spell a subject term like “competitive advantage”.

 

Applicants for a STEM/Economics subject should also be prepared to interpret a table or graph drawn by their interviewer. Knowing how to do quick, basic calculations in your head can matter here.

 

Finally, try to speak up rather than whisper: there is no point in giving a brilliant answer if your interviewer cannot hear it.

 

Just like riding a bicycle, these skills are not inborn. Acquiring them takes practice. So, get as many mock interviews as you can. To find the kind of questions Oxbridge dons really tend to ask, read through the interview and course chapters of OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES*.

 

In my next blog, we’ll look at ways of deepening your knowledge base in the weeks left.

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*   As Oxbridge entrance rules frequently change, applicants need to read the current, 2014 edition of this guide. The alleged downloads of this book are at best extracts of old. outdated editions. Avoid!