Oxbridge Interviews: All You Need to Know

The universities claim that all they are looking for in potential students is a strong mind and a passion to learn. Oxford University writes: ‘The only things that Oxford students have in common are academic ability and intellectual curiosity. Our students come from all over the world and bring with them an amazing range of backgrounds and interests.’

Cambridge university writes that they’re looking for people with good ‘problem solving abilities, an assimilation of new ideas and information and intellectual flexibility and analytical reasoning’

In the University of Oxford, academic tutors will most likely be interviewing you. ‘They teach and research at the university and have an in-depth knowledge about the subject.’

Similarly, the University of Cambridge says interviewers will be ‘specialists in the subject you’ve applied for, one of whom is usually the College Director of Studies who would oversee your academic studies and progress at Cambridge’

“I had a preliminary interview on Skype where I interviewed with my supervisor on the project/funding/lab” says one PhD student, Laura Brown. “On my actual interview day I was interviewed by my supervisor whilst also having an opportunity to see the labs and meet current students.”

In Cambridge you will be required to complete a written assessment for all courses except for mathematics and music.

In Oxford, depending on what is relevant for the course you are applying for, you may be given a text, a poem, or an object and asked to answer questions about it.

How should I prepare? Brush up on your knowledge of world affairs and any recent news related to your subject. You should also have a solid knowledge of your subject and do some extra reading around it.

If you haven’t studied the subject before, Oxford advises thinking about the reasons that you want to study it and doing some general reading around the subject. However, you won’t be expected to have in depth knowledge of the field, and interviewers will be assessing your skills and aptitude rather than specific knowledge. 

One Oxbridge interviewee, John Barton, tells TopUniversities, “Before my interview I made sure I did lots of preparation such as interview practice, reading books about the subject and preparing certain translations (for the written assessment).”

Oxbridge interviewees have reported being asked a variety of crazy questions, including ‘Is it moral to hook up a psychopath (whose only pleasure is killing) to a reality-simulating machine so that he can believe he is in the real world and kill as much as he likes?’ for philosophy, ‘Why might it be useful for an English student to read the Twilight series?’ for English literature and ‘Are you cool?’ for economics.

In your interview you may be asked questions about your personal statement, your essay (if you submitted one) and the subject you’re wishing to study. Occasionally interviewers might ask a purposefully difficult question to see how you react to solving problems. When these questions are asked, interviewers expect interviewees to calmly go through their thought process.  

When asked about the interview questions, Brown tells us “It was all in the realm of what could be asked about the prep material, but there were questions I wasn’t necessarily prepared for. She adds, “I was honest and made intellectual guesses where appropriate. They just wanted to assess my knowledge and understanding of the field to see if I would be a feasible candidate.”

For the interview you should wear something smart, but that you feel comfortable in. 

“I wore a suit, but essentially just wear smart clothes”, advises Barton.

Brown tells us, “I wore a shirt, a jumper, a blazer, a long trench coat, some navy trousers and some Oxford shoes (the irony!)”

In early January the ‘Winter pool takes place and decisions are posted to applicants. A small number of applicants may be asked to attend a further interview’ says the Cambridge website.

‘Most applicants who were interviewed in December should have heard whether they have been accepted conditionally or unconditionally or have been unsuccessful before the end of January.’

“I heard back really quickly” says Brown, “it was only about two days after the interview, but I think I was one of the last people to be interviewed.”

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Have you interviewed for Oxford or Cambridge? Let us know about your experiences in the comments below.