How To Prepare For An Oxford Interview
20th August 2025
Preparing for an Oxford Interview can sometimes feel overwhelming and confusing, so we’ve put together a guide on how to prepare for the big day.
As featured in:
Understanding Oxbridge Interviews
If you’re applying to study at Oxford or Cambridge, you need to be prepared for the final stage of the admissions process - the interviews. After working through your UCAS application, Personal Statement and admissions test, the interviews are your chance to meet the admissions tutors directly and demonstrate why you deserve a spot on your desired course.
If you’re invited to attend interviews, you need to be prepared for an intensive set of sessions with faculty from the university, including advanced questions about your chosen subject and in-depth questions about your experience and motivations. The standard of applicants at Oxbridge is high, so you need to ensure you stand out amongst the others and leave an impression on the interviewers.
On this page, you’ll find essential information about Oxbridge interviews and a full suite of guides to help you prepare, including plenty of example questions for the top courses taught at the universities.
Why Does Oxbridge Use Interviews?
For most universities, interviews aren’t typically necessary because their courses have plenty of available spaces and do not have too large a pool of highly competitive applicants. However, at Oxford and Cambridge, the average quality of each applicant is much higher, and the courses sometimes have greatly reduced capacity. Therefore, an interview is essential for finding the applicants who would be best suited for each course.
Bear in mind that you are not being interviewed by the university as a whole but by the college you applied for within the university. Each college will typically have 1 – 5 spaces available for most courses, which is another reason why interviews are important.
Studying at Oxbridge requires a great degree of interest and motivation to succeed in your chosen field, so admission tutors find that speaking with the applicants directly is the best way to determine who has the traits required to be admitted.
How To Prepare For Oxbridge Interviews
Even if you’re confident in your academic ability and your understanding of your chosen subject, it’s still essential to prepare for your Oxbridge interviews. Having the passion and knowledge of your field is one thing, but it’s also essential that you’re able to discuss these things concisely and effectively while being ready to take on any difficult questions the panel may ask.
The first step of interview preparation is to do your research. This shouldn’t just encompass potential questions that may be asked by that college; it should also include details about the college and the subject department itself, as you need to be prepared to explain why you specifically chose to apply there.
Realistic mock interviews are the best way to practice your interview skills, especially when doing them with someone you don’t have a close personal connection to. These should be conducted regularly, and in-depth feedback should be provided after each session with points to improve.
Oxbridge Interview Key Dates
When will you have to attend your interview? Here are the key time periods you need to be aware of:
Oxbridge Interview Invitations Date
All Interview invitations from Oxford and Cambridge are sent after admissions tests have been sat and all applications have been received.
The date that these invitations are set varies by subject, but applicants should expect to receive an invitation in mid to late November, just one to three weeks before the interview dates.
Oxbridge Interview Dates
Interviews at both Oxford and Cambridge are held in the first three weeks of December for all courses.
As Oxbridge applicants are expected to attend multiple interviews, your interviews will usually be held across multiple days. A full timetable of the interview dates for each course is released in advance of the interviewing period, so be sure to check this before attending.
Oxbridge Offer Release Dates
Once interviews have been completed, the admissions tutors will make their final decisions before sending out offers. Offers are released on set days at both universities each year.
In 2026, Oxford will release offers on January 13th, while Cambridge has not confirmed a date, but usually releases offers at the end of the month.
Oxbridge Interview Guides
Learn more about the Oxbridge application process within our expert guides below.
Oxbridge Interview Invitations Guide
20th August 2025
The waiting period between submitting your UCAS application on the 16th of October and receiving an Oxbridge Interview invitation is a nervous few weeks. In this guide, we take you through who gets invited to an Oxbridge Interview, how and when you will find out and where they are held (with some final advice at the end).
How To Prepare For A Cambridge Interview
20th August 2025
Preparing early for Cambridge Interviews is essential to perform well on the day and receive an offer. But how do you prepare and what questions might come up? What are the interviewers actually looking for? Read on to find out.
How Many Oxford Interviews Will My Child Have?
20th August 2025
One of the differences in the ways which Oxford and Cambridge run their interview processes is in the number of interviews and when they take place. This is because the collegiate system, and more specifically the “pooling” system. It operates differently between the two universities and if candidates interviewed at both, they would notice the distinction.
Weird and Wonderful Oxford & Cambridge Interview Questions
20th August 2025
Oxbridge interviews are known for being tough and sometimes a little bit intimidating. However, although the admissions tutors are highly selective, they aren’t purposely trying to make you feel nervous. As such, you will often be asked at least one weird and wonderful question during your interview, so let’s take a look at some examples from previous years, including a breakdown of how you could approach it!
How To Answer An Interview Question You Know Nothing About
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Every student’s worst nightmare, realising you have no idea how to answer an Interview question. Read our tips and tactics to help you through this horrible experience.
How To Analyse A Written Source In An Oxford Interview
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Worried about analysing a written source under the pressure of an Oxford Interview? Our tips will help you prepare and tackle these questions to enhance your Oxford Interview performance.
Common Questions: “Why Oxbridge?”
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Why Oxbridge? A question that troubles Oxford and Cambridge applicants every year. The question “Why Oxbridge?” is heard by all Oxbridge applicants. You may have considered this question while writing your personal statement. Read our 8 suggestions below to help you develop your own answers to the dreaded question.
How To Construct An Oral Argument In An Interview
20th August 2025
When preparing for Oxbridge Interviews, practising to construct arguments is key. In this guide, we take you through four steps to create a solid oral argument.
Example Interview Questions
Curious about what questions you could be asked during your interview? The following guides feature real questions that were asked to current Oxbridge students during their interviews. While you may not be asked the exact same questions, these should give you an understanding of what to expect during your interview.
Oxford Law Interview Questions: Examples and Answers
20th August 2025
If you are applying to study law at Oxford, you will have to face at least one interview towards the end of the process. These interviews are tough and can involve some unexpected questions. In this guide, we will examine a series of Oxbridge Law interview questions alongside example answers to help you prepare for your own interview.
Common Oxford Medical Interview Questions
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What types of Oxford Medicine Interview questions will they ask? Read on to find out what interviewers are looking for and the types of questions you may face on the day.
Cambridge Medicine: Mock Interview Practice With Example Questions
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The best way to prepare for Cambridge Medicine Interviews is through mock Interviews. We explain how to use mock Interviews and some questions to practice before the big day.
Cambridge Natural Sciences Interview Questions
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The interviews are one of the hardest parts of any Cambridge application, especially for a subject as broad as Natural Sciences. There are many different questions you may be asked, so this guide will explain some of the most common types and detail how to answer them.
Oxford and Cambridge Maths Interview Questions
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An interview dedicated to Mathematics may seem daunting, especially when it’s being hosted by the notoriously competitive Oxford and Cambridge universities. However, these interviews aren’t designed to make you fail, so understanding what the interviewers will ask and what they are looking for will help you immensely. This guide will help you begin your preparation smoothly.
Oxford and Cambridge Computer Science Interview Questions
20th August 2025
Computer Science is one of the most competitive courses at Oxford and Cambridge, so standing out in the interviews is essential for getting your offer. In this guide, we’ll explore the types of questions that you can expect to see in your interviews and look at some examples to practice with.
Oxford and Cambridge Engineering Interview Questions
20th August 2025
Engineering is one of the most popular courses at Oxford and Cambridge, so you’ll need to stand out in your interview to ensure you get a place on the course. To be prepared for this, it’s important to understand what questions could come up, so this guide will explore some key examples and how to approach answering them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Interviews at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge are the final stage of the application process for all undergraduate courses. After being shortlisted based on their UCAS application, grades, Personal Statement and admissions test results (where applicable), applicants will be invited to attend a series of interviews at the college they applied for.
These are traditional panel interviews in which each applicant will have a direct conversation with two to three members of faculty from the college. During the interviews, they will be asked various questions about their motivations and experiences, as well as subject-specific questions that are designed to test their understanding and academic ability.
While these interviews can be intense, they aren’t designed to catch you out or set you up for failure – they are put in place to give applicants a chance to properly express themselves and allow the admissions tutors to get a true sense of each applicant. While the questions in these interviews may be challenging, they are designed this way to allow those who will excel at Oxbridge to stand out and leave an impression.
While the exact number of interviews you will need to attend depends on the course, most applicants will need to complete two or three separate 20 – 30-minute interviews.
For example, a shortlisted PPE applicant will need to attend three interviews, one covering each of the three subjects taught in the course.
Prior to 2020, most Oxbridge interviews were held in person at the colleges. However, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the Oxbridge interview process, making in-person interviews much less common.
Oxford has fully committed to online interviews for all courses for the foreseeable future, while only a limited number of Cambridge Colleges have reintroduced in-person interviews. You can learn more about which Cambridge Colleges require in-person interviews here.
If you’re attending an in-person interview, you will be provided with food and accommodation by the college if the interviews take place across multiple days.
Once you’ve attended all of your interviews, you will need to wait until the new year to get more information from your college. Offers are sent out at set dates in January at both universities, but what happens if you don’t get an offer?
At Cambridge, you may be placed into the Winter Pool before offers are released. This means that the college you applied to didn’t admit you, but felt you had enough potential to study at the university. When entered into the winter pool, other colleges will be able to view your application and decide if they want to admit you. This decision is often made based on the work you’ve already done, but some candidates will be asked to attend more interviews with the new college.
If you are successful in the pool, you will receive your offer as normal. If you’re not accepted, you may still have a chance to be admitted via the August Reconsideration Pool. Oxford does not have a formal pooling process, but some applicants may be admitted to a different college than they applied for.
