“I think the thing that surprised me the most was how quickly it went and how many questions they asked about each subject.”

Thalia

“Know your personal statement inside and out, and don’t put anything on there you’d have to lie about.”

Alex

“Go for it and don’t listen to any voices saying it might not be for you or that you’re not good enough for Oxbridge!”

James

“The people interviewing you are all really nice and not trying to catch you out or scare you! Just try not to be too nervous.”

Delphine

“Think about the links between language and history, check your specific college for extra submitted work you might need to send.”

Annie

“I really enjoyed it and it was a great exercise for supervisions. I came out feeling relieved and proud of myself.”

Bushra

“Be confident, but not arrogant. Be relaxed during the interview, and think out loud. It’s all about how you approach a problem.”

Christiana

“Read the news! So many applicants are very intelligent but have no awareness of what’s going on in the world.”

Faith

“Honesty is the best policy. If you don’t have a speciality in (say) Spanish, that’s okay! You’re still near the start of the learning process.”

Rhys

“I was asked if i had read any French literature. I said no but I could talk about French hip hop… which they didn’t want to discuss.”

Lea

“My school organised one mock interview with our Head of Sixth Form. By the look on his face at the end, he thought I didn’t stand a chance…”

Sam

“I had no real curve ball questions, but a friend of mine did get asked to describe the Colosseum as his first question!”

Henry

“Be calm and confident! The tutors are not there to trick you out, but to see how you would thrive in an academic environment.”

Anxin

“The process wasn’t as scary as I thought. The interviewers were pretty friendly and didn’t ask anything groundbreaking.”

Tom

“Cultivate in yourself a deep intellectual curiosity for the world in which we live and the people who inhabit it.”

Harry

“There are a lot of horror stories floating around about Oxbridge interviews, some of which are warranted, others of which are not.”

Lisa