Top Tips for Oxbridge Interviews
Doxa’s 5-step process to acing your OxBridge interview
Interview season is looming and we know that you want to do whatever it takes to get into the university of your dreams. We’ve seen and heard it all – the horrors, the nerves, the blank stares. Interviews can be a nerve-wracking process for many, but we want to make it easy for you. So these are 5 simple steps and Doxa’s top tips to excelling in your interviews.
At Doxa, our team of brilliant mentors have been through the very same challenges as you. Interview preparation is infamously one of the least covered application areas in school so we want to help you. Book a session with a mentor to have a go at a mock interview, to practice what you have learnt and prepared for. We have what it takes to bring you through your interviews (relatively) unscathed.
✨Before the interview✨
1. Read through your personal statement!
Refresh your memory on your personal statement. You have been called to interview based on this – that’s huge! Remember what makes you passionate about your subject. Your co-curricular activities, your extra readings, your competitions – whatever makes you feel the spark with your subject. It is important to exhibit your interest with the subject you are applying for. This is the common ground you will have with the people interviewing you!
2. Read/listen to the prompt carefully – your first impression matters!
You have the agency to think independently. How do you feel about the prompt? Are there parts you disagree with, or do not understand? Jot down some of your initial thoughts before re-reading it to understand better. Take a look at the guiding questions to see if they help you sway out of a neutral position. Do not be afraid of being “wrong”!
🤓During the Interview🤓
3. Thinking Out Loud (No, not Ed Sheeran)
Whether you are teeming with confidence or riddled with interview anxiety, it is always a good idea to speak through your thought processes during an interview. Take a deep breath, and explain your reasoning. Expect a level of difficulty while facing the prompt- after all, you are going from a schooling environment into university! This is just a trial; not to see HOW MUCH you know, but rather, how you analyse or rationalise your thoughts. Take a second: think about the question and its implications. Answer with what you believe is true.
4. Be Humble (No, not Kendrick Lamar)
Accept your mistakes graciously. Learning about new content for the first time can be rather tricky! Making mistakes is part of the learning process. While you should defend your answers by your rationale, make sure that you do not disrespect the interviewers. More often than not, they are the leading academics in their fields. Remember that the interviewers want to help you as much as you want to get into university! They are not out here to get you.
5. Be Yourself!
You don’t have to try and be someone you are not! In fact, universities love to see the diversity in student applicants. Do not pretend to be what you think is stereotypical of an Oxbridge applicant. You are being tested not only for your passion, but whether you are teachable as a student. Also, remember that you are trying out the tutorial system as well, which is what you will be doing for the next 3-4 years of your degree! As much as the interviewers might be intimidating, you are getting a feel for what your near future looks like, too! Be true to who you are as a student, it will be much easier to connect with the interviewers and even, dare I say, enjoy the interview process.
🙆🏼♀️After the interview🙆🏼♀️
First of all, congratulations! You’ve just interviewed for one of the top universities of the world! Take a moment and let that sink in. Regardless of whether you thought that was very simple or the most stressful 20 minutes in the world, you got through it, and that is a feat in itself. Don’t worry if the interview did not go as smoothly as you had hoped! Sometimes it just means you have been challenged academically – this is obviously something you are not expected to be automatically fantastic at!
My experience (BA in Music 2019-2022)
Before my interview, I was just excited to be in Oxford for the first time in my life. I did an open application and was pooled into Trinity College. My interviews for music were in two sections: the reading and the listening. I was given 20 minutes to think about a musicological prompt (2-3 pages) and then another 20 to speak to the panel about it. I saw the reading and quite frankly barely understood any of it. I was surprised at my inability to comprehend these abstract topics, but scribbled some notes anyway. After walking into the interview and speaking to the tutors, I realised I had (horrifyingly) misunderstood most of the article (shock!) and had to think quickly in order to rectify conceptual errors I made. Through the conversation, however, I found myself beginning to understand some of the higher-order concepts and bravely provided some examples to accentuate my points. I can’t begin to explain the validation I felt when the tutors gave me a knowing nod in agreement. Although I was off to a rather rocky start, the interview process started to look up towards the end, and I was relieved after what felt like simultaneously the shortest and longest 20 minutes I have ever spent.
If you need any help with interview prep and admissions, please reach out to us! Our mentors are here to support you!