No admissions test; 2x interviews
Questions related to personal statement; Data interpretation questions
Reviewed personal statement; Revised content and answers to possible questions
N/A (no test taken)
Try not to panic; and focus your preparation on reviewing your personal statement
Remember this advice isn't official. There is no guarantee it will reflect your experience because university applications can change between years. Check the official Cambridge and Oxford websites for more accurate information on this year's application format and the required tests.
Also, someone else's experience may not reflect your own. Most interviews are more like conversations than tests and like, any conversation, they are quite interactive.
Test taken: None
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 30 minutes
Length of interviews: 20 minutes
Online interview: Yes
In both interviews, the interviewers started off by asking a couple of questions related to my personal statement, drawing on the content of it to ask me a related question and get me to develop on what I had mentioned in the statement.
I was given two sources in each interview (most were graphs) and about a minute to examine each of them. Then, I was asked questions about what the data might mean, or how I would interpret it. I tried to answer as honestly as possible and didn't panic when I made a mistake (as you are bound to do in an interview), because I knew that they weren't looking for me to get it right, but just to see my thought process. Say everything that pops into your head!
Firstly, I refreshed myself on everything I had written in my personal statement by picking it apart, highlighting key parts that the interviewers could ask me about.
I then dug out any notes I had written on books/online courses and summarised them, so that I could use the most important information to support my answers.
I also researched a list of prompt questions on my subject and came up with some of my own, then asked my parents to read them out and pose as the interviewer. Speaking my thoughts out loud, and practicing giving coherent and precise answers, was a huge help. As well as this I wrote bullet-point anwers underneath the questions I had come up with. I even made a few brief flashcards for some of the most likely questions and tested myself on them, like I was revising for an exam.
While I wasn't aiming to remember everything on there, it allowed me to consolidate stronger answers in my mind.
Try not to let panic make your talking rushed, instead speak clearly and calmly (easier said than done of course). Although it's useful practice, don't over-invest yourself in predicting questions, either: I found that 99% of the questions I had prepared weren't asked!
Instead, focus on reviewing anything you have mentioned in your personal statement carefully.