History @ The Queen's, Oxford in 2017

Interview format

2x 30 min interviews, 1 day apart

Interview content

Interview 1: source emailed day before; Interview 2: written work

Best preparation

Read examiner reports on Oxford website

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.

Interview Format

Test taken: HAT

Number of interviews: 2

Skype interview: No

Time between each interview: 1 day

Length of interviews: 30 minutes each

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

Interview one: I was emailed a 30 page source to read the day before my interview. In this interview the tutors only discussed this source and my opinion on it. As this was my first interview, and two tutors were interviewing me, I found it incredibly nerve racking and scary. However, I always took a few seconds to process the questions before answering, and asked them to repeat anything I did not understand.

Interview two: For this interview the only thing we discussed was my written work. As I had chosen what I submitted for written work, and it was on a period I had studied in class, I felt a lot more at ease in this interview. However, some of the questions were still extremely challenging, and made me reevaluate my conclusions.

How did you prepare?

For the test, I did practice papers. I would also recommend doing some practice interviews beforehand - even if it is just with your family or friends! Being able to articulate yourself in a succinct and focused way can be hard - especially under pressure - so practice is definitely useful.

Also, for any aptitude tests, read the examiners' reports on the Oxford website, because they indicate what examiners are looking for.