3 x 15 min interviews, TSA
It was very much about getting my personal opinion on the various questions.
Brushed up on the stuff I spoke about in my personal statement, kept on top of current affairs for my subject
Practice papers
Show an aptitude for learning and a love of knowledge!
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: Thinking Skills Assessment (
Number of interviews: 3
Time between interviews: Between 1-2 it was about 4 hours, then it was about 24 hours until my 3rd!
Length of interviews: Around 15 minutes
Online interview: No
It was very much about getting my personal opinion on the various questions. They wanted to know what I thought, and how I arrived at this answer. They challenged my explanation and asked me to explain it!
I brushed up on the stuff I spoke about in my personal statement a lot! I knew it inside out! I also kept on top of current affairs for my subject and knew the ‘hot topics’ of the time. I also had a bank of things in the subjects i found particularly interesting and my opinions on those.
Lots of practice papers. The papers are on the TSA website, i tried to get through as many of these as possible! I didnt do well in practice papers though, but practice helps!
Love your subject and know it well. You don't need to know every single bit about it, but you have to show an aptitude for learning and a love of knowledge!