So you got an Oxford interview but now you're freaking out and madly searching the internet for tips, tricks and what to expect!
A photo of the Radcliffe Camera taken in November time.
First of all, congrats! Getting an interview is an amazing achievement in itself and you should be proud. Second, the interview process is not designed to be a big scary test, its designed to see if the tutors would enjoy taking you on as one of their students and if you would enjoy being taught by them. They are looking for enthusiastic, teachable students who are passionate about their subject and are going to be willing and interested to be there. The interviews are there to see how you think and how you cope in an Oxford tutorial learning environment, not to test niche knowledge of your subject.
I was a class of 2021 kid and did my interviews online during the pandemic. This of course gave me a slightly different experience to the normal Oxford interview as I was in one of my school's meeting rooms rather than a tutorial room in an Oxford college, and armed with a whiteboard and pen I had to hold up to the screen whenever I was asked to draw a diagram or graph. I was therefore also not given a rock and asked to talk about it. I have no idea if this is ever actually done in an Oxford Earth Science interview but it is all over the internet if you try and research what they are like.
My interview consisted of questions based on my personal statement, some based on pictures I was shown on a screen, and some problems I was given verbally. At the start of the interview I was asked some basic questions to warm up and the two interviewers took it in turns to ask me things. I was asked about all aspects of the subject, contrary to popular belief it was not solely based on the tutors area of interest. Unique to Earth Science, I didn't interview at the college that I applied for. The Earth Science department (at least when I was applying) pool all the applicants and you are given two different interviews by a mix of tutors. This is done because of the relatively small cohort size and number of applicants for Earth Science, allowing them to pick the 35 people they want regardless of what college they applied to. In some subjects it may be strategic to pick a certain college but for Earth Science this does not affect you chances of getting in at all.
If you have any questions about the interview or application process then the department website is a great place to start.
1. You aren't supposed to already know everything - otherwise what are they going to teach you when you get there?
The interview isn't about showing that you have already taught yourself half the course. It is important that you understand the subjects you are doing at A-Level well and can apply them to the interview questions but the interviewers don't expect you to know things that you haven't been taught. Earth Sciences involves a mixture of physics, chemistry, and biology. Out of these three I had only done chemistry at A-Level and was nervous I would be unable to answer some of the questions. First of all, the interviewers know what you are studying at A-Level so won't expect you to have knowledge of something you haven't learnt and second of all, if you don't know something that's ok. If you are faced with a concept that is unfamiliar to you then just give it your best shot, use the logic you have from other subjects and try and reason it out. The interviewers will help guide you through problems you are stuck on, they are just looking for you to be open and willing to try and find the answer.
2. Don't be afraid to talk through your thought process
This is very important when it comes to the interview. If you don't know the answer and then just sit in silence trying to work it out the interviewer not only has no idea if you have any clue but also can't help you. Talking about any ideas you have or even how you would go about tackling the question is a great place to start. Then if you are along the right lines they can help guide you. Say you were given a question asking you too figure out how the mass of the ocean then you might start by explaining how you know mass is density times volume and then go on to talk about how you might find out the volume of the ocean. From there you could say that you know the density of water is 1 g/cm^3 (a good figure to know) but it is likely to be more dense in the ocean due to salt. You can then use the volume and density to get the mass.
This is a little weird to do at first because you don't often have to explain your thought process in real time. It's worth trying to do this out loud to yourself in a mirror or to a friend or in a practice interview so it comes a bit easier in the real thing.
3. Know some key figures
It is also worth knowing a few key figures, the density of water, and the age of the Earth are a good place to start. Figures like these might help you with reasoning out if answers you come to re sensible or not. An example of this came about in a practice interview I did before my real interview. I was asked how to figure out the age of a rock and started to talk about carbon dating. The interviewer then told me that the half life of carbon-14 is about 5.5 thousand years. Since the Earth is 4.6 billion years old the half life is too small for dating older rocks as all of the carbon would be decayed away. Carbon dating is a better method for organic molecules and things such as Uranium dating are used for the age of rocks.
4. Make sure you know what your subject actually is
This may sound very obvious but ensure you know what the course involves. When I was in year 13 my A-Level maths teacher informed me that I would not be needing any maths in geology and his subject would be of no use to me in my further studies. Luckily, I had done the research into Earth Science and was well aware that actually maths is quite a fundamental part of the course and I did in fact go on to use it A LOT in my studies. If I had simply listened to my teacher then I would really have been caught off guard when I was asked some maths based problems in my interview.
Subjects such as Chemistry, Geography or English that you have done at A-Level are unlikely to surprise you with what they involve at university. Earth Sciences may be unique in this case but ensure you have looked over the course and know what it involves. This is also a good to idea to do BEFORE you apply so you don't end up studying something you don't actually like. It's also worth considering what you actually like about the subject. A tutor isn't going to offer you a place based purely on your answer to this question but it could be asked as an ice breaker at the start and it's nice to have a good answer so you don't look or feel silly.
5. Ensure you know whats on your personal statement - don't lie about it
You shouldn't be lying in your personal statement at all but especially in the case of a interview you don't want to be caught out. The tutors interviewing you will have read your personal statement before the interview and may base some questions off it.
For example, I had done some field work in an area that one of my interviewers had done some research so he asked me what I could remember about the rocks there and this became the basis of some of the questions he then went on to ask me. If I had lied about doing this field work I may have struggled. Same goes for if you say you read a book you hadn't (a very common one I think). They aren't going to spend the whole interview asking you about a book but it may be brought up as an opening to a problem/lead into further questions so just make sure you know your stuff.
6. Practice
It's good to have a practice doing interview questions. Some schools are able to set up practice interviews or you can find people willing to help with interview practice online. (I am always willing to help out anyone interviewing for Earth Science if you drop me a message in the contact form). But also it doesn't have to be someone serious, even talking through questions to a friend, parent or yourself is helpful. Google practice questions online: here is a website I used, and practice defending your points and talking through your logic.
7. Enjoy yourself
The interview is not only to see if the tutors want to teach you but also for you to see if you want to go to a university like Oxford which is taught in a tutorial setting. Some people really dislike being put on the spot and being taught in this way so may not thrive in a setting like this, and that's ok. The interview is an opportunity to sit down with some of the leading professors in your field and get a glimpse at what it might be like to study there. They want to see that you are getting something out of this and that you would be someone they want to teach. Try and be open and willing to try, get suff wrong, take on the feedback and give it another go. Also smile! Nobody wants to teach a miserable student.
So good luck! Don't stress too much and just give it your best shot. Whatever uni you end up at you will have a great experience, remember it is not the end of world if the interview goes badly. You got this!
Comments