It’s almost that most magical time of the year – and then it will be Christmas. With the annual interviews for places at Oxford and Cambridge about to commence, we’ve taken some time to collate some of the advice that we’ve given to candidates over the past few years. Frustratingly – if fittingly – this will be a year of unique challenges for our pupils, given the interviews and remaining entrance tests will be held online; it will be worth checking the following pages (here for Oxford, and here for Cambridge) for the technological requirements that each course are proposing to use in their interviews. (Note, for example, the requirement for CAAH candidates to Oxford for the online whiteboard, Miro).
Beyond the obvious advice to offer mock interviews in a similarly online format for your candidates, we hope that you and your students will find the below helpful for the coming weeks.
1. Be ‘Teachable’
Perhaps the most important aspect of these interviews is showing that you are ‘teachable‘. The people who are interviewing you will have to teach you, hold one-on-one supervisions with you, and generally support you over the next three or four years: they will accept people who they think are ‘teachable‘ – people who are willing to learn new ideas, alter their preconceptions and create an enjoyable atmosphere. Remember why Oxford and Cambridge interview in the first place: they teach in a very particular style, and they want to see that you respond well to one-on-one teaching.
2. Take Your Time
Don’t be afraid to take a moment to think about your answer: even ask if you can take a moment. Don’t rush yourself: take the time that you need to think about a problem fully. The same goes for if you are given something to translate in an interview; don’t feel that they are expecting you to translate it off the cuff. Take your time; remember your grammar.
3. Vocalise
Equally, if you want to talk through your thinking as you are working through a problem, that can be a helpful way of demonstrating your thought-process in real time.
4. Be Open-Minded
Don’t be afraid to adjust your ideas. University is not only about learning new information; it is also about adjusting what we previously thought as we encounter new ideas/people/data. If a interviewer presents you with evidence that disrupts your previous idea, it is perfectly fine to alter your thoughts in the face of this new evidence. You won’t look weak or out of your depth; rather, you are demonstrating that you are someone willing to grow intellectually.
5. Don’t Bluff
Be up-front about your personal statement / essays: if an interviewer asks you about something you don’t know about, or about a specific critic / author, don’t bluff – they will quickly work out that you have no clue! Be honest: if you don’t know, say so – often they will not expect you to know this particular fact / argument / book, but rather they are using it as a springboard for a new line of questioning.
6. Finished Product?
Along the same lines: don’t feel like you have to know everything about what you have written about / said that you are interested in. If you already knew everything there is to know about Herodotus or mosaics or Virgil, then there would be no point going to university in the first place! These interviews are often more about your demonstrating that you have the tools / mind that can facilitate learning, rather than a person who knows everything about the classics already.
7. Be Imaginative / Curious
If in doubt, dig deeper. There is always something more to say about a piece of literature or art, even if it’s a couplet or just a fragment of pottery. It’s no bad thing to be inventive, to say something crazy, to come up with a strange and original argument. Even if the interviewer might reveal that the truth is exactly the antithesis of what you had just said, they will appreciate both your courage and your creativity / originality.
8. Don’t Lie …
Or bend the truth; panic; lapse into silence. Even if the interview could not be going worse (in your opinion), there is always time to impress the interviewer. You cannot do that if you sulk or offer monosyllabic answers or say nothing at all.
9. Don’t Panic
If an interview doesn’t seem to be going your way, or you finish your call with a sinking feeling, don’t worry: all of your teachers will know somebody who bombed in one of their interviews, but managed to gain a place anyway. Again, it’s important to emphasise that you are not turning up to Oxford or Cambridge as the finished product: they don’t expect you to be that. You have to be resilient to get through a degree at these universities; it’s important to get back up even if you’ve been knocked down in an interview.
10. Don’t Ramble
Answer the question they have asked. You will plenty of time to tell them about that tangentially related piece of information about Virgil later. When offering examples, keep your answers short enough so that you don’t stumble over your own grammar / argument.
11. Enjoy Yourself
You are really privileged in even being invited for an interview at these universities. Make the most of this experience: give it your all in each and every interview, so that you can walk away knowing that you couldn’t have worked harder.
12. Show Your Passion
They want to see that you love (really love and care about) your subject: prove it with your enthusiasm and an open mind.
All the very best of luck for your interviews!
