Segolène's Geography Interview at Oxford

Hi! I am Ségolène, and I interviewed at Christchurch, University of Oxford in December 2018 for Geography. 

I enjoyed my interviews at Oxford. My interviews ran from Monday and to Tuesday, so I decided to fly from France on Saturday in case anything happened. I stayed at an Airbnb on Saturday night and spent most of my day on Sunday relaxing. I visited Oxford and treated myself to a nice brunch, before going to Christchurch at the end of the afternoon.  After checking in, I got taken to my room. I was surprised at how nice and spacious it was (the room definitely gave me unrealistic expectations for what to expect this year!).

My first interview was at 11 o’clock the following morning. I attended a subject ‘tea’ after dinner on Sunday night, where all of the prospective Christchurch geography applicants were run through the format of the interviews, and got to ask questions. This was really helpful and gave me the opportunity to socialise with the other applicants. I called it a night afterwards, wanting to be fresh and ready for the next day. 

Despite the fact that I slept really well, the nerves definitely started to kick in the next morning. I spent most of my time reading over my notes before heading to my interview. Both of my interviewers were lovely and really tried to put me at ease. I came out of the interview feeling relieved that I had done half of them already, and frankly exhausted, so I spent most of my afternoon napping and relaxing in my room. That evening, a pub quiz was organised, which gave me an opportunity to see more the of the people that I had met earlier. 

My final interview was on Tuesday morning. This was physical geography, and as a human geographer, it was definitely the one that I was the most nervous for! The interview itself was surprising: surprising because I came out thinking that it went better than my human geography interview, and because the interviewers were so lovely, even offering me a glass of sparkling water (which, at the time, I thought was quite extra). I had to stay in Oxford until the end of the afternoon to hear whether or not I had been pooled, and was able to leave in the early evening.

 I definitely enjoyed my experience at interviews. I chose to purposely stay quite secluded in college to focus on my interviews, and because that is how I deal with stress best. My experience might therefore not have been as sociable as others: some people form lasting friendships at interviews! Don’t feel pressured to mingle with others if you don’t want to, but certainly make the most of the activities that are organised, and don’t hesitate to ask the student helpers for help if needed. Everyone is so welcoming and always there to have a chat with you if needed.

Best of luck!