My History interview at Worcester College, Oxford
This article was written by Samuel, a team member of the French Project Access Team.
The Oxbridge interview process is undeniably a daunting one. Visiting a place you may never have been to before, meeting your ‘competition’, being questioned by some of the world’s leading minds… None of these may seem particularly appealing from the outside; but, surprisingly enough, I ended up enjoying my few days in Oxford quite a bit, and so did most other people there!
Perhaps the most important thing which is worth remembering is that the interview is a collaborative process rather than a combative one. It’s in the professors’ interest to see you at your best and performing well! They are, as difficult as it may be to recall in the moment, on your side, and are looking to help you shine rather than tear you down. They want to find out what you are capable of, and will do their best to put you at ease so you can perform. After all, the interview is essentially a replica of the tutorials taking place at Oxford and Cambridge normally (albeit perhaps a little more stressful). The entire tutorial system is meant to help you build your understanding through looking at your work in a new light and discussing it with experts; the same happens at interview, and you may even find (as I did) that you learn things in the process!
I interviewed at Oxford in 2016, applying to read History at Worcester College. In my first interview, with two professors who would go on to teach me throughout my degree, we started out by discussing the written work I had submitted as part of my application. This was focused on political and religious conflict in Lebanon, and I was asked to explain my logic and conclusions. After a few minutes of explaining, my interviewers paused and asked me to argue the exact opposite of what I had just put forward. I was a little startled, and stumbled a little initially, but it was a challenge I actually ended up finding quite interesting. From then the focus of the interview was expanded – rather than focusing solely on the facts of Lebanon, we discussed the concepts involved in a more abstract manner. What does it mean to belong to a certain group, ascribe to an identity, what causes bonds and cooperation between different communities to break down? These are just a few of the things that were covered in an interview that seemed to last an eternity, but looking back on it was no longer than around 20 minutes.
The second interview felt much easier after what I felt at the time was a grilling, and was conducted by two doctoral students. This was a source-based interview, which is used in History and some other subjects to complement the more ‘general’ interview focusing on the materials sent in with your actual application (whether this be written work, personal statement, or something else entirely). I was given 15 minutes by myself to read and think about a text on a subject I had never studied before (in this case, the history of gossip) before discussing it with the interviewers! This definitely felt less intense, if only because absolutely no prior knowledge whatsoever is assumed. It was in some ways rather like the History admissions test required of Oxford applicants, which tests your ability to analyse a whole range of unusual material.
Ultimately, the most important piece of advice I can give about the interview process is that preparation is absolutely essential, the more the better! Make sure that you know any books, historiographical debates or anything else you have mentioned in your personal statement well; this wasn’t covered in my interview, but could very well have been. Familiarise yourself with any work submitted as part of the application. How could you have improved your methodology? Are there any flaws in your argument or particularly strong counter-arguments, any data that could have helped you strengthen your conclusion? Anything you’ve written could be put under the microscope, so it’s important to know why you’ve written it in the first place. Also, practice! You’ll feel a lot more confident in the real thing if you’ve had a go at interviewing before. Get a teacher, friend, colleague or whoever you like to ask you some practice questions in an interview setting. My own practice sessions, and the questions asked, were very different to the real thing; but what matters is being comfortable answering questions and making arguments out loud in front of an interviewer.
And finally, although the interview seems like a daunting prospect, do your best to enjoy it! You’ll get to visit a beautiful city, enjoy the various fun events colleges put on for interviewees, exchange ideas with some of the world’s finest minds and meet fellow applicants who are passionate and inspiring. Regardless of whether you ultimately get an offer or not, the interview will make you develop new methods of analysis and ways of thinking, leaving you more prepared for whatever may come after.