Katie

I applied to Oxford because it has the reputation of being one of the most highly respected academic institutes in the world and I thought it would be exciting to be able to challenge myself to a new level. I knew other people from my school and also my brother, who already attended Oxford and loved it and I think that helped to persuade me that it might be the place for me. My school also encouraged me to think about Oxford if I was interested and I was able to talk to a specific teacher who had good experience with previous pupils who wanted to apply.

I visited Oxford during the science open weekend with a group of friends from school and took the opportunity to go round a number of colleges to get a feel for them and the surrounding city, as well as looking at the specific biochemistry department where I would be studying if my application was successful. During this time I decided on a number of colleges I would consider and then when I discussed these with my school I decided Somerville was the college I would like to apply to (it’s also one of the closest to the science area, which is helpful when there are 9 am lectures!)

My school set up a practice interview for me, which was very helpful (although it was actually more difficult than the real thing!) as it gave me the opportunity to think on my feet in an interview environment and to gain some experience of what the process might be like. The head teacher also went over multiple drafts of my UCAS statement with me in preparation for the application. I received ‘New Scientist’ through school, in which I read articles so that I felt up to date on developments in the scientific world and also made sure I was aware of recent advances by keeping abreast of the news in the papers. I had also read a couple of scientifically based novels I thought it might be interesting to talk about in interview.

I arrived at Somerville in the late afternoon and was advised to check the interview board to see when I was due to be interviewd, before heading out to dinner with my family. During the application process I did not have to sit any assessment tests I just had to attend two separate interviews. The first was in Somerville and was with the biochemistry tutor and although I was very nervous about it I quickly found that he was doing everything he could to make me feel comfortable to allow me to show myself to my true potential. The interview was more like an informal chat with someone who was interested in me and my skills rather than the grilling I was expecting. We covered a number of topics, a few of which I was asked to introduce so that my interviewer could see the areas that I was interested in, such as what I was currently covering in chemistry. The interview was interactive so I was at times asked to draw diagrams on paper and then to explain what I had done. If I made a mistake I was asked what I thought was wrong and had to think through where the problem occurred. I was also asked about the activities on my UCAS form and my interests outside academia.

My second interview the next day was at Oriel College, where I was questioned by both the biochemistry tutor and the chemistry tutor. I was given a piece of paper with diagrams on it and asked to explain what I thought I was looking at and why. We then covered some more in depth biochemistry related questions and some calculations and I was also asked to show my chemistry knowledge of some specific mechanisms.

Outside of the interviews I spent some time in my room, reading articles that I thought might be useful to bring up in interview and generally trying to keep myself busy so I couldn’t worry too much! There were organised events on in the college and I was able to go to the bar in the evening, where I met people who were also there on interview, which was helpful, as it was interesting to meet some new people and also to know that they were in the same situation as I was. There were also plenty of interviewee helpers around who I could ask for help and who took me to my interviews and tried to reassure me on the way, which was helpful because I knew they had had a similar experience to me and been successful in their application.

I think the main thing that helped me through the interview process was the fact that I knew I had prepared as well as I could because knowing that I was ready definitely helped to make me feel calmer. Since biochemistry isn’t something that you can study at A level it is not easy to try and guess the sort of things that you may be asked in an interview and overall I was surprised at how friendly the interviewers were and how I felt that they did want to see me prove myself rather than trying to catch me out, which is what I had expected. It really came across that the interviewers were looking at how teachable I was and whether I could work through problems and build on my mistakes to make progress, rather than expecting me to be able to answer tricky questions perfectly.

Overall although the interview process is a worrying time I found that the people who I met  and the way the interviews were handled made the experience much more bearable and by the time I had completed my interviews I was certain that Somerville was where I wanted to study for the next four years.