Lorna

Balliol College

Although I initially wasn’t keen on the idea of Oxbridge for a number of reasons (including some unfounded prejudices!), I realised that if you are fortunate enough to have the academic ability to apply, you mustn’t let the opportunity pass by.  It is one of the best universities in the world, and you can’t put a value on the academic and personal experiences you will have here.  Far from the common perception of its being a stuffy institution, Oxford is the most diverse, exciting, and liberal community I’ve ever lived in, and people, situations and experiences here constantly contradict just about every negative stereotype you might encounter.  I was attracted to Oxford specifically because it seemed to be a more exciting city than Cambridge, and for some unknown reason just appealed to me more! 

There was an ‘Oxbridge Applicants’ scheme at my sixth form college, which met throughout the year to discuss applications, colleges, and debate on broader intellectual issues.  As I had originally decided not to apply to Oxford or Cambridge, I didn’t make use of this resource until just before my interview, but I would strongly recommend to people with access to similar guidance that they take advantage of it.  It’s a useful academic exercise, if nothing else, and certainly won’t harm your application.  Whilst it’s not possible to be coached to a required standard for acceptance to the university, the sort of guidance you can get from your careers service at high school or sixth form can help you to feel more confident and relaxed in your application, and give you useful tips for preparation. 

I did two specific things to prepare for my interview; the first was to make sure I wrote about authors and themes which I found genuinely exciting in my personal statement, and the second was to read or re-read a few of these things to make sure I could offer some ideas for intelligent discussion.  I think that these are two of the most important things you can do, as you can’t fake enthusiasm for your subject, and the tutors will use your personal statement to construct your interview questions.   I wouldn’t recommend spending much time reading secondary literature just to prepare for interview, as your own ideas are the most important factor in the selection process, and are the thing that will set you apart from fellow applicants.  Let your interview be guided by discussion of ideas about your favourite authors and the tutors will be able to draw out your natural ability.  They have years of experience identifying candidates with the potential to do well, and formal training in interview techniques, and there are no ‘trick’ questions.  I found that answering everything as honestly as possible, and by going with my instinctive response to a question, rather than over thinking it, helped the interview to go smoothly.  Also, being asked difficult questions is a sign that things are going well, as the tutors will want to take you as far as possible in discussion of certain themes and ideas, in order to assess your potential.  So don’t worry if there are some things you can’t answer, and don’t be afraid to ask the tutors to repeat or rephrase a question.

I had one interview at Balliol.  We were given an untitled poem to read a couple of hours prior to the interview.  The first questions in the interview were based around my personal statement, and the two essays we’d been asked to send in a few weeks earlier.  The tutors then led a discussion about the poem I’d been asked to read.  I also had two interviews at St. Peters, which both followed a very similar format of looking at and then discussing some unseen poetry.  Balliol JCR had organised plenty of things to do in the evenings, and everybody got involved.  It was nice to meet new people and helps everybody to relax in a potentially stressful situation.  The interviews teams are always really friendly and helpful, and it’s their job to make you feel welcome.  It was a really fun experience, once I got over my initial nervousness, and realised that there‘s actually nothing to worry about.