Joy

St Hilda's

Oxford has been a dream – a castle on a cloud I would say, since a young age.  When I got to learn a bit more about the institution, the tutorial system of Oxford, in addition to its prestigious name, had become strong reasons behind my decision of applying.  Of course we know that Cambridge runs a similar system.  I picked Oxford simply because I like the city.  Honestly, the course itself did not really matter to me.

In terms of preparation, my high school had been extremely supportive.  My school teachers gave me literally unlimited support and advice for my personal statement.  In my UCAS terms, I had about four hours of small group discussion with other Oxbridge History candidates/ interview practice per week to get me prepared for the History Aptitude Test (HAT) and my interview.  I worked extremely hard in my own time as well.  Besides being very focused on my A2 course and producing (I would say) high standard essays, I also read around my subject.  My A2 course includes sixteenth century Britain and Totalitarianism in twentieth century Europe, so I have been reading books and journals – in addition to text books – in these areas.  I have also been reading on historiography.  The knowledge I acquired in this process allowed me to provide sound answers to challenging questions from my interviewers.  Yet, more importantly, they provided me with an opportunity to think more in depth about the many philosophical questions behind my subject, which was itself a very stimulating exercise and had helped my first year study immensely.

In early November, I sat the HAT.  You can find out about the format of the test and even past papers on the History Faculty Website so I would not like to repeat myself here.  I did not think I had done greatly in my test and I think it existed just so that the university did not have to interview everyone that applied.  As far as I am concerned, you interviewer would not ask you about your HAT performance during your interview.

During my stay in Oxford, I had two interviews, both in my college – St. Hilda’s.  In each interview, I had two interviewers who were tutors of the college (and therefore my current tutors!).  For my first interview, I have got a passage on factory workers in the nineteenth century – something I did not know much about – and I was asked to comment on it.  My interviewers then questioned me on the essay, which was on Stalinist Russia, I submitted earlier.  There were some questions which I could not answer, but I tried my best to work out the answers and the interviewers seemed to be quite pleased about my performance.  For my second interview, my interviewers questioned me on my personal statement and the English Reformation – a topic that I had been focusing on for my A2 course.  The interview went on really well and I was one of the few people who came out and thought I really enjoyed it.  Both interviewers lasted about thirty minutes and they gave me a taste of what tutorials would be like.

I have to admit that I had been very pathetic in terms of socializing in Oxford during my interview period.  I had been fairly ill over those few days and therefore did not go out at night.  Nonetheless, I met other interviewees and watched TV with them in the JCR (“The Bleak House”, educational enough)… that was good fun…

I am aware that many students who applied to Oxford would not have the training that I had.  Please do not let that put you off.  Many of my friends who are now studying here have not had such training, and they are doing very well.  The most important preparation is something that you can do on your own.  Discuss and even debate with your friends on academic topics and current affairs.  Read around your subject.  For historians, join the OU History online forum and ask current students for advice!  They are more than happy to help.

And surely you have done the right thing by visiting this website!