Caron

I'd had my sights set on Oxford since childhood - I was in awe of the university's reputation and the architectural beauty. Later research revealed the amazing libraries, the close college communities, quaint traditions, the unrivalled job prospects for its graduates. OUSU's Alternative Prospectus was
invaluable for getting a glimpse of real student life - eating pot noodles in world famous buildings, discussing philosphical condundrums with some of the cleverest students in the country? - I was hooked.

Prior to the application season, I read and re-read Elfi Pallis's 'Oxbridge Entrace: The Real Rules' (on sale in most bookshops) which was bursting with tips on absolutely everything. I'd had a mock interview which didn't go terribly well and they politely told me I had no chance. My exam results
weren't perfect either so I was determined to compensate by doing well on the law aptitude test (the LNAT), which I sat in November at the local driving test centre. I found this quite enjoyable in that its material and multi-choice format was a refreshing change from the endless diet of A-level past papers, although I had done several timed practices on the LNAT website.

When I was called up for interview, I spent the first night in my allocated room telling the mirror why I wanted to study law and why it was an important subject. The tutors probably guessed that I'd merely be regurgitating my personal statement so annoyingly they didn't ask me any of this at the first interview the next morning. There were two of them in a room full of law books, and after a brief
ice-breaker about extra-curricular balance, they dived straight in: suppose I was the legislator in an imaginary country, what would I rule if a person did x? Really? But how about if there
was an x? Would that still work if....But hang on, didn't you say...? It was essentially a 20 minute cross-examination in which you had to stay absolutely on the ball in order to keep up. I got the impression that they weren't really concerned with what decisions I proposed, more whether I could
back them up logically in ever more complicated scenarios. The second interview, with a different pair of tutors, was much the same, but dealing with problems raised in (what I now know to be) two famous legal cases. I felt I'd stayed afloat in the first interview, though I wasn't even convinced of my own logic in the second, and was afraid I'd sounded panicked and out of my depth.

That night all the interviewees found themsleves in the JCR comparing experiences, talking about school, Christmas, and how nervous they were. Everyone said they were certain they weren't going to get in (it's ironic looking back and seeing how many of my Oxford friends I met for the first time that night!). The second year helpers took us out to a bar and put on a film (Shrek) to calm us all down. The next day I went for a long walk round Oxford in the freezing cold, waiting to find out if I was to be re-interviewed or allowed to go home. In the end, I was back on the train the next morning, complete with hangover. It was just after new year when the one of the interviewing tutors phoned (whilst I was in a supermarket) to tell me I'd got a conditional offer.

In retrospect, one thing that would have helped was to have been more familiar with concepts raised in some legendary legal cases, and to have practiced articulating my views on those decisions in order to gain more confidence. But all in all, the interview period had been strangely enjoyable, especially getting a few days off school to go and feel terribly sophisticated. The first interview had given me a real buzz (I'd never been as stretched or had to think so quickly before), and the experience of being surrounded by world-class intellectuals, beautiful buildings and other people your own age full of the same worries and aspirations, was hugely uplifting.