<p>I heard they're to test how you think.</p>
<p>How so? I've never had oral examinations before... have no idea how they're conducted. That sounds very, very intimidating and not at all chatty like I've heard U.S. schools' interview are.</p>
<p>a remember a couple of my seniors who told me a little about their oxford interviews. they got in, by the way.</p>
<p>this guy wanted to do engineering, and he was given a question (or maybe more) that he had to work out on the spot. some high-level physics question or something like that. so basically the interviewers just grilled him about his knowledge of the subject. he said it wasn't that bad though, when he got stumped on one of the questions, the interviewers actually helped him out. so he got to learn something new in the process too.</p>
<p>another one of my seniors wanted to do PPE, so before going into the interview she had to answer this test kind of thing.. she said it wasn't too tough (but then again she'd already studied economics for a levels so it wasn't much of a problem for her), and i can't remember what she said about the interview except that it was basically a discussion about economics/law and politics/philosophy or something like that.</p>
<p>the bottom line is that the interviewers expect you to be very knowledgeable about the subject (as in, whatever you plan to major in). okay, that sounds a little contradictory, because the point of studying it in uni is to learn more about the subject right, so why should they expect you to already know that much? well i guess they're looking for people who are not only smart but also articulate, able to think critically, and can demonstrate passion for the subject.</p>
<p>don't take my word for it that much cause i obviously know very little about this thing, but i hope that helped out. i'm sure other people here on cc can give a much better and more comprehensive answer.</p>
<p><a href="http://oxbridge-admissions.info/profiles/%5B/url%5D">http://oxbridge-admissions.info/profiles/</a></p>
<p>The above link takes to a site where there are lots of student reviews about their interviews. They don't expect you to know all the answers, it's more about how you think. For example, for my interview (Natural Sciences at Cambridge) I was shown a slide of s cell with lots of mitochondria. They (two interviewers) asked me if I knew what kind of cell it might be. I said I didn't but since it had lots of mitochodria it must need lots of engery, so it was probably from a large muscle. The Interviewers asked me what kind of muscle, and I said leg, or things. they said no, a more energy expensive form of movement than that. It was a bat's wing muscle (I did get in).</p>
<p>o gosh.... I'd do so many things (maybe not kill, exactly) to do PPE.
But my school teaches... one semester of economics and AP US Gov... and no philosophy. Compared to an A-Level student I'd be the equivalent of a five-year-old.</p>
<p>From my interview (I am a 1st year student at Oxford):</p>
<p>You sit down, with 3 interviewers who grill you on academic questions. Nothing else. The goal is to see how you think.</p>
<p>Unlike in the US, they dont give a **** about Extra-Curriculars, so dont bother preparing much on those.</p>
<p>By the way, only a minority of the ppl who apply for PPE study politics or philosophy A level, the dons are not trying to see what you know, but rather what your potential is, - how you think, It is very hard to prepare for an Oxbridge Interview.</p>
<p>I,e, one question I heard: Can those who believe in life after death rationally reject the possibility of life before birth.</p>
<p>Dude. That is such a scary question-- and, though it is unanswerable, so much rides on it!</p>
<p>And how funny that my grades at a US school are great and worthy but my ECs will probably keep me out of the few places I might want to go (that is, Yale; I'm much too uninteresting for them), and to Oxford they'd just be a waste of time.</p>
<p>This is overwhelming. But motivating!
Thanks, all.</p>
<p>The Cambridge undergraduate admissions site has a few mock interview videos which might be useful to you.</p>
<p>emma college's website has mock interviews for each subject. its the 2nd most selective college btw</p>
<p>
[quote]
my ECs will probably keep me out of the few places I might want to go (that is, Yale; I'm much too uninteresting for them)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>are you sure? you're still giving it a go though, aren't you? you never know.</p>
<p>I appreciate your encouragement but I'm only a junior! Just being pragmatic for next year; also am living vicariously through a dear friend who is also applying this October.</p>
<p>you've got nothing to lose anyway. :) i hope your friend gets in.</p>
<p>What's your maths like? The economics part of Oxford PPE is heavily maths-based so if it's not too late it would definitely be worth taking some AP maths courses. It might boost your chances and also make it easier to keep up if you were to get in.</p>
<p>Can anyone out there answer a question about post-Q and pre-Q? My D is interested in Oxford and has 2 SAT II's (800 and 800) and 3 AP's (5,5,5) - is she post or pre? thanks!</p>
<p>Also, if an American student gets a conditional offer, that means that the student does not know until AP scores are out (July) whether or not they will be accepted for sure to Oxford. But if the answer is no, July is way too late to get into any other US college, because the reply date for US schools is May 1. Or am I missing something?</p>
<p>What's post-/pre-Q?</p>
<p>If you get a conditional offer, put a deposit down at an American school. If you don't get the grades, stay in the States. Otherwise, tell the school you won't be coming, and head to the UK in October.</p>
<p>I expect the question is whether someone who has 3 APs would received a conditional or unconditional offer. The answer is, it depends. I've certainly read of American applicants who have had some APs in the bag but with others still to be completed and they've been given a conditional offer dependent on the APs still outstanding. That will particularly be the case if those APs are relevant to the subject the applicant wants to read.</p>
<p>if she is yet to finish high school, especially if she is to take APs in her final year, then in all probability she will be pre-Q and they may well choose to make a "conditional offer". However, they could be satisfied that her current qualifications are sufficient and make an unconditional offer.</p>
<p>And yes, the timing is a bit of a issue, but you can always put down a 'back up' choice for another UK uni that requires lesser grades, or put a deposit down at a US school.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. I appreciate it.</p>
<p>My interview (Theology at Oxford, but I assume the process would be similar for any arts subject - Classics, History, English, etc.):</p>
<p>I had three, two at my first-choice college, which I will ultimately attend, and one at a randomly selected second-choice college. In each, I was given a piece of primary source material (a passage from the Old Testament, one from the New Testament, and a copy of the Nicene Creed), and was, after a reading period of ten minutes, called in to discuss it one-on-one with a tutor. What followed was a mixture of tutorial, debate, and examination, as I was asked to talk about the historical, literary, and theological context of the piece (ie, questions of authorship, dating the piece, similarities and differences, linguistic constructions, implications for doctrine.) Much of it was close-reading analysis, line-by-line. While I certainly didn't get every question right first-off, the tutors gave me pointed questions/hints and really tried to lead me in various directions, and wanted to see how I defended my arguments. (Every point I made was answered with a "Why?" or a "Well, in that case, how would you react to...") It was quite enjoyable in the end - I would almost say that for anyone with enough interest in a subject to spend doing nothing but that subject for three or four years, the interviews are worthwhile experiences in and of themselves!</p>
<p>Note - I flew over to the UK for my interview, so I can't speak for the internationally held interviews. I've heard they might be somewhat different.</p>
<p>As for the Pre/Post-Quals situation, I did four APs and applied post-quals....so that worked...</p>
<p>Question: Does Oxford really like American students better than Cambridge?</p>