Interviews at New College
Interviews at Oxford
Interviews are a central part of the University's admissions process, but not something that you need to worry about.
It's a handshake moment, where we assess whether you would be a good fit for Oxford, and you assess whether Oxford would be a good fit for you.
You will be interviewed by one or more tutors. They teach and research at the University and decide who studies here.
The teaching style is very different than at most universities, and the interview is an opportunity to experience that style, with a tutor who is usually a world-leading expert in their field.
Being invited to attend our interviews is a fantastic achievement in its own right, considering the number of strongly competitive applications that we receive each year.
We recommend going into the interview with the attitude that, even if things don't work out, you get to experience a special opportunity to chat to someone who really knows their stuff in an academic subject that you are passionately interested in. It's not an everyday experience!
Why does Oxford interview?
A good deal of the teaching at Oxford takes place in very small group meetings (usually 2 or 3 students to 1 tutor) called tutorials. Your interviewers - who may well be your future tutors - are using the interview to assess your ability to study, think, and learn in this kind of setting.
How are candidates shortlisted?
Oxford typically receives over 22,000 applications for around 3,300 places every year and shortlists approximately 10,000 candidates.
With so many more applications than places, it just isn't possible to interview everyone. The likelihood of getting an interview varies between subjects. For example, Maths tends to interview around 11% of its applicants, whilst History tends to interview around 71%.
Once it has been assessed that you have the correct predicted grades and taking the appropriate subjects (if stipulated), tutors will look at your Personal Statement, teacher reference, and any admissions test results (if required for that course). Please note that these last 2 elements are particularly important for tutors when shortlisting.
What to Expect
When will I know if I have an interview?
Shortlisted candidates will sit an online interview in early to mid-December. Invites are sent directly to candidates via email.
These are normally sent from mid-November onwards, up to one week before interview time.
Will I have more than one interview?
You are quite likely to have more than one interview.
Some subjects may invite candidates to more than one interview before their first interview has taken place. Other subjects may have 'initial interviews' and only be able to invite candidates to subsequent 'additional interviews' once the first interview is completed.
Notice of these additional interviews can sometimes be quite short but we aim to make sure that everyone has a minimum of 24 hours' notice before the scheduled time.
Sometimes you might get invited to interview by a college you did not apply to. This is part of our reallocation process, where applicants get moved around to make sure everyone interviewed has a similar chance of being made an offer.
Where will the interview take place?
Since interviews are online, it is up to candidates where they sit the interview.
We recommend that candidates take their interviews wherever they feel able to perform at their best.
This should be somewhere they have: reliable access to the required technology a quiet space
We hope that this will be either in their school or college, or their home or similar environment.
We are recommending to shortlisted candidates that they discuss this with their school or college as soon as they receive their invitation to interviews.
Whilst there is no expectation that Oxford interviews should take place at a student's school or college, we are aware that some applicants may benefit from enhanced school or college support.
This includes those with special requirements as a result of a disability, or those who have difficulty accessing the appropriate technology or a stable internet connection.
What technology is involved?
Interviews take place using Microsoft Teams. Some courses may require additional technology.
Further information about using this technology is available at ox.ac.uk/interviews, including video tutorials.
If candidates have any concerns about accessing technology, they should first contact their school or college. If further help is needed, candidates are asked to contact the New College Admissions Office as soon as possible.
Interviews for a small number of scientific courses may require a touchscreen device. We would like to make it clear that no candidate or their school will be expected to purchase such a device in order to participate in Oxford interviews.
Where necessary, colleges will discuss alternative arrangements with schools and applicants in order to find a practical solution for everyone involved.
The Interview
What are tutors looking for?
Tutors are looking for self-motivation, intellectual curiosity, independent thinking, and genuine enthusiasm for the subject.
Candidates will be judged on how they engage with new ideas beyond the scope of the school syllabus.
The only way to show off this engagement effectively is by articulating your thoughts, even if you ’ re not sure of the answer.
Silent candidates, or candidates giving oneword answers, will not be successful.
Decisions are not based on a candidate's appearance or background.
What sort of questions will be asked?
They will probably ask you a few simple questions to begin with: perhaps about something in your personal statement or why you have applied for a particular course.
They will then move on to questions about your subject.
They are unlikely to ask about anything to do with your hobbies, or unrelated extracurricular activities.
Depending on what is relevant for the course you are applying for, you may be given a text, a poem, a graph, or an image, and then asked to answer questions and comment on it.
You may be given these before the interview, and will be advised if there is anything in particular on which you need to focus.
Tutors may also refer to any written work that you were asked to submit.
Questions may be about the subjects that you are currently studying at school or college. However, you will also be offered opportunities to show whether you have read around the subject and to demonstrate your knowledge and interest beyond your syllabus.
What kind of answers are they looking for?
There may well be more than one right way to answer a question, in which case tutors will be more interested in exploring your thought
Remember they are trying to find out how you think, so anything you say will interest them. Please do not spout a pre-prepared or practised answer, this is the last thing tutors are interested in hearing.
Many questions are designed to test your ability to apply logic and reason to an idea you may never have encountered before. If you think you don’t know the answer to a question, don’t panic, but try and apply your mind to it – you may surprise yourself. You may also wish to explain that you haven’t covered that topic yet, but the key thing is to appear interested. Don’t play it cool because you ’ re nervous. Tutors absolutely love their subject and they want to teach people who love it too.
Sometimes tutors may suggest an alternative way of looking at a problem. They are looking for evidence that you are willing to engage with new ideas, and that you can be flexible in your thinking.
Often your answers will lead to a discussion and students sometimes feel they learn a lot in interviews – despite their nerves.
Interviewers are not trying to make you feel ignorant or catch you out, but to stretch you in order to assess your potential.
Don’t try and second guess what tutors are looking for – just be yourself.
Do I have to ask a question at the end?
Please don’t feel as though you must ask a question. If you are given the chance to ask your own questions at the end of the interview, this does not form any part of your assessment.
Practice Questions
Biology: Ladybirds are red. So are strawberries. Why?
Many Biological Sciences tutors use plant or animal specimens – often alive – as a starting point for questions and discussion, so applicants shouldn't be surprised if they are asked to inspect and discuss an insect or a fruit. Red can signal either 'don't eat me ' or 'eat me ' to consumers. I'm interested in seeing how applicants attempt to resolve this apparent paradox.
History: Imagine we had no records about the past at all, except everything to do with sporthow much of the past could we find out about? I would say this to a candidate who had mentioned an interest in sport on their personal statement, though it could equally be applied to an interest in something else – like film, drama, or music. What I would be looking for is to see how the candidate might use their imagination, building on something they know about (probably much more than I do) to tackle questions of historical research. Answers could relate to the racial/class/gender relations in society (who played the sports, and which sports, at any given time); international politics/empire (which countries were involved, did groups of countries play the same sport); economic development (the technological development of sports, how sport was watched); the values within a society (bloodthirsty sports to more genteel sports); health (participation rates); or many other issues – the list is long. I would usually ask supplementary questions, to push the students further – and often, I would have no answer in my mind, but would simply be interested in seeing how far the student could push their analysis.
Practice Questions
Economics: Do bankers deserve the pay they receive? And should government do something to limit how much they get?
Classical Archaeology and Ancient History: Why do archaeologists dig? What do you think the differences would be between studying an alphabetic vs a pictographic language?
Engineering: How would you design a gravity dam for holding back water?
English Language and Literature: JK Rowling has just published a book for adults after the hugely successful Harry Potter series. In what ways do you think that writing for children is different to writing for adults?
Experimental Psychology: Should interviews be used for selection?
Geography: If I were to visit the area where you live, what would I be interested in?
Law: Does law create morality or does morality create law?
Mathematics: Which is bigger: 8!1/8 OR 9!1/9?
Medicine: Which NHS department would you consider cutting and why?
Modern Languages: In a world where English is a global language, why learn French?
Music: If you could invent a new musical instrument, what kind of sound would it make?
Philosophy: What exactly do you think is involved in blaming someone?
PPE: Do you have good reason to believe that the sun will rise tomorrow?
Theology and Religion: Can atheists and theists engage in a truly meaningful dialogue?
Photographs by John Cairns
