Volume 23, Number 2, November 2013
Politics at uni
A student’s perspective on the
Oxbridge interview
Anna Bazley
The idea of Oxbridge interviews can seem daunting. Being questioned by some of the most intelligent
people on the planet on subjects that they are experts in — when you may only have a passing
knowledge — seems an intimidating prospect. In politics interviews especially, the wide range of
potential topics intersecting with other subject areas, such as philosophy, economics, sociology and
history, means that the breadth of potential questions can be overwhelming. You can’t plan for every
possible line of questioning.
However, the interview itself is a lot less scary than you might think. For a start, when your brain is
occupied with trying to answer an obscure question, it doesn’t leave much room to be nervous. The
moments before my interview were some of the most nerve-wracking of my life, but the adrenaline
helped me to be alert once I got into the interview. I was soon preoccupied with issues of secularism
and the EU, rather than with the butterflies in my stomach.
How difficult are the questions?
There’s no point in pretending that Oxbridge interviews are not tough — they have to be, in order to
achieve their aim of finding those students who will flourish under the systems of tutorials and
supervisions. But they are not meant to be intimidating, or to leave you with nothing to say. This would
defeat their aim. In my interview, during the conversation on secularism, I inadvisably referred to ‘the
Troubles’ in Northern Ireland and my Northern Irish interviewer kindly steered me away.
The interviewers don’t want to belittle you or intimidate you with their knowledge, although of course
they will be more knowledgeable than you. They might introduce topics that are unfamiliar, but this is
not to test your knowledge — they need to understand how you think and work through new problems.
However, they are unlikely to pick a subject completely out of the blue.
In my interview, the discussion of the democratic transition of Ukraine developed to cover the
democratic transitions of other states in various situations, for example states emerging from
colonialism or fascism, as well as post-Soviet states. This allowed me to demonstrate that I could
perform comparative political analysis by isolating trends, differences and similarities.
This experience appears to be widespread. Emily Buckland, of St Peter’s College, Oxford, recalls
being asked at interview to compare the legal systems of the UK, the USA and states in Africa. The
interview not only tests your knowledge in those subject areas where you’ve already applied yourself,
but aims to stretch you and allow you to apply your knowledge to new situations.
Philip Allan Updates © 2013
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How important is your personal statement?
Everyone that I’ve spoken to has said that their interview was closely based around their personal
statement. Michael Comba, also of St Peter’s College Oxford, remembers his interview as ‘based
almost entirely on my personal statement (Northern Ireland and the Winter of Discontent). With
regards to A-level, there was basically nothing related to the interview from what I remembered’.
Emily agrees that the A-level was perhaps only pertinent for questions on the government of the UK or
the USA and even then ‘nothing that a bit of current affairs or background reading couldn't tell you’.
So, a word of advice — make sure that the things you write about in your personal statement are
areas of knowledge that you will be able to talk about and that are perhaps distinct from, or an
extension of, what you’ve been studying at A-level.
In a subject such as politics where there is a wide range of potential questions, and students may not
have studied the subject before, interviewers must find topics based on what you tell them. The
usefulness of the personal statement has been questioned, some admissions tutors claiming ‘never to
read them’. However, my own experience and that of other politics undergraduates I know is that the
statement is used in interviews. I took mine with me to my interview and read through it about 15
minutes beforehand to ensure that I knew it completely — a tactic I would recommend.
What should you wear?
My fears of cross-examinations by tutors may have been unfounded but as my interview approached, I
became increasingly preoccupied with far more trivial factors. One thing that worried me was what I
was going to wear. Though the interview guidelines recommend smart casual, this is just a guideline.
What you wear appears to have little or no impact on the conclusions of the interviewer. This was
outlined by Tom Rutland, president of the Oxford Students’ Union, in a letter to the Independent in
which he stated ‘I can confirm that an applicant who occasionally drops “like” into sentences and
wears a T-shirt, jeans and trainers can pass an interview — because I was such an applicant. It’s
about what you say, not the way you talk or what you wear’.
Your clothing choice may affect the outcome but only in that it may affect how you feel. Unlike Tom, I
wore a formal trouser suit because it gave me confidence. You should decide what to wear based on
what makes you feel confident and comfortable.
How long does an interview take?
Though an Oxbridge interview may seem like the most nerve-wracking experience of your life so far,
remember that it will be over within about 20 minutes, and you may even find yourself enjoying it.
Anna Bazley is reading history and politics at St Peter’s College, Oxford
Philip Allan Updates © 2013
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