It's That Time of Year Again...

No, not Xmas or Hanukah, but……….. ‘Interview Time’.  Just as they come to the end of an exhausting term, which began with the induction of the ‘freshers’ in October, the academic staff of the colleges of the University of Oxford are gearing up again to choose next year’s intake.  No ‘eight week term’ for them, nor for all the college and university staff - the administrators, who organise this mammoth logistical undertaking, the porters, the catering teams and the scouts who have to clean the rooms.
Just to put it into perspective, last year the colleges of the University of Oxford received over 20,000 applications.  All of these applicants needed top scores (or predicted scores) in their A’level or equivalent exams just to attempt the selection process.  Next, in most cases, they needed to do a written test, taking the form of an aptitude test for those subjects which they had never studied before.  
Such is the University’s eagerness to leave no stone unturned and no prospective Einstein undiscovered, that 10,000 of these applicants were invited to come and stay at a college and be interviewed.  Moreover, they weren’t just interviewed once, but twice (at different colleges) and, in some cases, three times.  And all for just 3,200 undergraduate places!
The legendary Oxford Interview is really designed to give the applicant a taste of the Oxford Tutorial, the traditional hour a week which most Oxford students spend in close conversation with their Tutor.  Once at the University, they have to come to tutorials equipped with an essay or problem sheet that they have spent the previous week researching and writing.  For the interview, no essay, but a daunting leap into the unknown when they can be asked anything related to the subject they want to study.
To make the process a little less terrifying and to find out more about Interviews at Oxford, go to the University of Oxford’s website at https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/interviews?wssl=1 .  This will give you a real taste of what to expect as an interviewee.  It also gives some interesting insights into what the Tutors are looking for and contains some advice from former (successful) interviewees.