"How do I prepare for my Oxbridge Application and Interview? What was it like?" - Anonymous, The Student Room

Oxbridge tutors consider each application individually, and are merely searching for students who possess intellectual curiosity of the subject matter and whether they see signs of potential. Therefore I'm going to identify the three main areas of focus: Personal Statement - a way to show the course administrator a little more about yourself personally and why you should be chosen for the course over other applicants. Perhaps begin with a quote from a particular academic journal and suggest why this has sparked your intellectual curiosity. Refrain from using thing like “Since I was young I was interested in…” or “I have always wanted to be a…”. Weave in particulars of the course which interest you, however refrain from including elements which are not offered as a module in the course, since tutors may assume you are not interested or have done little research. Pre-Interview Tests and Written Work - often students jump into revision for interviews before doing the necessary revision for these important tests. The good old saying, don’t run before you can walk always comes to mind in this circumstance. Make sure you understand what the questions are asking, for example in the TSA, you need to know the key terminology such as how an 'assumption' and 'conclusion' relates and applies to certain stimuli. Further, make sure you are up to date with the structure of certain tests as these do change periodically, these can be found on both the Cambridge and Oxford websites. Interview Preparation - your interview is not necessarily just about nailing the correct answer. Often said questions are worded in such a way that they are not searching for one answer, but instead provoke the candidate to reflect more widely in order to create a discussion with the interviewers. They are therefore searching for potential and they want to see that you can think, especially when its a subject area you have never encountered before. As a result, you must talk though your thought processes - which is a difficult skill in itself -but do not be afraid of asking the interviewer(s) for clarity, a definition or even to repeat the question (they may not seem it, but they are human too!). You have likely chosen or been allocated a college, however this works in your favour. Search the website for the subject professor(s) in your selected college and read around their interests and areas of research, since it is likely that they will be interviewing you... and the tutors are unlikely to throw questions at you on a topic that they know little about. Questions about your personal statement are quite rare, but make sure you know what you've said and make sure you've read books if you've mentioned them. It is likely that you will be given stimuli in your interview, such as graphs, maps, photos, equations etc., so make sure you can talk through them, looking at the small details, conclusions you could draw, strengths, weaknesses and trends. So don't just revise your personal statement. Overall the Oxbridge Application process is actually quite an enjoyable experience, but the interviews are far from job interviews. Whilst others had quite contrasting experiences, my interviews felt like a couple of friendly chats with intellectuals at the top of their field who shared a similar interest to me. Whilst I left feeling quite drained and intellectually pushed, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience which I would relive in a heartbeat.