If you’re lucky enough to get an interview here, it
can seem like another difficult hurdle to jump. Oxford interviews
are infamous for their pressure and Oxford dons asking impossible/trick
questions, but fear not, yes they can be challenging, but
in actual fact, they’re a nice break from AS level revision,
a great chance to see the college and meet students and they’re
invariably less scary than you expect, especially as the JCR
officers organise evening events to keep you occupied! Forget
the horror stories you’ve heard about interviews so
far and take it from some people who’ve experienced
them for themselves….
Interview profiles
Name: Lucy Crehan Subject: PPP Year: 2nd
"I couldn’t make the interview dates I was supposed to because I was in a show so I just came up for a day and had one interview with two tutors. I felt a bit jittery waiting around beforehand but once the interview started my adrenaline carried me through. They didn’t ask any nasty questions or try to catch me out, for philosophy she just asked me to talk about a topic I was interested in, for which I chose a topic from an essay I’d just written for A-level, and the psychology part included asking me some questions on scientific methods."
Name: Sarah Slater Subject: Modern Languages Year: 2nd
"I had heard all the nightmare stories about the Oxford interview process before I came up, but actually it wasn’t nearly as terrifying as everyone makes out. I had two interviews for my subject, both in Balliol. In one I was really tested but it was quite satisfying to know that they had pushed my to my full potential. Its also nearly impossible to know how you've done; I was sent home early and thought this was a bad sign, but actually there's no way of knowing what they have decided."
If you want to ask students questions specific to your subject,
please email the JCR Admissions Officers
(jcr.admissions@balliol.ox.ac.uk)
and they’ll put you in touch with someone suitable.
Its probably the best way to gauge what your specific interviews
will be like.
