What types of questions can be asked in an Oxbridge interview?

Whilst there will be knowledge-based questions, the Oxbridge interview is NOT a knowledge-test; it is a SKILLS-based interview.

Knowledge obviously helps in exhibiting higher-order thinking, but I find that potentially strong candidates end up being weak because:

• They spend all their time reading more and more books, accumulating KNOWLEDGE and FACTS, but forget to THINK about what they are learning. And thus come unstuck in an interview that is about HOW and WHAT you THINK about what you KNOW

Knowledge is only power if you know how to use it. Simply possessing it is not enough.

You must remember or consider WHY the Oxbridge colleges have decided to interview you. If all they wanted you to know was WHAT you know, your KNOWLEDGE, they could simply give you a knowledge paper-based or indeed electronic test, which would be much more time efficient. Then they could simply select the top X candidates from the results. The interview exists because they re trying to learn more than that. They are trying to see a side to you that can ONLY be assessed by meeting you.

In all your preparation for your interview, you should think about your SKILLS that make you suitable for the chosen degree and strengthening these, rather than you are accumulating more advanced knowledge, per se.

In this regard, preparing for, and indeed getting better at, interviews is not a quick fix. It is a slow burn, that the sooner one starts to work on, the more scope there is for improvement.

Having both been part of the process myself, but also had hundreds of applicants come back and give me feedback on what they were asked, I have disaggregated interview questions, into some broad types:

• Type 1: Your island questions: Your island is your Personal Statement. It is your interests, your passions, your topics. I once heard an Oxbridge Economics Director of Studies say that he added ‘zero to negative weight’ on responses to these questions. That is to say, this is your Island. You should easily be able to answer these. If you can’t do this bit, there’s no hope for you on the other parts of the question. So, answer these well, and you are at Zero. Answer them badly, and you are in negative territory. I think this is about right. He was exaggerating for effect I am sure, but it illustrates a key point. You have to be well prepared on YOUR material, at the very least. 

• Type 2: There may be a tweak on this style of questions, whereby once we’ve stablished what your island is, the interviewer will wish to visit a part of your island that you may not have been to before. This could mean looking at your topic of interest through a different lens, a different perspective, a different application of the key concepts, or seeing if you have pondered limitations or further developments in your topic of interest. Thinking of it as exploring the shore on your island, trying to see how you handle swimming around the island.

• Type 3: The interview’s island questions: These are questions on topics that you will not be prepared for. You can’t predict this part of the interview. What you can prepare for is how are going to approach these questions, and handle them. Here the interviewer is trying to benchmark all candidates, by giving them the same unfamiliar island of questions and seeing how you progress. 

• Type 4: Swimming between the islands, against the tide : These questions very much test your resilience. The interview knows you are going to struggle, they know you are out of your depth. They want to assess how you handle that. Do you try, try and try again? Do you get stuck, reverse, spot errors in your approach, reverse, knock on another door… ? Or do you give up quite quickly? Your performance on these set of questions will probably be the most important thing the interviewer can learn about you, that they can’t assess from the other parts of the application process. They will learn what kind of undergraduate you will be - because this type of interview most closely represents academic university life, if not, Life in general!

You should have these 4 questions in mind when you are learning new material, reading a new book, watching a lecture; indeed the hallmark of intellectual curiosity is to constantly be THINKING about what you LEARNING.

For an Economics-related degree, like straight Economics / E&M / PPE, here are common types of questions:

• Give you an article to read before hand to summarise: Skill tested: Ability to synthesis ideas and summarise key concepts / articulate them. This is the essence of what you will be doing given the length of reading lists and number of assignments you will be set weekly in your Oxbridge degree

• Solve a maths question: It is highly likely that you will be given AT LEAST ONE maths questions, if not two. Now, remember, they already know from your A-level Maths or your Entrance Test whether your standard maths ability is good enough. So why ask a Maths question in an interview? They must be looking to learn something more. This something is often HOW YOU EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWERS, because this gives an insight into the way your mind works. If all they wanted was the answer, they could have set the question in the entrance test. 

• Common Maths style questions revolve around:

  • Curve sketching

  • Integration

  • Differentiation

• A discursive, normative topic to discuss: here they want to see how you handle grey areas, where its not a clear cut answer. Are you able to intellectually joust, are you able to hold a position, defend it under intellectual criticism, are you able to spot weak critiques of your position? Here  a strong candidate will know how far to defend a position and when to cede parts or indeed all of a position. Those that are well versed in the skill of debate will find these types of questions very accessible, whereas those who are ‘simply’ gifted mathematicians may find this an Achilles’ heel.

You should read this page and give an honest assessment of your strengths but critically where your weaknesses lie. Too many candidates spend time reinforcing their strengths in their preparation but forget to focus on their weaknesseses. This reminds me of this great example of contrary thinking from Black Box Thinking: Airplanes Syed example holes.

In an Oxbridge interview, once they have discovered something is a strength of yours, they will move on swiftly on to another competency. They learn nothing by asking you more questions on a strength you have identified. They want to see where you weaknesses are and how you handle being pressed on those.

I don’t know anyone who came out of an Oxbridge interview and said it was easy. You should expect it to be difficult. There’s a reason it is so competitive! But a difficult interview need not mean it is not enjoyable. It is fun and enjoyable to intellectually joust in your chosen subject, with an expert in the field. It will be difficult at times, but also enjoyable. It may be uneasy at times, uncomfortable being out of your depth, but when the fight or flight assessment kicks in, hopefully you will choose to fight.

They will push you until they realise you have reached breaking point or past it (intellectually!). And then will benchmark this against your competitors.