Oxford University tries to interview as many applicants as possible, but inevitably due to numbers some people are not called for interview. You will find out in late October or November whether you have moved on to this next stage of the applications procedure.

The interviews take place in December, and the timetable for them is set well beforehand. It can be found on the OCAO website. The criteria used to assess candidates differs from subject to subject, and can be found here.

Many of the Students' Pages in our Subject Guide will give you more information on what to expect from the interviews in your subject.

Basic facts about Oxford interviews

More than 85 per cent of applicants to Oxford from the UK and Europe are invited for interview (though this is lower in some subjects such as Medicine and Law where candidates will have sat aptitute tests before the interviews period). For most courses, applicants from outside Europe are not required to come for interview, although some do choose to come to Oxford. However, overseas applicants for Medicine must, if invited, be interviewed in Oxford.

The interviews take place in the first half of December, and most applicants are in Oxford for two or three days. This is your chance to find out what living in an Oxford college is like. At Magdalen, like in a number of other colleges, a team of current students is on hand to look after you and to help you with any issues you have - we are all very friendly, so there is nothing to worry about!

The purpose of the interviews is to find out more about you than tutors can learn from your application form (and any written work). We will assess your abilities and, most importantly, your potential. Remember that almost every applicant has good previous examination results and predicted grades; even school reports differ less than you might imagine. However, the interview is only part of the selection process, so do not think that it is all that matters.

Who interviews you and how many interviews are there?

You will be interviewed at the college you applied to, or, if you submitted an open application, at your allocated college. Most college interviews take roughly the same form, although individual tutors conduct their interviews in the way they find most useful for assessing their candidates. Many tutors will ask all their applicants to a brief meeting before the interviews begin. Here, they will tell you how the interviews will be conducted and perhaps offer a few words of advice.

You will be interviewed in your college by the tutors who will be responsible for your academic career if you are offered a place at Oxford. They are experts in one aspect of the degree course you are applying to study. If you are applying for a Joint Honours course, you should expect to be interviewed by tutors from each of the component disciplines. Most applicants will have one or two interviews in their college, lasting 20-30 minutes each. In some colleges, candidates will also attend short general interviews with a senior fellow. In addition, you may be invited to an interview in another college (to see a tutor who teaches topics in a joint course for your college for instance, or, in the case of Engineering or Mathematics, because all candidates coming to Oxford for interview are seen by tutors from two separate colleges).

It is not usual to have college interviews with a panel of interviewers (three or more), but in some colleges tutors in joint courses (PPE for example) find it useful to interview in a small team. If you are to be interviewed by a panel, you will be told about this in advance of the interview. In other subjects (Human Sciences, Chemistry, Experimental Psychology and PPP for example), candidates may be invited to faculty interviews. These are arranged so that as many college tutors as possible can see you in the least time-consuming way and will probably involve a small panel. Don't be put off by this: it is part of Oxford's commitment to try to make sure that the most promising applicants across the whole University are offered the available places. In this same spirit, many applicants are asked to interviews at second and third colleges. You should regard these as further opportunities to make an impression. It will not mean that your first college is not interested in offering you a place.

What should you wear?

The best rule to follow is to wear whatever you feel comfortable in. Casual clothes are fine. Most tutors will not dress up for you, so it is not necessary to dress formally. Remember that you are not being assessed on your clothes or haircut! On the other hand, it is inadvisable to look deliberately scruffy; it is hardly an indication of your commitment to the whole process.

Where will you be interviewed?

Most interviews take place in tutors' rooms in your college. Don't let the historic buildings put you off or make you feel that you won't fit in. It is your academic potential not your manners or etiquette that the interview is all about. You may be offered a seat at a table or in an armchair. Take the time to settle yourself in and get comfortable before you make eye contact and the interview can begin!

Try to be confident (but not over-confident)

Interviewers expect you to be nervous and will try to help you to relax at the beginning of the interview. You have to find a balance between hardly daring to say anything (for fear of saying something silly) and answering questions without thinking carefully about whether what you say makes sense.

The interview

As you would expect, the purpose of any interview is to assess your understanding of or potential for your subject, and to give you the opportunity of explaining why you are committed to studying it for three or four years. The basis for this discussion will usually be the subjects you are currently studying at school or college. However, you are also likely to be offered opportunities to show whether you read around the subject and whether you have a general interest in it outside your syllabus.

If you are applying for a course not normally studied at school (such as Medicine or Law, Biochemistry or Oriental Languages), you should be prepared to show some background knowledge of the subject, though you will not be expected to have detailed understanding of specific or technical topics. You may be asked what role your subject plays in society and how you came to be interested in it. For these subjects, the topics for discussion are likely to allow you to demonstrate the skills needed by an undergraduate: the ability to use information to construct your own opinions, the willingness and ability to analyse and, in the Sciences and Mathematics, facility in problem solving. It is quite likely, especially in Arts subjects, that you will be given some material to read immediately before the interview. Don't waste your time trying to guess what questions you will be asked on it. Concentrate on reading it very carefully; you will be advised if there is anything special on which you need to focus.

If you are asked a factual question about which you know nothing or haven't considered before, don't panic. You could say honestly 'We haven't covered that topic yet' or 'I haven't read much about that'. However, in many subjects the application of logic and common sense to an idea you will never have encountered before is what the questions are designed to test. Allow the tutors to lead you if necessary and ask if you don't understand a question.

Interviewers are not trying to make you feel ignorant or to catch you out. What they are looking for is how well you can explain what you do know, and whether you can think your way through a new problem or argue your position.

You may have heard that much of the interview is concerned with general conversation about you and your interests. Whilst this may be the case at some universities, it is not in Oxford. Tutors have a relatively short time to assess your potential and will concentrate mostly on your subject and your suitability to study it in Oxford. 'Small talk' is not required.

What are tutors looking for?

A good deal of the teaching in an Oxford college takes place in very small groups or tutorials, and your interviewers - your future teachers - are assessing your teachability. This combines how carefully you listen to questions and how sensibly you answer them. Concise and relevant arguments and clarity are all-important.

You should show self-motivation and enthusiasm for your subject, demonstrating that you are prepared to look outside your school syllabus. In addition you need to show that you are beginning to think independently and that you are willing to engage with new ideas.

Are there 'correct' answers?

Interviewers are not going to ask you trick questions, but many of the topics you will cover do not have simple right or wrong answers. The questions are designed to encourage you to think for yourself and develop an argument. Be yourself; and ask for help if you need it. Don't try to guess how well an interview is going; it will distract you from the job in hand and you probably cannot judge this anyway.

Will you have to do any written work during the interview process?

Applicants for some subjects at Oxford will be asked to sit a written test during the interview period. Details of these tests can be found in the Undergraduate Prospectus and are the same at all colleges (except in the case of Law). Specimen test papers can be obtained from the OCAO. Science and Mathematics candidates will often be asked to tackle one or two problems during the interview.

Specimens of written tests at interview will be available from June.

Are extra-curricular activities taken into account?

In your personal statement you probably mentioned activities and interests outside your academic work. You may be asked why you enjoy a particular activity and what you have learnt from it. Don't put on a performance or pretend to do things you don't actually do. Although achievements in extra-curricular activities are impressive, getting an offer of a place does not depend on them. What may be of interest to the interviewer is how you balance your time between work and play.

Be prepared - but not too prepared!

There are no special tricks to preparing for an Oxford interview. Interviewers can often tell if a candidate has been over-coached by well-meaning teachers or parents. It is important that you demonstrate that you can think for yourself and that you are answering precisely the question you have been asked rather than repeating an answer you prepared earlier to a different question.

On the other hand, there are some things you can do beforehand which will help to make you feel more confident:

1. Think about the obvious questions that are often asked at the beginning of an interview to help you settle down, and how you will answer them - why do you want to come to Oxford and why have you chosen this particular subject?
2. Re-read copies of any written work that you have submitted and think how you might expand on what you wrote. Re-read your personal statement.
3. In Arts subjects, make sure that you have read something outside the prescribed A-level texts and have thought critically about what you have read. For scientists, an interest in the relevance of your subject to the world at large can be demonstrated by reading the popular science periodicals - but make sure that you have something sensible to say about what you have read. You can encourage the tutor in the direction of specific topics you would like to talk about by mentioning your interest in them in your personal statement, though by no means does this guarantee their inclusion in your interview!
4. If you are going to have a practice interview, try to use a teacher you don't know very well - that way you won't be too 'at home'. It is very important to practise feeling comfortable when talking about yourself and your work in an unfamiliar environment. More generally, you can encourage yourself to take a critical view of ideas and arguments that you encounter at school, in newspapers, or on television or radio.
5. Of the time you spend in Oxford, only a couple of hours will be filled with interviews and tests. Make sure that you have a good book or some schoolwork to do while you are waiting. The worst thing you can do is to sit and worry about the interviews in advance and replay them to yourself afterwards!
6. Finally, make sure that you are wide awake and alert for your interviews. A quiet night is better preparation than a wild party!

Your Questions

You will probably be given a chance at the end of the interview to ask your own questions. Don't invent one just because you feel you should, but if there is a point about your academic work that you would like to talk to the tutor about or a question about Oxford that for some reason only a tutor  can answer - now is your chance. But remember that the tutors are working to a very tight schedule. Consequently, the interview is not the place for a detailed discussion of the course syllabus  - you should have explored that before you applied.  Consider also whether your question might be just as well answered by one of the student helpers who have much more time to spare!