Getting into Oxbridge: 7 things students wish they’d known before applying to Oxford and Cambridge University

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. He wishes he’d known how uncertain and frustrating the interview process would be, and explained: “You could literally be hanging around for days with few scheduled things to do, waiting to find out whether you could go home, or whether you’d been pooled and had to stay for more interviews.” He recommended being sure students apply for a subject they love, not one they think will be a means to an end, as this will come across in the interview process. She described her pre-interview preparation as “quite intense.” Coming from a private school, in the run-up to interviews, along with her classmates, she sat mock HAT papers, had practice interviews, and said they were all “generally grilled by the head of the history department.” However, if she were to apply again, Emili said she “wouldn’t be so desperate” to follow her school’s interview help down to the letter, as it was “a bit restrictive.” Instead, she said: “I would definitely tell students considering applying to go for it. “My school quite often had a pupil or two admitted into Oxbridge, so in terms of applications, practice interviews, and advice, they were as helpful as a semi-rural comprehensive could have been, and I never felt inordinately pressured.” However, she said that, were she to apply again, she would apply to another college: “I think I was awestruck by the beauty of King’s and ignored the fact it’s the most over-subscribed college at the university. He now studies philosophy, politics, and economics at Mansfield College, and considered the admissions process to be “overwhelmingly positive” as he ended up gaining a place at a university where “I’ve had two of the best years of my life and made great friends.” He advised prospective applicants not to worry about the things that don’t matter, saying: “There’s no specific ‘type’ of person who gets in and many of the stereotypes are untrue.” He wishes he’d known interviewers weren’t necessarily looking for someone “wacky and extroverted,” but simply someone who had a passion for and ability in their chosen subject.