Insight into the Oxbridge Interview process.
So you are aiming for a place at Oxford, Cambridge, or elsewhere and part of the application process is to have an interview.
Firstly, as is mentioned in every article regarding Oxbridge Interviews, the questions are never ludicrous – stories about people setting fire to a piece of paper or jumping into a fountain are simply false. The interviews, thankfully, are pretty bland in comparison.
You will be asked a question pertaining to the subject you are applying for. It will likely be something you have never come across before, the tutors want to see how you think. They are looking for a specific type of thinking, one that fits the Oxbridge system, how well will you fit in here? How much will they enjoy tutoring you?
Often there is no answer to the question you are asked, or, as is the case with the question below, you will not be able to reach the exact answer. They are assessing your approach rather than your knowledge. Why? Because you will gain that knowledge during your degree but your innate problem-solving skills are much harder to ‘teach’.
That is it. That is the whole interview process in 240 words. To Sum up in 5 words:
It is how you think.
Now let’s look at a question.
The specific question given directly relates to PPE, E&M and H&E, in fact, it was a question I had in my interviews.
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE)
Economics and Management (E&M)
History and Economics
However, the approach to solving this problem is applicable across all subjects. Whether that is Maths or English it still applies.
Question:
Alice (A) and Bob (B) are at a fairground.
They go and play a special game of darts run by Charlie.
Whoever’s dart is closest to the bullseye (the red circle in the centre) wins £10 from Charlie, not from each other.
Each dart that Alice or Bob throws, costs them £1 respectively. So if Alice throws 6 darts it would cost her £6 and if Bob throws 4 darts it would cost him £4.
You are playing (A) Alice.
What should your strategy be if you would like to win as much money as possible?
Step 1: Make sure you understand the question, this is where you can ask some clarifying questions and request further information.
Clarifying questions you could/should ask in this situation are:
Are we both as good as each other?
Do we get to discuss how many darts we are each going to throw?
After I have selected the number of darts I am going to throw, can I change my choice?
The may be more you would like to ask
Also, Think about why you would want to ask these questions, and what additional information is it giving to you.
-
Yes, Alice and Bob are exactly as good as one another.
No, you each choose your darts independently - you only know how many darts Bob (B) chooses once you have locked in your choice.
No, You cannot change your choice once you have locked in your answer.
Step 2: Think about some constraints for the question, this reduces the set of possible answers to the question.
In the case of this question, one constraint is:
If you can only win a max of £10 and every dart you choose to throw costs £1, then you would never want to throw more than 10 darts as you will always be making a loss even when you win.
For this problem, we have reduced the set of choices from an infinite amount to a set of 10 choices for each player, so in total a set of 100 (10 x 10) different pairings of darts could be thrown.
This is a massive step in tackling the question and before you have even started solving the problem you have reduced it massively and made the problem much more manageable.
Step 3: Think about how you are going to answer the question
This is the main discussion you have with the tutor (interviewer). This is effectively the same as a tutorial. The tutor is assessing:
Your problem-solving approach
How engaged and interested you are in the question
Would the tutor enjoy the tutorial experience with you? You will be spending 3+ years together
I’ll leave you to think about this part! You can always email us at tutor@honesttutoring.com and we are happy to give you some brief feedback.
During the entire interview, you want to be engaged with the tutor. That does not mean you need to be speaking every second in fact it is very important to say to the tutor, “Can I have 30 seconds to think about this” when you are asked a question. Tutors want to see you using a methodical approach to problem-solving, not that you suffer from verbal diarrhoea. Furthermore, you must listen to the tutor, this is easier said than done in the situation, as often they will give you valuable information in relation to the question and help you when you are going in the wrong direction.
Lastly, if you are asked a question, you think about it for 30 seconds to a minute and say “I don’t know” this is in fact a really good thing to say. Remember the tutor is also assessing whether they will enjoy teaching you. If you try to wing the answer and act like you know something when you don't, the tutor will see straight through this, they are an expert in their subject matter and have done these interviews hundreds if not thousands of times. Be humble, not arrogant.
There you are, you have just done your first Oxbridge interview. Some final things I want to say.
In the interview, it doesn’t matter what you wear as long as it looks appropriate. I did my interviews in a pair of trousers, plain trainers and a jumper, you do not need to wear a suit. Dress comfortably.
When people discuss your posture, how you should sit etc. It is all rubbish, you are being upsold utter nonsense. We have seen many tutoring companies sell these services as part of their ‘premium package’ it is total rubbish. Sit comfortably.
The best advice I ever received for my interviews is when my dad dropped me off in Oxford for my interviews. He said, “Just be yourself”. For once, I actually listened to him and it kept me going through the entire process - which is memorable, exciting, and gruelling all enveloped together. Be comfortable.
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