1.Should people write dissertations on Donald Duck?
2.Who would play you in a film of your life?
3.If you could make up a word what would it be?
After a quick google of Oxford interview questions, I went into panic mode. For weeks prior to this I had read as many books as I could, learnt all about the authors and revised the questions I thought Oxford might ask. Never in a million years had I envisaged this weird and wonderful selection.
I was now losing the will to live.
In a last ditch attempt, I began to plan answers to these ridiculous questions:
‘urm well in reference to Donald Duck, it depends what you deem to be ‘real literature’. It isn’t a canonical work in educational institutions but I suppose you could apply literary theory to it and linguistically analyse it’
‘A film of my life, oh gosh I had absolutely no idea’( Was I now going to have to find time to watch films on top of all this reading?)
“Dredgearidge’’ Weirdly, I’d thought of this one when I read The Great Gatsby. I felt there were certain books and films which had a dull, monotonous, oppressiveness hanging over them. My word summed this up through its length and harsh phonology.’
I can’t speak for everyone but I’m yet to meet a single person who was asked these sorts of questions at their Oxford interview!
Top Tips
Focus on the subject matter and stick to it.
Don’t spread yourself too thinly and fill your mind with unnecessary facts that will only confuse you.
Keep your knowledge grounded in reality.
The tutors don’t ask any trick questions, they just try to stretch your mind.
They are mainly interested in how you think and your knowledge.
Here are a few interview questions that Oxford have released:
In a world where English is a global language, why learn French?
What is ‘normal’ for humans?
Is someone who risks their own life (and those of others) in extreme sports or endurance activities a hero or a fool?
Why do many animals have stripes?
Here’s a cactus. Tell me about it.