By Rebecca Galbraith
If you've found out you've got an interview for Oxford, it's normal to be both nervous and excited! At That Oxford Girl, we have a number of different articles about interviews - and this one is about Rebecca's experience of her Earth Sciences interviews.
Earth Sciences interviews follow the normal Oxford interview structure of being like tutorials. Being a subject spanning many areas of science, it is impossible to second guess what you may be asked but as a rule of thumb I’d say make sure you are comfortable with your A-Level subject content, as this will form the areas the tutors can reasonably ask questions on.
I had two interviews, both held in the Earth Sciences department. The first comprised being asked about 1) a section of my personal statement where I talked about Iceland, having been there on a Year 10 Geography trip and 2) my interpretations of a strange-looking rock put on the desk in front of me.
The second interview was around a larger question of “If you wanted to cause the greatest amount of sea-level change, would you melt the ice at the North or the South Pole?” The tutors guided me through this with smaller questions that pulled on my A-Level knowledge. It’s for this reason that I say you should do your best to understand your A-Level syllabi and try to read around the subject! But it's important to remember that the tutors aren't trying to trip you out and if you get stuck they will give you prompts, so long as you vocalise your thought processes.
Above all, enjoy the experience and remember to think out loud!