Oxbridge History Interview Pack
Don’t know what to expect for your Oxbridge History Interview?
Interviews can seem daunting and hard to prepare for as you never quite know what to expect. However, they are extremely important: some candidates are successful based on interview performance alone.
This is an essential guide, prepared by U2's History tutors, all of whom graduated from the Oxford or Cambridge History courses. We walk you through how to prepare to ensure you stand out and increase your chances of success, as well as a number of tips on how to present yourself and communicate during the interview itself.
Core components of U2 Tuition's History guide:
The first section of our 28-page guide is dedicated to showing you how to build evidence of wider subject exploration to convey your passion and motivation for the subject. Our History graduates lead you through what to read (primary and secondary material), and how to cite key texts, or online resources e.g. podcasts, to justify your reasoning in answer to interview questions. We provide reading suggestions and each book / resource recommendation comes with a thinking task - an interview question that responds directly to the text’s content. Note: ideally, this process should start at least a few months before you interviews take place so you have time to explore enough resources / material!
How to prepare for personal-statement based interview questions
What to expect in your academic interviews, including accounts from numerous successful History candidates. Each account will provide insight into the interview process, the precise questions they were asked, and preparation tips for tackling the different formats of interview (e.g. wider theoretical questions, source analysis, unseen reading material, questions around your personal statement/ submitted work)
5 longer worked through interview questions. These include clues for answering the questions and further suggested readings in the area
5 further interview questions with tips for answering
50 additional past interview questions
Final tips for success at interview
Looking for History Oxbridge / Russell Group mentoring to further direct your independent preparation?
Having an Oxbridge History tutor can present an invaluable learning opportunity - U2 has a wonderful network of Oxford and Cambridge-educated undergraduates, graduates and postgraduates, who would be delighted to host tutorial sessions giving you exposure to exciting topics/ current trends in History, support personal statement writing, admissions test and interview preparation. Book a free consultation on our Contact Us page for further details on our offerings and to discuss your university application.