How to approach an Oxbridge admissions interview: being wrong in the right way
How to answer Oxbridge admissions interview questions: why taking a clear position, and refining it as the discussion develops, is exactly what tutors want to see.
Many students still think an admissions interview is a test of whether they can produce the "correct" answer. On some questions of substance or fact, it is. But more generally, and more importantly, it is not.
The interview is an opportunity to demonstrate how you think.
Show how you think by taking a position
How do you show how you think? Especially in interviews for law, but in other subjects too, you are expected to show your thinking by taking a position. Do not sit on the fence.
That's not to say the position you take needs to be bold or controversial, or simplified to the point of bluntness. It simply needs to be sharp and clear enough to defend.
Structure follows argument
Once you have committed yourself, your next task is to develop your argument carefully. Having a clear thesis or position at the start makes this a lot easier, because structure follows argument.
With your position firmly in mind, ask yourself:
- What are the best reasons in support of my position?
- How persuasive is the evidence I am relying on?
- Is my argument internally consistent?
Remember that you are allowed to take a little time to jot these ideas down on a piece of paper during the interview.
You are allowed and encouraged to revise your position
As the discussion develops, your interviewer will often introduce new evidence, raise objections, or expose tensions in your reasoning. This is not a sign that your initial answer was "wrong". It is an invitation to think about how to make it more right.
One of the qualities top universities value most highly is intellectual agility and reactiveness: the willingness to refine, qualify, or even abandon your original position when the evidence demands it. Changing your mind for good reasons is not a weakness, but one of the clearest demonstrations of rigorous thinking.
The strongest candidates are precisely those who engage openly with the discussion and allow their views to develop as the conversation unfolds. That is what genuine academic thinking looks like, and it is what your interviewers want to see.
So do not be afraid to take a position: you can always move to a new one if the battle requires it.
If you'd like to practise this in realistic mock interviews, take a look at our Oxbridge interview and LNAT preparation for prospective law students.