By Nicola Boys
Very soon, those of you selected for interview will be receiving those emails. Maybe you’ve already got yours!
As you already know, this year is a little different. Interviews will be online, using Microsoft Teams, and you will either sit them at home if you feel comfortable enough, or in your school. That feeling of excitement when the email comes is the same though. I remember being sat in class at school, hearing my phone go off in my bag and rushing to check.
This year, interviews are organised in three tiers. Tier 1 (eg. biology) means you need a laptop, a webcam, a microphone and a pen and paper. Tier 3 (eg. engineering) means you need the software and equipment they specify (if you do not have it provided by your school, email your college and it should be sent). Tier 2 is somewhere in between.
The timetable for interviews this year, and more information, can be found on the newly updated page at https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/guide/interviews
Also, to dispel any rumours you might’ve heard, there is no rhyme or reason to when you get your email. My school has a rumour if you hadn’t heard by the 25th you weren’t in. Stuff like that is absolutely not true! When you get your email only depends on when your specific tutors at your specific college have got round to making their selections and doing their admin! Someone at another college doing a different subject being accepted does not mean that you haven’t been. So please don’t lose hope if you haven’t heard!