Pirate A suggests he gets all the gold. We are particularly interested in their capacity to justify their views and interpretations. A strong candidate would show ready willingness and very good ability to engage and develop their ideas in conversation. (Oxbridge Applications), Integrate arctan x! You are worried that if you dont find the killer soon, the townspeople will take matters into their own hands and mete out vigilante justice. Am I At The Right Level For Chemistry At Oxford? Being invited to attend our interviews is a fantastic achievement in its own right, considering the number of strongly competitive applications that we receive each year. Have a paper and pen, in case you would like to make notes. Decisions are not based on your manners, appearance or background, but on your ability to think independently and to engage with new ideas beyond the scope of your school or college syllabus. Although we are good mathematicians, we are not mind-readers - if you don't say anything, we can't tell what you're thinking! Question: How would you define the maximum of two real numbers, x and y? What sources of information might be used to select, for example, Oxford students? You might be asked to show any rough working on your own camera. (We assume that the most senior pirate has the letter A. Our top tip is to practise speaking about your subject and your thoughts about what you've seen or read - these don't have to be formal 'mock interviews' - instead they could be chats with teachers, friends, or family. What happens when you bring your fingers together? There is increasing disquiet in the community. Download thefull transcriptof the Tier 2 video. You will need to be able to access this link on your touchscreen device in order to access the whiteboard you will use in your interview, so you should login to your email account on this device before your interview starts. Andrew Tate arrested for human trafficking, Official LSE Postgraduate Applicants 2023 Thread, university of cambridge foundation year 2023, Dealing with shame of wetting myself over 20 years ago, i'm very tired, but i'm doing my best :Cherryblossomed's GYG -, AQA GCSE Biology Paper 1 Higher Tier [16th May 2023] Exam Chat, Official: University of Bristol A100 2023 Entry Applicant thread. Watch the full video at tomrocksmaths.com (link on profile) #tomrocksmaths #titanic #duocon, Do you have a lucky number? Room Booking Calendar | Mathematical Institute - University of Oxford Candidates who have grown up on Harry Potter might have read Rowling's new book and have thought both about Rowling's change of audience and their own change as readers from child to adult. Or they could be contrasted in pairs, or, like a good dictionary, examples might be given of sentences where they are used. Many also make the point thatB neednt actually have done anything wrong. This question arose out of discussion of a few poems that a candidate said he had read, and we were talking through how these poems were conveying meaning (through things such as tone and the imagery they used). do we need to know something about the historical context to understand it differently? Is the idea of an 'instrument' somehow outdated these days, and can we imagine more symbiotic/hybrid ways of generating/experiencing musical sound? What debts do individuals owe to society, and society owe to individuals? For instance, if they had also studied the USA during the Depression, I might ask the candidate whether the gaps in historical evidence are different in interwar America. This site uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic. Students sometimes say they like studying Spanish, for example, because they 'love the language'. If so, why? This question was an invitation to think about democracy and its limitations it's a big question, but an important one. The plateau region above pH 9 occurs because almost all of molecules have lost the hydrogen ion by this point. Student: The path must be a straight line of each of the faces. Interviews will take place on Monday 5, Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 December. One might reflect upon the importance of having an unelected second chamber to which all really important business could be delegated. Interviewer: Lucinda Rumsey, Mansfield College. This is a standard logic problem and is a good example of the type of question that could be asked. The Truth about Oxbridge Maths Interviews This section will go through three different maths interview questions, with a scripted model interaction between the interviewer and the student working through the solution. Good interviews will often generate all kinds of interesting and revealing discussions that show a candidates ability for analytical thought: for exampleabout self-blame, cases of blame where theblamerknew the blamed haddone nothing wrong, and indeed cases of blaming something inanimate (such as a faulty printer or phone). With so many more applications than places, it just isnt possible to interview everyone. So here is something to investigate. First college interviews will take place between Wednesday 7 and Friday 9 December. Is anyone applying to Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Rome) for medicine? [pause] How will you go about calculating the distance? Top tip: If you think youve taken a wrong turn dont be afraid to correct yourself, and the sooner you do so the better! In addition, please note the following: Most first and second college interviews will take place on Monday 12 December and Tuesday 13 December. Some crystals might be larger because they took longer to form. Take a critical view of ideas and arguments that you encounter in your everyday world - think about all sides of the debate. The viruses that infect us are totally dependent on human cells for their reproduction; is it therefore surprising that viruses cause human diseases? Mathematics Oxford & Cambridge University Interview Questions Past admissions interview questions for Mathematics There's a torus/ring doughnut shaped space station with 2 spacemen on a spacewalk standing diametrically oppositie each other. Is there a better way for Brian to allocate his spending and, if so, how might he achieve this better outcome? (submitted by oxford university applicant), Show that no number in the sequence 11,111,1111,11111 is a perfect square (submitted by oxford applicant), If you found these sample interview questions for Maths useful, please remember to submit your questions, post interview, to oxbridgeinterview@gmail.com, Recommended reading (click images for Amazon price). oxford Philosophy, Politics and Economics help! We are testing the capacity to begin to locate the source of a problem, and try out solutions through discussion. Or in other words, while I am looking for a correct answer in the end, I'm even more interested in rigorous thinking. This question encourages students to think about what high-diversity habitats such as rainforests and coral reefs have in common. Interviewer: Jan Schnupp, St Peter's College. Oriental Studies departmental interviews will take place on Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 December. Website Accessibility Statement However, you might also be asked to show any rough working of your own using your own webcam. I'd want to get a sense of what the candidate picks out about it, and perhaps to try to move the discussion onto matters of form (howthe text is written) rather than content (whatit is about). So, in posing the overall question what makes this political? wed want the candidate to start thinking about what one means in applying the label: what aspects of a work does it evoke? She's only ever met one faun, though - him - so he's also the nastiest faun she's ever met. Can I get into oxford with these results? The pirates are perfectly logical, and entirely ruthless (only caring about maximizing their own share of the gold). For interviews in this tier, you will also need access to an online virtual whiteboard via the website or app, Miro (www.miro.com), on the same device on which you are accessing Microsoft Teams. We aim to give everyone a minimum of 24 hours' notice of these additional interviews. Most candidates will have a reasonable understanding that viruses are essentially parasitic genetic entities, but the interviewers are not really looking for factual knowledge. Things we are looking for include how readily they can see into the core of a problem (what's the essential physics in this? In the first part of the question, when describing the rock, we want candidates to organise their observations, so they have some structure. When you create an account, you will need to give your email address and create a password. The majority of candidates will expect Bangladesh or South Africa to have the highest crude mortality rate, and will be surprised to find that it is in fact Japan. There might be other questions too: does the biography of the author have any relevance to our interpretation? But we cannot say of companies such as British Airways that they aim to cause climate change. Interviewer: Helen Swift, St Hilda's College. This is an important issue, given that Modern Languages students at Oxford read a lot of literature in the language as part of their course. If there are any adjustments you need because of a disability, make sure whoever has invited you to interview knows about these as soon as possible. In this final stage (although you can continue indefinitely!) Interviews are similar to Oxford's teaching tutorials and you may well find you actually learn a lot. Interviewer: Before you work it out, do you have any instinct on what m(35 x 66) might be? I'd expect students to be able to use their general knowledge plus their common sense to come up with an answer no detailed knowledge is required. You might like to stop and start the videos as you watch, so you have time to think how you might have tackled the questions and of course you can rewind and watch as many times as you like. Interviewer: Ian Phillips, St Annes College. Does applying to Oxford for deferred entry affect my chances of getting in? The questions allow us to see whether candidates are open-minded and able to see how others, both today and, crucially, in the ancient world, might put the evidence from the texts together to draw different conclusions. The prize goes to the person whose number is closest to 2/3 of the average of all of the numbers chosen. This is part of our reallocation process, where applicants get moved around to make sure everyone interviewed has a similar chance of being made an offer. The Student Room and The Uni Guide are trading names of The Student Room Group Ltd. Register Number: 04666380 (England and Wales), VAT No. One example might be: 'I am walking along the street when it starts to rain. If so, are the differences or similarities relevant? You are particularly concerned that there will be violence amongst the townspeople, and possibly racially-motivated killings, if nothing is done. Decisions regarding additional interviews will be communicated to applicants by 2pm on Friday 9 December. First college interviews will take place on Tuesday 6, Wednesday 7, Thursday 8 and Friday 9 December. Given these lower levels of literacy, we could then talk about what sources historians can use to learn about the lives of the majority of the population in sixteenth-century England. This issue might also be something we discuss when we read an extract or poem in the language together during the interview. At this point, I would want to know what they consider a moral reason to be (as distinct from or similar to, for example, a practical or prudential reason). Are the effects of religion in the past as important as its consequences in the present? We hope they'll make you think, and help you understand why we ask the questions that we do. Depending on what is relevant for the course you are applying for, you may be given a text, a poem, a graph, or an object, and then asked to answer questions and comment on it. But there isnt really a right answer and we are always interested to hear new explanations that we havent heard before. We do recommend that you - and your school if thats where youre having your interview - test the technology beforehand, to make sure it works and that youre comfortable with it. A few candidates were inclined to think that it might be possible to lie without intending to; most reckoned that one could unintentionally mislead. He votes for it, so it carries. Go to theDemonstration interview videostab on this page and hear tutors talk about how they interview for their subject, watch them interview a current student and listen to their commentary afterwards. Some people are scared for their female relations, while the family and their friends are desperate to avenge her death. We very much don't want applicants to feel they need special training for our admissions. Are these specific to poetry or do they also feature in other types of writing? The idea of shortest paths around a solid or in space is called a geodesic. First, check your junk/spam folder. You will need to follow this link, which will open the whiteboard either in your browser or in the Miro app. Interviewer: Dan Grimley, Merton College. Then candidates could think of problems caused by living in the sea, such as high salinity, high pressure, lack of light etc. You will need to switch between your interview Teams call and the Miro whiteboard, meaning that you might not be able to see the interviewers whilst using the whiteboard. Shortlisted applicants may have more than one interview with more than one college, For some courses, all interviews will be arranged in advance, In other courses, there will be an initial block of pre-organised interviews which may then be followed by additional interviews, Where additional interviews are possible, the timetable gives the time by which you will be informed about them, and the days they may occur on, You should be given at least 24 hours' notice of any additional interviews, Where times are given in this timetable, they are given as UK time (GMT), Candidates may be asked to attend interviews outside of the timeframes given in this timetable, Should an interview need to be rearranged due to technical difficulties or similar, then the rearranged interview may occur outside of the timeframes given in this timetable. The question is focused on perhaps the most important economic question there is: why are some countries rich and some countries poor? For example, they might give you the unit function, u(n) for positive integers, defined as 1 when n = 0, If you have shown competency in the question, the interviewer could ask you about other multiplicative functions in the realm of number theory, such as Eulers totient function, phi(n). (submitted by Oxford applicant), if your friends were here now instead of you, what would they say about you? You can only use words which you have defined mathematically and properly. The question is properly approached from many perspectives and opens up many topics is there something distinctively human about going beyond boundaries? After asking one or two general questions such as 'whattopic in Economics have you enjoyed most, or found most surprising' we move on to working through a puzzle. You are quite likely to have more than one interview. Pirate A gets 98 coins, pirate B gets 0, pirate C gets 1, pirate D gets 0, pirate E gets 1, pirate F gets 0. Does being good at a sport affect your chances of getting into Oxford? Candidates will probably recognise that the water could push the dam over. Interviewer: Owen Lewis, Brasenose College. A typical hint from the tutor would be to consider this case for 3 digit pairs (m,n) that is, Find as efficiently as possible all pairs (m,n) of positive integers satisfying the following two conditions: (a) two of the digits of m are the same as the corresponding digits of n, while the other two digits of m are both 1 less than the corresponding digits of n\ (b) both m and n are four-digit squares. Student: [pausing] Im not sure. We aim to give everyone a minimum of 24 hours notice of these additional interviews. Once we have chosen what information we will consider, how can we combine it? I would use this sort of open question to allow a candidate to talk about the availability of historical evidence in whatever time period, place or theme interested them from their school-work or wider reading. In interviews using tier 2 technology, you will not be asked to write out complex mathematical notation using the whiteboard. It's usually a guided discussion rather than a matter of getting answers right or wrong straight away. First college interviews will take place between Monday 5 and Thursday 8 December. There is no right answer to this question. The trick is to think widely and not try and fit the answer to some lesson that has been learnt in school. Decisions regarding additional interviews will be communicated to applicants by 5pm on Friday 9 December. Oxford Interview Questions: Advice from 10 Admitted Students Why do human beings have two eyes?This question may result from a more general discussion about the human senses. Familiarise yourself with the code of conduct for online interviews (view the tab on this page). Tell me about [this literary work you have mentioned in your UCAS personal statement]. A good answer could engage with one or more of these problems, and we would hope in conversation develop further questions. Theology and Religion doesn't require A-level Religious Studies, so we always want to find issues that enable us to see how a student is able to handle and unpick a question, relating the particular to more general concepts. But we do want to see that they can get to grips with new information and use it in their reasoning. Students might also have different understandings of the us in the original question: perhaps its good for us as a species that individuals die off; perhaps its bad for each of us as individuals that we die off. Top tip: Dont worry about needing hints from interviewers. Do bankers deserve the pay they receive? Explain why this might be a reasonable way to represent his preferences. and scientific reasoning, based on information provided by the interviewer as the interview progresses. (answers in this book), what is the area if an n-sided regular polygon inscribed within a circle of radius r? Once students have come up with a plausible theory,I'd follow up by asking them how they would go about testing their idea. Some interviews for overseas candidates will take place in the week commencing 5 December. Interviewer: Andrew King, Exeter College. (iv) references and the personal statements contained both on the UCAS form. If neither have a squared prime factor, and since they are coprime, their factors are different, so the total number of unique factors of xy is equal to the sum of the numbers of unique factors of x and y. Who gets to decide what is great? TSR Decisions Drop In 17th April - 5th May, A-Level Option Help ( for Economics/PPE degree), Can I still get into oxford? The Mbius function itself doesnt come up in first year mathematics, but the reasoning used in this question about factors, comprimes etc. (The Student Room), Sketch y=ln(x) explaining its shape. Finally, remember if you are being interviewed, then you are a strong contender for a place. Interviewers might also use the Miro whiteboard to write out mathematical notation, draw sketches, annotate diagrams or text, or to add text. And of course it doesnt matter if you have a sibling or not - though depending on family dynamics, that can add an interesting twist to the conversation! You will receive a letter or an email indicating whether or not you have been invited for interview, usually between the middle of November and early December. Oxford Demonstration Interview - Maths problem - YouTube There are lots of myths about interviews at Oxford, but really they're just conversations about your chosen subject - like ashort tutorial- with someone who knows a lot about it. If you have any concerns about accessing technology, get in touch with the college inviting you for interview. Youll then be accepted into the call and your interview will begin. If you aren't able to speak to other people, why not record a vlog to practise speaking, or hold an imaginary interview in your head, or even talk to the cat! Decisions regarding second college interviews will be communicated by 2pm on Wednesday 7 December, with interviews taking place on Friday 9 December. This question could come out of a discussion of errors and biases in human judgement that we sometimes overlook some information, while attaching too much weight to other information; and we are often over-confident about the decisions we make. Are there new ways of producing sound (digital media) which have transformed the way we listen or understand sound? You might be asked to read a passage or an article before your interview, which will be sent to you by email. Interviewer: Peter Groves, Worcester College. If we can estimate the total surface area of the Earth (approximated by the surface area of a sphere) we can therefore calculate the total mass of the atmosphere. If Brian has these preferences how would you expect him to allocate his spending over the four days? How do they relate to each other? Don't worry if you don't know an answer immediately - see if you can work your way through it aloud. Call Us Today! When I used this question, candidates adopted a number of strategies. So eventually they will fall back on maths, and try to model the situation using equations. But its internal complexity is sufficiently difficult to test the brightest students, especially in the final part, whilst also allowing students repeated chances to show what they were learning and share their thinking. Don't try and google any answers during your interview - aside from the fact this is cheating - an interview is like a conversation and it will be very obvious if you zone out and are distracted. I worry that not all candidates might have the same access to a wide range of literature, and I am careful to judge them on what they know, not on what they don't know. As well as revising material you have studied recently, explore your subject in the wider world, for example via newspaper articles, websites, videos and TV programmes. Hard, fun and very relevant. You have no idea who the real killer is. There is no single 'right answer' to the question; most answers given serve as the basis for further elaboration. The process involves reabsorption by a carrier protein that binds the glucose molecules and moves them out of the renal tubule and back into the blood. Working from definitions is a vital skill to have, as the pace at which you learn maths at Oxford is fast, and so it is essential that you are able to confidently apply mathematical definitions. In what ways do you think that writing for children is different to writing for adults? [Silence; this is natural during difficult steps of the questions]. Calculate m(35), m(66) and m(35 x 66). I dont really know how we could do it without cases? And should government do something to limit how much they get? #tomrocksmaths #BBCone #BBCtheoneshow, NEW VIDEO: I'm interviewed by my student Fred about what it's like to study @oxford_uni, and why @StEdmundHall is the best college (of course as a tutor at Teddy Hall I may be 'slightly' biased)! All interviews will be using Microsoft Teams for video conferencing. I would never ask a question like this without the student mentioning the text first, as we dont assume that all applicants will have read the same things. For example, if taking the interview at home, instead of using your school account, you can join the call anonymously using a browser. Tutors love their subject and they want to teach people who feel likewise. They arent trying to trip you up; they want to analyse every possibility. If half or more vote for the division, it stands. There may well be reasons for this, which could form the basis of a different interview question. Perhaps there isnt an answer that applies across the board to all of us considered as individuals some individuals' deaths are bad for them; some aren't. One was to provide definitions of each of them - which turned out to be less easy than one might think without using the other words in the definition. If the candidate gets stuck, the interviewer may ask them to explain how many bonds theyd expect each carbon and each hydrogen to form. , and this might be your initial response to the question, but this question should stretch this and see how you think about other shortest paths on surfaces that are flat or Euclidean. Interviewer: Brian Harrington, Keble College. (The Student Room), Observation about (6 - (37^0.5))^20 being very small. First college interviews will take place on Wednesday 7, Thursday 8 and Friday 9 December. In the case of candidates whose first language is not English, an English language qualification (such as IELTS level 7) may form part of theadmissions requirements. Undoubtedly, the candidate would need to take a moment to think in the middle of all that we expect that ermmm, ah, oh, well, etc. I'd want to start with something the candidate has already identified as something they want to talk about (so be honest on your personal statement!). Wear headphones if you are likely to be distracted by background noise. A young woman from a prominent white family in your town has been killed. Either before your interview or at the start of your interview, you will receive a link by email to a Miro whiteboard from the college running your interview. You should not be afraid to start drawing on the paper in front of you while you think about the question. In some subjects, you will be invited to interviews at more than one college before your interviews start. ); estimates (typical size of balloon, weight of elephant) and sorting out what's important (what about the weight of the balloon itself? How would you design a gravity dam for holding back water? A good deal of the teaching at Oxford takes place in small classes or tutorials, and your interviewers who may be your future tutors are assessing your ability to study, think and learn in this way. In that respect, short stories, such as those by Guy de Maupassant, are a good and a popular place to start: they're engaging, memorable and can feel quite approachable. All interviews are expected to take place in early to mid-December so please make sure you are going to be available during this time as interviews cannot be rearranged. Some interviews may take place on the morning of Wednesday 7 December. For example, a student might point out that both rainforests and coral reefs are found in hot countries and near the equator. You may have more than one interview, if you do we will aim to give you a minimum of 24 hours notice of these additional interviews. This would then allow workers in that industry to share some of those profits and so earn much more. Interviewer: Good. This should be somewhere you have reliable access to the required technology (details to follow) and a quiet space, free from distraction. To this end, it may be helpful for you to arrange a practice interview with a teacher - perhaps they can ask you to work out a past MAT question in front of them. Have a look at the tips we give on theHow can I prepare? Additional interviews will be on Monday 12, Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 December. Please note that although some of the information and experiences explained in the podcast are assuming interviews will be face to face and take place in Oxford, there is a lot which is relevant for online interviews as well. Ill try drawing the cube first to visualise it. It shows youre able to question yourself and listen to the advice of the interviewer. We have createdfurther guidance for tier 2 subjectson our webpage. Although I would never launch this question at a candidate on its own, it might grow out of a discussion. It really depends on what the applicant says they have read. A computer, with a microphone, speakers and a webcam with access to Microsoft Teams as the video conferencing tool, either installed in advance or via an internet browser. can it be compared to one of the other texts mentioned or studied to clarify any one of these aspects? At this point I usually tell the student the next two answers at 8 and 13 any thoughts on the emerging pattern? (Cambridge university interview, The Student Room), Do you know where the multiplication sign came from? Pirate A gets 98 coins, pirate B gets 0, pirate C gets 1, pirate D gets 0, pirate E gets 1. is it a first-person or a third-person narrator, and what effect does that have? A more challenging extension onto this might be what is the middle number in x, y, z: can you write down a formula for this?