Tutors will, in addition to assessing aptitude and technical skills, seek in successful candidates. Do you concoct the evidence to save the town from violence and potentially prevent the deaths of numerous people? Is violence always political? How many different molecules can be made from six carbon atoms and twelve hydrogen atoms? (iv) references and the personal statements contained both on the UCAS form. This question is more than just applying a formula, and the interviewers will want to see how you respond to this. The question assesses criteria such as scientific curiosity (has the applicant ever wondered this themselves? However, you do think you would be able to concoct enough false evidence to convince a jury that he killed the young woman and sentence him to death. Download the Biology interview transcript, Download the Biomedical Sciences interview transcript, Download the Chemistry interview transcript, Download the Computer Science interview transcript, Download the Earth-Sciences interview transcript, Download the Engineering interview transcript, Download the English interview transcript, Download the Geography interview transcript, Download the History interview transcript, Download the History of Art interview transcript, Download the Human Sciences interview transcript, Download the Linguistics interview transcript, Download the Materials Science interview transcript, Download the Mathematics interview transcript, Download Modern Languages interview transcript, Download the Physics interview transcript, Download the Theology and Religion interview transcript. One candidate suggested that no one should be allowed to stand for parliament unless they have dependent children, with the thought that this would ensure a personal motivation towards longer term thinking on a variety of matters. What makes a short story different from a novel? Further, the interviewers may use the Miro whiteboard to write out mathematical notation, draw sketches, annotate diagrams or text, or to add text. This is a standard logic problem and is a good example of the type of question that could be asked. With a question like this were not looking for a right answer but instead whether the candidate can be creative in coming up with examples and suggestions, and can think critically and carefully through their implications. An alternative story is that the banking industry is not competitive and generates profits above what a competitive market would produce. The main aim would not be to solve these problems, but to use them to find some new interest in a subject that the candidate already knows something about. 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). Many candidates have never studied Latin or Greek before at all, so we certainly wouldnt assume that they had any particular knowledge. They then complete the 'experiment' and find both fingers reach the centre of the ruler at the same time and the ruler remains balanced on two fingers. This is a good question as it helps us to see how candidates think about both languages and literature. Decisions regarding second college interviews will be communicated to applicants by 2pm on Thursday 8 December. We don't do this with the expectation that they have already read any particular works, however, but in order to get a sense of why they think it is worth studying literatures in foreign languages. All these possible questions represent directions in which the conversation might go none is particularly wrong or right, but strong candidates will see a number of different routes available for them to explore, and could choose whichever interested them most. The force can also be described as a mass multiplied by an acceleration, which on Earth is the acceleration due to gravity. A good answer could engage with one or more of these problems, and we would hope in conversation develop further questions. Students should appreciate that, in binding glucose, the carrier will share properties with enzymes, about which they will have learned at school: the capacity to reabsorb glucose is finite because once all of the carriers are working maximally, no further glucose reabsorption can occur. After a few minutes, the interviewer may use the question to move the discussion toward concepts such as chirality, cis-trans isomerism, ring strain, and isotope effects. You will need to follow this link, which will open the whiteboard either in your browser or in the Miro app. Then ask in which of the two ecosystems have animals and plants been more successful? Take a critical view of ideas and arguments that you encounter in your everyday world - think about all sides of the debate. ); their approach to basic concepts (how does a hot air balloon work, anyway? Interviewer: Andrew King, Exeter College. We'd be looking for a willingness to try out new ways of thinking and an aptitude for thinking carefully and imaginatively through a perhaps initially unfamiliar issue. And the air passengers cannot really be described as acting together. Possible explanations for the glow would be discussed with an expectation that applicants might recognise that the light could be generated within the eye or alternatively that light entering the eye is in some way reflected back out. Interviewer: Gail Trimble, Trinity College. Decisions regarding additional interviews will be communicated to applicants by 5pm on Friday 9 December. Although I would never launch this question at a candidate on its own, it might grow out of a discussion. Whereas they should recognise that archaeology relies on non-literary sources preserved from ancient periods such as the remains of buildings and tools. We know that these things can sometimes be a problem, and your interviewers will understand. ProspectiveContinuing Educationstudents, Prospective online/distance learning students. What we are interested in is the kinds of reasoning students use and the questions they ask about the study - what it takes into account, what it might not that tells us about their suitability for the course. Are there, in fact, salient differences? Room Booking Calendar | Mathematical Institute - University of Oxford Help me to sort them out from each other. Decisions regarding additional interviews will be communicated to applicants by 5pm on Friday 9 December. ); estimates (typical size of balloon, weight of elephant) and sorting out what's important (what about the weight of the balloon itself? What would a historian find interesting about the place where you live? A just law might not be effective, or vice versa. The Big Oxford Interview Spreadsheet 2021! This is followed by the sample interview itself and then a tutors' commentary during which they discuss how they feel the interview went. (Oxford applicant, The Student Room), What makes a tennis ball spin as it's travelling through the air? Ladybirds are red. Theprecise format of the interviews varies from college tocollege, but candidates will generally have one or two interviews in their first choice college, and at least one other interview at another college. After all, even in Oxford only a handful of people properly understand Andrew Wiles's proof! 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. A large study appears to show that older siblings consistently score higher than younger siblings on IQ tests. or, differently posed, 'what makes a short story different from a novel?'. 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. 1) You discovered that the real murderer was the son of another prominent local family, and you believed it highly likely revealing the killers identity would lead to violence between the two families which could well result in numerous deaths? 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. Interviewer: Continue. In contrast, between pH 9 and 14 the relative solubility of approximately zero corresponds to almost equal concentrations of the compound dissolving in octanol and water. Call Us Today! A lot of the focus of pure maths in university is rigour and formality. 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!). You do not suspect he committed the murder. 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). 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. I quite like this question because whichever way one answers it, new questions open up. For example, if running lights was only illegal when it was dangerous, this would leave it to each persons assessment of dangerous, so we could never be sure when someone would run a light, leading to chaotic traffic. Download thefull transcriptof the Tier 3 video. Student: Im not sure what it means for n to be square free; can you clarify what you mean by this? Interviewer: Ok. Thought-experiments are an important part of doing Philosophy. ), I agreenot to research online any materials shared with me as part of a pre-interview task (unless explicitly permitted to do so by the interviewers), I agreenot to record interviews (in either audio or video format), or to permit others (including but not limited to teachers, family members, etc.) This question aims to challenge you in this way and move away from less mathematical words like bigger. How do we know that information is valid? Interviews are similar to Oxford's teaching tutorials and you may well find you actually learn a lot. 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. This would never be given as a one-line question out of context it is one of a set of questions I ask students after showing them a psychology experiment case study with data about short-term memory in English and Welsh speakers. Those for whom English isn't a first language might be thought to be at a disadvantage, but they often do strikingly well at such questions, better indeed than native speakers. Why do you think Dido kills herself inAeneid 4? Decisions regarding second college interviews will be communicated by 2pm on Wednesday 7 December, with interviews taking place on Friday 9 December. Candidates often like to start off by thinking about the composition of the atmosphere, and how we might know that, what its density is, and then to ways of estimating its volume. The total number of prime factors of xy is equal to the sum of the numbers of prime factors of x and y. The experience machine is a thought experiment (its also at the heart of the movie The Matrix, of course.) Interviewer: Conall MacNiocaill, Exeter College. What would you need to control for? A few candidates were inclined to think that it might be possible to lie without intending to; most reckoned that one could unintentionally mislead. (The Student Room), By considering (6 + (37^0.5))^20 + previous expression, show this second expression is very close to an integer. A candidate might also want to ask what we mean when we say there is a God? Is affirming this statement enough, or should religious or theological enquiry be more specific is talk of God in the abstract as helpful as discussion of particular religious ideas or texts? There might be follow-up questions about whether students think a particular way of listening has more worth the others, for example. Re read your personal statement and any written work you have submitted. (The Student Room), Observation about (6 - (37^0.5))^20 being very small. Candidates in my subject come from a wide variety of backgrounds and qualifications, so we generally try to tailor the interview questions to the individual according to what they have on the UCAS form or wrote about in their submitted work, in order to find out whether they have a genuine interest in the subject area and an aptitude for the course. In a tutorial-style discussion, strong candidates will engage with the paradox that viruses need us for their own reproduction, and yet cause us damage. Additional interviews will take place between Thursday 8 and Wednesday 14 December. For example, can we adjudicate competing claims in conversations such as these? Pirate A gets 99 coins, pirate B gets 0, pirate C gets 1. (submitted by oxf, What should I wear for a University Interview. This question is not about hoping students will display their expert knowledge of tigers. Oriental Studies departmental interviews will take place on Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 December. The plateau region above pH 9 occurs because almost all of molecules have lost the hydrogen ion by this point. Try and think of the interview as a conversation about your favourite subject with people who share your interest and know a great deal about it. The difficulty with this approach often lies with determining where the atmosphere ends and how the density might vary with altitude, how applicable concepts like the ideal gas law are in these circumstances, and these are uncertainties that we might explore in a discussion. The prize goes to the person whose number is closest to 2/3 of the average of all of the numbers chosen. A good starting point is to think about whether the amount of capital and technology available to workers in different countries is the same and if not, why not? 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. The trick is to think widely and not try and fit the answer to some lesson that has been learnt in school. Is to die simply to be transported instantaneously to some new realm? Or is value more in here, waiting to be created, depending on our own individual (or societal?) For the past three years, interviews have taken place online using Microsoft Teams. The question is not so much about which person the candidate wants to meet, but what sort of issues the candidate wants to find out about (which can be quite revealing) and then working out the best way to do so. This involves being able to analyse concepts and to critically appraise arguments and the reasoning behind a position, as well as to consider objections and to offer rebuttals to those objections. Why does Oxford interview? Which is largest?. If you are applying for a joint course, with two or more subjects, you should expect to be interviewed by tutors representing each of the subjects. What would be the effect of, say, clapping between movements of a symphony to your understanding of how the music works? There is a wide range of other example interview questions on theComputer Science website. You dont need to have a Microsoft account for this, but you will need to use a computer that either has Teams installed or can access Teams on the internet. This question builds on commonly held knowledge and on material covered in Biology at school about visual processes. (Oxford university interview, Oxbridge Applications), What is the significance of prime numbers? It would be perfectly fine for someone to change their mind in the course of the discussion or come up with a thought that contradicted something theyd said beforewe want people to think flexibly and be willing to consider different perspectives; ideally, they would recognise themselves that they were changing their viewpoint, and such awareness could indicate aptitude for sustained, careful reflection rather than a scattergun effect of lots of different points that arent developed or considered in a probing way. Firstly candidates should define 'easier' does it mean less complexity, less energy expenditure, less highly evolved, less likely to be eaten etc? If I asked that question about Shakespeare some candidates might have a view of his literary output, but many wouldn't. Does your analysis of this problem have any implications for any current economic policy issues?'. Other things that would be worth considering include whether stripes may only occur in the young of a species; whether the colour of the stripes matters rather than just the contrasting stripe pattern, and why do stripe size, shape, width and pattern vary in different species. How many ways are there to cover a 2 x n rectangular grid with 2 x 1 tiles? This question was an invitation to think about democracy and its limitations it's a big question, but an important one. The issues of how proportionate the punishment is to the crime refer to the justness of the law. Are there new ways of producing sound (digital media) which have transformed the way we listen or understand sound? This triggers a 6-digit access code which is sent to your email address. Top tip: dont try and second guess what tutors are looking for just be yourself. Most applicants would instinctively answer 'Yes', but it is the 'because.' that interests me, and can help to distinguish critical thinkers. What about Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, etc.? Filmed with @duolingo for DuoCon 2022. Analytical Services; Analytical Method Development and Validation Remember they are trying to find out how you think, so anything you say will interest them. This lets tutors see how you think and means that your final answer is only part of what they find out. Ultimately the prompts lead to the idea that the charge of a compound can change with pH due to gain or loss of hydrogen ions. Interviewer: Ben McFarlane, Faculty of Law. Interviewer: Can you rule out any possibilities? Oxford, LSE or Imperial for math and stat? The word pillory is documented in English since 1274, and was abolished as a punishment in 1837. Each question will touch on a different topic, giving you a feel for the broad variety of questions you may get asked in an interview. Good candidates should recognise that institutions matter a lot - respect for property rights and the rule of law appear to be pre-requisites for sustainable development. Most candidates will have a reasonable understanding that viruses are essentially parasitic genetic entities, but the interviewers are not really looking for factual knowledge. Student: The path must be a straight line of each of the faces. A candidate might begin to consider whether there is something special about legal rules are they different from other kinds of rules, such as those of a game, moral rules, social rules, club rules and so on. Decisions regarding additional interviews will be communicated to applicants by 2pm on Friday 9 December. Eventually most students arrive at the conclusion that being an older sibling and having to teach a younger sibling certain skills and types of knowledge benefits their own cognitive skills (learning things twice, in effect). Is there a better way for Brian to allocate his spending and, if so, how might he achieve this better outcome? We want to see that they are motivated, and keen to engage with the topic. This question is testing how well you can formalise your own intuitive ideas of maximum and minimum, and using what you already know about modulus. 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. What is a hero, and is that category in opposition to folly? Pirate A gets 99 coins, pirate B gets 0, pirate C gets 1, pirate D gets 0. Online interviews should take place where applicants feel able to perform at their best. If you have any problems getting hold of technology, talk to your school and if you still arent able to access it, then contact the college you are being interviews by. Depending on how quickly you arrive at the answer and how much prompting the interviewer needs to give you, they may extend it to a somewhat more general question, for example: Top tip: the interviewers often like to generalise results as a way of extending questions; if you get given a sheet of questions beforehand by your college, it might be useful to think: How might I generalise this result?. [Silence; this is natural during difficult steps of the questions]. (The Student Room), Sketch y=ln(x) explaining its shape. This not only gets you used to explaining your thoughts out loud, but also helps to consolidate your knowledge of the subject. Mathematical Institute First college interviews will take place on Monday 5, Tuesday 6, Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 December. It reveals the extent to which they have a curiosity about the world around them. First college interviews will take place between Monday 5 and Thursday 8 December. How hot does the air have to be in a hot air balloon if I wanted to use it to lift an elephant? The candidate would then be expected to construct simple mathematical expressions that predict when this would occur. Each shortlisted candidate will be interviewed by two colleges, with the interviews being either on Monday 12 or Tuesday 13 December. You can also explore theAdditional video resourceswhere you will find interview information for other subjects. Questions may be about the subjects that you are currently studying at school or college. 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. Each person has to choose a number between 0 and 100. This would be suggesting that the law is based on preventing harm. Copyright The Student Room 2023 all rights reserved. So the question moves on to: 3 x n rectangular grids and 3 x 1 tiles, to 3 x n rectangular grids and 2 x 1 tiles. If you do not get shortlisted for interview, unfortunately that means that your application has not been successful. For this question, you are given a hand sample of rock to examine, and are asked to describe what you see. 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. Imagine a ladder leaning against a vertical wall with its feet on the ground. For instance, a candidate might start off by saying that they had been studying Tudor England and historians don't know much about the lives of the poor because they were less likely to be able to write. Interviewer: Can you explain why you think it will always hold in cases like this? Being shortlisted is already a significant achievement. For some joint courses you may be interviewed separately for each subject area. Interviewer: Before you work it out, do you have any instinct on what m(35 x 66) might be? Other typical questions might be about why so much of theOdysseyis about Odysseus return to Ithaca, rather than the adventures at sea that everyone remembers, or whether Achilles or Hector is the real hero of theIliad? Alternatively, try explaining concepts from your Maths A-level to your less mathematically-minded friends and family. Others insteadmight argue that real blame requires feelingsof some kind onthe part of the blamer: anger, or resentment, for example. Other factors might include trade restrictions by the rich world on poor countries exports, civil wars, disease (eg AIDS, malaria) etc. Were looking for candidates to be able to pick out details in the text that support the argument they want to make - and opposing arguments, too. 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. What's clear from all of this is that we're not looking for a single answer. Another candidate might suggest that even if no one is harmed, it is important that laws are respected and we could examine why this is the case. If you are joining the call in browser you can just switch between the two tabs. They might be able to tell us about the challenges of translation, about what sorts of things resist literal or straightforward translation from one language to another, and this would give us an indication of how aware they are of how languages work. In terms of software, you will just need Microsoft Teams. Student: Ah. If the interview cant proceed then dont worry - the college will rearrange it as soon as they can. 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 Why is income per head between 50 and 100 times larger in the United States than in countries such as Burundi and Malawi? Interviews | University of Oxford Maths interviews are usually conducted over a piece of paper, sometimes at a white board and so diagrams will get drawn and the student will find the answers are 1, 2, 3, 5 for the first four cases. 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? We do not expect the student to know the answer to this question straight away, and in fact getting the correct answer isnt important here. Well, it turns out these are all actual types of number with full mathematical definitions. The email may have been flagged as spam. Might it put some people off? In some cases, interviews are expected to take place in schools, and so you and your school will need to check that you have access to the required technology listed on this page. In addition to running Microsoft Teams on a computer or similar, you will need a Miro virtual whiteboard. Ill try drawing the cube first to visualise it. The middle rung of the ladder has been painted a differnt colour on the side, so that we can see it when we look at the ladder from side on. Others will be B, C, D etc, depending on how many there are in the group.). Oxford Interview Questions: Advice from 10 Admitted Students I would hope the student would pick out this connection between memory and how easy to spell or pronounce a word is, and how that relates to spelling and pronunciation in Welsh versus in English.
