I've been interviewed at both Cambridge and Oxford, AMA

In summary: year 13, got into straight Law at Cambridge but missed my grades by a bit. I took a gap year (for other reasons too) and applied to Oxford for Law with German; I got rejected.

I wonder if anyone will even ask me anything haha but I'm bored as hell and can't sleep

Which interview felt better and easier overall?

'I've interviewed at both Cambridge and Oxford, AMA'

You should change the title to 'I've been interviewed by both Oxford and Cambridge'. I hate grammar Nazis but I believe that in this case, nonstandard grammar does affect the meaning and the current title would attract thousands of prospective Oxbridge applicants who click on this thread only to feel disappointed.

A really good point, sorry, it was that before but I changed it to make it shorter. Going to change it back now

Actually, having looked at it again, it may still be accepted colloquially, but I'd say changing it is still a good idea to clarify the meaning, otherwise people would think that you're an Oxbridge interviewer.

Definitely, definitely the Cambridge one. It wasn't necessarily easier - there were a lot more areas of testing - but I felt as though I was given more opportunities to shine (for want of a better word), whereas both the interviews I had at Oxford (with different tutors) were the exact same style. (I'm not saying this just because I didn't get in!)

At the Cambridge one I was given an problem-question essay to write, and then I was asked (in the actual interview) to apply case law, as well engage in a more jurisprudential discussion, while at Oxford I was just given two different judgments to apply case law to and discuss, in the same format for both interviews. At Oxford I felt a little cornered, as though I was only being tested on my ability to apply case law verbally, while I think I would have felt more comfortable with an essay-writing opportunity (as at Cambridge) to warm up, since it had been a couple of months since my LNAT.

I think the college at Oxford also put me off a little: my college of choice at Cambridge was Fitzwilliam, which is less intimidating as a place, while at Oxford I was pooled to Brasenose after applying to the more modern and relaxed St. Catherine's. This made me more nervous so make sure you apply to a college you actually feel comfortable at.

Hope this helps!

I was kind of expecting that answer. I generally feel that Oxford is a little more "stiff" than Cambridge, but I still like both universities. I'm just currently trying to decide whether to risk my averagy-kinda UMS with Cambridge or just apply for Oxford :/ thank you btw!

No problem! Yeah, that's what I'd heard too, which is what originally made me apply to Cambridge despite much preferring the course at Oxford.

I don't want to keep going on lolb but I would say it's really important how you feel about the actual place too. It was kind of convenient for me in year 13 that as a place, Oxford just didn't really appeal to me like Cambridge did, which helped my decision.

Are you applying to Law or something else? And good luck!!

I'm applying for Nat Sci actually, the physical type, and so I could just apply to Oxford for physics but I don't want to loose my Chem and bio beyond a level :/ tbh originally I did think that Oxford was more for me but eventually changed my mind quite drastically. I feel fine in both place so, but the Cambridge course is so much more appealing
Can I ask what UMS you had for cambridge? I know that law is classed more as humanities and it might be different to applying for science, but I'm a little worried about mine even though I personally think they were ok :/

Yeah of course, I can't remember each UMS figure exactly (sorry, 2 years ago and I can't find the papers right now) but I remember that across my three best subjects (Maths, English, German) it was ~93%. The three-best-subjects rule saved me because I was three marks off an A in AS chem!

I think in general they take *everything* into account, so a killer personal statement could swing it in your favour, and a good interview could change it all. I knew someone who applied to a science subject at Cambridge with about 97% UMS average across 3 or all of maths, fmaths, bio and chem but tanked in the interview because they just weren't adequately prepared. I also had a friend who was interviewed for mechanical engineering (he eventually didn't get in but that was more because of the interview) with a UMS top three of about 87%, so it all varies.

I realise I'm chucking heaps of information at you so I hope it makes sense! Tbh in year 13 I didn't choose between Oxford and Cambridge until the morning of the 15th of October

Right that's alright, Ive got 93% both in maths and physics which are most important to me, and then 88% in bio and 86% in chem. However I'm resitting a module in Chemistry because somehow I got like 78% on one of them and I know I can bump it up to 90%, so I think as long as I mark it as a resit they'll take it into account as it doesn't fit in.
But right, thanks so much, I'm gonna start interview preparation hardcore from now then
(Yep I'll also probably not be able to choose got quite a while :/)

Definitely, definitely the Cambridge one. It wasn't necessarily easier - there were a lot more areas of testing - but I felt as though I was given more opportunities to shine (for want of a better word), whereas both the interviews I had at Oxford (with different tutors) were the exact same style. (I'm not saying this just because I didn't get in!)

At the Cambridge one I was given a problem-question essay to write, and then I was asked (in the actual interview) to apply case law, as well engage in a more jurisprudential discussion, while at Oxford I was just given two different judgments to apply case law to and discuss, in the same format for both interviews. At Oxford I felt a little cornered, as though I was only being tested on my ability to apply case law verbally, while I think I would have felt more comfortable with an essay-writing opportunity (as at Cambridge) to warm up, since it had been a couple of months since my LNAT.

Hope this helps!

How complex was the language in the German interview at Oxford and how fluent would you have to be to hold up the conversation?

So... if your better at essays than verbal discussions (not necessarily bad at verbal discussions, I'm just better at laying down my thoughts in essays), Cambridge seems a better choice than Oxford? Thankfully, both my AS UMS and IGs are good enough for both.

Thank you very much for the information. I was indeed asking about the 4 year Law course to France
I just want to be able to improve my French especially my vocab (conversational vocab not GCSE syllabus vocab), fluency and accent

I don't think it's ever a good idea to generalise so broadly - both universities take into account MANY factors, and I'm sure this can vary from college to college. While I felt I was tested on a wider variety of skills during my Cambridge interview, you could argue that my essay skills had already been tested in the LNAT (as required by Oxford for Law applications).

In hindsight, another problem for me was that I had already gone through the heartbreak (lol) and anguish of losing my Cambridge place, so I felt an overwhelming pressure to perform in interview and gain a place at Oxford. This most probably affected my verbal skills (normally good, very good at Cambridge interview) even more.

BTW - if your grades are looking good enough for both, then I would say go for the better course, or the place you feel more comfortable/at home with (whichever factor is more important to you). Let me know which you pick!

Right that's alright, Ive got 93% both in maths and physics which are most important to me, and then 88% in bio and 86% in chem. However I'm resitting a module in Chemistry because somehow I got like 78% on one of them and I know I can bump it up to 90%, so I think as long as I mark it as a resit they'll take it into account as it doesn't fit in.
But right, thanks so much, I'm gonna start interview preparation hardcore from now then
(Yep I'll also probably not be able to choose got quite a while :/)