Interview for English at UCL- hmmm, this might be a help.

So, I went into UCL after being told I had to go to the Foster Court, which was surprisingly quite hard to find- i suggest that you plan your journey ahead and try to get there rather early. As soon as I went in I was told to go and sit inside a room and wait for my interviewer to pick me up- a man came in and introduced himself as Richard North. The room I was interviewed in was pleasant, not too small and stuffy (this would not have helped with my nerves). Richard North immedaitely began with the questions just as soon as I sat down- he asked what book have you most recently read- that was the only easy question asked during the interview :frown:

after that, the two interviewers began a whole series of debates and conversations without mentioning my personal statement once. I talked a lot about the Gothic and the ideologies it constructed as well as deconstructed. I was asked a lot about narrative techniques in the Gothic and the unreliability of narrators. We also talked about poetry and plays- i was asked to describe Keats' style of writing- when i had read him three years ago :frown:

I had to do a forty minute writing exam after, which is surprisingly the most calming part of the interview and is truly much more relaxed than it sounds.

I spent a lot of time rereading my personal statement as well as reading experiences on the students forums which was all useful but, one BIG bit of advice is to make sure you relax and let yourself think outside of the box. This is mainly because they may not really talk about what is in your personal statement rather, they tend to stray from it and ask you challenging questions that really prompt you to think about certain techniques or critical perspectives. The interviewers are not too harsh, they really try to bring out the best in you however, don't be fooled by that- they do try to catch you out slightly- but again, if you make mistakes don't worry and stay honest-- if you don't understand something tell them and talk about something else. It's better to show off the things you know as opposed to dwelling on things you don't and making answers up :smile: