Anyone applying to Earth Science/Geology?

Anyone here got an oxford interview? I've got mine next week and I'm struggling in terms of what/how to prepare

I suggest taking a peek at the demonstration interview for earth sciences found here https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/guide/interviews
You can expect to have two interviews on consecutive days. The interviewers will usually begin with a question from your personal statement, so read through this the day before. One of those interviews will be maths and physics type questions. You'll get physics questions even if you're not taking physics A' level, although nothing too difficult...acceleration, force, gravity, density etc. You may or may not get a question on chemistry. There is currently more emphasis on physics and maths because they have shut down nearly all of the chemistry labs and sold off the mass spectrometers. The other interview will be more general problem solving, fermi type questions. Something about photosynthesis is a favourite. Remember the interviewers want to know how you think, so start practicing thinking out loud. They are more interested in how you would arrive at an answer, than the actual answer itself. It's ok to spend 15 - 20 seconds collecting your thoughts but you should then begin to say something even if you head off in the wrong direction e.g. 'my first thoughts are....'. Don't be afraid to ask for clarification if the interviewers use jargon you don't understand. It's unlikely you will be shown a rock because this type of observation question doesn't really work online, and most of the tutors don't study rocks anyway. Good luck!

Reply 21

It351

5

Original post by wegetit

How did it go? I have mine next week... Were there any technical questions?

did my imperial interview last month
It's extremely relaxed, but they will discuss in depth your personal statement, so make sure you're ready to expand on anything in there
I was also asked about each of my A level subjects, in the form of a discussion on various topics I had studied and how they might relate to Earth sciences, such as calculus
There also the standard "Why earth sciences" type questions as well which it might be best to prepare for
At the end, you can ask the interviewer a question, and I'd recommend you do to show interest.
No technical questions at all for me.

Reply 22

wegetit

11

Thanks so much for the info! I'll definitely work on what you said.
You also had an Oxford interview? How did that go?

Original post by It351

did my imperial interview last month
It's extremely relaxed, but they will discuss in depth your personal statement, so make sure you're ready to expand on anything in there
I was also asked about each of my A level subjects, in the form of a discussion on various topics I had studied and how they might relate to Earth sciences, such as calculus
There also the standard "Why earth sciences" type questions as well which it might be best to prepare for
At the end, you can ask the interviewer a question, and I'd recommend you do to show interest.
No technical questions at all for me.

Reply 23

CurlyyMM

13

Original post by It351

Anyone here got an oxford interview? I've got mine next week and I'm struggling in terms of what/how to prepare

did you get two interviews because I've had two emails with two different times

Reply 24

arialle

17

Original post by It351

did my imperial interview last month
It's extremely relaxed, but they will discuss in depth your personal statement, so make sure you're ready to expand on anything in there
I was also asked about each of my A level subjects, in the form of a discussion on various topics I had studied and how they might relate to Earth sciences, such as calculus
There also the standard "Why earth sciences" type questions as well which it might be best to prepare for
At the end, you can ask the interviewer a question, and I'd recommend you do to show interest.
No technical questions at all for me.

Same I did mine on the 16th! They asked a lot of PS qs and I had a few technical ones but only cause that stuff was on my PS. Really excited, just got an offer from Imperial for Geophysics w a Year Abroad!

Reply 25

It351

5

Original post by wegetit

Thanks so much for the info! I'll definitely work on what you said.
You also had an Oxford interview? How did that go?

It’s next week

Reply 26

It351

5

Original post by CurlyyMM

did you get two interviews because I've had two emails with two different times

Yh, two 30 min interviews on different days for me

Reply 27

BetaVersion2.9

9

Original post by CurlyyMM

did you get two interviews because I've had two emails with two different times

Two interviews are the standard procedure for Earth Sciences at Oxford. It means you'll be seen by 3 - 4 colleges.

Reply 28

emilymilly

1

Hi. I'm now done with Oxford's Geology course interview and was just nervous about how easy it was.
All of their questions were so easy (easier than the AS course content I guess) and I think it's because I took too much time to answer to each of their questions. If I took less time they could've asked me more difficult questions probably??
How hard were yours??

Reply 29

starrrrlight99

10

Original post by SParsons22

Bristol as they're world-known for volcanology and paleontology; the topics I'm very interested in. Next would be Cardiff because I loved the campus and city had everything you needed. I haven't been to Leicester or Royal Holloway in person but attending virtual open days in a couple weeks to see where they fit in my rankings.

can u tell me how the royal holloway open day went bc i got an offer but didn't manage to join the open day. i'm not a geology applicant though

Reply 30

Habitable Earth

6

Original post by emilymilly

Hi. I'm now done with Oxford's Geology course interview and was just nervous about how easy it was.
All of their questions were so easy (easier than the AS course content I guess) and I think it's because I took too much time to answer to each of their questions. If I took less time they could've asked me more difficult questions probably??
How hard were yours??

I had a rather easy one as well. My course is four years F644 and I received two interviews with quantitative and qualitative focus. The quantitative one only test physics and simple mechanics with diagrams, so I felt rather relaxed and tried to focus on verbalizing the thoughts to let them see where we are. The qualitative one is based on my research mentioned in PS and one book I read, how to build a habitable planet. The main difficulty are some types of rock or geological formation question for me to describe but I survived by verbalizing every possible guess...

Reply 31

BetaVersion2.9

9

Original post by emilymilly

Hi. I'm now done with Oxford's Geology course interview and was just nervous about how easy it was.
All of their questions were so easy (easier than the AS course content I guess) and I think it's because I took too much time to answer to each of their questions. If I took less time they could've asked me more difficult questions probably??
How hard were yours??

If you know the answers to the questions then it can appear to be very easy. I suspect you did better than you think. Well done!

Reply 32

wegetit

11

I just had mine yesterday! It was pretty relaxed, with the interviewer asking me a bit about their field of study, and expanding on my PS.

Original post by arialle

Same I did mine on the 16th! They asked a lot of PS qs and I had a few technical ones but only cause that stuff was on my PS. Really excited, just got an offer from Imperial for Geophysics w a Year Abroad!

Reply 33

eaglehasfallen

1

Hi, I applied for Geology at Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Leicester. I also applied for Earth Sciences at Lancaster. I have offers from both Exeter and Lancaster. One thing I was wondering about is do Southampton still do interviews?

Reply 34

Habitable Earth

6

Original post by eaglehasfallen

Hi, I applied for Geology at Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Leicester. I also applied for Earth Sciences at Lancaster. I have offers from both Exeter and Lancaster. One thing I was wondering about is do Southampton still do interviews?

If you are applying for the Master of Science in Geology, the official website didn't mention anything related to interview.
This is their description of the requirement and expectation for applicant I guess.

We will assess your application on the strength of your:

predicted grades
academic achievements
personal statement
academic reference
We'll aim to process your application within 2 to 6 weeks, but this will depend on when it is submitted. Applications submitted in January, particularly near to the UCAS equal consideration deadline, might take substantially longer to be processed due to the high volume received at that time.

Reply 35

SParsons22

3

Original post by eaglehasfallen

Hi, I applied for Geology at Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Leicester. I also applied for Earth Sciences at Lancaster. I have offers from both Exeter and Lancaster. One thing I was wondering about is do Southampton still do interviews?

I don’t think so because I received an offer from them and didn’t do an interview nor was asked to.

Reply 36

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

15

Original post by eaglehasfallen

Hi, I applied for Geology at Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Leicester. I also applied for Earth Sciences at Lancaster. I have offers from both Exeter and Lancaster. One thing I was wondering about is do Southampton still do interviews?

Hi, first of all congratulations on your offer from Lancaster!

I'm currently in my third year of the BSc Earth and Environmental Sciences course, so if you have any questions about the course content, student life, or anything like that then don't hesitate to ask. Overall though, this course is really enjoyable, particularly if you enjoy a lot of the 'hard-rock' geology content, but also like to have the flexibility to take some environmental modules as well. I would strongly recommend that you book onto our Offer Holder Events (usually take place around Feb/March/April I believe) for a look around the university (if you haven't already) and get a taste for what the course entails. Overall the vibe in the department (Lancaster Environment Centre) is very positive and academic but laid back at the same time, you could knock on any lecturer's office door and they would be happy to help you out with anything you are struggling with.

^Harry (LEC Student Ambassador)

Reply 37

aco34

1

Original post by VC6325029

Just want to see who's applying since it's not a popular course.

Yeah, I've applied at Imperial, Keele, Leicester, Edge Hill and Birmingham for mostly MSci Geology

Reply 38

maddy124875

2

I've gotten offers from Imperial, Durham and UCL now for earth sciences and I'm awaiting Edinburgh. Anyone advice on which one to choose??

Reply 39

Habitable Earth

6

Original post by maddy124875

I've gotten offers from Imperial, Durham and UCL now for earth sciences and I'm awaiting Edinburgh. Anyone advice on which one to choose??

I got offers from Imperial and Durham too. Heard from other threads that Imperial majors are more specialized, and Durham has more options to explore. Imperial would have better research faculty as it is dedicated in STEM.

Anyone applying to Earth Science/Geology?

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