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Law interview Prep Help!

Hi, so I wasn’t expecting to get an interview offer but here I am… does anyone have any tips or resources? I have absolutely no clue how to prepare. People online say it’s just like a normal academic conversation but I can’t help but stress about it! It’s surely not just as simple as that…
I go to Oxford not Cambridge but I assume the interviews are pretty similar. I was sent a case to read for one interview about a week before, you're allowed to have the document before you in the interview, which I only realised when the interviewer interrupted me as I was trying to recite the facts/judgement from memory lol, they didn't expect me to have understood the legal points of the case to a high degree and asked me questions such as what factors I think would be relevant to the decision (looking for answers like public policy, fair attribution of loss). Then I had another interview which was much less academic and was asked questions such as what I like to read for fun/how it has changed my view of the world, and what my most controversial view is. I spent about 5 out of the 20 minutes of that interview talking about Stephen King books. I was told by my school that it generally tends to be that if you come out of the interview thinking you've done badly, you've got in, and if you come out thinking it was easy and they loved you, something has gone wrong lol
Reply 2
Original post by Username123ab
I go to Oxford not Cambridge but I assume the interviews are pretty similar. I was sent a case to read for one interview about a week before, you're allowed to have the document before you in the interview, which I only realised when the interviewer interrupted me as I was trying to recite the facts/judgement from memory lol, they didn't expect me to have understood the legal points of the case to a high degree and asked me questions such as what factors I think would be relevant to the decision (looking for answers like public policy, fair attribution of loss). Then I had another interview which was much less academic and was asked questions such as what I like to read for fun/how it has changed my view of the world, and what my most controversial view is. I spent about 5 out of the 20 minutes of that interview talking about Stephen King books. I was told by my school that it generally tends to be that if you come out of the interview thinking you've done badly, you've got in, and if you come out thinking it was easy and they loved you, something has gone wrong lol

Wow that is super helpful thank you! Also congratulations on getting an offer from Oxford! That's no easy feat. I hope you're finding law at Oxford good!
Thank you so much, from your description it sounds pretty enjoyable and not as hard as I was imagining it to be... is that really the case? I hope I won't blank on the day haha.
Can I ask perhaps what did you do to prepare for the interviews? I only have one interview scheduled for around 45 minutes and it states that it's a subject interview. I'm particularly nervous because I'm being interviewed by the Director of Studies too.
I know the obvious, know your personal statement and your motivations for choosing law etc. But I was wondering if there are any other areas you would recommend I look into?
Original post by Anonymous #1
Wow that is super helpful thank you! Also congratulations on getting an offer from Oxford! That's no easy feat. I hope you're finding law at Oxford good!
Thank you so much, from your description it sounds pretty enjoyable and not as hard as I was imagining it to be... is that really the case? I hope I won't blank on the day haha.
Can I ask perhaps what did you do to prepare for the interviews? I only have one interview scheduled for around 45 minutes and it states that it's a subject interview. I'm particularly nervous because I'm being interviewed by the Director of Studies too.
I know the obvious, know your personal statement and your motivations for choosing law etc. But I was wondering if there are any other areas you would recommend I look into?

To prepare I just found a few recent developments in law that I was interested in (such as the new online safety bill and developments to immigration law) and read some articles about those areas. Also reread any essays you've mentioned in your personal statement (like if you did an EPQ or entered any essay competitions). But apart from that there's not much more you can do to prepare. They're not expecting you to know anything in depth about law and they know that most students will have never studied law before. It's not as scary as you think it will and I'm sure you'll do well :smile:
Reply 4
Original post by Username123ab
To prepare I just found a few recent developments in law that I was interested in (such as the new online safety bill and developments to immigration law) and read some articles about those areas. Also reread any essays you've mentioned in your personal statement (like if you did an EPQ or entered any essay competitions). But apart from that there's not much more you can do to prepare. They're not expecting you to know anything in depth about law and they know that most students will have never studied law before. It's not as scary as you think it will and I'm sure you'll do well :smile:

Thank you very much! I appreciate your advice and time. All the best with your time at Oxford. I definitely hope it’s not as scary as I think aha. I’m quite worried that my english will not be on par with theirs. Also I’m worried about going blank and not knowing the answers at all. I am grateful for your words of reassurance and best of luck!

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