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Maths interview
What do they ask you in the maths interview?
I heard that you are asked about combinorics, is this true? What do they actually ask you?
If somebody can explain what they were asked about I could then use it, for example if it was calculus I could then study it before hand. If it is combinorics I could buy a book and read about it, hence having pre knowledge of what they will ask will be good.
Sadly, they don't give out any information about what is going to be in the interview.
It kind of like chance, if you get easy questions or questions you practiced alot, you will look better than the other applicants. However, if you get a question that you have never seen before, then you have to improvise and think on your feet.
If I don't know what they will ask, then it will be like revising for an exam that you don't know anything about. I'm gambling on the idear that the admission test will be similar to the questions asked in interview, are they?
P.S. I'm thinking about applying to Wadham
I heard that you are asked about combinorics, is this true? What do they actually ask you?
If somebody can explain what they were asked about I could then use it, for example if it was calculus I could then study it before hand. If it is combinorics I could buy a book and read about it, hence having pre knowledge of what they will ask will be good.
Sadly, they don't give out any information about what is going to be in the interview.
It kind of like chance, if you get easy questions or questions you practiced alot, you will look better than the other applicants. However, if you get a question that you have never seen before, then you have to improvise and think on your feet.
If I don't know what they will ask, then it will be like revising for an exam that you don't know anything about. I'm gambling on the idear that the admission test will be similar to the questions asked in interview, are they?
P.S. I'm thinking about applying to Wadham
Simplicity
What do they ask you in the maths interview?
I heard that you are asked about combinorics, is this true? What do they actually ask you?
If somebody can explain what they were asked about I could then use it, for example if it was calculus I could then study it before hand. If it is combinorics I could buy a book and read about it, hence having pre knowledge of what they will ask will be good.
Sadly, they don't give out any information about what is going to be in the interview.
It kind of like chance, if you get easy questions or questions you practiced alot, you will look better than the other applicants. However, if you get a question that you have never seen before, then you have to improvise and think on your feet.
If I don't know what they will ask, then it will be like revising for an exam that you don't know anything about. I'm gambling on the idear that the admission test will be similar to the questions asked in interview, are they?
P.S. I'm thinking about applying to Wadham
I heard that you are asked about combinorics, is this true? What do they actually ask you?
If somebody can explain what they were asked about I could then use it, for example if it was calculus I could then study it before hand. If it is combinorics I could buy a book and read about it, hence having pre knowledge of what they will ask will be good.
Sadly, they don't give out any information about what is going to be in the interview.
It kind of like chance, if you get easy questions or questions you practiced alot, you will look better than the other applicants. However, if you get a question that you have never seen before, then you have to improvise and think on your feet.
If I don't know what they will ask, then it will be like revising for an exam that you don't know anything about. I'm gambling on the idear that the admission test will be similar to the questions asked in interview, are they?
P.S. I'm thinking about applying to Wadham
Firstly, it's very unpredictable so one person may get a question on calculus, another may get one on exponentials and so on. It's not meant to be predictable else people could just prepare for it. Also, by the same reasoning you should not require any additional learning. The questions should be answerable using the basic knowledge you have from A-level maths/Further maths but in perhaps a new situation. So even if there was a question on combinatrics it would only require A-level knowledge.
Trying to second guess is pointless, because they try very hard to set questions which *do* put you on the spot and make you improvise. That's the whole point because they want to see how good you are and how much potential you have, independent of how much you have been taught. If you can't do the improvisation on the spot thing then probably you won't enjoy Oxford much, because it will happen a lot.
It's spelt Combinatorics.
There is a slight element of chance but you're unlikely to get anything too alien. Remember that everyone there will have covered the same topics and sat the same admissions test, both of which serve to level the field quite nicely. Since it's supposedly fairly obvious to the tutor if you've previously done a question they ask, it's no good trying to second guess them. Just make sure you have firm grasp of the material (Of course, practice with STEP/BMO questions never hurt either...).
There is a slight element of chance but you're unlikely to get anything too alien. Remember that everyone there will have covered the same topics and sat the same admissions test, both of which serve to level the field quite nicely. Since it's supposedly fairly obvious to the tutor if you've previously done a question they ask, it's no good trying to second guess them. Just make sure you have firm grasp of the material (Of course, practice with STEP/BMO questions never hurt either...).
To be honest, a lot of it is down to luck. You may be asked about your favourite topics, or topics you have never even heard of. Your interviewer may be friendly and guide you through the questions with gentle prompts, or they may stare coldly at you while you struggle alone. You may be in a maths mood on the day, or you may have a nasty cold and be tired from not sleeping the night before. There's no knowing.
One piece of advice would be to make sure you know (or can quickly derive) all the results on the A-level formula booklets. Also make sure you've read a couple of maths-related books and have at least a basic understanding of their content, in case that comes up.
One piece of advice would be to make sure you know (or can quickly derive) all the results on the A-level formula booklets. Also make sure you've read a couple of maths-related books and have at least a basic understanding of their content, in case that comes up.
James
To be honest, a lot of it is down to luck. You may be asked about your favourite topics, or topics you have never even heard of. Your interviewer may be friendly and guide you through the questions with gentle prompts, or they may stare coldly at you while you struggle alone. You may be in a maths mood on the day, or you may have a nasty cold and be tired from not sleeping the night before. There's no knowing.
I wouldn't want to deny there's a not-inconsiderable element of luck involved, but I can't imagine what kind of unknown topics a maths applicant might be presented with...surely they could just admit to having not studied it? And a nasty/nice tutor is going to be the same for all applicants for a particular college. Fair enough on the good/bad day bit, I myself was in an atrocious state for my first interview, but surely second interviews help level that out?
if you get a question that you have never seen before, then you have to improvise and think on your feet.
I've talked to the maths tutors at my college quite a bit about interviews, as I helped out with some access stuff. They said that they're not interested if the student knows the answer straight away, they care about their thought process when they come up against something they haven't seen before. So if they answers a question and the student gets it right straight away, they'll just ask another one.
Probably a good thing this is their policy, as they've been asking similar questions at interview for about 8 years!
Probably a good thing this is their policy, as they've been asking similar questions at interview for about 8 years!
Cominatorics type questions sometimes come up as they're quite good at testing your intuition- if they ask something like this, it won't require any specific knowledge other than what you've done at a level- rather test you ability to manipulate things- the idea to get you thinking on the spot. They'll be puzzle type questions.
Graph sketching- yes- i forgot about that. This comes up so often. Try sketching things like x^sin(x) and weird functions like that.
Graph sketching- yes- i forgot about that. This comes up so often. Try sketching things like x^sin(x) and weird functions like that.
i didn't apply for maths, but in my medicine interview if they even got an inkling that i actually knew something about this subject they would just say forget it and move on.
the whole idea of the interview is to ask you what you don't know and see how you cope. they give hints etc, not as hard as it sounds.
the whole idea of the interview is to ask you what you don't know and see how you cope. they give hints etc, not as hard as it sounds.
Simplicity
I'm gambling on the idear that the admission test will be similar to the questions asked in interview, are they?
My interview last December was far more analytical than the entrance test. In the entrance test, there were questions like "find the sum of this series", or "which one of the following graphs is ln(e*sin(x))" or something like that, whereas in the interview most of the questions were more about the method than the answer.
Initially, as what I assume was a 'warmup', I was given some algebra and told to simplify it. It was alright, but 1/(1 + 1/(1+1/(1+1/x))) isn't the easiest warmup. I was then given a question about a group of friends who had just gone to different Universities having decided they would make phonecalls each week to find out everybody's news. I was told to find the best way to manage the calls so that the minimum number of calls were made (i.e. the complication being that once person A had called person B and exchanged their news, person B could ring person C and exchange both their news and person A's news). I think they ended that question once we reached had gone through there being 3,4,5 and 6 friends in the 'network'.
This was all at Oriel BTW.
My interview was at Cambridge, but I expect the process is reasonably similar. I was asked a few logic puzzle-style questions (remove opposite corners from a chessboard sort of thing), some simple calculus, very simple graph sketching (nothing approaching the x^sinx sort of difficulty mentioned here) and a mechanics question that could have been off an M1 paper if you'd been given values instead of unknowns. I was also asked a question I'd seen before on a SMC paper.
My advice for preparation would be to make sure you know what you've covered so far in school, practice graph sketching for stuff involving exponentials and trig functions and do some Maths Challenges. I don't think you need to do much though. A relaxed attitude during the interview is the most useful thing if you want to come up with intelligent responses; worrying about being fully prepared may be detrimental to your performance.
I made a lot of mistakes I wouldn't have done normally and combined this with taking too long to answer, but I still got an offer (if not an easy one). Don't worry too much, just sketch a few graphs then give it a good try.
My advice for preparation would be to make sure you know what you've covered so far in school, practice graph sketching for stuff involving exponentials and trig functions and do some Maths Challenges. I don't think you need to do much though. A relaxed attitude during the interview is the most useful thing if you want to come up with intelligent responses; worrying about being fully prepared may be detrimental to your performance.
I made a lot of mistakes I wouldn't have done normally and combined this with taking too long to answer, but I still got an offer (if not an easy one). Don't worry too much, just sketch a few graphs then give it a good try.
nothing approaching the x^sinx sort of difficulty mentioned here
James
It's the study of discrete objects, e.g. combinations, permutations, etc.
Thanks, James. (And thanks for correcting my spelling
)OP, I don't think you'll have to know about combinatorics at interview if I don't even know what the word means after 2 and a half terms.
There is an EXCELLENT thread floating around the maths forum with exactly the advice you are looking for in, have a little search for it.
I also had interviews at oriel last december and had that question on friends and telephones, started out ok but kind of fell away later. Then in the second interview I made mistakes multiplying stuff together; the question was how many numbers are there between some values that aren't multiples of three numbers (could have been 2,3,5 maybe, not sure), then there was something about circles after did sort of ok but came out thinking I'd done pretty poorly.
Then the next day I went for an interview at St Hilda's and the guy who interviewed me didn't even have questions written down or anything, it seemed like he was just making them up!
The point I'm trying to make is anything could come up and even if you don't like it see how it goes and keep thinking. Anyway, got an offer for oriel of three A's, even though I thought it didn't go too well, so I suppose that shows the interview isn't the be all and end all. I think the best policy is try to go for it in the AS levels so you've got something to fall back on if it all goes pear shaped in the interview.
Then the next day I went for an interview at St Hilda's and the guy who interviewed me didn't even have questions written down or anything, it seemed like he was just making them up!
The point I'm trying to make is anything could come up and even if you don't like it see how it goes and keep thinking. Anyway, got an offer for oriel of three A's, even though I thought it didn't go too well, so I suppose that shows the interview isn't the be all and end all. I think the best policy is try to go for it in the AS levels so you've got something to fall back on if it all goes pear shaped in the interview.
Yea, make sure you can derive all your formulas. They asked me how to derive something and I was basically ****ed for that. Luckily I did well enough in the rest of the interview to get an offer 
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