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Chemistry revision necessary for Oxbridge Med interview?

For anybody who did the Oxbridge Med interview, did you only revise A-level biology or did you revise parts of A level chemistry too?
Original post
by Anonymous
For anybody who did the Oxbridge Med interview, did you only revise A-level biology or did you revise parts of A level chemistry too?

When I went in for the interviews, I didn't revise any A-level content beyond what I was already planning on doing as regular revision... but then Oxford didn't give me an offer so maybe I'm not the best to advice.

I can't give details of what they ask (partly because I'm not allowed, partly because I've largely forgotten/blocked out one of the interviews ), but they do like to ask devilish questions, to which the better read you are, the more equipped you are to answer them. In that sense, revising a little more your Chemistry and Biology A-levels might be useful, but only if you go beyond the curriculum and read up on experiments and where does all the chemical and biological knowledge come from. Having that knowledge and using it to be creative really pays off in the Oxford interviews. So, knowing your A-levels will be handy, but I wouldn't spend more time revising them for interviews, your time is better spent doing wider reading and practicing interviews and exercising some creativity.

Reply 2

Original post
by Scotland Yard
When I went in for the interviews, I didn't revise any A-level content beyond what I was already planning on doing as regular revision... but then Oxford didn't give me an offer so maybe I'm not the best to advice.
I can't give details of what they ask (partly because I'm not allowed, partly because I've largely forgotten/blocked out one of the interviews ), but they do like to ask devilish questions, to which the better read you are, the more equipped you are to answer them. In that sense, revising a little more your Chemistry and Biology A-levels might be useful, but only if you go beyond the curriculum and read up on experiments and where does all the chemical and biological knowledge come from. Having that knowledge and using it to be creative really pays off in the Oxford interviews. So, knowing your A-levels will be handy, but I wouldn't spend more time revising them for interviews, your time is better spent doing wider reading and practicing interviews and exercising some creativity.

Thank you so much for the detailed reply. It is certainly helpful advice!

Reply 3

Original post
by Scotland Yard
When I went in for the interviews, I didn't revise any A-level content beyond what I was already planning on doing as regular revision... but then Oxford didn't give me an offer so maybe I'm not the best to advice.
I can't give details of what they ask (partly because I'm not allowed, partly because I've largely forgotten/blocked out one of the interviews ), but they do like to ask devilish questions, to which the better read you are, the more equipped you are to answer them. In that sense, revising a little more your Chemistry and Biology A-levels might be useful, but only if you go beyond the curriculum and read up on experiments and where does all the chemical and biological knowledge come from. Having that knowledge and using it to be creative really pays off in the Oxford interviews. So, knowing your A-levels will be handy, but I wouldn't spend more time revising them for interviews, your time is better spent doing wider reading and practicing interviews and exercising some creativity.
Sounds a lot like they are seeking to test critical thinking skills within the context of the relevant subject theory!

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