Oxbridge Interviews 2026: What Oxford and Cambridge Expect
By Laurent, founder of Auditio. Published on , updated on .
An Oxbridge interview is a short academic conversation, not a test of what you have memorised. For 2027 entry, Oxford will interview shortlisted applicants online in December 2026, usually with two tutors. Cambridge will interview between 7 and 18 December 2026, online or in person depending on your College, typically one or two interviews lasting 35 minutes to an hour in total. Both universities say the same thing in different words: they want to see how you think.
What actually happens in the interview?
Oxford describes its interviews as focused conversations about your subject, close to a short tutorial. Tutors usually start with a few easy questions, often about your personal statement or why you chose the course, then move to subject questions. You may be given a text, a poem, a graph or an object to discuss, sometimes before the interview, and asked to work through unfamiliar problems aloud.
Cambridge lists similar tasks: applying what you know to new material or problems, showing your working on problem-solving questions in maths and science, discussing pre-interview reading if you were sent any, and explaining vocational aspects for courses like Medicine. Subject interviews are with two or three interviewers. Some applicants also have a general interview, which can be led by academics from outside their subject.
| Oxford | Cambridge | |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | December 2026, subject timetables published by the university | 7 to 18 December 2026; winter pool in mid to late January 2027 |
| Format | Online, on Microsoft Teams, with one of three technology setups depending on the course | Online or in person, set by your College and course; you usually cannot choose |
| How many | Quite likely more than one, possibly at a second college; Oxford aims to give at least 24 hours' notice of additional interviews | Most applicants have 1 or 2, 35 minutes to an hour in total; some have 3 or 4 |
| Who | Usually two tutors who teach and research at Oxford | Two or three interviewers per subject interview |
| Outcome | Decisions for shortlisted applicants on 12 January 2027, via UCAS | Not everyone interviewed gets an offer; some go to the winter pool |
What are interviewers looking for?
Oxford and Cambridge interviewers look for specific qualities, and Cambridge names them directly: understanding of the subject, critical and independent thinking, curiosity and openness to new ideas, and enthusiasm. Oxford says tutors want to see how you respond to new ideas and engage with material beyond your syllabus, and that extra-curricular activities only count if they show how you meet the selection criteria for your course.
Oxford says your final answer is only part of what tutors find out, and Cambridge that interviewers are interested in how you work out your answers. Oxford's advice for questions you cannot answer straight away is to work through them aloud, because there may be more than one right way in. Cambridge tells applicants they do not need to say what they think interviewers want to hear. Put together, the useful habit is simple: say what you are thinking while you think it.
For scale, Oxford says it typically receives over 23,000 applications for around 3,300 places and shortlists about 10,000 candidates for interview. Being shortlisted already means tutors saw potential in your application.
Weaker answer: "Because of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is green, so leaves are green." Then silence.
Stronger answer: "My first thought is chlorophyll, but that only moves the question: why would chlorophyll reflect green light? If a leaf were black it would absorb more light, so in theory more energy. So either absorbing everything has a cost, maybe heat or damage, or green light isn't worth catching for some reason I don't know. I'd want to know whether plants in very dark places, like deep shade, look darker. Is that the right direction?"
- The stronger answer starts from what the applicant knows, then notices that it does not fully answer the question. That is the "critical and independent thinking" Cambridge describes.
- It proposes two hypotheses instead of committing to one, and suggests evidence that would separate them.
- It ends by inviting the interviewer back in. In a tutorial-style conversation, that gives the tutor an easy way to add a hint.
- Neither answer needs to be "correct" to be useful: the second one gives the interviewer something to work with.
How should you prepare?
To prepare for an Oxbridge interview, start with what both universities recommend: re-read your personal statement and any written work you submitted, go beyond your school syllabus through articles, books, videos or podcasts, and practise talking about your subject out loud. Oxford calls thinking aloud its top tip. Cambridge suggests a practice interview, ideally with someone who does not know you well.
- Use the official material first. Oxford publishes subject sample questions from its tutors and demonstration interview videos with commentary. Pause the video before the student answers and say your own answer aloud.
- Revisit your personal statement as a list of questions. For every book, idea or project you mention, write the hardest follow-up you can think of, then answer it aloud.
- Practise with a stranger to your subject. If they can follow your reasoning, you are explaining rather than reciting.
- Rehearse being stuck. Ask a friend to give you a question you cannot answer, and practise the first thirty seconds: what you know, what you would need to know, a guess you can test.
- Sort the technology early. For online interviews, both universities ask you to test your camera, microphone and connection, and to keep paper and a pen nearby. Oxford may ask you to hold written workings up to the camera.
The hardest part to rehearse alone is being questioned. Our AI oral exam simulator can play the interviewer: you answer out loud, it follows up on what you just said, and you get a debrief on clarity and structure. It is a way to get used to thinking aloud under questioning, not a copy of an Oxford or Cambridge interview, and it does not replace the universities' own demonstration videos. Nerves are normal on the day; our guide on staying calm when the questions start covers what helps in the moment. Other interview and admission orals are on our exam preparation page.
What happens on the day?
This is what happens on an Oxbridge interview day. Wear what you are comfortable in: Oxford says you will not be judged on clothes. Listen carefully: Oxford says you can ask for a question to be repeated, and Cambridge that you can ask interviewers to explain something you don't understand. Do any pre-reading you are sent, often the day before. If illness or another problem could seriously affect your performance, tell your college before the interview, not after.
Frequently asked questions
Are Oxford interviews online or in person in 2026?
Online. Oxford says shortlisted applicants will be interviewed online in December 2026, using Microsoft Teams. Cambridge is different: depending on your College and course, your interview may be online or in person.
Will I be asked about my extra-curricular activities?
Possibly, to help you settle in. Oxford says extra-curricular activities are not assessed unless they show how you meet the selection criteria for your course, so most of the interview will be about your subject.
What if I don't know the answer?
Say what you do know and reason from there out loud. Oxford notes that many questions are designed around ideas you may not have met before, and that tutors are interested in how you think, not only in your final answer.
Does getting a later interview slot mean I'm a weaker candidate?
No. Cambridge states that the timing of your interview does not reflect how strong a candidate you are thought to be.