Hi! I recently received an interview invitation from Oxford University in the UK for Law (LLB). To prepare, I am re-familiarizing myself with my personal statement, writing down every point I can remember making in my LNAT essay, coming up with general points to questions like “Why law?” etc., watching their interview video examples, and reading their advice. Is there anything else I should be doing? Does anyone have experience with what Oxford interviews are like? Thank you!
The interview is not about why you want to study law and even less about your personal statement (although if you are American you’d better have a good answer as to why studying law in the UK is remotely relevant because the systems are so different).
They are going to ask you challenging academic questions about the subject and you really need to have read a fair amount of the background material listed on the website (many candidates will have spent months last summer going through this pretty comprehensively):
Thanks! I brought up the why law / personal statement since it got asked on their example interviews, and their advice on the website says to be familiar with the content of your statement. They informed me that for background material, they would send me a relevant pre-reading 30 minutes before the interview begins. I also think they put a lot of emphasis on being able to make a quality argument on the spot. Thank you for the advice!
Not just an argument, but grounding your analysis in legal principles and where possible citing precedents or similar cases. That’s why a lot of self-directed background reading in the subject is important.
You should also be familiar with current U.K. legal debates, such as the recent bill on assisted dying and the pros and cons of social media restrictions/prosecutions. But remember it’s not about your personal views but whether you can identify key legal issues (liability, incitement etc) on both sides of the issue.
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Update - I watched a lot of actual interviews that Oxford recorded and posted on their website, YouTube channel, and other media outlets. The tutors often started off with some general questions - frequently about something in the personal statement, along with a “why law” type of question - and then transitioned to discussing the pre-reading sent out 30 minutes beforehand (asking you to summarize it, bringing up hypothetical challenges, etc). Then, they ask some more general questions about broader hypothetical situations unrelated to the pre-reading, and go through your reasoning/thinking process. Finally, they ask you if you have any questions for them. I didn’t see them bringing up any outside background material beforehand, but I will of course be reviewing those too.
My interviewers are Professor Sir Malcolm Evans and Dr. Peter Petkoff - I watched some videos of them lecturing, read about their work, etc. Do you have any thoughts on what they might be like as interviewers? Thanks so much!
I’m reading up on a lot of law-related current events going on throughout the world, but also going through some of my notes from old law summer programs, classes, etc. + refreshing myself on some of the main SCOTUS landmark cases in the US! After watching the recorded interviews, I actually feel reasonably confident and am pretty excited. The questions they ask are really interesting and it will be fun to have an exciting conversation. 
Check out the Instagram page Oliversoxford. His recent post is about law interviews and may provide some context.
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Did you apply to Regent’s Park or was it an open application with you being allocated there for interview?
I applied to Magdalen originally but got reallocated to Regent’s Park. The more I researched it, though, the more I loved it! I also had my interview today
Hope you hear good news on January 14th. My son had a great experience there.
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