The University of Oxford has announced that it will be interviewing its 2021 prospective candidates online, as it did for the 2020 admissions cycle.
The announcement comes ahead of the university’s virtual open day on Wednesday 30 June and Thursday 01 July, amidst concerns about the rising rate of COVID-19 cases in the UK.
Before the COVID-19 outbreak, interviews were held in person for all but some candidates with difficulties travelling to Oxford. And we would have seen 10,000 potential students staying at various Oxford colleges while attending at least two face-to-face interviews.
Last year, the decision was made in June to hold interviews online for the 2020 admissions cycle.
A spokesperson for the university said: “As part of our response to the ongoing social distancing and travel requirements introduced to control the spread of COVID-19, considerable thought and time went into adjusting our interview process last year, in order to make it as fair and accessible as possible for all our applicants.”
“The same consideration has been given to arrangements for the 2021 process, and it has been agreed that it is in everyone’s interests for all interviews to be online again this year.
“We hope that taking the decision early and in time for the university-wide virtual open days on 30 June and 01 July will reduce uncertainty and any resulting anxiety for applicants, whilst at the same time ensuring transparency and giving them maximum time to prepare.”
“Overall, the feedback from last year’s process was that the remote format worked well and we are confident that the same will be the case this year.
“As usual we will offer support so candidates feel as prepared as possible, including subject-specific sample questions, FAQs and top tips from tutors and current students.
“Information on, as well as targeted support to access the technology which will be used will also be available, just as it was last year.”
