The University of Oxford is consistently voted one of theworld ’s best academic institutions(this year finally knocking Caltech off the top spot ) , with alumni including Tim Berners - Lee , Richard Dawkins , Stephen Hawking , Oscar Wilde , JRR Tolkien , Dr Seuss , and Rowan Atkinson , aka Mr Bean , to name but a few .

With such a daunting reputation , the university has attempted to “ demystify ” its intimidate interviewing process – they interview around 10,000 applier for just 3,500 spaces –   byrevealing some of its questions .

And they might not be what you would think . Instead of asking interrogation that command specific knowledge or actual information , they tend to be more abstract and open to revealhowthe interviewee recall .

“ No matter what kind of educational background or opportunity you have had , the interview should be an opportunity to show off your sake and ability in your chosen subject , ” Dr Samina Khan , Director of Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach explained ina statement .

If you want to see how to successfully tackle the questions and ingrain the interviewer , or just see how you would potentially do , lead over to theUniversity of Oxford websitewhere the university ’s prof   give some hints about what they are expect for in a good answer .

For now , examine yourself on some of these questions .

What makes a novel or play " political " ?

This is a interrogation posed to prospective Modern Language ( French ) students .

About 1 in 4 death in the UK is due to some form of cancer , yet in the Philippines the human body is only around 1 in 10 . What factors might underlie this difference ?

This question is posed to prospective aesculapian students by interviewer Chris Norbury of Queen ’s College .

Imagine a ravel leaning against a vertical wall with its foot on the ground . The middle spoke of the ladder has been painted a different colour on the side , so that we can see it when we look at the ladder from the side on . What frame does that middle rung hunt out as the run falls to the floor ?

This question is pose to prospective Mathematics students by interviewer Rebecca Cotton - Barratt of Christ Church college .

What on the nose do you think is require in pick someone ?

One for prospective Politics , Philosophy , and Economics ( PPE ) students by interviewer Ian Phillips of St Anne ’s College .

A declamatory subject area appear to show that older siblings consistently score eminent than younger siblings on intelligence quotient tests . Why would this be ?

Prospective Experimental Psychology pupil could expect a question like this by interviewer Kate Watkins , St Anne ’s College .