Interviews Overseas Trip

If you are an international student who’s decided to attend the interviews in person, these are some areas which you should pay attention to.
 

Arrive Early to Overcome Jet Lag and Settle Accommodation
 

Students arriving from time zones which differ from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) by more than 8 hours should aim to arrive in the UK around 1-3 days before the interview date. This will help you get used to the time difference and minimise the effects of any jet lag. In turn, you’ll be able to perform to the best of your abilities on the actual day of the interview.
 

Apply for the Visa As Soon As Possible

Students who require a visa to enter the UK should apply straight after they submit the UCAS application. Even if you are not certain that you will be invited to an interview, you should still apply for a visa by 20 October at the latest. This is because the interview invitation letter typically arrives 2 weeks before the interviews. If you only start applying for a visa at that point, it would be too late. 

Settling Accommodation

Travelling alone

• There’s no need to book a hotel room because the college that you are interviewing at will provide you with meals and accommodation for free.
• Your interview invitation letter will state the date of arrival. Applicants can however request to check in earlier. 
• Colleges will try to accommodate such requests unless there are no rooms available. This can happen because the interviews happen at the end of the academic term and some rooms might not have been vacated by the current university students yet. There might also be students who are staying at the university over the winter, which would reduce the number of rooms available.
• Once you complete your interview you will have to check out of your accommodation. It is usually not possible to remain at the college for a few more days.

Travelling with parents

• Some parents or guardians may choose to travel together with the student (note that for students from China under the age of 18, adult accompaniment is a requirement for the grant of a travel visa).
• Colleges only provide accommodation for students so any parents or guardians will need to book their own accommodation. 
• Booking 1 month in advance is recommended in order to secure a room near the town centre. Book a hotel room first even if you do not know if the college will make you an interview offer because it will be too late by the time you receive the invitation letter. Websites like Booking.com and Expedia allow you to book a hotel and cancel afterwards without paying any charges. 
   
• Other accommodation platforms include Airbnb.
   

Transportation

Both universities are relatively easy to access from Heathrow airport, with Oxford and Cambridge being about 60 km and 110 km away respectively.

Imperial College London

Imperial College has interviews for applicants applying to a selected range of subjects. These are mainly science subjects and include Chemistry as well as Materials Sciences. The interviews take place from mid November to mid December and it is possible to choose your interview slot. 
 

To minimise the number of interview trips that have to be made, applicants who are also applying to Oxford or Cambridge should try to select an interview date which is close to the date of their Oxbridge interview.