Past admissions interview questions for Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE)
Is there essentially any difference between taxation and the state taking away one of your arms? (submitted by Oxford applicant).
Do you really consent to any government given that there is barely anywhere in the world to escape some government or other? (submitted by Oxford applicant).
Put a monetary value on this teapot? (molivam42's weblog)
If you’re not in California, how do you know it exists? (molivam42's weblog)
Is it a matter of fact or knowledge that time travels in only one direction? (Oxbridge Applications)
Differentiate between power and authority. (Oxbridge Applications)
Why do we need government? (Oxbridge Applications)
Would it be feasible to have an economy entirely based on the service sector? (Oxbridge Applications)
Do you believe in free will? How far does it extend to - an oyster, for example? (Oxbridge Applications)
Are you cool? (Oxbridge Applications)
If there were three beautiful, naked women standing in front of you, which one would you pick? Does this have any relevance to economics? (Oxbridge Applicants).
What have you enjoyed most about your A Level Economics course? (The Student Room)
Do animals think? (mumsnet)
How do you measure the success of a political voting system? (mumsnet)
If a Martian drops money across the country, does inflation go up? (mumsnet)
Convince me you are real and not just in my dreams? (Not in the biblical sense!) (mumsnet)
When I was at school in the 1970s, there was talk of a pensions crisis that would one day hit. The talk persisted in the 1980s, and the 1990s – and then there was a pensions crisis, and little had been done politically to prepare us for it. Is there a fault with the British political system that means we can't sensibly address serious medium and long-term problems when they are identified? (Oxford University website)
I'm having trouble with the meaning of three words: Lie, Deceive, Mislead. They seem to mean something a bit similar, but not exactly the same. Help me to sort them out from each other. (Oxford University website)
is it possible for a society to exist in which everyone lies all the time? why? (Oxford, Oxbridge Applications)
define 'cruelty' (Oxford, Oxbridge Applications)
if there were three beautiful, naked women standing in front of you, which one would you pick? does this have any relevance to economics? (Oxford, Oxbridge Applications)
of all nineteenth century politicians which was most like Tony Blair? (Oxford, Oxbridge Applications)
put a monetary value on this teapot! (Oxford, Oxbridge Applications)
would you describe the following as 'traditional British values'? drinking tea, eating roast beef and hitting school children. (Oxford, Oxbridge Applications)
what do you think of gay couples adopting? (Oxford, Oxbridge Applications)
What exactly do you think is involved in blaming someone? (Oxford University website)
a person with 50 k is rich. a person with n pounds is rich and a person with n-1 pounds is also rich. so a person with 1 pound is rich. I then had to falsify I (Oxford, Oxbridge Applications)
think of a question that you have prepared an answer to, ask yourself the question and show us how you would answer it in a logical fashion (Oxford, Oxbridge Applications)
What would you do if you were jack straw ( at the time of the interview he had to decide whether to extradite pinochet). (submitted by oxford applicant)
Plato argues that objects in our world, such as chairs, come from an ideal form of a chair that transcends our world. Do you find this convincing? (life more extraordinary)
China should be allowed to pollute as much as it wants, as the USA was able to during its industrial revolution. Do you agree? (life more extraordinary)
Would you rather go to heaven now and experience infinite joy, or wait a year and then go to heaven? Why? (life more extraordinary)
If you found these past interview questions useful, please remember to submit your questions, post interview, to oxbridgeinterview@gmail.com