It’s meant to be one of the toughest universities to enter in the UK, and with interview questions like this, we can see how.
Former editor of The Guardian, Alan Rusbridger, has revealed in a blog post the level of questioning potential students are asked when applying to study at Oxford University, including passages from the Bible and asking the issues associated with a wealth tax.
According to The Independent, Rusbridger wrote an exposé outlining how candidates are given a two-page passage to study quoting the story of King Solomon from the Bible, where two women say they are the mother of the same child.
Students are then asked to identify issues with the king’s approach, and to provide alternative ways Solomon could have ruled which of the women was the true mother.
He adds:
“Prospective students are then asked rapid fire questions: “Do the mothers have an incentive to tell the truth? What if A is telling the truth? How does it change if B is telling the truth?
“What if Solomon simply sold the child to the correct mother by asking a price high enough to deter the false mother? What price would he have to offer?””
If that wasn’t enough to put off any potential students, the questioning then leads on to questions of economics management – namely searching for suggestions surrounding problems with a wealth tax.
Sample questions include:
“In equilibrium, what are the implications for global tax rates if people move to avoid higher taxes? If the answer’s zero, how does France get away with taxing the rich?
“Does taxing property get round the mobility of capital? What policy initiatives would help stop the flight of capital in response to changes in the taxation rates of individual countries?”
If you find this all quite taxing, (sorry we had to), previous questions included asking why humans have two eyes and why ladybirds and strawberries are both red.
We just really hope whichever students win their place are really, really happy on their course.
After all that stress, you’d want to be.
