" It is primarily your enthusiasm for your subject that will be attractive to the admissions tutors and interviewers and, if you are accepted, your love for your subject will sustain you through hours of hard work.
There is probably more responsibility and expectation placed on students at Oxbridge than at any other university in the UK.
Good students at Oxford and Cambrdige will typically work for 10 hours per day, sometimes more during exam term. Whereas students on an essay-based course at UCL, for example, will be asked to write four 2500 word essays over the course of a 10 week term, Oxbridge students are asked to write between 12 and 14 essays of the same length in the course of an eight-week term.
Students who study science subjects at Oxbridge will have a vast amount of contact time per week: lab sessions, seminars, supervision, lectures...There is little time off, and most of it is taken up studying for assignments and shorts essays.
Reading widely and deeply is also an essential preparation for the style of working you will be expected to do at university.
Students who study humanities subjects typically have very few hours of contact time in the week. However, they are expected to work as many hours as the scientists. This requires them to be incredibly independent in their study practice.
Show that you are able to research independently in preparation for the interview.
Remember, in order to argue your case at interview, and cope with the workload if you get a place, you must be deeply committed to your subject.
In order to prepare yourself for the interview, you could get the reading list for new undergraduates. List of books you are expected to read before you come up to Cambridge or Oxford for the first time. You should dip into some of these books."
Getting into Oxford & Cambridge Katy Blatt 14th Edition
