OXFORD , England ( CNN ) -- You might expect Oxford and Cambridge universities to ask prospective students to compare the works of Chaucer to Boccaccio or to explain the theory of relativity . Cambridge students may have to field questions in the application process that would baffle some observers . Instead , Oxford wants to know : `` Would you rather be a novel or a poem ? '' Cambridge asks applicants : `` What would you do if you were a magpie ? '' The idea , say administrators at the two ultra-prestigious schools in England , is to see how well prospective students can think , not just how much they know . `` What we 're trying to do is move students out of their comfort zone , '' said Mike Nicholson , Oxford University admissions director . `` Many students will have a body of knowledge , and they may be expected to be trusted on that in the interview . What we want to do is take them beyond that point and get them to start thinking for themselves . '' See examples of the application questions » . In the United Kingdom , 90 percent of students are educated at state schools . But 53 percent of Oxford University 's students come from state schools . That seems to indicate that wealthier students who can afford private schools have an advantage . Tutoring company Oxbridge Applications -- founded by Oxford graduates in 1999 -- says 68 percent of the 35,000 clients it has helped are state-funded students . It costs $ 300 for a day of mock interviews or $ 1,500 for a full weekend course . Oxbridge says 47 percent of its clients get into one of the elite colleges . The overall success rate for all applicants to the two schools -- commonly referred to as Oxbridge -- is 24 percent , the tutoring company says . `` At Oxbridge Applications , we have a network of 500 former tutors and former admissions tutors as well , '' said company founder James Uffindell . `` And we take the people that have been there and done it and help supply that information back to the people that want to go there . '' Still , some of the questions seem a bit odd to the casual observer . Watch people on the street react to some brainteasers » . `` It 's totally out there really , '' said one passer-by interviewed on the street . `` Are they on drugs , these people in Cambridge ? '' Some of the questions seem downright sinister : `` How would you poison someone without the police finding out ? '' Cambridge asks . Others are perhaps downright practical : `` Instead of politicians , why do n't we let the managers of Ikea run the country ? ''
Oxford asks prospective students : ` ` Would you rather be a novel or a poem ? '' Cambridge asks students : ` ` What would you do if you were a poet ? '' Administrators at prestigious schools say it is to get people to read . Observer on the BBC describe questions as ` ` totally out there really ''