Admission Tests for Subjects at Oxbridge Universities

Many Oxbridge courses require applicants to take an admissions test, and these tests are used to help Cambridge and Oxford choose between the thousands of candidates who apply each year.

Applicants for undergraduate programmes, as well as running the gauntlet of A-levels, UCAS form, and interviews, will take an aptitude test that helps sift sheep from goats among the myriads of hopefuls who have straight As at A-level or equivalent high scores in other exams systems.

Learn more about the history of subject-specific testing at Oxbridge universities below. If you would like to study at one of the best universities in the world, arrange a free consultation with SI-UK today.

Admissions Tests at Oxbridge

Once upon a time, Oxford candidates would take the Oxford entrance exam until 1995, and Cambridge candidates would take the Cambridge entrance exam until 1987, in addition to being interviewed by their prospective colleges.

After the universities abolished their entrance exams, entry depended on success at A-levels, the International Baccalaureate, or other sixth-form examinational systems – just like applications for any other university in the UK. Over time, as public exams became easier and top-grade students proliferated year after year, it became harder to tell the difference between applicants of the highest calibre and those who had just been well taught and prepped at fee-paying schools, to say nothing of the disadvantages of pupils at state schools whose promise was obscured by lack of aspiration on the part of parents and teachers, poverty of resources on the part of their schools, and a dearth of intellectual self-confidence amidst unfamiliar Oxbridge settings.

To level this playing field, the universities imposed subject-specific aptitude tests to distinguish the candidates with genuine talent from the pretenders who were merely well-polished. As it can be difficult to compare exams of other countries with more familiar UK grades, these aptitude tests can help remove such confusion and put foreign qualifications in perspective so that if a candidate’s scores from a faraway nation seem a little low, then a high score on a subject-specific test can shed light on how good they are. Thanks to these tests, the universities need not interview everyone who has got straight As, a glowing teacher’s reference, and a Duke of Edinburgh Gold. Subject-specific tests make for meritocracy.

Subject-Specific Testing at Oxbridge

There is the Law National Aptitude Test (LNAT) for law students: section one has forty-two multiple-choice questions; section two has an essay responding to one of three questions.

Those wanting to go to Oxford to read PPE, experimental psychology, human sciences, or psychology, philosophy, and linguistics, must take the Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA): ninety minutes of multiple-choice (problem-solving, critical thinking, numerical reasoning) followed by a thirty-minute written assignment testing clarity and concision.

Oxford applicants for mathematics, computer science, or computer science and philosophy must take the Maths Admissions Test (MAT). Cambridge mathematics applicants, however, must take the Test of Mathematics for University Admission (TMUA): two and a half hours, with paper one assessing the ability to apply mathematical knowledge to new situations and paper two assessing the use of mathematical reasoning and elementary logic. Would-be Cambridge history students take the History Admissions Assessment (HAA), which involves a short essay comparing and contrasting two historical sources, while aspiring Oxford historians take the History Admissions Test (HAT), which involves interpreting a source without knowledge of its context and is designed to test the skill and not historical knowledge. 

Postgraduate Admissions Tests

Postgraduate Oxbridge applicants do not have to sit subject-specific tests unless they are applying for a subject at a business school. A GMAT or GRE score is required for the MBA at Oxford’s Saïd Business School and the MBA at Cambridge’s Judge Business School, where the average GMAT score this year is around 687, with the median at 700.

Preparing for Admissions Tests

The way to prepare for these tests is to download and practise on past papers. For example, the LNAT website (see here) has a preparation guide, sample essays, and practice tests. As with any exam, it is perfect preparation that prevents paltry performance.

Study at an Oxbridge University

SI-UK helps prepare international students for Oxbridge study by helping your application be the best it can be with interview practice and admission preparation. Begin your journey by arranging a free consultation today.