Ellie Whelan
Once the personal statement has been tweaked until you can recite it by rote, it is time to finally submit that UCAS form. Yet unfortunately, this doesn’t signpost the end of the admissions process. The two biggest hurdles lay ahead: the admissions test and interview.
Having taken both the MLAT (French) and ELAT, here is my rundown of the dos and don’ts of the Oxbridge admissions tests.
So… what are the admissions tests?
The admissions tests are required for most courses at Oxford and Cambridge and take place on a particular day in November. They are subject-specific and designed to test the aptitude of applicants. To check whether your course requires an admissions test, visit the Oxford/ Cambridge webpage. The key thing to remember is that these tests aren’t supposed to test your knowledge, but your skills. It’s about how you apply information, rather than what you know.
How important are the admissions tests?
Oxbridge admissions are holistic. A stellar performance will not grant you a key to the door, neither will a dismal mark bar you from the gate. Everything is taken into account: from the personal statement to the interview. Although STEM subjects often have a threshold that candidates must meet to be shortlisted for an interview, humanities and languages seem to use the tests almost as a screening process. The tests check whether you can produce good work under pressure (a must for these pressure-cooker universities) and whether your UCAS predicted grades reflect your academic standard. Although it is important to do well to ensure an interview, don’t panic if things don’t go swimmingly. I scored worse than average on the ELAT and still (somehow) bagged an offer!
When shall I start revising?
Finding the fine balance, between burning yourself out with revision, and stressing yourself with a last minute revision frenzy, is almost as difficult as the exams themselves! When you should start revising is really dependent on which admissions test you are taking. Content-heavy tests, like the grammar-based MLAT or the BMAT, require more revision than the skill-based ELAT.
For instance, the MLAT tests your grammar and conjugations, so revising these often will help you spot patterns and commit them to memory. Working your way through a French grammar book (I used the “Élan 1 AS grammar book) through the summer of Year 12 will refresh and improve your grammar steadily. Grammar is a skill which cannot be overdone or even crammed: the earlier you start your MLAT revision, the more thankful you will be when youre sat in an exam hall in November.
In terms of ELAT, it is a totally different ball game. Completing all the past papers in the summer will force you to fall into formulaic analysis, and strip you of creativity. Instead, I recommend spending the summer analysing texts and drawing comparisons to other things you have read. Develop your analysis skills, before tackling the dreaded exam. Analyse anything you can get your hands on, from a cookery book, to a Bronte poem to “The Sun”. For English, learning to tackle any text is where the preparation should lie.
How do I revise?
For any admissions test, it is vital that you study the past papers and examiners’ reports. Understanding what the tests consist of and what the examiners are looking for is key to success. Even if you have produced an essay that rivals the works of the literary greats, if it isn’t answering the question or catering to the examiners’ needs, it is no use.
Studying the MLAT papers will familiarise you with the structure and will illuminate patterns in questions. The subjunctive, conditional tense and pronouns are recurring themes on all past papers, so this helps tailor your revision plan. The more you study the language past papers, the more comfortable you will feel on the day.
Yet, the ELAT is easily overdone. Continuously producing essays will make your writing repetitive and dull: the antithesis of what the examiners are looking for. Your work needs to be creative and interesting, not monotonous. Instead, make essay plans from the past papers. Learning to analyse and pair texts, whether they are past papers or your own text suggestions, is so much more important than churning out essays. The ELAT website also features example essays. Analyse how the examiners mark and what they identify as good work, and incorporate this into your own essays.
So in short, examiners’ reports and past papers will be your saving grace.
Final Top Tips
Admissions tests are a small part of the application process. From the personal statement, to the submitted written work, and interview; they are not the make or break.
See the admissions tests as an opportunity. In essay subjects particularly, they grant you the freedom to write creatively and break away from the regimented ALevel mark schemes.
Little but often revision is the key to success!
Featured image courtesy of Aaron Burden on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.
