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Why you should look forward to Admissions Tests!

Why You Should Look Forward to Admissions Test

We know that anything with the word ‘test’ in the name doesn’t immediately sound like a party – and nor should it, really – but admissions tests, whilst still a ‘test’, should be seen as something positive. As long as you do your research and find the time to prepare thoroughly, Admissions Tests can be a great way to show your strengths as a serious candidate.

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Admissions Tests are Designed to Match the Skills Set of the Ideal Candidate

Admissions Tests are an important step of the application from a decision-making perspective as they encourage you to think through the course you’re applying for and/or the career you’re thinking of pursuing. A properly-designed Admissions Test (which most of them are) gives an accurate representation of the skills required of students on the course, allowing you to see whether you have these skills and whether you actually enjoy using them. This can help you think ahead, or at least consider critically whether the plans you’ve made for the next few years are the right fit for you as an individual. In short, poorly thought out decisions about which course to apply for are less of a risk when you have to study for and sit Admissions Tests that accurately reflect the skills needed on-course. And, in the same vein, if you are a suitable candidate then you’ll find that the skills needed for the Admissions Tests should be some of your strengths.

Preparing for an Admissions Test should also Improve the Skills you Already Have

The Admissions Test helps give you a fresh perspective on studying your subject at IB or A-level. For example, the HAT (History Aptitude Test) is conducted in a manner which can seem kind of strange, but which really leans on your historical understanding. You’ll likely be asked to understand and articulate a historian’s argument in a given passage, bring in evidence to support your own argument to a thematic question using any period of history you’re most comfortable with, and show sensitivity to a culture and time period you’re likely to never have studied through interpreting a source. These tasks, although not precisely the same as those you’d need to complete in a History A-Level or equivalent exam, allow you to exercise your wider skills of historical understanding and analysis in new and interesting ways.

Preparing for Admissions Tests Can Give you Skills that Can Set you up for Life

For example, the Thinking Skills Assessment, which is required for various courses at Oxford and Cambridge, from Economics to Experimental Psychology, gives you the opportunity to exercise a number of key-skills. This includes numerical reasoning abilities such as complex calculations, extracting and interpreting data, and lateral thinking, as well as verbal reasoning skills like identifying and drawing conclusions, parallel reasoning, and weakening and strengthening arguments. These are incredibly useful skills in all walks of life and all situations, whether that be deciding between items in a supermarket, weighing up insurance providers, determining whether a project will break even, or analysing an argument in a newspaper or work context. These skills also support the academic development you may need to offer a good performance in some of the psychometric tests lots of firms require of applicants to graduate jobs straight out of university.

Preparing for Admissions Tests Can Give you Skills that Can Set you up for Life

For example, the Thinking Skills Assessment, which is required for various courses at Oxford and Cambridge, from Economics to Experimental Psychology, gives you the opportunity to exercise a number of key-skills. This includes numerical reasoning abilities such as complex calculations, extracting and interpreting data, and lateral thinking, as well as verbal reasoning skills like identifying and drawing conclusions, parallel reasoning, and weakening and strengthening arguments. These are incredibly useful skills in all walks of life and all situations, whether that be deciding between items in a supermarket, weighing up insurance providers, determining whether a project will break even, or analysing an argument in a newspaper or work context. These skills also support the academic development you may need to offer a good performance in some of the psychometric tests lots of firms require of applicants to graduate jobs straight out of university.

Summary

In short, with preparation to ensure that you are comfortable with the format and structure, an Admissions Test can be a great experience that can reaffirm your confidence in your choice of course and help you practice the skills you need to succeed in and, more importantly, enjoy a university course that suits you!

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