Everything You Need to Know about the Cambridge Admissions Test Changes

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Whether you’ve just started thinking about applying for Oxbridge, or you’ve done a load of research and are roaring and ready to go, you can never be too prepped when it comes to admissions tests! However, this preparation can be scuppered if you don’t pay attention to changes in the admissions test procedure. Although Cambridge are known to change their admissions tests up every few years, it can be difficult to anticipate when precisely the changes will come into force. Therefore, when they DO change, it’s important to react as quickly as possible, making sure you have plenty of time to get your teeth into the new material and getting adequately prepared for your test. 

Cambridge have recently changed some of their admissions tests for 2023 applicants (this means those applying in Autumn 2022 onwards) for subjects including English, Economics, and Law. Below is our guide to everything you need to know about these changes in order to make sure you’re prepared for your application come the autumn. 

English

Cambridge has previously used the ELAT (English Literature Admissions Test) for English applicants before inviting candidates to interview, but they have now decided to stop using it altogether. This will be replaced by a written assessment which candidates will be asked to sit only if they’ve been shortlisted and invited for an interview.

Economics

Cambridge economics applicants for the past couple of years have been required to sit the ECAA (Economics Admission Assessment). However, from this year onwards, applicants are being asked to sit the TMUA (Test for Mathematics for University Admissions), which is used across mathematics-related subjects and is a test designed to determine your aptitude to use maths-based skills as an important element of your future studies.

However, if you are over 21 and applying to a mature college, then you will not be required to sit the TMUA (mature applicants to standard colleges will still be asked to sit it).

Land Economy

Previously required to sit the TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment), Land Economists will no longer face a written assessment for any college. They will instead be asking for submitted work, the finer details of which are to be announced in April, so make sure to check the course sites then to get the full picture on what you need for your application.

Law

Cambridge Law applicants will now be asked to sit the LNAT (National Admissions Test for Law) as used by various other UK unis such as Oxford, LSE, and Durham, as opposed to the CLT (Cambridge Law Test) as they previously required. The deadline to sit this will be the 15th of October 2022 for 2023 applicants, so make sure to book early to avoid stress later on in the application process!

Main Takeaways

The key takeaways from these changes is not to panic! Every other student applying this year is in the exact same boat as you. If you’ve not begun preparing yet, you’ve now got the correct syllabus to get you on track, and if you have started preparing, you have months yet to adapt your revision so far to the new test. Although the specific test is different, ultimately, they are testing the same basic skills in applicants, so any practice is always good practice. Remember that all remaining information concerning these tests will be released by the University in April, ensuring that you still have a good chunk of time to get plenty of revision in.