Category: University Admissions

PPE at Oxford

The primary conviction undergirding PPE is the belief that learning great modern works of social, economic, political, and philosophical thought would not merely transform the intellectual lives of students, but positively impact nations and societies in turn. While students study all three subjects at the beginning of their degree, they may drop one later. Not surprisingly, PPE is a highly popular and extremely competitive programme of study. Nor can it be studied everywhere, especially as Cambridge does not have an exact equivalent.

Admissions Requirements for PPE

The entrance requirement for PPE at Oxford is AAA. While there are a range of subjects that prospective applicants will have studied at A-Level, the more customary subjects include (but are not limited to) Maths, Economics, History, Politics, and English Literature. If your school provides instruction in philosophy and theology these can also be suitable A Level choices.

 

Applicants are also required to take the TSA, which is a Thinking Skills Assessment. The TSA is a computer-based test divided into two parts. Part 1 is a 90-minute, multiple-choice test that measures problem-solving skills, including numerical reasoning, as well as critical thinking skills, which includes understanding of arguments and reasoning using everyday language. Part 2 is a writing task, that aims to evaluate one’s capacity to order ideas in a concise and clear way and communicating them effectively in writing. Questions for Part 2 are not subject-specific, and applicants must answer one question from amongst four options.

Which Colleges Offer PPE at Oxford?

Almost every college at Oxford offers PPE. The intake for each college can differ however, with some colleges only admitting two or three PPE students a year, while others may admit as many as ten or more. While it’s vitally important that applicants put time into thinking about which college suits them personally, it is also necessary to consider which college one may have a stronger chance of admittance, as some colleges will be oversubscribed for PPE.

Top Tips for Getting into PPE

More than 2,000 people apply to read PPE at Oxford each year. Of those, roughly 30% (or 700) are shortlisted for college interviews and roughly 11% (250) are offered places. As such, the need to excel in every aspect of your application is of paramount importance, which includes everything from crafting your UCAS statement to making your college choice, TSA practice and conducting interview preparations.

 

At Think Tutors, our team of remarkable, industry-leading professional tutors, consultants, and education directors are expertly equipped to help optimise your potential. Many of our team have studied at Oxford and include successful PPE graduates. Together we can partner to help you or your child to excel in every aspect of the admissions process.

Interviews for medical school are broadly split into two very different formats. The traditional, panel based interviews and Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) type interviews.

Panel Interviews

Panel interviews generally involve between two and four panel members quizzing you for 20 minutes to half an hour.  Panel members will range from senior doctors and nurses to junior doctors and sometimes even medical students themselves. Panel interviews will focus on your motivation for studying medicine, your reason for choosing that university and your specific qualities that make you suitable to study medicine.

Multiple Mini Interviews

MMI interviews involve a selection of short, one on one interviews undertaken on a circuit of interview stations. Some of the MMI stations will focus on similar aspects to a panel interview but some stations will be task focused and involve mental maths calculations, role play simulation and ethical discussions. MMI interviews are generally much longer than panel interviews and can last over an hour.

 

MMI interviews are generally considered a fairer assessment of candidates as you are given more opportunity to sell yourself and your overall score will be based on the opinion of a wider group of people. On the other hand, MMI interviews can be more gruelling and require you to stay focused and alert for far longer.

How can I prepare for medical school interviews?

Regardless of where you apply, there are some key tips to help you maximise your changes of acing the interview:

 

• Understand the universities course structure and be able to talk about why you want to attend that specific university.
• Reflect on your work experience. Think of things you saw that you felt were examples of good qualities in a doctor.
• Read the news. The NHS is constantly in the news and being informed about current issues stories will help you demonstrate your interest in being part of the medical profession.
• Read the GMCs “Good medical practice” which outlines the qualities that UK doctors should have.
• Know your ethics. A classic interview question is asking you to evaluate an ethical situation in medicine and so it is essential to know your beneficence form your non-maleficence.

Contact Us

If you have been invited to a medical school interview, pat yourself on the back because many people don’t make it this far. Interviews can be hugely daunting, and it sometimes feels like they could ask you any question under the sun. Luckily, with enough preparation and the right knowledge you will have all the tools you need to show them why you would make a brilliant junior doctor.

 

For any help and support with the application and interview process including arranging mock interviews and practice stations, please contact us.

You should start preparation for the UCAT exam between two and three months before your exam date. On average you should spend between four and six hours a week on your revision and this will naturally increase the closer you get to the exam.  Here are some simple ways in which you can structure your preparation for the UCAT.

Understand the Structure

The UCAT exam is a two hour exam split into five sections. The first four of which give you a score out of 900. Each of these four sections are worth the same number of points and the average of these scores will become your final score. The last section, a Situational Judgement Test (SJT) is graded between bands 1-4 with 1 being the best and 4 being the worse. Each final score will therefore be a score out of 900 and a banding for section 5 (SJT). E.g. 759 – Band One.

 

Learn the Theory

One of the most challenging aspects of UCAT preparation is working out where to begin. Each section tests a different mental skill and it can be daunting trying to work out exactly what each question is asking. This is especially important for the SJT section. To ace this part of the UCAT you have to understand the rules and regulations that govern how doctors work and the ethical principles on which all medical decisions are based. This is where tutoring can be incredibly useful as our tutors can help you navigate this maze and make sense of each UCAT section. We can help you understand the variations on each question type.

Reflect on your Mistakes

One of the most challenging aspects of UCAT preparation is working out where to begin. Each section tests a different mental skill and it can be daunting trying to work out exactly what each question is asking. This is especially important for the SJT section. To ace this part of the UCAT you have to understand the rules and regulations that govern how doctors work and the ethical principles on which all medical decisions are based. This is where tutoring can be incredibly useful as our tutors can help you navigate this maze and make sense of each UCAT section. We can help you understand the variations on each question type.

Finesse your Exam Technique

The best advice I received before taking the UCAT exam was to practice under exam conditions. That meant, phone away, use the computer calculator and keep my timing strict. The more you practice under exam conditions, the fewer surprises you’ll get on the day. One of the easiest ways to drop points on the day is to run out of time on a section because you’re not used to doing questions under the right time pressure.

Take Mock Exams

A big challenge of the UCAT exam is sustaining focus for two hours straight. In the three weeks before your exam you should practice running through whole past papers under exam conditions. The more of these you do, the fewer surprises there will be on the day and the less mentally tiring the exam will be.

Contact Think Tutors

Overall, with the right planning and tailored practice you can shift the UCAT from being a source of anxiety and stress to being a huge asset for your medicine application. Having a UCAT tutor can go a long way to helping ease this burden and provide personalised support that is tailored to the unique way in which each student thinks. If you would like to learn more about how a UCAT tutor can help achieve your goals, please contact us.

 

 

 

Structure

While every personal statement will be different, most will have a recognisable structure. Contained in your 4000 characters will be the answers to the following three questions.

 

1. What qualities do you possess that will make you a safe, ethical and professional doctor? These are you attributes.
2. What is it about medicine that attracts you? This is your motivation.
3. What have you done to understand the world you’re trying to join? This is your perception of medicine.

 

Each paragraph of your personal statement should answer one of the three questions above. For any support or help in navigating this process including tuition for UCAT and BMAT exams, interview preparation please do contact us.

Content

The content of your personal statement is, as it’s title suggests, personal.  This is a good thing as it gives you a certain degree of flexibility and the opportunity to speak honestly about yourself. While the words you put to paper are your own, you would be foolish not to reference these key personal statement topics.

 

Why you want to be a doctor. This is generally how students will begin their personal statements and there is nothing wrong with that. Everyone will have a different motivation to study medicine and you do not have to have a challenging personal experience to justify you application. If you simply find the combination of biology and human interaction interesting then say that. Equally, if you were inspired by seeing an impressive doctor at some point then it is also ok to say this. As long as you are speaking truthfully it will come across in your personal statement and interview.

 

Work experience and volunteering. Work experience is an invaluable opportunity to see the reality of working in the NHS and you personal statement should rightfully highlight this. Crucially, your personal statement should not be a trophy room of various impressive shadowing opportunities you have completed. This doesn’t demonstrate why you would make a good doctor and whether you truly understand working in the NHS. Your work experience paragraph should instead focus on what you learnt and gained in your work experience. Was this watch an example of good communication skills? Was this a difficult ethical situation that you have reflected on?

 

Extracurricular activities. Being captain of you hockey team at school unfortunately does not automatically make you a good doctor. The key with your extracurricular achievements is to relate them back to important skills that doctors must have. For example, being calm under pressure or assessing and utilizing the different skills of a team.

 

Sometimes the hardest part of writing a personal statement is just getting started. Try writing some paragraphs on the topics listed above in as many words as it takes. Don’t worry about it being too long, it is always easier to cut it down afterwards.

Contact Think Tutors

If you need help from somebody who has written a successful personal statement before, or perhaps was involved in shortlisting candidates, please contact us.

 

We also offer tuition and expert advice on every major entrance exam, from Cambridge Law Test to the LNAT, MAT, STEP, BMAT, GAMSAT, UCAT, CAT, ELAT, GAA, HAT, PAT, MLAT, MML, OLAT, TSA and the Oxford Philosophy Test.

Start with the entry requirements

Close to 28000 students apply to study medicine in the UK each year. In order to help filter students each medical school will set its own entry criteria that students must meet in order to be considered for interview. This is usually a combination of GCSE grades, A level / IB predicted grades and the UCAT / BMAT score.

It is vital to understand the entry criteria as medical schools will not even look at your personal statement if you don’t meet their entry criteria. Conversely, understanding which medical schools you can apply to will help bring down the number of medical schools you need to research and choose between.

Research the shortlisting process

Unfortunately, meeting the entry criteria is not enough to be invited for an interview. For all students that meet the entry criteria, medical schools will then look at each students individual application (school grades, UCAT / BMAL score, personal statement, work experience) before shortlisting the top students for interview. Each university will have information on their website outlining their shortlisting process and which aspects of the application they rate the highest. No medical school is easy to get into but some the shortlisting process of some universities may play to your strengths more than others.

Understand the course design

Most medical schools combine classroom and lecture based learning with clinical placements where student learn on the job. The exact balance between clinical placements and lectures will vary between medical schools. If getting onto the wards as early as possible is important for you, consider universities like Nottingham that have clinical placements from Year 1. Conversely, if you are happier in a lecture hall or tutorial, universities like Cambridge or Oxford might interest you more.

Problem Based Learning

A minority of medical schools rely on Problem Based Learning (PBL) as a key teaching approach. PBL is a group based learning tool in which students are encouraged to do their own research and tackle problems in a small group environment with the help of an instructor. PBL isn’t for everyone and so knowing the medical schools that do and don’t use it is an important consideration.

Where do I want to live?

Does the idea of being at university 200 miles away from home sound like a nightmare? For many students, location plays a key role in choosing medical school as some students will be happy to compromise on certain aspects of a course if it means being close to home. If you don’t think you’re going to happy living in the city the medical school is based in then there is little point in applying.

To intercalate or not to intercalate?

Intercalation in the term for undertaking an additional, one-year science degree as part of you medical degree. Not all universities offer the chance to intercalate and an extra year at university means another year of student loans so whether you would want to intercalate should also be part of your process of choosing universities.

Contact Think Tutors

Whatever medical schools you settle on, remember to research the entry criteria, understand the shortlisting process, review the course structure, and ask an expert for some sound advice.

 

For any support or help in navigating this process including tuition for UCAT and BMAT exams, interview preparation please do contact us.

 

We also offer tuition and expert advice on every major entrance exam, from Cambridge Law Test to the LNAT, MAT, STEP, BMAT, GAMSAT, UCAT, CAT, ELAT, GAA, HAT, PAT, MLAT, MML, OLAT, TSA and the Oxford Philosophy Test.

The University Clinical Aptitude Test, or UCAT is a two hour online exam which acts as an entrance exam for many UK medical schools. Depending on which universities you hope to go to, achieving a high centile score can be the difference between being offered a place and not.

 

Preparing for the UCAT can take many hours and unfortunately revising is only half the battle, you still have to go out and sit the exam. Many students put hours and hours of work into past questions without giving any thought to the exam itself so here are five top tips in how to perfect your UCAT exam technique.

Timing is Key

The time allowance for each UCAT question is incredibly small. It is of the main reasons the UCAT is such a challenging exam. Given five minutes, most of us would be able identify the pattern and difference between two groups of shapes but doing in in under 15 seconds is a different matter. The timing per questions varies hugely between sections and it is critically important to know how much time you have per question in the real thing. The rough time per question in each section is as follows:

 

• Verbal Reasoning: 44 questions in 21 minutes (28 Seconds per Q)
• Decision making: 29 questions in 31 minutes (~1min per Q)
• Quantitative Reasoning: 36 questions in 24 minutes (40 seconds per Q)
• Abstract reasoning: 55 questions in 13 minutes (14 seconds per Q)
• Situational judgement: 69 questions in 26 minutes (22 seconds per Q)

Get Comfortable with the Calculator 

The quantitative reasoning section of the UCAT relies on being able to do quick sums in your head. The more mental maths you can do, the less you’ll need the calculator and the more time you will have for the harder questions. Unfortunately, there will always be calculations you need to check or that you cannot do in your head. For these, the UCAT exam has a built in calculator much like the one on your computer. However, using this calculator is very different to using a hand held calculator or phone and is more time consuming. When you are practicing your quantitative reasoning questions, try using your computer’s calculator so that you can get comfortable using it quickly.

Practice Under Exam Conditions

The people that score the highest in the UCAT are not necessarily those that have worked the hardest, it’s those that have worked the smartest. The top decile students know what to expect on day of the exam and are not caught by surprise. The reason the there are no surprises for these students is that they have done their practice questions under exam technique. This means restricting yourself to the exact amount of time per question that you will have in the real exam.

Reset Between Sections

Some sections of the exam will be harder than others and you will never be equally strong at all sections. Remember, you final score is an average of all four sections. Try not to let one bad section throw you off your game. If you find that one section did not go as smoothly as you hoped, take a 10 second breather and reset, leave that section behind and focus on what’s ahead.

Use The Earplugs

Many exam centres in the UK will offer ear plugs to use when you take your exam. I would strongly recommend using these if you are offered. With the earplugs you can block out all the distracting noise to leave your brain 100% focused on each question. Like with every bit of UCAT preparation, don’t leave it to the day of the exam to try them out. Get some at home and try some practice questions with them in.

Contact Think Tutors

If you would like to learn more about how a private tutor can help you with your UCAT exam or medical school application, please do get in touch. We also offer tuition and expert advice on every major entrance exam, from Cambridge Law Test to the LNAT, MAT, STEP, BMAT, GAMSAT, UCAT, CAT, ELAT, GAA, HAT, PAT, MLAT, MML, OLAT, TSA and the Oxford Philosophy Test.

The Oxford HAT (History Aptitude Test)

The HAT is mandatory for everyone applying to read an undergraduate degree in History at Oxford. The HAT is also necessary for those applying to History (Ancient and Modern), History and Economics, History and English, History and Modern Languages, and History and Politics. If that’s you, Think Tutors is here to help.

Cambridge History Admissions Assessment

For those of you who are interested in studying History at Cambridge the process is quite different, as it depends on the college to which you are applying. While some colleges may require applicants who are shortlisted for interviews to write a history admission assessment, others may not. For more information about the process and advice on how to excel you can contact us.

What is the Oxford HAT?

The HAT is a test of your historical thinking skills. It requires you to provide thoughtful reflections about a source without knowing about its context. As such, the HAT is not testing your substantive historical knowledge – so there’s no extra subject specific studying required – but it does measure the extent to which can think and write ‘historically’ about a source.

 

You might be asking yourself, what does thinking ‘historically’ mean exactly? It means being able to read a source carefully and critically; to adopt an analytical approach; to answer a question relevantly; to selectively use concepts and evidence to support an argument; to demonstrate originality and independent thinking—all while writing with precision and clarity.

 

This may sound like a lot to do on a test, but the following tips will help as a starting point, and our expert team of admissions specialists can help you excel toward the finishing line and beyond.

Get to know the HAT

The HAT is designed to challenge applications beyond their comfort zone. For that reason, you want to become familiar with the test format. This way you’re not surprised by its structure and style when you sit it. The best place to start is the HAT section of the Oxford website.

Mark schemes

As with any written test, you are writing for an audience. In this case it’s an admissions panel. Fortunately, you can know ahead of time how best to impress them by reading the mark schemes they use with examples from past papers. Become familiar with their expectations and practice accordingly.

Practice past papers

Speaking of practice, while each year’s test is unique, it follows the same format (first introduced in 2018). Practice, practice, practice. It’s essential for helping you become comfortable with unfamiliarity. But don’t just practice any old way. Access post-2018 past papers online and create test like conditions in your own home, limiting yourself to the allotted times. Review your answers according to the mark schemes and set yourself targets to help you succeed.

Review

While the HAT will likely give you a source from a period or place that you unfamiliar with, you can still look back over what you’ve learned since Year II and look for general themes and ‘big picture’ outlooks. Ask yourself what each topic was about? What changed during this period? Why did it change? How can you characterise the conflicts and movements that you studied? What caused them and how did they evolve or end? Ask yourself how you might describe the political, cultural, and religious life of the periods you studied?

Keep things clear

The HAT is not an exercise in rhetoric or eloquence. It tests your ability to write clearly, concisely, and cogently. Focus on writing precisely what you mean in a manner that is intelligible and informative. To that end, ask yourself important questions about the source, such as those relation to its creation, publication, and audience.

Take your time

It’s vital that you give yourself sufficient time in the test to read the source thoroughly, and for thinking and jotting down ideas along the way. The texts are supposed to be difficult, so don’t rush or become alarmed. Keep in mind that the different sections of the test are weighted differently. The first two questions are important, but they only account for 30% of your score, so ration your time accordingly.

Be yourself

The HAT is meant to test your analytical and writing skills. It is not an exercise in quoting from a source. Use your own words, paraphrasing where possible rather than quoting. This is important because the examiners want to be sure that you have correctly understood the material. At the same time, they are interested in learning about your own ideas, even if no teacher or book has offered something similar. Don’t be afraid to write what you think.

Partner with Think Tutors

Our team of leading tutors, mentors, specialists and education directors are not only experts in university admissions, but are also drawn from many of the best universities in the world, including Oxford. We offer bespoke assistance to match your unique needs and personal schedule and we can help you to excel in your university admissions and beyond.

Reviewing Your Personal Statement

Just as with preparing for a job interview, one of the best places to start is reviewing your personal statement, both to become familiar with its contents and to consider areas that an interviewer might focus on to ask more probing questions.

 

If you’ve mentioned that you were in a musical group, you could likely expect the interviewer to ask about extra-curricular activities in order to find out more about it. They may be looking for insights into your ability to work as part of a team, or your experience of performing in front of audiences.

How to Excel in Your Admissions Interview

The interviews that you might face will more than likely be discussion based. Like many job interviews in later life, interviewers will involve competency-based questions and also many related to the course, institution and your own background. The benefit of this is that it gives you some scope to prepare responses to the more common questions. Competency questions are looking for examples of your knowledge, experience and possibly even subject-matter passion. Try and come up with what is known as a STAR response – Situation, Task, Action, Result. In short, what was the situation, what role did you play, what did you do and what was the outcome?

 

The types of questions could include:

 

• Why do you want to join this university?
• Tell me what you know about this course?
• Tell me about a time when you worked under pressure to meet a deadline?
• Why did you choose those A-Level subjects?

 

The interview is also your opportunity to find out more about the course and institution. Don’t forget that a university interview, like any job-interview, is a two-way process. Make sure you go prepared with some questions to ask them, to help establish if it is the place that you want to study at for the next three years.

 

For many people this could be their first experience of adult life and, therefore, there are other behaviours that interviewers will be scoring you on. First impressions count for a lot, so wearing a smile, along with a smart outfit, can convey confidence and an air of preparation.

 

Don’t forget to arrive in plenty of time – plan your journey and perhaps stay overnight if it’s a long way from home. Some universities will ask you to bring additional items with you like GCSE certificates, so remember to take them with you. Above all, be yourself and use it as a chance to gain experience that you can take with you to future interviews.

Oxbridge Interviews

If you have been invited for an interview at either Oxford or Cambridge, you’ll need to be extra-prepared. The admissions panel will explore your personal statement much more thoroughly and you can expect to be pushed on statements that you’ve made and asked questions exploring subjects that are related to what you’ve written about. At Think Tutors we can offer extensive support for your preparation, providing mock interview training from talented and expert professionals with outstanding Oxbridge credentials.

Get Organised

You will need to work out your visits in advance, so make sure you know which universities are opening. Useful tools are websites such as opendays.com or the UCAS website. You will also need to get hold of a campus map – most websites will have a PDF version to download to your phone.

 

Work out a schedule for the weeks or months ahead and, when planning each visit, don’t forget to find out about the events and presentations going on around campus and book on if needed – it’s likely the popular ones will fill up fast!

 

Don’t forget to plan your journey so that you’re not flustered, or late arriving to the open day, if travelling by train, prebook your tickets. If you’re driving, research parking on campus or nearby to save time on the day.

Fair Comparison

Work out how you will score each university. If you are torn between similar courses it is important that you judge each establishment on the same criteria and draw up a fair scoring system to better aid your decision. Take notes and photos (especially of things like accommodation and key study areas like the library) during the open day to help record as much information as possible and to refer back to after the day. Input and advice from parents is important, but don’t take a back seat to their questioning – see below for tips and advice on that.

 

It’s also important to see where the university is in relation to the town or city; is it somewhere you’d like to live for a minimum of 3 years? If you have time, get a feel for the area by having a walk around outside of the main campus.

Questions

Think well in-advance about the questions you want to ask of staff and other students. There will be a large number of them there to ensure that the day runs well, so take advantage of this to get a wide variety of insights. The Uni Guide have an excellent selection of questions that can help form part of your investigations.

Accessibility

If you require extra assistance for your visit make sure to contact the university prior to the open day and they can help make your day as easy as possible. You can download or print this handy UCAS guide before you go and take a look at a list of questions here.

University Mentor

If you are interested in the benefits of having a university mentor guide you through an open day and to benefit from their ongoing support through university then connect with Think Tutors. We work with a leading team of mentors and tutors who have graduated from world-class universities who can substantially improve your transition both to and through university.

About University Applications:

In the UK, most university and higher education applications are made via UCAS – the University and College Admission Service. For courses starting in September 2022, the deadline to apply to Oxbridge, medicine, dentistry & veterinary science courses is 15^th October 2021. The deadline for the majority of courses is 15^th January 2022. However, we always recommend leaving enough time to prepare a quality application and not rushing it.

 

Offer Types:

 

Once you’ve applied to your chosen universities, you will start to hear back from them. There are typically three types of response you will receive from a university or college:

 

• Unconditional
• Conditional
• Unsuccessful or withdrawn

 

So, what do these mean?

Unconditional

This means you have a place and have already met the entry requirements. This is often given to students who have applied to university after receiving their A-Level results and are on a gap year, or, to outstanding students still waiting to take their exams.

 

However, make sure you check the offer fully, in case there are any criteria or things you need to do. The great thing about being made an unconditional offer is that even if you’re still waiting to take your exams, your results won’t affect the offer. It’s also worth bearing in mind, that if you do accept an unconditional offer, you are unable to make an insurance choice, so be certain that you want to study there before committing your response.

Conditional

A conditional offer means that you will have a place at that university, as long as you meet the conditions set out in the letter. This is generally exam results, for example, AAB in specific subjects, a set number of UCAS points, or International Baccalaureate Diploma points.

 

The university will clearly state in your letter what the conditions of your offer are. If you firmly accept the offer, a conditional offer can be changed to an unconditional by the university. For the vast majority of students, conditional offers mean waiting for results day to find out if they are going to their first or insurance choice university.

Unsuccessful or Withdrawn

A withdrawn status indicates that the university has either withdrawn that course choice, or you have withdrawn your application to that university. The exact reason will show up in your UCAS Track account.

 

Unsuccessful is given when a university has unfortunately decided to not offer a place on that course. You may get a reason for this, but if you don’t, you can contact the university to discuss the decision with you.

 

If you’d like to discuss university applications with us, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by emailing info@thinktutors.co.uk. We provide numerous resources aimed at helping students succeed. These range from providing mock interviews and drafting assistance for personal statements as well as insights for those applying for Oxford and Cambridge.