Lnat 2016-2017

Hey Will,

I took the LNAT last year, achieved 28 and got into Oxford (as well as Durham, Notts, York and Lancaster).

The actual LNAT is pretty comparable to the sample ones they offer on the website. It is a stressful test with enormous time pressure, but practice really does help. I'd recommend buying a few of the practice books (although these are unofficial and so are not quite as good as the official LNAT practice questions at emulating the real thing) and doing as many questions as you can. I found that going with my gut instinct often helped, as I found myself overthinking myself into the wrong answer some of the time. Unfortunately nobody can help you with the thinking part above what is included in those books (i.e. the explanations), but every time you spot a pattern in how you should be thinking I would write it down in a little survival guide for yourself to read the night before.

Regarding the essay, I struggled to find any resources (even the official sample ones from the website) that were A) of good quality and B) realistic of what can be produced in the short time frame available. I always recommend www.debatingmatters.com as a website for practice, as the essays which you are set will almost definitely be discussed on the website in one form or another. Just having an idea about what to write in an essay when under pressure will help you hugely. Also make sure you are a fast typer - I found myself having a nice amount of time to go back and reword/check at the end, which I would not have had if I had been writing.

Best of luck - and don't worry. It is not unheard of to be admitted into the best universities, even Oxford, with scores of around 23. This is just one part of your application :-)

Thank you very much, that is highly reassuring. I am just a bit more worried because my GCSE's were not great (3 A's, 2 B's, and 5 C's) however I have extenuating circumstances for that. My A levels, however, are good (4 A's so far). I am just worried that the emphasis will be put on the LNAT and if I do not quite perform as well as others that I won't even get an interview.

That is certainly a risk, so it would definitely help to nail the LNAT. I know you won't be thinking this right now (I wasn't), but Oxbridge really isn't the be all and end all. Unis such as Bristol and Nottingham will be far less picky with the LNAT, but are still incredible places to study. I would definitely nudge your teachers to talk about how much you have achieved your potential this year compared to last and touch upon why in your reference.

Yeah, I have discussed this with them. One of my teachers said something about writing to Oxford specifically about the circumstances of my GCSE's to mitigate their effect. I was ill during exams, my parents divorced and a close friend died so hopefully that should justify my performance. But I am certainly doing the best I can to nail the LNAT and counter my GCSE's

Sorry but your parents divorcing is hardly a traumatic experience everyone's been through that