Oxford History Students and Applicants
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I got into Magdalen yet I only got 66. Maybe its not as important as they say it is?
Original post by UnheardSounds
I got into Magdalen yet I only got 66. Maybe its not as important as they say it is?
66 is still above average - I suppose the other parts of your application were also strong
Original post by Lumi Nous
Ooh they replied, got 78 
That's amazing! I feel rather inadequate now ...
I assume you did get an offer?!
Original post by UnheardSounds
I got into Magdalen yet I only got 66. Maybe its not as important as they say it is?
Yes I only got 67 and hearing about the two 78 scores makes me wonder why they gave me an offer! I think perhaps they use it more for purposes of deselection prior to interview maybe?
Original post by Hoose
what did you ask in your email? well done by the way
well done by the wayI emailed [email protected], it was basically one sentence asking for the HAT score and a thank you
I also included my college and UCAS ID since I didn't really know what they'd need to check it the most efficiently.Original post by Hoose
ok just literally emailed them i'm intrigued as to what i got, i hold an offer for history at st johns, what about you?
i'm intrigued as to what i got, i hold an offer for history at st johns, what about you? I have an offer for straight history (although I kind of wish I'd applied for Ancient & Modern) at Univ. I kind of knew my HAT score had to be at least fairly good because I think my interviews were pretty average.
Is your offer conditional or unconditional?
I still need to get 40 points from the IB but I'm really excited to start the course, it seems awesome!Original post by Hoose
yeah same, im for straight history too, i have no idea how mine went :/ and conditional 3As at A level, cannot wait! was univ your original choice and did you get any other interviews along the way?
I originally applied to Univ and I really liked it
I didn't get pooled anywhere at all which made the whole process so much worse and I was pretty certain of a rejection because I felt like I'd done so badly in my interviews, was in tears after the first one! But oh well, everything went better than expected What about you?Original post by cynthialf
I have an offer for straight history (although I kind of wish I'd applied for Ancient & Modern) at Univ.
Just to let you know: if you keep wishing that, there's an optional Ancient History paper in first year anyway, and I found it pretty easy to switch courses.
Original post by Olivia_Lightbulb
That's amazing! I feel rather inadequate now ...
I assume you did get an offer?!
I assume you did get an offer?!
Yeah I got an offer! And don't... it's such an odd test, plus at least you know you must have really impressed the interviewers! (anyway... you got well above average in HAT terms I think)
Original post by Olivia_Lightbulb
....wonder why they gave me an offer! I think perhaps they use it more for purposes of deselection prior to interview maybe?
The original idea was that it's just to take out the bottom 20% or so, which in the first year (2004 I think - can prob'ly find a link to the stats if anyone interested) meant you would still get an interview with a mark of around 47. I'm a mature student and remember reading that the average mark of those who were called for interview in this category in that first year was 64.
They have gradually used HAT to eliminate more students pre-interview, and I think it does a bit more than its original remit now, such that it would be quite a battle to get an offer at the current bottom end (of those who got an interview), even with a stellar interview. But the bottom end would still be around 55 IMHO.
Long winded way of saying that 67 would be a good mark and well within the range that kept you right in contention all the way through. As it so proved!
(edited 13 years ago)
Original post by Eric Arthur
Is this the best way to go about things? I think I saw someone else say similar. First collection in a week and I've done nothing yet. Eek.
Sorry, this is probably entirely useless by now but I was mid-extended essay panic.
When it comes to collections, you'll undoubtedly find your own way of doing things, but I've yet to meet someone who seriously revises more than five (maybe six) topics. If you look through past papers then general subject areas are normally fairly easy to identify - the difficulty comes when examiners target questions at specific areas within those subjects, so you have to have a sufficient breadth and depth of knowledge within that area to be able to adapt your answer come the exam.
But collections aren't really worth stressing about, although everyone seems to panic that tutors use your first set to work out whether or not they were right to give you a place in the first place. Once you've done one load then they seem far less important. Everyone hates them but at the end of the day it means we get to practise exam technique, whereas friends at other universities just got proper exams (that counted) dumped on them with absolutely no guidance whatsoever.
I didn't know you could inquire about the HAT score :O I've wanted to know for ages what my score was lol! I got a place to study straight History at Queen's College, and I really want to know what my offer was mainly based on - UCAS, submitted work, HAT score or interviews! Thank you for informing me lol
Original post by Mook
Sorry, this is probably entirely useless by now but I was mid-extended essay panic.
When it comes to collections, you'll undoubtedly find your own way of doing things, but I've yet to meet someone who seriously revises more than five (maybe six) topics. If you look through past papers then general subject areas are normally fairly easy to identify - the difficulty comes when examiners target questions at specific areas within those subjects, so you have to have a sufficient breadth and depth of knowledge within that area to be able to adapt your answer come the exam.
But collections aren't really worth stressing about, although everyone seems to panic that tutors use your first set to work out whether or not they were right to give you a place in the first place. Once you've done one load then they seem far less important. Everyone hates them but at the end of the day it means we get to practise exam technique, whereas friends at other universities just got proper exams (that counted) dumped on them with absolutely no guidance whatsoever.
When it comes to collections, you'll undoubtedly find your own way of doing things, but I've yet to meet someone who seriously revises more than five (maybe six) topics. If you look through past papers then general subject areas are normally fairly easy to identify - the difficulty comes when examiners target questions at specific areas within those subjects, so you have to have a sufficient breadth and depth of knowledge within that area to be able to adapt your answer come the exam.
But collections aren't really worth stressing about, although everyone seems to panic that tutors use your first set to work out whether or not they were right to give you a place in the first place. Once you've done one load then they seem far less important. Everyone hates them but at the end of the day it means we get to practise exam technique, whereas friends at other universities just got proper exams (that counted) dumped on them with absolutely no guidance whatsoever.
Don't worry about it, they were okay in the end. I only ended up revising four topics and I'm not sure they all really answered the questions properly as they were mainly just reproduced tutorial essays but I don't think it went too horribly.
Original post by toofaforu
i think that is it's sole purpose pre-interview.
This was the original stated aim back in 2004, and it was also my understanding before I took it - just something to 'get out of the way'. However, it turns out that the score isn't just discounted once the interview hurdle is reached. If you search TSR for "strong proposition" or "Andrea Hopkins" (History Faculty Administrator) there are some insightful comments from her (admittedly from back in 2007/2008) about the process, which seem to place HAT score as second only to interview performance in the decision mix.
Original post by toofaforu
yup. looks like i'm going to have to ace the **** out of this exam next year to even think about getting a place.
I'm sure I've said this before on this forum, but my HAT score was poor when I applied. It was my interview performance and my submitted work which won me a place, so it's possible to slip slightly at the first hurdle and still not have screwed your chances up (as long as you do enough to get an interview in the first place).
In general, I think it's counterproductive to try to conclusively rank parts of the application process in terms of 'doing well in this will definitely get me a place', or 'messing up here will totally ruin my chances'. Tutors want to get as full a picture of applicants as possible and understand that candidates could very well not have performed to the best of their abilities at one point or another. So if you only do moderately well at the HAT stage but come across well in interview then the tutors will just try to work out what might have gone wrong. Conversely, I imagine there are plenty of people who do really well in the HAT but just don't click with the interview/tutorial format; they'll be great history students somewhere, it's just that the Oxford system might not get the best out of them.
Original post by Mook
..my HAT score was poor when I applied. It was my interview performance and my submitted work which won me a place, so it's possible to slip slightly at the first hurdle and still not have screwed your chances up..
Completely agree with all of this post; sorry, didn't mean to imply that an average HAT score would put someone out of contention. Everyone invited to interview has got every chance and, as you proved, other areas of the application can quite easily compensate. All I meant was that it isn't quite the case that once the HAT 'hurdle' is overcome it plays no further part in the process; the score remains one element in the mix.
Candidates or schools can find out how they scored in the HAT by applying in writing to their college, or by calling the Faculty Office (01865 615020 or 615044), or by emailing to [email protected] from January onwards.
Hope that helps
Hope that helps
Candidates or schools can find out how they scored in the HAT by applying in writing to their college, or by calling the Faculty Office (01865 615020 or 615044), or by emailing to [email protected] from January onwards.
Hope that helps
Hope that helps
Original post by doivid
I would email them now, before they put all the application process to one side to concentrate on their current students/research.
That would have happened sometime before Christmas....
Original post by Derek_the_Sheep
That would have happened sometime before Christmas....
Yes, I realise that now. It doesn't matter anyway since this thread is a year old. I wonder if the OP ever found out their hat score.
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