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Manchester computer science foundation year academic assessment

Hello, I’ve just got an interview for Manchester’s computer science academic assessment for the foundation year. I’m not sure what to do or how to prepare for this at all. Any tips?

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Have you read the info Manchester provides for candidates just like you? It's here: https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/2022/12952/bsc-computer-science-with-an-integrated-foundation-year/application-and-selection/#course-profile . I ask because they specifically say it is an aptitude test, and not to revise for it.

They also say: "The assessment takes the form of an online, invigilated, multiple-choice test.

We do not suggest that applicants prepare specially for the assessment, and it's important to note that it is not an entrance exam. The assessment is designed to test an applicant's aptitude and give us a picture of their current level of understanding and knowledge in key areas of mathematics and physics."


Usually a Uni will hope to admit students who have an aptitude for the course and so will enjoy it and stick at it. Unis were told a while ago to sort out their drop-out rate so this may be part of their approach to that.

Sounds like it will be to your benefit too since you wouldn't want to be admitted to a course to which you are not suited. In terms of what they'll be looking for, students who can cope with maths, logic, and who think sequentially tend to do well and to suit this kind of course. If students are good at chess, music, classical languages etc these are signs of a logical thinker too. If you really want to do some prep, think about refreshing your maths, looking at some logic puzzles, or trying some algorithmic problems. Brilliant.org https://brilliant.org/ is a really good site for that kind of practice. Look at their sections on Logic, CS, Maths and Algorithms. If you enjoy that kind of problems solving you're likely going for the right course.

Finally, they say the test is done over Zoom so do make sure you have it set up and you're familiar with its workings.

Good luck, try not to stress over it. And remember, there's always a B Plan. :smile:
Reply 2
Original post by Lysistrata
Have you read the info Manchester provides for candidates just like you? It's here: https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/2022/12952/bsc-computer-science-with-an-integrated-foundation-year/application-and-selection/#course-profile . I ask because they specifically say it is an aptitude test, and not to revise for it.

They also say: "The assessment takes the form of an online, invigilated, multiple-choice test.

We do not suggest that applicants prepare specially for the assessment, and it's important to note that it is not an entrance exam. The assessment is designed to test an applicant's aptitude and give us a picture of their current level of understanding and knowledge in key areas of mathematics and physics."


Usually a Uni will hope to admit students who have an aptitude for the course and so will enjoy it and stick at it. Unis were told a while ago to sort out their drop-out rate so this may be part of their approach to that.

Sounds like it will be to your benefit too since you wouldn't want to be admitted to a course to which you are not suited. In terms of what they'll be looking for, students who can cope with maths, logic, and who think sequentially tend to do well and to suit this kind of course. If students are good at chess, music, classical languages etc these are signs of a logical thinker too. If you really want to do some prep, think about refreshing your maths, looking at some logic puzzles, or trying some algorithmic problems. Brilliant.org https://brilliant.org/ is a really good site for that kind of practice. Look at their sections on Logic, CS, Maths and Algorithms. If you enjoy that kind of problems solving you're likely going for the right course.

Finally, they say the test is done over Zoom so do make sure you have it set up and you're familiar with its workings.

Good luck, try not to stress over it. And remember, there's always a B Plan. :smile:

Thanks so much for the reply, does this mean if I do bad on the test I will still get an offer. I’m asking this because I do BTEC IT, computer science and product design at my a levels so I won’t be the best at maths or physics.
Original post by Amansk04
Thanks so much for the reply, does this mean if I do bad on the test I will still get an offer. I’m asking this because I do BTEC IT, computer science and product design at my a levels so I won’t be the best at maths or physics.


They do say in the link above that this assessment is NOT an entry exam, so no, and you could still get an offer :smile: . The Foundation Year of these courses is there to help those who didn't have the opportunity to do some elements before applying. Some of what you've done on CS will support you anyway - I'm sure you've done some algorithms work, for example.

Best of luck :smile:
Reply 4
Original post by Lysistrata
They do say in the link above that this assessment is NOT an entry exam, so no, and you could still get an offer :smile: . The Foundation Year of these courses is there to help those who didn't have the opportunity to do some elements before applying. Some of what you've done on CS will support you anyway - I'm sure you've done some algorithms work, for example.

Best of luck :smile:

Yeah Computer science as a whole I’m confident with however the maths side is very ropes. I have an offer from uni of notts but Manchester is just on another level. What did you study if you don’t mind me asking?
Original post by Amansk04
Yeah Computer science as a whole I’m confident with however the maths side is very ropes. I have an offer from uni of notts but Manchester is just on another level. What did you study if you don’t mind me asking?

Me? CS :smile:
Reply 6
Do you have any social media such as Instagram so I can ask you more questions feel like this would be good for me before I go to uni?
Reply 7
Original post by Amansk04
Hello, I’ve just got an interview for Manchester’s computer science academic assessment for the foundation year. I’m not sure what to do or how to prepare for this at all. Any tips?

Hi, how was it?
Reply 8
Went very well, So much better than expected. It was me and 10 other candidates so hopefully i think I’ve got a good score with that I don’t exactly live in the best area so that can work to my advantage!Do you study computer science?
Reply 9
Original post by Amansk04
Went very well, So much better than expected. It was me and 10 other candidates so hopefully i think I’ve got a good score with that I don’t exactly live in the best area so that can work to my advantage!Do you study computer science?

no, I'm also thinking of applying to the foundation year computer science programme (not 100% sure yet)
Original post by Amansk04
Went very well, So much better than expected. It was me and 10 other candidates so hopefully i think I’ve got a good score with that I don’t exactly live in the best area so that can work to my advantage!Do you study computer science?

Hi, I wanna ask, did you get in? I'm really keen to apply to the foundation program (I'm starting Y13 this year) and I wanna know what to expect.
I'm predicted ABC in Maths, English Lit and Physics respectively so I hope I can have a shot
Hey, I never ended up applying to it
dang that is a plot twist lol.
nevermind, where are you at now?
Original post by sahar_x
Hey, I never ended up applying to it
right now im going to take a gap year and re apply to uni's for 2023 lol i ended up getting a*a*a so i wouldn't have been accepted into the foundation year if i applied
Reply 14
Hi,
Did you manage to take the test ? If so please can you tell me what was the topics on it, thanks in advance
Reply 15
Original post by Amansk04
Went very well, So much better than expected. It was me and 10 other candidates so hopefully i think I’ve got a good score with that I don’t exactly live in the best area so that can work to my advantage!Do you study computer science?

Hi I’ve just been invited for one of these
Is there any chance you can share at least the sort of general topics and also let us know if you got an offer after doing the exam
Original post by LunaB
Hi I’ve just been invited for one of these
Is there any chance you can share at least the sort of general topics and also let us know if you got an offer after doing the exam

Hi have you passed the interview? What was that they asked you to do?
Reply 17
Original post by Ghjknkmn
Hi have you passed the interview? What was that they asked you to do?

Hiya

I didn’t pass the exam no however it wasn’t too bad I just had a bad day.

Essentially it’s just a multiple choice exam paper you get a certain amount of time per question and most of the questions are GCSE level there’s a few at A level however it’s stated before the exam that if you haven’t done A level Maths you won’t be expected to do well on the A level questions the exams in context of your academic profile so all they expect is for you to perform as well or better than expected according to what you’re studying
Original post by LunaB
Hiya
I didn’t pass the exam no however it wasn’t too bad I just had a bad day.
Essentially it’s just a multiple choice exam paper you get a certain amount of time per question and most of the questions are GCSE level there’s a few at A level however it’s stated before the exam that if you haven’t done A level Maths you won’t be expected to do well on the A level questions the exams in context of your academic profile so all they expect is for you to perform as well or better than expected according to what you’re studying

But have you got an offer for Foundation year, or if you didn't pass an exam it's definitely rejection?
Reply 19
Original post by Ghjknkmn
But have you got an offer for Foundation year, or if you didn't pass an exam it's definitely rejection?

When I say I didn’t pass the exam I mean I was rejected from the course. I misspoke there you can’t pass or fail the exam there isn’t a pass or fail mark it’s just how Manchester contextualises their FY applicants.

Honestly it’s a case of do as well as you can on the exam and wait and see there’s not much point fretting about pass or fail or anything like that.

The best advice I can give is if you feel like you need to brush up on the maths side of things do some higher GCSE maths stuff and then make sure you bring a notepad with you and never look at the clock as that can make it a lot harder to get a question answered since each question is timed.

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