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Pre Interview Exam HELP! (Physical Nat-sci)

I am applying to cambridge nat sci for 2017 entry, and as you would know there is a pre interview test that I have to sit. On the cambridge website there is only one past paper available for each section of the exam, which I believe isn't nearly enough for good prep. so if anyone could help guide me and refer to me any website or give me a link to some place i could get similar difficulty papers with the same course that would be amazing. where do you think i should prepare the exam from and where i can get challenging questions? im only interested in Maths, physics, chemistry, and advanced math with advanced physics sections as i am taking physical nat sci opting out of bio. Thank you for your help!
Reply 1
Original post by Student1256
http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/nsaa_s1_specimen_question_paper.pdf
http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/nsaa_s2_specimen_question_paper.pdf

this is what the specimen paper of the pre interview looks like. if there is any other source of material at similar difficulty as this with same topics please refer it to me or maybe tell me how you are/would prepare for this exam? thank you! :smile:


http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4290762

Also Isaac Physics and perhap MAT for maths.
(edited 7 years ago)


Thank you for the reply, I really appreciate it. If you don't mind telling me, do both of those sources have the same course as the pre interview test? Also what do you suggest about chemistry and advanced math and advanced physics?
Also anyone else who would like to pitch in their ideas is more than welcome!
Reply 3
Original post by Student1256
Thank you for the reply, I really appreciate it. If you don't mind telling me, do both of those sources have the same course as the pre interview test? Also what do you suggest about chemistry and advanced math and advanced physics?
Also anyone else who would like to pitch in their ideas is more than welcome!


I'm not a NatSci... you'd be better asking in the thread I linked.

But note the Christ's Admissions Tutor did specifically recommend Isaac Physics for NSAA prep (it's a Cambridge resource).
I think a lot of applicants are worrying about prep and are approaching these assessments in the same mindset as A levels. You are advised to read over the supplied material to make sure you're happy with the style of questions and the areas of knowledge expected but after that we don't expect lots of preparation as these are test of ability rather than knowledge (i.e. how can you apply what you know rather than who knows the most). You turn up and do your best :smile:

Also bear in mind that they are designed to be challenging and are pitched at the level of our typical applicants. These might be the first exams you sit which are aimed at your ability range so don't be surprised if you find them tough. We don't know what sort of marks people will get until they've happened but we'd expect them to break down similar to Tripos exams with reasonable marks in the 50s and 60s, strong candidates in the 70s and very very strong candidates getting maybe 85%. They are not A levels and please bear this in mind when attempting them. If you regularly get 80, 90 or 100% in school then adjust your expectations - you're not supposed to be getting the same sorts of marks here.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Peterhouse Admissions
I think a lot of applicants are worrying about prep and are approaching these assessments in the same mindset as A levels. You are advised to read over the supplied material to make sure you're happy with the style of questions and the areas of knowledge given but after that we don't expect lots of preparation as these are test of ability rather than knowledge (i.e. how can you apply what you know rather than who knows the most). You turn up and do your best :smile:

Also bear in mind that they are designed to be challenging and are pitched at the level of our typical applicants. These might be the first exams you sit which are aimed at your ability range so don't be surprised if you find them tough. We don't know what sort of marks people will get until they've happened but we'd expect them to break down similar to Tripos exams with reasonable marks in the 50s and 60s, strong candidates in the 70s and very very strong candidates getting maybe 85%. They are not A levels and please bear this in mind when attempting them. If you regularly get 80, 90 or 100% in school then adjust your expectations - you're not supposed to be getting the same sorts of marks here.


Oh wow I wasn't expecting a reply from an official Cambridge representative. Thank you very much. Since you replied I have another query. In my country we don't receive UMS grades, just the "ABC" grade with component grades(all the exams I sat in were CIE). So what does that mean for my Cambridge application? Will it put me at a disadvantage compared to students who do receive ums? Does Cambridge have access to UMS of people who haven't received it themselves? Also in the high school transcript flowchart it is said that if you've given A levels and received UMS grades you do not need to give the high school transcript. I did do a levels but received UMS wasn't possible as they aren't available in my country, so do what do I do about my highschool transcript?
Original post by Student1256
Oh wow I wasn't expecting a reply from an official Cambridge representative. Thank you very much. Since you replied I have another query. In my country we don't receive UMS grades, just the "ABC" grade with component grades(all the exams I sat in were CIE). So what does that mean for my Cambridge application? Will it put me at a disadvantage compared to students who do receive ums? Does Cambridge have access to UMS of people who haven't received it themselves? Also in the high school transcript flowchart it is said that if you've given A levels and received UMS grades you do not need to give the high school transcript. I did do a levels but received UMS wasn't possible as they aren't available in my country, so do what do I do about my highschool transcript?


Don't worry :smile:

In the past, around 40% of applicants are in the same situation as you without UMS and this year most applicants won't have it for most subjects. I think you should submit a transcript as you're outside the UK and it is better to supply one where it isn't needed than miss it where it is.
Reply 7
Original post by Student1256
I am applying to cambridge nat sci for 2017 entry, and as you would know there is a pre interview test that I have to sit. On the cambridge website there is only one past paper available for each section of the exam, which I believe isn't nearly enough for good prep. so if anyone could help guide me and refer to me any website or give me a link to some place i could get similar difficulty papers with the same course that would be amazing. where do you think i should prepare the exam from and where i can get challenging questions? im only interested in Maths, physics, chemistry, and advanced math with advanced physics sections as i am taking physical nat sci opting out of bio. Thank you for your help!


In addition to those already selected,

Maybe some of the past paper questions on the BPhO website might be applicable for physics (maybe the AS challenge or A2 challenge past papers)
http://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/olympiad/PastPapers.html

PAT past papers for physics
https://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/study-here/undergraduates/applications/physics-aptitude-test-pat/pat-past-papers

The iwanttostudyengineering website is good for physics qs.

There will be stuff on STEMnrich for both physics and chemistry.

You might find questions of auitable difficulty on the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge past papers, or maybe the RSC chemistry olympiad.

Also some of the multiple choice qs on:

https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/students/highschool/olympiad/pastexams.html

or

http://www.chemteam.info/AChO/AChO-Menu.html

might be applicable, if you specifically wanted to practise multiple choice chemistry questions. You might just have to pick out suitable questions from them though. A lot of the qs here might require knowledge not needed for the natsci test.

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