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How do you start preparing for the Oxford PPE admissions test?

Based off the "PPE admissions 2022-23 Information for applicants" Oxford has released, they rank the admissions test pretty much paramount to being accepted (obviously other factors come into play too) but I'm a bit worried that I'll have no clue whatsoever in the exam what to do!
I know that it's not like a school exam because evidently then people could be tutored and I've been assured that both the level of maths isn't too bad and that the idea isn't to test your knowledge but rather to get an idea of your thought processes. But I'm still worried that I don't have any clue on what they'll expect from me in the exam (past papers are available online I think but then how do I know if what I've written is any good?)
I also feel a bit like, especially because politics and philosophy are so dependant on being eloquent, that my essay writing skills might not be up to scratch. I also don't take politics because my school doesn't offer it but I take History and our chosen modules are pretty much all relevant to current politics.
(edited 3 months ago)
Original post by fqriewiings
Based off the "PPE admissions 2022-23 Information for applicants" Oxford has released, they rank the admissions test pretty much paramount to being accepted (obviously other factors come into play too) but I'm a bit worried that I'll have no clue whatsoever in the exam what to do!
I know that it's not like a school exam because evidently then people could be tutored and I've been assured that both the level of maths isn't too bad and that the idea isn't to test your knowledge but rather to get an idea of your thought processes. But I'm still worried that I don't have any clue on what they'll expect from me in the exam (past papers are available online I think but then how do I know if what I've written is any good?)
I also feel a bit like, especially because politics and philosophy are so dependant on being eloquent, that my essay writing skills might not be up to scratch. I also don't take politics because my school doesn't offer it but I take History and our chosen modules are pretty much all relevant to current politics.

Practice ALL the TSA past papers, use the mark schemes too. 🙂

Then you should be ready to kick some ass in the real TSA tests when you apply for PPE. 😉

TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment) | University of Oxford
Reply 2
Original post by thegeek888
Practice ALL the TSA past papers, use the mark schemes too. 🙂

Then you should be ready to kick some ass in the real TSA tests when you apply for PPE. 😉

TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment) | University of Oxford

Thank you!! Is there an essay based aspect of the exam? I’ve been told by people who say it that there is but I’ve not seen anything online
Original post by fqriewiings
Thank you!! Is there an essay based aspect of the exam? I’ve been told by people who say it that there is but I’ve not seen anything online

I am applying for Law and need to sit the LNAT test. It also has an essay. I am surprised that the essay questions are similar and so are some of the multiple choice questions.

https://www.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxford/media_wysiwyg/24892-tsa-oxford-specimen-section-2_0.pdf

On the top right side of the page, click on "PRACTICE MATERIALS" then you can see all the Section 1 multiple choice questions and Section 2 - the essay questions. 🙂

TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment) | University of Oxford
Reply 4
Original post by thegeek888
I am applying for Law and need to sit the LNAT test. It also has an essay. I am surprised that the essay questions are similar and so are some of the multiple choice questions.

https://www.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxford/media_wysiwyg/24892-tsa-oxford-specimen-section-2_0.pdf

On the top right side of the page, click on "PRACTICE MATERIALS" then you can see all the Section 1 multiple choice questions and Section 2 - the essay questions. 🙂

TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment) | University of Oxford

Oh okay! Thank you so much, I’ll definitely check them out because even though Ive not had much of a chance to google it the little bit of research I’ve done doesn’t usually come up with any past papers 😅
Reply 5
Original post by fqriewiings
Based off the "PPE admissions 2022-23 Information for applicants" Oxford has released, they rank the admissions test pretty much paramount to being accepted (obviously other factors come into play too) but I'm a bit worried that I'll have no clue whatsoever in the exam what to do!
I know that it's not like a school exam because evidently then people could be tutored and I've been assured that both the level of maths isn't too bad and that the idea isn't to test your knowledge but rather to get an idea of your thought processes. But I'm still worried that I don't have any clue on what they'll expect from me in the exam (past papers are available online I think but then how do I know if what I've written is any good?)
I also feel a bit like, especially because politics and philosophy are so dependant on being eloquent, that my essay writing skills might not be up to scratch. I also don't take politics because my school doesn't offer it but I take History and our chosen modules are pretty much all relevant to current politics.

So, I didn't take the TSA (I took the HAT and got 73/100 on it, but it's quite different to the TSA), but I have looked at and done quite a few TSA papers in the past for fun.
With the multiple choice questions there's really not much better preparation you can do than doing all the past papers. They aren't awfully difficult but there's SO many of them that timing may be an issue at first. Get used to doing them under exam conditions.
For the essay bit of the TSA (which you likely have to do for PPE), it's not a bad idea to show finished responses to one of your teachers maybe? (Since you don't have politics teachers, maybe give them to your history or other related subjects teachers). Also give them the mark scheme as well so that they can help you understand the requirements better (in my experience, Oxford make really accessible mark schemes, but still) and so that THEY have a clue what they are talking about.
Best thing would be to get a tutor, but ofc that isn't within everyone's means.

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