The Big TSA 2009 Thread

Yeah, its good to see my answers are correlating with everyone elses, hopefully I'll be able to score between 42 and 45 like i did in the practise papers. My answers to some of the more troublesme questions were:

1. Tree question : 4.8m
2. Wheel : 1
3. The zoo question: children learn a lot from zoos (wasnt the entire basis of the argument that zoos should be closed because they did not teach anyone).
4. Granny holiday: I seem to remember the length of her holiday was only 4 days assuming she only stayed in each country for 1 day (although, I cant remember exactly, it might have been 5)
5. The number of days off question was definitely 25
6. The last question: Originally wrote down C but then changed my answer to E (I think I managed to picture a situation where C worked but now im not so sure)

Did you sit the TSA at Schloss Salem?

I actually think this year's TSA was easier than last year's. Still, I know I got some of the questions wrong.

Does anyone remember what they got for the Metallica-question?
I think I got the town in the right corner...

With the tree question did you do 7/1.6 = 3.145 or something then 20/3.145 = 4.57? then rounded up to 4.8?

Wasn't the wheel question that the first wheel spins 8 times? This is then connected to the second wheel (not connected to the outer rim but to an inner one which is the same as the first one). Hence the second wheel must spin at the same speed as the first. The third is connected to the second on its outer rim making it turn half as fast as the second (and first). So in my opinion the answer should be 4. I can say I underperformed at the test (even changed the Metallica answer to something else in the last second) but as long as I remember the wheel question correctly I'm quite sure this should be right...
The key is that the first and second wheel are connected via two another wheel identical to the first...

Is anybody in here being able to tell me how to manage the "granny holiday"-question? This was the only question among the tsa 2008, the specimen paper and the tsa 2009 where I had not even the slightest clue about how to deal with it. What was meant by the term "overseas" by the way? And what were the numbers indicating? Did you have to consider all countries or only a few of them due to information in the text which I possibly read over?
From my point of view the tsa 2009 was much harder in terms of the spatial questions. This is a little unfortunate due to the fact that my spatial skills are - and i know this is very unmanly - probably the worst ones in comparison with the other skills. Annoyingly, there were very few questions about fashion or horses, at which I could have bailed out myself perfectly.

@Achajecki: I got "16" as the result for the meal-question, too. Seems to be not the falsest answer...

Wasn't the wheel question that the first wheel spins 8 times? This is then connected to the second wheel (not connected to the outer rim but to an inner one which is the same as the first one). Hence the second wheel must spin at the same speed as the first. The third is connected to the second on its outer rim making it turn half as fast as the second (and first). So in my opinion the answer should be 4. I can say I underperformed at the test (even changed the Metallica answer to something else in the last second) but as long as I remember the wheel question correctly I'm quite sure this should be right...
The key is that the first and second wheel are connected via two another wheel identical to the first...

i m, however, really worried of not getting invited to interview.... my grades in germany are pretty much perfect and i thought the statement and the reference to be good as well.. but what if i only got like 60 in the multiple choice... do they reject everyone that is under a specific score to reach the number they can interview or do they consider the complete application?

I'm pretty sure A was connected to the outer rim of B and that C was connected to the little wheel in B, which was the same size as A.

Meaning A spins 8 times --> B is twice as large which means it spins (8/2) 4 times, the small wheel in B will spin as many rounds as B, because they are part of the same wheel, the big wheel C is 4 times as large as the small wheel of B which means 4 spins of B will give 1 spin on C, giving a ratio of 4/1 then times this up with the 4 spins and you have (4/1)*4 giving 4/4 = 1.

Bodensee, from my point of view, your worries are absolutely unjustified. For I read at the TSA-Page at Cambridge Assement Center Homepage that the TSA-result merely is something to be consulted if they have to decide between two people that are performing similiar in other aspects. Your grades, reference and personal statement seem to be much more important (bad for me btw, my grades are worse than my thinking skills, I think).
Of course they will hesitate to invite you if you perfomed exorbitantly horrribly. But there are some figures at the homepage as well, concerning TSA Cambridge results of 2003 (I know this is not Oxford-TSA 2009, but I think the tenor is the same) in relation to those who got a place finally. People that scored sth above 85 percent did not get into the course in contrast to some of them scoring 40 and being accepted...

@ Stashup: Are you also from Germany?
Somewhere I read that about 80 percent of all applicants will be invited to the interviews.

Btw. did anyone else get the email about deciding about PPHs (Permanent Private Halls)?

I don't know the exact figures for PPE, but honestly i think you can forget that.

PPE has been about 50% in the past years, though I reckon it's a bit less this year.

I just noticed, you're from Noordwijk – I've been there! My cousins used to live in Wassenaar! Which school do you go to?

For the life-expectancy question, my main points were basically:

1) Have to be supported by the State for a longer period of time.

2) Age of retirement may have to be raised.

3) Old-age illnesses may become more prevalent, burden on healthcare system.

4) Overpopulation, urban sprawl, high density apartments constructed, etc.

Then in terms of bull$**t to fill space:

1) People on fixed-rate pensions would be f***ed (I put it slightly more eloquently).

2) People might have more kids in the hope of financial + personal support in their old age.


Did anyone do anything drastically different or just get different points?