Oxbridge Preinterview Assessments – Everything You Need to Know

While preparing for admission to Oxbridge, tutors need not only help you with general disciplines but also mention the preinterview specific evaluations.

Oxbridge Duo – Oxford and Cambridge – are considered among the best world universities, constantly finishing in the top 5 world rankings, and are certainly the best Universities in the Old World. Despite the pretty expensive Oxbridge tuition and Oxford tutor fee, these universities remain as popular.

It’s constantly claimed that it is challenging and competitive to get admitted into Oxbridge – and it’s valid and rational since the best universities try to accept only the best students. Therefore, tutoring by private tutors takes up a major part of life during the preparation for admission into Oxbridge.

However, what is often overlooked is that potential enrollees should not exclusively focus on theoretical sciences and disciplines but also prepare for the so-called preinterview assessments:

• like Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA),
• Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment (NSAA),
• Engineering Admissions Assessment (ENGAA), etc.

– the exact preinterview assessment depends on the course chosen. Therefore, this article will mention what is currently known about the most often used pre-interview reviews.

Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA)

The Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA) is a preinterview assessment that is used by the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford to help to select the enrollees and assets, whether they have the required skills for the following courses:

• Experimental Psychology;
• Geography;
• Human Sciences;
• Philosophy;
• Politics and Economics;
• Psychology;
• Philosophy and Linguistics;
• Economics and Management;
• History and Economics.

This assessment tests critical thinking and logical problem-solving skills. Students taking the TSA do not need to be pre-familiar with particular texts or theories, as their ability to think hypercritically and logically will be tested first.

Exam Format

The modern version of TSA, which is taken on the desktop computer, consists of two main sections. Depending on the university, specialty, and course, students need to pass both sections or only the first one.

Problem Solving and Critical Thinking

The first section consists of 50 multiple-choice queries that students have 90 minutes to complete fully. The questions test abstract problem-solving skills, including spatial reasoning, critical thinking, and rational reasoning.

Written Task

The second section consists of a written task – students have to write an essay on 1 of 4 topics to choose from and have 30 minutes to do so. That is done to test the ability to organize thoughts and express them effectively in writing.

Details

That is just a concise briefing – should you require detailed information on TSA, want to view trial tasks and complete them with a TSA tutor, or get acquainted with the test structure, visit the official website of Admissions Testing.

Natural Sciences Admission Assessment (NSAA)

The Natural Sciences Admission Assessment (NSAA) is a written test completed by a candidate before an interview here for admission to the University of Cambridge in the Faculty of Natural Sciences. The test’s purpose is to test the candidate’s knowledge and ability to apply their understanding of the natural sciences in an unfamiliar context. Tests of this format, thus, make it possible to identify capable students and their high potential, which is necessary for further education.

Exam Format

The NSAA is paper-based, lasts 120 minutes, and consists of two sections in the multiple-choice format, containing 80 questions.

Section 1

The first section consists of four parts (Math, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology), among which the enrollees must choose two to answer (mathematics and one natural science are required). Each part contains 20 multiple-choice questions. In the first section, there are 40 queries and 60 minutes to answer them all.

Section 2

The second section consists of three parts (Physics, Chemistry, and Biology), of which one should be chosen to answer. In total, in the second section, there are 40 questions and 60 minutes to answer them all.

Details

You can view trial tasks, get acquainted with the structure of the test, and get all the other valuable pieces of information on the official website of the University of Cambridge.

Engineering Admission Assessment (ENGAA)

The Engineering Admission Assessment (ENGAA) is a written test that the potential enrollee completes before an interview for admission to the University of Cambridge under the Faculty of Engineering.

This type of assessment tests the knowledge of A-level courses in mathematics and physics (specifically – the ability from a two-year program of the British National Curriculum). This test, thus, assesses how the enrollee can apply the acquired knowledge in an unfamiliar context.

Exam Format

The ENGAA is paper-based, lasts 120 minutes, and consists of two sections in the multiple-choice format, containing 60 questions in total.

Section 1

The first section consists of two main parts. The first part, in turn, consists of 20 General Physics and Mathematics questions, while the second part – consists of 20 Further/Higher Mathematics and Physics questions. Therefore, there are 40 questions and 60 minutes to answer them.

Section 2

The second section consists of 20 questions on Higher Physics and 60 minutes to answer them. Bear in mind that using a calculator for this test is strictly prohibited.

Details

The official online resource of Cambridge University can be pretty helpful for those that plan to get a closer look at a test and, perhaps, do a few trials runs. Additionally, any further information and details may be found there.

The Specific Preparation for Preinterview Assessments

Despite the fact that preinterview assessments like TSA, NSAA, ENGAA, and others are designed to test the overall prowess of the mind and reasoning skills, rather than a pure mass of theoretical knowledge, it is still possible to prepare specifically for them. Our specialists at Oxbridgemind.co.uk offer quality Oxbridge admissions tutoring that will significantly increase your chances of successful application.