Should I take the MAT Additional Test on November 14th?
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This is copied from my old blog (2023), for students applying to universities.
This post contains my personal advice for MAT candidates, who took the test in October 2023.
There were technical problems with the Mathematical Aptitude Test (MAT) this year (2023), for 2024 undergraduate entry to subjects including Mathematics and Computer Science. Many Oxford, Warwick and Imperial candidates will have had some kind of issue that affected them on test day and disrupted their experience of the test.
Oxford have announced that they will make an additional test available to those candidates who were disrupted, which will take place on November 14th. This test is optional. Candidates who were disrupted may choose to take the extra test, or not.
In order to take this additional test, generally speaking:
- You should have taken the original MAT and suffered some disruption,
- You (or your school) should have filled out a special consideration form,
- You should receive an invitation on November 3rd,
- You should reply to the invitation before noon on November 10th,
- The test is scheduled for Tuesday, November 14th, at 09:00,
- You will have 1 hour to complete 10 Multiple Choice Questions
If you have the option, I would strongly recommend taking the test. Your application will be reviewed as a whole, including your original MAT score and the extra MAT score, your personal statement, predicted grades, and teacher reference (and then reviewed as a whole again, with the evidence from your interview).
An extra piece of evidence that you are a good student for the course can only boost your application. I find it highly unlikely that your application will be harmed, if you take on the challenge of extra questions. Doing the extra test will (at a minimum) show that you have a willingness to tackle even more difficult maths problems - the same as you will need to do on the course you have applied for.
For the last three years, a similar type of extra test was given to a very small number of students. These past tests are quite well-hidden and can be found on just one of the official MAT websites, in the section "Additional Multiple-Choice Questions".
Based on the evidence we have, the test is most likely to be a harder version of Question 1 of the MAT (the ten Multiple Choice Questions) - however, the higher difficulty level should not put you off. Everyone will find it harder, so the expected scores will be lower. You have an extra opportunity to prove yourself worthy - you should take it 😃
Good luck!
If you need any last minute help or advice via my tutoring services, please get in touch. I'll reply as quick as I can: ronald@mathswithronald.com, or WhatsApp +31682589013