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Changes to University Admissions Tests in 2024

Megan Bowler8th February 2023May 2nd, 2023

 Thinking of applying to Cambridge, or to read Medicine or Maths at any UK University in Autumn 2024?

Read on for an important update! 

Cambridge Assessments Admissions Testing (CAAT) has recently announced that the following Admissions Tests will be discontinued from the 2024 university cycle: 

TMUA

Compulsory for Economics or Computer Science at Cambridge

Optional for Mathematics courses at other Universities (Cardiff, Lancaster, Durham, LSE, Bath, Nottingham, Sheffield, Southampton, Warwick)

ENGAA

Engineering at Cambridge 

BMAT

Medicine at Brighton and Sussex, Imperial, Keele, Lancaster, UCL, Oxford, Cambridge, Leeds; Dentistry at Leeds; Biomedical Sciences at Oxford

NSAA

Natural Sciences, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, and Veterinary Sciences at Cambridge 

If you are someone who is planning to sit these tests in 2024, or know someone who is, don’t panic! This article will explain what the changes will mean for you.  

How will applicants in 2024 be affected? (Students currently in Year 11) 

  • You may potentially be sitting new tests in 2024. These are likely to come with guidance and exemplars but few, if any past papers. 

  • You may also have a shorter amount of time to prepare than applicants in previous years due to the lack of information about the possible new tests at this time 

  • However, prospective candidates could still practise using the old-style past papers in the meantime, as Admissions Tutors will still be looking for the same fundamental criteria for these courses.  

How will applicants in 2023 be affected? (Students currently in Year 12) 

These changes will not affect you, unless you reapply in 2024. 

Why are these admissions tests being discontinued? 

The reasoning behind these changes given by Cambridge Admissions Assessment Testing is as follows: “The bespoke tests are operationally unsustainable over the medium term, given their significant complexity and the need to deliver them affordably to students and higher education institutions”.  

This appears to fit the current trend of a focus on sustainable delivery in Higher Education admissions. Similar reasoning was given earlier in 2022 when it was announced that both Oxford and Cambridge admissions interviews would be conducted online for the foreseeable. 

Will they be replaced with alternative tests? 

It has not yet been announced whether new alternative tests will be implemented, whether these courses would use other existing assessments (e.g. all Medicine schools using the UCAT instead of the BMAT), or whether these courses will no longer use an admissions test. 

It is unlikely that these highly competitive universities will cease using admissions tests altogether anytime soon. After AS Levels were effectively removed in 2021, Admissions Test scores became the de facto replacement, and are likely to remain so for the time being. 

Are Oxford’s admissions tests affected? 

At this stage, only students applying to Medicine or Biomedical Sciences at Oxford (from 2024 onwards) will be affected by these changes as the BMAT is the only Oxford test being discontinued.  

No changes to the CAT (Classics Admissions Test), ELAT (English Literature Admissions Test), HAT (History Aptitude Test), LNAT (National Admissions Test for Law), MAT (Mathematics Admissions Test), MLAT (Modern Languages Admissions Test), OLAT (Oriental Languages Admissions Test), PAT (Physics Aptitude Test) or TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment) have been announced to date.  

Preparation is key 

We take great pride in the support we provide for students sitting University Admissions Tests here at Oxford and Cambridge Tutors. In 2022, we worked with over a hundred students sitting the full range of tests. 72% of these students then went on to be invited to interview, compared to the national average of 51%.

To ensure that we always offer the highest quality tuition possible, we are constantly monitoring for any further announcements, briefing our tutors and adapting our materials.  We will work hard to make sure that the support we provide students sitting these updated tests from 2024 is of the highest quality possible.

In the meantime, if you have any questions about these Admissions Test changes or anything else University-related, please do not hesitate to contact our Universities Team or give them a call on 01865 956605. We are always happy to help!

— Kate and the Oxbridge Team

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