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The TARA, the Test of Academic Reasoning for Admissions, is the admissions test Oxford uses from 2027 entry for PPE, Economics & Management, Human Sciences, History & Politics, History & Economics, Philosophy & Linguistics and the Psychology courses, in place of the TSA, and UCL uses it for some courses too. It tests problem solving and critical thinking rather than any subject a school teaches.
We also build cookie, which has a free guide to which admissions test each Oxford and Cambridge course asks for, now that the TARA, TMUA and ESAT have replaced the older tests.
Read the admissions tests guideOxford retired the Thinking Skills Assessment and now uses the TARA. The reasoning being tested is closely related, so TSA past papers remain the best available practice material, but the paper a student will sit is the TARA, and timed practice should be done on whatever official material exists for it.
Problem solving is numerical and spatial reasoning over small amounts of information: extracting the relevant number from a table, spotting a relationship, working backwards from an answer. Critical thinking is identifying an argument’s conclusion, its unstated assumptions and what would weaken it.
Neither requires any content knowledge, and both improve markedly with practice, which is what makes preparation worthwhile.
PPE and E&M are among the most oversubscribed courses in the country, and the test is used alongside grades, a personal statement and an interview. A tutor who has been through that specific process can help balance the four rather than over-investing in one.
Not at Oxford from 2027 entry, where the TARA replaces it. Its past papers remain the closest available practice material.
Oxford PPE, Economics & Management, Human Sciences, History & Politics, and the Psychology courses. Check the specific course page for the year you apply.
Not content, but yes in the sense that matters. Both question types are trainable, and familiarity with the format and the timing is worth a lot on the day.
The TSA had a writing task and admissions processes have used one in various forms. Check the current specification for your year, since it is the detail that changes most often.
Six to eight weeks of regular timed practice is typical, in the autumn of Year 13.
Many can. Oxford interview preparation is listed separately on tutor profiles.
We are selective about who teaches here: we look for tutors at top universities, everybody is interviewed by us, and nobody is listed without a criminal record check on file. Lessons run in the browser with live video and a shared whiteboard.Rates start at £30 an hour, the first 15 minutes with any tutor is free, and every student gets cookie's study software at no extra cost.