Tough New Tests For Oxbridge Entrants

Eyeing a seat at Oxford or Cambridge University? Just prepare yourself for a battery of tough entrance tests.

Yes, for the first time, students applying to study courses such as English, philosophy, politics and economics at Oxbridge will have to sit for an entrance examination, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported here today.

"Oxford's entrance exam for politics and economics, which gets 1,300 applicants each year, is designed to assess the ability to think critically, reason analytically, and use language accurately and effectively without having to rely on any particular subject knowledge," the university said.

While Oxford has recently introduced 'aptitude' tests in subjects like physics, history, mathematics and computer science, at Cambridge, a number of prospective students take the 'thinking skills' tests in economics and engineering.

However, Cambridge authorities believe that every applicant should take the entrance tests as "A-levels are failing to identify the brightest candidates".

"About a fifth of students doing A levels get three As. Cambridge is interested in the top five per cent. The A grade at A-level is no longer a good means of identifying a field of competitive applicants," Geoff Parks, the Director of Admissions at Cambridge, was quoted as saying. (DNA)

***** I wonder how difficult it was when KJ, the nation's first son-in-law entered Oxford?
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