So if I wanted to apply to Oxford this fall, how would I take the MAT in the U.S.? There are supposedly only 16 centers available in the country to take it, and there is only one in California. However, that center is in SoCal, and I live in the Bay Area.
There are 2 ways:
- you go to SoCal
- you get your school to register as a test center. If you want that to happen in time for the November test date, start now. It is not that hard, but first you have to talk your school into doing it, then they actually have to do it, and it is a bit of hassle.
We are only an hour away from NYC so my son just went there to take his.
Pretty lucky, @HazeGrey! our GC made nice with a British International school that wasn’t too far away and was a test center. For the OP, it’s a 7+ hour drive (SF → San Diego)- but I would take a 1.5hr SW flight- ~$120 r/t.
My S18 got his school to register. It is quite simple but he had to guide them through the process, point them specifically at the website, etc. They signed up as a test center in September but then didn’t realize they needed to register him separately as a test taker before Oct 15. Fortunately we got it sorted out with the school’s college counselor at the last minute over the weekend of Oct 14/15. Then they proctored the exam for him on Nov 2. Its all free to your school (though they will need to provide the proctor for the test).
Point out to your school how much of an honor it would be to have a student going to Oxford. College counselors get excited about that sort of thing. Local newspapers may write about it (if prompted) which is good publicity for the school.
@Twoin18 One of my son’s classmates got into Cambridge but ultimately ended up going to Yale. In the matriculation report that gets sent out to parents/alumni by the headmaster, they used the Cambridge result!
I am fairly sure my school would not be surprised by the prestige or honor of potentially applyng to Oxford since my school is a fairly large public school with quite a few people who go to Ivies. In that case, if my school does not offer it, should I just contact the SoCal location?
You can certainly contact the San Diego testing center. My recollection is that the earliest you can register for the test is 60 days in advance. In the meantime, work on the past papers. Also note that the MAT syllabus is changing for this year’s test, so some material may not be covered by past papers.
Also, suppose I have a 1580 SAT and 5’s in AP Physics 1, Statistics, Spanish, and Macroeconomics by the time of my application. I know that the Spanish and Macro tests won’t carry much weight, but if I will not have taken the Physics C test and Calc BC until spring of senior year, will it be okay? I am wondering if I should even consider going through the efforts of seeking a location for the MAT and studying for it.
I would be planning to apply to either mathematics and computer science or mathematics and statistics.
You might well get a conditional offer, dependent on your remaining math/physics APs. You should at least do the math SAT 2 (and presumably get 800) beforehand. AIME qualification would help too, if applying for math.
BTW also consider Cambridge also as they are generally ranked above Oxford for math (I’m biased though). They don’t have a pretest like the MAT, so that would avoid your problem (most applicants are interviewed, you basically have to go in person). However you would almost certainly get a conditional offer because they want more relevant 5s on APs. Cambridge attracts less interest than Oxford in the US because most Americans have heard of Rhodes scholarships (and although not a big issue, Oxford is also more convenient for Heathrow).
Oxford is different than the US- it is more a series of hurdles. Once you have ticked the SAT score box- done. Once you have your achieved or predicted scores- done. Applying with predicted AP scores means you are likely to have ‘conditions’ to meet (ie, your place won’t be definite until you achieve your predicted score), which is tough in May when nobody else in your class has to worry- but it is survivable!
Whether you should go through the hassle depends on much you would love to marinate in a mathmo world for three years. Have you looked at the course syllabus, and does it excite you? Have you looked at the MAT, and does it seem reasonable to you?
I have looked at the MAT, and it does not look that challenging. It reminds me of AMC math in a way. I also looked at the STEP, but some of those tests seemed significantly harder to me. I heard that they weed out candidates with the STEP and that it does not comprise the initial admissions process but rather is one of the criteria of the conditional offer. Would my teacher recommendations have to be stellar, or would my MAT performance be more influential in the admissions process?
Twoin18, I have taken the chemistry SAT II, and I will take my math II in June.
How did you do on the AMC? Did you qualify for AIME?
For Oxford you need a good recommendation, but the MAT score is key to getting shortlisted for interview. For Cambridge the teacher rec is more influential because they don’t have a pretest.
STEP is designed to be hard. You’re not expected to be able to do it all. The UK likes “long tail” tests. The Tripos exams are exactly that.
@HazeGrey’s son is doing CS + Math, so may have more specific & helpful info.
@Twoin18 is right that Cambridge doesn’t have a pre-test, but it requires the STEP paper which (imo & ime) is worse! (Oxford recommends but does not require the STEP paper). You have to take the STEP in June (either 8 & 12 or 12 & 18, depending on which you take), and Cambridge is brutal about it: there is no flexibility (anecdotal, but true: I know an international student who made the rest of her offer, but missed by 1 point on the STEP and her offer was withdrawn).
Your LoR should be strong (obviously!), but it is less important than the MAT, which is critical to making the interview cut.
I did not qualify for AIME. If I am not too confident in my abilities to perform on the STEP, would it be wiser to apply to Oxford? My LoR would have to be from a teacher in the subject I intend to study, correct? And is a counselor recommendation necessary?
Also, is there a way for me to privately message others?
There is a minimum number of posts required before you can privately message people.
The LoR should come from your math teacher. The format and content is very different to a US recommendation. There is no need for an additional counselor recommendation.
In terms of mathematical aptitude, if you aren’t confident in your ability to perform on the STEP, I would give some careful thought as to how you would feel doing really hard math for 3 years. The sorting in Oxbridge math can feel pretty brutal. I was a tolerably decent mathematician at Cambridge. There were many far better mathematicians than me. Within the first term it was very clear who would get a first and who wouldn’t. I personally would have been miserable if I had felt I was going to struggle throughout. If you can do it well then math is an easy subject (for example you’d rarely need to work in the evenings or at weekends except when revising for exams) but if you can’t then there’s very little you can do about that.
Would you say that not having any significant achievements in my field would be a significant disadvantage even if I performed well on the entrance exams? Also, how are the format and content of the LoR significantly different, and are there any resources I could use to better instruct my teacher about these differences?
I visited this link, but it does not seem to be very explicit in what is expected.
https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/applying-to-oxford/information-for-referees?wssl=1
Look online (on Oxford/Cambridge sites & UCAS) for info on writing a rec, and share it with your math teacher. Many of the applicants will not have ‘significant achievements’ (llack of opportunity).
Spend some time thinking about @Twoin18’s post #17. I know a couple of middling mathmos who love doing math so much that they don’t mind (well, don’t mind too much!) that there are other students who are just in a whole other league. It comes down to are you technically strong enough to get in, and (imo, more importantly do you love it enough to want to do it all the time.