How to Approach Oxford’s MAT Test: Our Guide to Applying for Maths at Oxbridge in 2024
This guide is written by Saskia (Maths and Philosophy, University of Oxford). Saskia leads you through her top tips for preparation, including how to mentally approach the test, how best to structure your preparation, key aspects of thinking style and examination technique.
Preparing your mindset for the MAT
The first thing to do is to accept that the MAT is going to be hard. Do not give up your dreams of Oxford after your first paper!
You will be used to knowing how to answer a question: in A Level Maths and Further Maths you are taught methods and then tested on identifying the appropriate method and applying it. MAT is purely based on first year A Level Maths material, but the questions are designed so that a strong A Level student will not immediately know how to proceed. Do not panic when this happens! Rather, accept and enjoy the fact that you are being asked to be creative (see more in Thinking Style)
Don’t obsess over the average scores they give. As a mathematician you should know that half of successful candidates got below the average successful mark! This may sound obvious but it’s easy for a score below this average to feel like a failure. Also bear in mind that MAT is only one element of the overall picture they look at, even if it is an important element. Finally, they do see your score in the context of any extenuating circumstances you’ve had to deal with (especially regarding your schooling)
Preparing for the MAT is also great interview practice: try thinking out loud and explaining your solutions
Preparation for the MAT
1. First, go through the syllabus and check you are very confident with this material.
Go deeper than you would for A level: think about proofs even if they aren’t examinable, understand how the results and concepts fit together. As someone who enjoys maths, relish the opportunity to really thoroughly understand a relatively small amount of material. This will get you thinking in a MAT style
2. Then do ALL the past papers and in CHRONOLOGICAL order (treating the specimen papers as 2009 papers).
It is tempting to think of the MAT as an IQ test which cannot be prepared for. You can and should prepare! Practicing the paper will get you used to the structure and style of thinking
The style of the papers has subtly changed over the years and I certainly think they’ve got harder. Start off with the early papers to ease yourself in and do the later papers in the immediate run up to the exam, so you walk into the exam with the most up to date expectations
When you are marking your papers, critically examine where you lost marks. Find general things that are costing you marks. For example: time management, not using previous parts of the question, getting stuck into messy algebra when there’s a neat geometrical method. In your next paper keep these tendencies in mind
3. Before the exam: The MAT requires you to think really really hard which is tiring! Do not work super hard the night/morning before, you will tire yourself out and do worse in the exam.
Thinking Style
There is a “narrative” to the long questions. Very often you will be required to use earlier parts of the question later on. Think of the long questions as one big questions divided into parts to help guide you through it.
E.g. This is especially true in 2017 2iiic
If you’re stuck, a good place to start is to consider what you do know. Find concepts or results that resemble the question you’re faced with and try to make a connection
E.g. 2018 2ii - You don’t know what Tn looks like, but you do know what T2, T3 and T4 look like, how can you relate this to Tn?
Look at the bigger picture. Often it helps to see the general point or grasp something intuitively before (or instead of) focussing on specifics
E.g. 2019 2iii - Don’t get stuck in with “maths”, just think generally and intuitively about the process
This is also encouraged in graph sketching questions: it often helps to consider what happens when x gets big or small, whether there is any symmetry, etc.
Take a second before diving in. Ask yourself how it is best to approach the question, e.g. algebra or a picture
E.g. 2019 4ii and iii - algebra or picture?
Exam technique
Don’t leave any multiple choice blank
Write down your thinking - they look at scripts
Don’t get too stuck on one question, move on and come back. Find a balance, give yourself long enough to have a good think about it but don’t be afraid to move on to a question that you may find more manageable
How Can U2 Help Prepare You For the MAT & Wider Maths Application (e.g. Interview Preparation, Summer School, Research Projects)?
U2 Tuition offers admissions test preparation either as part of our wider Oxbridge Mentoring programmes or as separate ad hoc tuition (book a free consultation to discuss options).
The Process:
1) We suggest an Oxford Maths graduate as a mentor and send their full CV for review. Many of our mentors have studied at Master’s or PhD level and are deeply familiar with the admissions process to study mathematics at the University of Oxford, and in particular the entrance exam and interview process.
2) We typically suggest beginning with a 1.5 hour informal assessment/ taster session, where the mentor will informally assess the student’s current performance level for test and interview. Following this, we issue a report with feedback, and structure a plan to best prepare.
3) U2’s approach for regular MAT sessions: The material for the MAT test is quite unlike anything you face at school and there's no textbook that tells you how to answer the questions! Luckily, however, there are patterns to be discovered in the questions the examiners set. In their time working with students preparing for the MAT, U2’s mentors have developed the ability to identify where exactly it is that any given student can make significant "gains" in terms of points achieved, be it a specific type of question, a particular bit of the syllabus, or the student's ability to divide their time in a disciplined fashion. Working in this way gives the student confidence in their own abilities and the best possible chance of acing the test.
Frequency of sessions can be decided between student and mentor. Honing the skills necessary to succeed in the MAT test requires long-term preparation.
Wider Maths Application Support
U2's Oxbridge programmes aim to advance students to the level required for success at interview through regular tutorial sessions and specific admissions preparation (for personal statement, admissions test & interview). In sessions, students are expected to orally communicate, defend, analyse & critique ideas or solve problems, in conversation with the tutor, as in an Oxbridge tutorial. This readies students for the challenging entry process and provides them with the tools needed to stand out amongst other strong candidates.
We offer some of the most comprehensive support available at present, with an entire interactive online platform, Minds Underground, built to take care of all students' co-curricular needs in preparation for university application and future careers, including research projects, masterclasses and summer schools.
This year, we are working with over 20 schools in the UK & internationally to support their own Oxbridge applicants, including Wellington College, Putney High and City of London amongst others.
Sessions from £70/h + VAT.
Interested in Joining Our Maths Summer School for Oxbridge Applicants?
Our co-curricular platform, Minds Underground, hosts a fantastic online Maths Summer School from June-August, with a masterclass each week designed to provide impressive talking-points for personal statements and interviews. Hosted by our Oxbridge-educated mathematicians.