Oxford PAT - how to prepare

I clue you in on how I prepared for the physics aptitude test (PAT) administered by the University of Oxford, and give you some links to useful resources:

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I am Simon, a third year PhD candidate at the University of Exeter. I upload videos on bits of science which are relevant to what I do, and sometimes just because they're really cool.

[Oxcentric]

Still genuinely impresses me the 5 years on this is still *the* definitive video resource for helping prepare for the PAT. Very concise presentation of what the PAT is about and, obviously, great quality!

[santiagoarce]

Just wanted to clarify that the PAT isn't only used to see who gets an interview. After you're interviewed, Oxford adds up your PAT score and your interview score to help them select people to make offers to. If you barely made it through to interview and then did poorly on the interview, they are unlikely to give you an offer. Likewise if you smash the PAT, you would really have to screw up your interviews to not get offered a place. Notice how little grades and your personal statement matter to Oxford. They only use them to make decisions between mid tier candidates.

[mintymilkk]

Most hyped I've ever been for an exam

[simstatic]

Hi Simon - such a good video - concise yet informative. I have to say that I'm loving the mix of vlogs and educational videos on your channel. Keep it up :D p.s. Looking forward to your possible collabs with the creators from the YouTube space.

[sas]

Thank you for including links to all the websites. The video was really helpful! I am planning to do the PAT this year (2023)

[pawelrudnicki]

I do like your videos and this one is really helpful! Thanks for everything :)

[Canalbizarrof]

it's that time of year again, boyos
ready to not see you lads next year

thanks for the vid, simon

[hari]

Help. I have to do this in under a month. Help. It's horrible. Help.
Edit: I did horribly 😂😂

[olinabotsaris]

i 'm in high school, i really like physics and your videos have helped me a lot ! :) Although physics is my favorite subject I find it really hard to choose what I wanna study in the future... Any tips ?

[the_hasnat]

Yes you are allowed a calculator now! Just not the commonly used CLASSWIZ.

[quantumarchangel]

hi simon, do I need to do futher maths at a level?

[coraalice]

Hi! Can anyone recommend any resources to use to teach myself the Physics content required for the PAT that hasn't been covered in the AS syllabus? I'm struggling to know where to start :/

[TheGamerTeo]

Hey Simon, I want to apply for physics in Oxford, but unfortunately, the amount of maths/physics I get is very low and having seen the past papers, I don't have much confidence because I don't understand most of them. (partially because I don't live in the UK and the exams I get are in my native language) What do you think about this?

[saudhassankhan]

Hello Simon! Your videos are really helpful.
Keep it up!
One thing to ask you about Engineering Science that is there any written work to be submitted while applying for this course?

[mpr]

I'm applying for History and Politics at Trinity College, Oxford

[wellhungman]

Hey simon I really want to go to university to study physics preferably Oxford or Imperial college London as I have achieved the grades A* in physics A* in mathematics and an A in chemistry but I am a bit hesitant as I really struggled and had to revise extremely hard to achieve these grades much harder than any of my classmates had to study to achieve similar grades in the same subjects. I am just scared that if I do go I will find the work too hard and would not be able to cope with the work load even though I am willing to work hard and physics is my passion I would be really thankful if you could offer me some advice on what to do and by the way keep up the good work your videos are very informative and entertaining you would make a good actor one day if you decide to take that career path as I for one love your videos and could watch them all day.

[kaushikdr]

There are so many past papers now; how do you go through your tests and correct your incorrect answers?

[CbarMiiXaaS]

Cheeky use of psi, psimon...

I had to...

[Jinesh_]

Hey iam from India and when I saw the past papers of Pat I found it terribly easy when compared to the IIT-jee which is an entrance exam for the Indian institute of technology . I could have easily cracked Pat but couldn't afford Oxford and hence never attempted it .

[isabelferrerasgonzalez]

Hi!! I just finished my last year of secondary school in Spain and I covered almost all the content in the PAT but I'm not sure I'm well prepared so I don't know if it's better to take the test this year or take a gap year and then do it because I only have one month left to study for the PAT