Hi, I’m Evangelina! I’m studying Experimental Psychology (EP) at St Catz, Oxford. My interest in psychology began while watching Criminal Minds as a child. I was always interested in the causes of behaviour. This developed further during my GCSEs when I noticed the links between science and behaviour, and how important the brain was in controlling everything we do.
I decided to apply to Oxford because I thought it’d be amazing to study at a renowned institution with leading academics. Writing my personal statement was one of my favourite things about the application process. It allowed me to explore which areas of psychology I liked, and link them to things seemingly unrelated to psychology. As cliché as it sounds, it’s important to show your passion through actions as opposed to just stating that you have a passion.
Unlike most other Psychology courses, the unique thing about applying to Oxford is the admissions test – the TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment). The TSA consists of 50 multiple choice questions testing critical thinking and problem solving as well as a 30 minute essay. It was the aspect I was most worried about as I’d never done anything like it. The best method I found to prepare for it was to practice in timed conditions and work on my weakest areas (which I found to be the long problem solving questions). For EP an average score of 60 is usually good enough to get you an interview.
My interview experience consisted of 4 interviews (two at my chosen college and two at another college). Though I was very apprehensive in the lead up towards them, I found that the tutors were willing to guide me through my thought process. My main tip for the interviews would be to think out loud – you may get the wrong answer but have the correct methods and thought process. Additionally, it’s useful to make sure you know the basics of research methods and statistical methods often used in Psychology. They often give you an example study and ask you questions surrounding the methods. The most important thing in an interview is to make sure you think carefully (the silences aren’t as awkward they feel) and stay as calm as possible.
The EP course consists of 3 parts: prelims, Part 1 and Part 2. The typical week during prelims consists of 5-6 lectures and three tutorials. Unlike other essay subjects, the lectures are often fundamental starting points for the essays you’ll write. You get a tutorial every week for each paper: Introduction to Psychology, Introduction to Neurophysiology and Introduction to Statistics and Probability theory. On an average week I produce: two essays (one for Neurophysiology and one for Psychology); an essay outline or short notes for Psychology; a presentation for Neurophysiology, and a Statistics problem sheet which tends to take around 3 hours (depending on the topic). In Part 1 and 2 of the course, labs are introduced, and you tend to have fewer tutorials a week. Though this seems a lot at first, you begin to get into a routine.
What I’d wish I’d known before applying, was how scientific the course is. Many people often don’t consider psychology as a science, but at Oxford (being in the medical sciences division) it definitely is a scientific discipline. There are many scientific areas of psychology that I hadn’t even heard of before starting my degree, such as psychophysics.
As a whole, I appreciate the range I have studying EP at Oxford. I can go from writing essays to learning about scientific processes, to completing mathematical problem sheets. A strong passion for psychology and the scientific processes underlying behaviour will leave you in a great place to start the course!