MSAP 2014

RayM

So, did anybody here do the MSAP exam this morning?

I don't know what to make of it. The multiple choice questions were every bit as horrible as I had been led to believe. Far more tricky than the practice questions. I felt that some of them definitely had more than one potentially correct answer. I've got no idea whether I got 35/35 or 0/35, to be honest. I've never left an exam feeling so baffled about how I might have done.

I think I might have done ok with the essays. Although the structure of my second one went slightly awry towards the end, and I found myself repeating stuff that I had said earlier. I managed to finish them both with a minute or two to spare, so at least I had time to read over them.

Just wondering what others thought of it (partly in the hope of reassuring myself that I wasn't the only one who found it a bit brutal).

MiloYossarian

Ya, I did it as well. I'm quite happy with it. I felt I did well in the essay part, although not as well in the reflective essay as I normally do. I finished far earlier than I expected and nearly filled the booklet, so I had time to read back over. I was pleased.

I found module two far easier than the practice tests. I am, however in the minority when it comes to this. I heard a lot of people saying it was more difficult. I finished it after twenty five minutes. This afforded me plenty of time to revise it. Good job too. I did not understand the poem the first time around. I ended up changing the answers.

I'm not sure I got one of the diagrams at all. It was just three questions though, so hopefully it doesn't matter. I was disappointed that two diagrams came up. I am weak at those. I knew at least one would come up, but still, I failed to prepare as well as I could.
Overall, I feel like I did well enough. However, I could have just as easily got them all wrong as well. Ce la vie.

Listen, don't worry too much about it, I'm sure you did well. All the best anywho, I hope to see you in September.

Regards

Colm

P.s, what are you going for, if you don't mind me asking?

RayM

Yeah, I made quite a few changes too at the end - although with one or two of them, I might as well have been tossing a coin. I thought the diagrams were horribly tedious. I felt that my brain was going to melt during one of them. I suppose that's the whole point of it really - to see how everyone copes with the pressure. Thankfully I've forgotten most of my answers, so I'm not torturing myself by Googling everything. All we can do now is wait for the results. All the best with it.

Really hoping to do History and Politics in UCD. What are you going for?

MiloYossarian

Ya, my mind goes pretty blank when I come out of tests. I did google one thing, I made a mistake in my essay, I mentioned the "Rape Of Shanghai" but it was actually the "Rape Of Nanking." Poopy happens.
Some of the answers to module two seemed ridiculously obvious to me, and I don't trust that. I'm going to go ahead and declare the that I got the second graph question wrong. All three of those questions. They couldn't have been that easy. Probably got most of the question about the art thing wrong as well.

I'm still pretty confident though. Ya, I'm just going to distract myself with other stuff while waiting. Probably by making love to a string of beautiful women, as is my style.

History and Politics sounds really interesting. I hope you get it. I'm going for Social Sciences in UCC with an eye to becoming a Social Worker.

Speaking of pressure, the girl next to me started crying during the test.

Moomat

MiloYossarian wrote: »

I'm just going to distract myself with other stuff while waiting. Probably by making love to a string of beautiful women, as is my style.

Give 'em one for me too while you're at it. I've a pregnant wife here providing all the distraction I can manage!

Found the first questions in module 2 about the philosophy extract very hard. The rest didn't seem to bad except that fecking art diagram.
I hope you don't lose points for bad handwriting because mine was pretty bad in the written parts.

MiloYossarian

Moomat wrote: »

Give 'em one for me too while you're at it. I've a pregnant wife here providing all the distraction I can manage!

Found the first questions in module 2 about the philosophy extract very hard. The rest didn't seem to bad except that fecking art diagram.
I hope you don't lose points for bad handwriting because mine was pretty bad in the written parts.

Cool, a pregnant wife, that's really good news. It'll be a super busy year for you so with college and a baby, but also a very rewarding one.

Best of luck with both

kathy09

Hi i also did the test today , essays were all over the place i think the questions were ok , the man beside me got up and said i wouldnt be going to ucd anyway.

MJT_90

Did the test too yesterday, not sure what to make of it to be honest. Think the best way to describe it is cautiously optimistic! Thought the essays were only ok. I found myself rambling towards the end of them but hopefully they were ok. I'm a bit more optimistic about the multiple choice, it was everything I expected it to be although one or two were touch and go. Fingers crossed anyway!

Lenmeister

I was posting in the UCC forum, I did mine in UCD Blackrock. I didn't finish either essay or the questions. Really pessimistic after it, but all I can do is wait to hear. I barely got through about 2/3 of the questions so randomly ticked the rest. I took ages to decide what to write about for the 1st essay, then wrote a good bit but left myself hardly any time for the 2nd essay. So any structure for either essay went out the window...

Milo you must have tore through those questions if you did it in 25mins. That's well under 1 minute per question, fair play. Maybe I should start drinking coffee! Time was my biggest problem, I'm quite positively negative after all that, wonder how I did.

Ross1986

Thought the essays were ok actually, felt I did well in those but that's for a marker to judge now I suppose. I did topic 4 of task A and the topic 5 of task B.

The multiple choice were very hard I thought, I'm far better at essays than those type of multiple choice. The ones with the diagrams are definitely deliberately there to trip you up. The extracts and poem questions were ok though.

Hoping to do Sport Studies and PE in UCC so find it a bit strange that these type of exams are used for this type of course but its over now so will just have to wait and see. Best of luck to everyone

MJT_90

Does anybody know when the results are posted? Think I read somewhere it should take 6 weeks but not really sure.

Mr.Saturn

MJT_90 wrote: »

Does anybody know when the results are posted? Think I read somewhere it should take 6 weeks but not really sure.

Sat mine on the 23rd of the February last year and the results were out the 28th of March for overall score and the percentiles followed on the 29th; so 5ish weeks. I would've guessed it'd be slightly faster this year, since Easter's deep in April.

MiloYossarian

Lenmeister wrote: »

Milo you must have tore through those questions if you did it in 25mins. That's well under 1 minute per question, fair play.

Ya, I know but that didn't come out of nowhere. I planned and prepared very well for the test. I consciously developed my reading speed. I did lots of different little things, even being as pedantic as buying glasses with larger frames so I could take in more at a glance.
I knew I could not face doing it again next year.

Having said that, it could be the fastest anybody has ever failed in the history of the Msap. We just don't know.

My advice to you sir, is to take this year as a practice year. Next year you'll be far better prepared and you'll know exactly what you need to do. Best of luck.

Weslorfin

Hi everyone I'm wondering how people did on Saturday on modules 1 and 3 I found I ran into simple things from school that I had forgotten and spent some time trying to remember. I didn't have this problem with the sample test so I found it misleading.

I only got trough half the test by the time 10 mins was called so the rest were little more than guesses.

Anyone else find it disappointing?

MiloYossarian

Results on 22nd April 2014.

bloodstormaoa

Hope everyone is pleased with their results.

I received an e-mail from acer just there and I'm a little disappointed. I was sure I had done better in Module one.

This might be a silly question, but can anybody explain the percentile stuff?

Moomat

bloodstormaoa wrote: »

Hope everyone is pleased with their results.

I received an e-mail from acer just there and I'm a little disappointed. I was sure I had done better in Module one.

This might be a silly question, but can anybody explain the percentile stuff?

This is my understanding of percentile, could be wrong!
I got an overall percentile of 79%, this means I scored higher than 78% of the other applicants. For example if 100 people took the test I would of scored hgher than 78 people.

Pretty disapointed with my score in module 1 too. 50% percentile. Should of been less controversal! ( or improve my writing and spelling)

afterglow

Moomat wrote: »

This is my understanding of percentile, could be wrong!
I got an overall percentile of 79%, this means I scored higher than 78% of the other applicants. For example if 100 people took the test I would of scored hgher than 78 people.

Pretty disapointed with my score in module 1 too. 50% percentile. Should of been less controversal! ( or improve my writing and spelling)

Hi
I was only scored on one module because of the diagrams and the fact that the test, in its electronic format was written ridiculously badly. I got 88 percent in the essay module, which was the one they scored me on. I did attempt module 2 and found it awful. Things weren't really explained that well and I left the test feeling pretty crap so can't believe I got that score in the essay questions!
Hopefully enough for an offer

barlow89

MSAP-Ireland RESULTS
Module 1 Score: 109 Module 1 Percentile 59
Module 2 Score: 80 Module 2 Percentile 16
Module 3 Score: Module 3 Percentile
Overall (1 & 2) Score: 95 Overall (1 & 2) Percentile 35
Overall (1 & 3) Score: Overall (1 & 3) Percentile


OMG..... have i faile can anybody tell me i did so bad in section two

barlow89

i think i failed did do bad in section two how is my overall percentile 35 so **** can someone tell me if i failed

MSAP-Ireland RESULTS
Module 1 Score: 109 Module 1 Percentile 59
Module 2 Score: 80 Module 2 Percentile 16
Module 3 Score: Module 3 Percentile
Overall (1 & 2) Score: 95 Overall (1 & 2) Percentile 35
Overall (1 & 3) Score: Overall (1 & 3) Percentile

Seaneh

I was 65 percentile over all, 72 in module 2 and 53 in module 1.
Pretty happy with module 2 results, was sure I'd done better in module 1 though, hoping it's high enough to be above the cutoff point for the courses I applied for, guess I'll find out soon enough!

I was *certain* I'd done a lot better in module 1 than module 2 though, ah well.

edit:
Never mind, just realised module 1 was the essay questions, yeah, I did horribly in those.

Ross1986

Scored in the 62nd Percentile for Module 1 and the 58th Percentile for Module 2, thought I had done better in Module 1 tbh. Scored in the 61st Percentile overall so don't think that will be enough for the course I applied for in UCC but sure we'll wait and see.

Seaneh

Moomat wrote: »

This is my understanding of percentile, could be wrong!
I got an overall percentile of 79%, this means I scored higher than 78% of the other applicants. For example if 100 people took the test I would of scored hgher than 78 people.

Pretty disapointed with my score in module 1 too. 50% percentile. Should of been less controversial! ( or improve my writing and spelling)

AFAIK, handwriting, spelling and grammar aren't really taken into account in the essay questions, it's based on the substance of your writing, ie, could you get your point across in a coherent manner and the structure was decent.

Also, remember, it's 50 percentile not 50% grade, you did better than at least half of the people there, so you did ok (that's what I'm telling myself anyway :P).

Fi Barry

I'm pretty gutted, but unsure of my results. Maybe someone here could let me know in plain English what they mean? Is this terrible? Do I have any hope of getting into Uni.

Module1 score 95
Module 2 score 91
Module 1 percentile 26
Module 2 percentile 37
Overall score 93 Overall percentile 30

Nightshad3

Hi guys

Seems I did ok,

Module 1 score 122, percentile 84

Module 2 score 118 percentile 81

overall score 120, percentile 85

When do I find out is it enough for my course?

barlow89

I got 95 but my percentile is only 35 does this mean I failed

Seaneh

Nightshad3 wrote: »

Hi guys

Seems I did ok,

Module 1 score 122, percentile 84

Module 2 score 118 percentile 81

overall score 120, percentile 85

When do I find out is it enough for my course?

I'd be extremely confident of progressing with those scores to be honest.

merkal

i scored overall percentile of 92 so i am thrilled. don't know if its enough for my first choice but its definitely enough for my second!
so sorry to those who didn't do well.

baddaboo

Gutted with my results
99 module 1
112 module 2
Overall percentile of 56

RayM

I did better than I expected.

Module 1 Score: 136 (percentile 96)
Module 2 Score: 130 (percentile 93)
Overall Score: 133 (percentile 97)

I've no idea how that happened, to be honest. I had a feeling that my essays were ok, but I found Module 2 horrible. I was completely unsure about every single question.

The colleges take your personal statement, etc, into account too, so I don't think offers are based on MSAP results alone.

Ross1986

RayM wrote: »

I did better than I expected.

Module 1 Score: 136 (percentile 96)
Module 2 Score: 130 (percentile 93)
Overall Score: 133 (percentile 97)

I've no idea how that happened, to be honest. I had a feeling that my essays were ok, but I found Module 2 horrible. I was completely unsure about every single question.

The colleges take your personal statement, etc, into account too, so I don't think offers are based on MSAP results alone.

Jesus fair play, that's a fantastic score. It depends on the course you choose whether it depends solely on the results. If it is the case for you, I think you're more or less guaranteed you place!

MiloYossarian

RayM wrote: »

I did better than I expected.

Module 1 Score: 136 (percentile 96)
Module 2 Score: 130 (percentile 93)
Overall Score: 133 (percentile 97)

I've no idea how that happened, to be honest. I had a feeling that my essays were ok, but I found Module 2 horrible. I was completely unsure about every single question.

The colleges take your personal statement, etc, into account too, so I don't think offers are based on MSAP results alone.

You motherfúcker, you screwed up the curve....I mean, um, congratulations. You're bound to get your coarse. Well done.

Lenmeister

Fair play Ray that's a fantastic result. I'm devastated with mine, 22 and 41 percentile. They'll probably throw my application back at me

merkal

RayM wrote: »

I did better than I expected.

Module 1 Score: 136 (percentile 96)
Module 2 Score: 130 (percentile 93)
Overall Score: 133 (percentile 97)

I've no idea how that happened, to be honest. I had a feeling that my essays were ok, but I found Module 2 horrible. I was completely unsure about every single question.

The colleges take your personal statement, etc, into account too, so I don't think offers are based on MSAP results alone.

module 2 was very difficult, it always came down to 2 possible answers and it could swing either way. it was hard to come out of that module confident! well done on the great result.

crazycatlady18

When I spoke to someone in the mature student office at UCC back in January, she told me that places would be offered to people who score in the 90th percentile or better. My inquiry at the time was about a course that would give me an Arts degree so not sure about other areas. She also made it a point to tell me that although the personal statement is taken into account, the test scores are what they focus a lot of their attention on. I scraped by by the skin of my teeth. I honestly couldn't believe my result. I left the test in tears back in March thinking there was no way I could have possibly scored what I needed. Congrats to those that did well. My heart really goes out to everyone because it was not an easy test at all.

MiloYossarian

crazycatlady18 wrote: »

When I spoke to someone in the mature student office at UCC back in January, she told me that places would be offered to people who score in the 90th percentile or better. My inquiry at the time was about a course that would give me an Arts degree so not sure about other areas. She also made it a point to tell me that although the personal statement is taken into account, the test scores are what they focus a lot of their attention on. I scraped by by the skin of my teeth. I honestly couldn't believe my result. I left the test in tears back in March thinking there was no way I could have possibly scored what I needed. Congrats to those that did well. My heart really goes out to everyone because it was not an easy test at all.

86

crazycatlady18

don't give up hope yet! She could have just said those things to me in an effort to make sure i prepared myself and didn't rely on my personal statement alone. i would think there would be allowances given to those that come close.

Seaneh

Well I was 65 percentile over all and I got an appointment for an interview in UCC on the 8th of May, so don't stress too much lads!

Bobby42

I got 69th percentile overall and got into UCD.

Balubah

Does anyone know when the uni sends out their offers to mature students or how do we find out what the cut off percentile is??

MiloYossarian

crazycatlady18 wrote: »

don't give up hope yet! She could have just said those things to me in an effort to make sure i prepared myself and didn't rely on my personal statement alone. i would think there would be allowances given to those that come close.

Yes you are right. I actually got a letter this morning to interview. Which means when I got drunk last night, I wasn't drowning my sorrows, I was actually celebrating....I just didn't know it.:D

MiloYossarian

Seaneh wrote: »

Well I was 65 percentile over all and I got an appointment for an interview in UCC on the 8th of May, so don't stress too much lads!

Best of luck

MiloYossarian

Bobby42 wrote: »

I got 69th percentile overall and got into UCD.

Congratulations!

luiblue

Hi Everyone,

I didn't do as well as I'd hoped. I did ok in the module 1, surprisingly as I didn't finish it, but module 2 let me down badly.

I am not holding out much hope to be honest but I was just wondering at what point do the offers come out? It would be nice to know so that I can just move on.

Kevin!

Brother applied, just wondering when the CAO will contact with the accepted applicants for the course?

Brefne

Just wondering if anyone has applied to NUIG for courses with a quota of 2 places for Mature Students? Any idea how high the bar is in terms of percentile for these coveted places?

Slime Princess

Does anyone know if you're assessed on your overall percentile ranking/score only or are all each of the individual scores/rankings assessed as well?

Lenmeister

The Actualy MSap score is not the only thing taken into account. Depending on the course and college you applied to, there could be many things taken into account. EG - If you:

Are currently doing a course that is related to your current course choice, they will recognise your efforts in that current course.

Have already obtained a degree, diploma, cert at a college/university before.

Have a job in a field that relates to the course you applied for.

Have gone back to school to obtain grades in subjects that are required by the college for your course.

Made a personal statement highlighting your want to do better in life and further yourself and your ambitions etc.


So the actual score in the test itself is not the only thing that determines if you get a place or not. Sometimes showing your determination to get into the course and do well for yourself, along with other things, can have an impact on whether you are offered a place or not. I know for a fact that some people before have done terrible in the exam but because of their personal statements, together with other things, had an impact on the college and resulted in them being offered a place.

That being said it's obviously not easy and I've no idea about how exactly they determine who gets a place. But I do hope everyone here gets the place they want.

luiblue

I have just been offered a place in UCD. Delighted and also a little shocked as I always expect the worst.

crazycatlady18

Congratulations Luiblue! Best of Luck

luiblue

Very kind of you. Thank you.