Mature Student Test for History

EMK24d

Hi, I just received a letter this morning asking me to come take a test for entry for the History degree. I am a mature applicant. The test lasts a hour and I have no notion of what may come up. Has anyone done this test? If so can I you give me some indication of what I should be swotting up on?

Thanks E

banquo

Hey ho,

My loose understanding is that this is more a test of your literacy skills, but I could be completely wrong.

Don't sweat it, it's not really a pass / fail scenario. I did a few years voluntary with the National Adult Literacy Agency and know from there that it's more to get an idea of where different people are at rather then allowing people into the course or not.

I think. If it's the exam I'm thinking of.

EMK24d

Thanks I hope that is all it is I was thinking it might be some sort of history question?

banquo

Best contact the Mature Student Office by telephone, they're just lovely.

EMK24d

Hi again, yes I know they are great but they are not letting us have any information about the test ideally it would be great to hear form someone who took the test in the past few years.

E

YueHan

You don't say which university invited you to do the test. In 2010 I did the 'Matures' test to do a BA in History at NUI Maynooth, and I graduated last September. The test lasted an hour (I think). We had to write a short essay, and we had a choice of a number of a number of titles (I can't remember how many choices there were). I remember the title of the one I wrote was 'My path to history'. I wrote about why I wanted to sturdy History, my interest in the subject from a very early age, my mother's stories about the involvement of her brothers in the (Old) IRA, and my admiration of the history teacher I had in secondary school and blah blah blah.
I have no info about what they're looking for, but I expect that previous posters are correct and that they just want to check that you would be able to write an essay. If you don't get the test they will probably suggest that you do a foundation course for a year, and I understand from some of the students who studied with me that these courses are really excellent and give you a head start in that you become accustomed again to writing essays.
Don't forget that instead of doing pure History ('Single Honours') you can do a Major-Minor and chose a second subject such as Celtic Studies or Classical Studies, (etc.). I'm not sure whether you'd have to do an exam (rather than just an interview) to do a Major-Minor. Of course I can only speak about Maynooth in 2010. Things may change, and other colleges may have different systems.
I had a great time in Maynooth, which I choose because they have a higher proportion of "matures" than other universities here. One of the best decisions I ever made and I'm in my sixties. Go for it.
Best of luck

EMK24d

Dear YueHan

Thank you so much it is NUI and I have applied to do History as a single honour and as part of BA Arts so I am hedging my bets. This is really helpful I was wondering if it would be more specific but I guess they want to assess my writing abilities and comprehension.

Thank you once again

Elizabeth