Preparing for the Classics Admissions Test (CAT) in 2024: An Oxford Classics Graduate’s Tips
What is the CAT?
As with most subjects, Classics applicants tend to have great predicted grades, personal statements, and references, and come from all over the world. The university therefore asks that applicants sit this test so that they can independently assess how well suited to an Oxford Classics degree you might be. The first two years of an Oxford Classics degree are highly focussed around improving your language skills, so this test is designed to see how well you can cope with that level of language intensity.
The CAT is also designed to see how quickly you can adapt to things you have never seen or experienced before. Regardless of what test you take you will not have seen the material you are presented with before, and therefore the approach you take should be different to working through a known translation or with a known language. This test is designed to test your processing speed and confidence in your own abilities, and tips for how to demonstrate this can be found below.
What tests do I have to take?
What test you have to take depends on your experience with Classics up until this point.
If you have studied Latin and Greek up to A level standard, you will take an unseen translation test in both languages (Cat IA)
If you have studied either Latin or Greek up to A level standard, you will take an unseen translation test in that language only (Cat IB and IC)
If you have not studied either of these languages up to A level standard (even if you studied them at GCSE or have studied Classical Civilisation A Level) you will take a different test, known as the CLAT. Information on the CLAT can be found below.
CAT Unseen Translations
If you are studying Latin or Greek A Level, you will have to complete unseen translations in those languages. These are normally taken either from the body of work of the authors you would expect to see in unseen translation questions in your A-Level language paper, or in a similar style. This is particularly relevant for poetry – so if you are using Ovid’s love elegy for unseen translations at A Level, your CAT translation for Latin would also be in elegiac couplets.
Therefore, preparation for the CAT is quite simple – read as much in that style and from a wide variety of authors as you can! In particular, look beyond the more expected or better-known classical authors when doing this reading, such as Tibullus, Menander or Hesiod. This has the added advantage of improving your wider knowledge of a certain style of poetry or prose, which will be useful when it comes to an interview discussion. Even if you read these texts in translation, you will be familiarising yourself with the style of the author and the content of the writing, so if you do end up seeing something you have read in translation you will be more familiar with the story itself.
The other best way is to pick a passage, give yourself a time limit (normally 30 minutes per passage) and try to translate it as best you can. Then compare with an accurate translation (try poetryintranslation.com as a great bank of ancient texts!) and see where you went wrong. Make a list of constructions or metrical forms you missed/made a mistake on, and revise those pieces of grammar.
The university also released this video which should answer any further questions and give you insight into the preparation process expected of candidates.
CLAT (Classical Language Aptitude Test)
The CLAT is designed to assess your analytical skills, particularly in terms of how languages work. It is sat by candidates without any prior knowledge of either Latin OR Classical Greek. This is particularly relevant if you are applying for Course II at Oxford. This assessment is designed to test how adept you would be at immersing yourself in an intensive programme of Latin or Greek language study in your first year of university, and how easily you can apply problem solving skills to a linguistic setting.
Unlike the CAT, there isn’t a specific thing you can expect with the CLAT. Rather, it takes the form of a series of questions based around languages that are either made up or rarely spoken by candidates, and asks you to infer meaning from a series of questions and information sets.
If you already study a language that isn’t a Romance language (i.e., French, Spanish, Italian) at A Level standard, then spend a bit of time familiarising yourself with the grammatical structures of those languages, as those are the kind of languages you often get faced with. Crucially, as both Latin and Greek have cases (different noun endings indicating their role in a sentence) if you can look at a language that does this (for example, German) to familiarise yourself that would be a great way to prepare. Languages that have a non-linear word order (i.e. the word order is not reflective of how you translate it) are also useful to look at if you can.
The format of the aptitude test is based around identifying patterns and applying knowledge to unfamiliar settings. For example, you might be given a series of verb endings in an unfamiliar (or even a constructed language) and asked to apply that knowledge to a sentence in the language. Alternatively, you might be given a series of grammar rules and asked to write a sentence in that language.
There are past papers available on the university website, but if you want to practice beyond that, look at resources from the Linguistics Olympiads (UK Olympiad link/ International Olympiad link). These competitions are designed in a very similar way to the CLAT and are based around lesser known or spoken languages, and so looking through past papers and mark schemes for these will give you valuable insight into a variety of language constructions. Treat it like a puzzle rather than something that is an insurmountable challenge – this is designed to test how you think rather than any prior knowledge!
The university have also released this video which should give you more insight into the process of preparing for the CLAT and U2 Tuition’s blog on the LAT will also be helpful.
How are the CAT and CLAT marked?
There is no specific pass/fail grade for either the CAT or the CLAT. Nor will doing particularly well guarantee that you get an interview, as it is only one of many factors used to assess an overall application. Year on year, the raw scores are assessed in comparison to everyone who takes the CAT or CLAT, either within your chosen college or the cohort in its entirety. Therefore, while it is a good idea to prepare thoroughly, messing it up is by no means the end of the world or a guarantee that you won’t get invited to interview!
Good Luck!
How Can U2 Help Prepare You For the CAT, CLAT & Wider Oxford Classics Application (e.g. Personal Statement, Interview Preparation, Research Projects)?
U2 offer 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 Classics graduate as a tutor and send their full CV for review. Our tutors are deeply familiar with the admissions process to study Classics at Oxford, and in particular the CAT test and interview process. Our tutors can also support you with your Oxford Classics Personal Statement, including content building and writing. We host a range of classics research projects via our co-curricular division, Minds Underground™ if interested in an additional personal statement inclusion!
2) We typically suggest beginning with a 1.5 hour aptitude/ taster session, where the mentor will informally assess the student’s current performance level for the CAT test (and interview if required). Following this, we issue a report with feedback, and structure a plan to best prepare.
3) We structure a plan for preparation
Frequency of sessions can be decided between student and tutor. Your Oxbridge tutor will curate a plan for preparation that tackles areas of weakness identified in the preliminary session.
Are you after further interview practice questions with explanations and tips for success?
Check out our materials store for our interview preparation guides. These are filled with accounts and tips from successful candidates, and up to 50-60 practice questions.