In this guide, Hannah explains her experience with studying Psychology at Teddy Hall, and gives advice for students who are looking for further resources and information on the subject!
What does a typical day studying experimental psychology at Teddy Hall look like?
During COVID, working has been a lot more independent and self-managed. I easily avoided waking up early during term time, and found plenty of time for leisure activities alongside completing my course. During first year, there will be around 6 hours of lectures every week, and currently they are all pre-recorded and uploaded online, meaning they can be re-watched for a better understanding. At Teddy, there are three tutorials a week for Experimental Psychology freshers, and they have different requirements. For core psychology and neurophysiology, you submit one essay a week, and for statistics you submit a problem sheet. The tutors at Teddy are all very supportive, and you get really useful feedback on your work during the tutorial. They will also go over the lecture material again, testing your understanding and refining the information. Tutorials are invaluable, they really helped my understanding of some of the more difficult aspects of the course.
I spend a lot of my evenings in Teddy’s library. Unlike some colleges, Teddy’s library is open 24/7, so you can study there whenever you need to. The library is converted from a medieval church, and it is a beautiful space to work. If you are interested in dark academia, then Teddy’s library is perfect.
Outside of studying, Teddy really Hall is the perfect location. It is just off the high street, so you are close to the supermarkets, places to get fast food, clothes shops etc. Westgate shopping mall is a 10-minute walk away, and it has plenty of places to spend your maintenance loan, such as Primark and New Look! Christ Church meadow and the Botanical Gardens are short walks from Teddy, so perfect for a quick study break.
Why do you like studying psychology at Teddy?
The tutors, David Bannerman and Iana Alexeeva, are really kind, encouraging and interesting to learn from. The tutorial system at Oxford means that you get to know your tutors more personally, as there are 1,2 or 3 students to the one tutor at a time. David and Iana give great tutorials, and they have become my favourite part of the course. Moreover, for neurophysiology, during the first four weeks I was tutored by Robert Wilkins, who is the head of biomedical sciences in Oxford, so I truly got one of the experts in the field teaching me.
Personal statement
Writing a personal statement for Oxford can seem really overwhelming, but there are a number of ways to stand out from the crowd.
1. Think about what interests you. Psychology is a very broad discipline, and it would be impossible to cover all bases for a personal statement. Choose a couple of key areas that really excite you about the subject. For me, I wrote about dreams and sleep; psychopaths/empathy disorders; and the impact of culture on social attitudes.
2. Find a couple of resources for each topic. These don’t have to be books, but they can be. For me, I read three books for my personal statement, and watched lectures or listened to podcasts to compliment them. I will list some great resources I have found online for including in your personal statement:
a. TedTalks are great, they have a wide range of topics, and tend to be academic but easy to understand.
b. The Oxford Psychological Society has a podcast, called “Project Psychology” although I didn’t include this (I wasn’t aware of it), it may be worth checking out.
c. Brain Science: Neuroscience and Behaviour is also a cool podcast that is focused on biological influences on behaviour.
d. YouTube has a number of lectures from influential psychologists. Alan Baddeley and Phillip Zimbardo have lectures that would be great if you have an interest in memory or social psychology.
3. Write about the interest in the topic. I wrote about how I came to be interested in the topic, such as learning about it in A Level, watching a TV show. Then I explained what I got from each resource, and if their opinions differed, what I thought was the better explanation or theory.
4. Spend next little space on extracurricular activities, and more space on academic work that is relevant. In my personal statement I wrote one sentence about extracurricular activities. If you have relevant work experience, then speak about it, but otherwise it's not really worth the mention. If you are worried about this hindering your other applications, I received offers from all the other universities I applied to, so leaving out your years as a gymnast isn’t going to be a problem for any uni. If you do speak about extracurricular activities, relate them to the skills and experiences you gained from them.
Overall, be yourself. Don’t lie about reading something, because it may come back to haunt you. While during interviews I only had a brief conversation about my personal statement, its better to be confident.
TSA (thinking skills assessment)
For psychology, applicants have to do the TSA. This is a series of multiple-choice questions and a short 30-minute essay. There is a wealth of past papers on the Oxford website, so definitely have a go at them before the official exam. There are mark schemes for the multiple-choice questions, but none for the essay. I’d recommend asking your A Level/IB teacher, or your schools history/English/philosophy teacher, to have a read through the essays. They can give you some feedback to help you improve.
You can purchase books to help you complete the TSA, but this is far from necessary. The content of the multiple choice questions are maths and critical thinking. If you have A Level/IB maths on your side, that’s great, and you should be able to complete the questions. If you don’t, don’t panic! Practice is genuinely so helpful, and once you’re in the rhythm of answering the questions they become quicker to complete. As the mark scheme only has right and wrong answers, I asked some of my friends who did maths to look over the questions, and they helped me come up with “model answers” to the questions.
The critical thinking questions also become easier to understand with time. I found it easy to eliminate 3 of the 5 options, but it was a toss up between 2. As you practice and become familiar with the questions, this will become easier, and quicker.
Although it seems obvious, never leave a question blank - it's multiple choice, so just colour in a bubble and hope for the best if you are unsure!
Interview process
For psychology, all students are interviewed at two colleges. I applied to Worcester and was pooled to do my second and third interview at Teddy. The number of interviews that each college decides to do does vary. From my experience, the questions asked at interview were similar between the colleges.
Typically, the interviewer will give you a graph or an outline of an experiment. For a graph, you may be asked to explain the findings, why there could be a trend. This sounds intimidating, but there is no expectation for you to know the correct answer. Based on reading you’ve done, previous learning, and common sense, you can come up with a reason for the trend. I was shown graphs on prisoner responses to a mood questionnaire.
For the outline of an experiment, you will be asked to criticise the experimental design, and then come up with solutions for these problems. Often, through talking to the interviewer you can think of solutions, and problems with the solution, then more solutions. In my first interview, I was quite overwhelmed because I wasn’t able to reach the “correct” solution to the experiment’s problem. The work was something third year students cover, and I wasn’t expected to solve a problem that puzzled experts for years in the space of 20 minutes. Stay calm, take a deep breath, and offer another solution.
Because of the nature of these questions, I can’t really provide any examples I was given other than one:
“Say you’re an Oxford scientist in the 1800s. How would you prove that movement is controlled by the brain?”
Generally, as a tip. Don’t ponder too much about whether you have done well in your interview, the interviewer’s face can be hard to read, and it is impossible to know. Many people I spoke to at interviews who felt it went amazing failed to get in, and I thought mine went terrible, but was accepted. Ultimately, the interviews are a chance to show your passion and drive to learn your subject!
Mental health and university
Teddy Hall and the wider university have disability officers and counsellors to help students who are struggling with mental health problems. Teddy also has peer supporters who are well trained and willing to listen to you, whether it's something “silly” or more serious.
The college JCR (the undergraduate student body) also has a disabilities officer, who is there to help you with any accessibility problems.
It is important to me as someone with mental health problems, that we don’t allow these conditions to stop us from achieving. I had college tutors tell me not to apply due to my diagnosis, but I am so glad that I did. Mental health problems inspired my interest in the subject, and passion for psychology is exactly what tutors are looking for.