ABOUT THE COURSE
I absolutely love my subject—it’s definitely more STEM-focused than people might expect when they think of psychology. There’s a strong emphasis on statistics in first year, along with compulsory neurophysiology, which came as a bit of a surprise! The course has a set curriculum until third year, covering areas like psychobiology, social, cognitive, perception, and developmental psychology, as well as stats and neuro in first year. In second year, it expands to include experimental design and methods, a lab portfolio, individual differences, clinical psych, and more. You do get some choice in your lab work—either a full report or a shorter technical report—which is a nice touch. Third year is when you get more freedom to rank your topic and lab choices and pick between exams, labs, and research projects, and then in fourth year you do a personal research project. The workload is manageable: in first year you usually have three tutorials a week with two essays and a coding worksheet; in second year it’s three tutes every other week and weekly labs. My favourite part of the course so far has been the clinical and social psychology topics, and I’ve really enjoyed doing qualitative data analysis in second year—it’s been such a refreshing and creative way to approach experimental work.
The Application Process
I felt pretty unsure of myself going into the entrance exam, but doing lots of past papers and watching YouTube videos with tips made a huge difference. In the exam, I’d say don’t panic if you’re unsure—these tests are meant to be tricky, so just take your time and do your best. For the TSA essay, definitely take a few minutes to plan your structure. Even though time is tight, having a clear idea of your argument really helps your writing shine. As for interviews, don’t stress if one doesn’t go to plan—they’re much more interested in how you think, so always talk through your ideas. I felt quite down after one of mine, but came out of the other two feeling good, so don’t let one moment throw you off, stay calm, confident and clear. Also, be ready for simple questions like why you want to study your subject or what you’ve read about it recently—they’re just trying to get a sense of your genuine interest.