TARA for UCL Computer Science and Mathematics MEng (UCAS G430)

The TARA runs for 120 minutes and is split into three modules of 40 minutes each. Critical Thinking has 22 multiple-choice questions and is scored. Problem Solving has 22 multiple-choice questions and is scored. The Writing Task asks you to choose one of three prompts and write no more than 750 words. UAT-UK does not mark the Writing Task; your script is passed on to the universities you have applied to, so its value depends on how each admissions team reads it rather than on any score. Oxford states on two of its course pages, Economics and Management (LN12) and History and Economics (LV11), that the Writing Task is not used in selection for those courses. UCL has published no equivalent statement, so the safest approach for a G430 applicant is to treat the Writing Task as something that will be read, and to finish it properly. Scored results are reported on a scale from 1.0 to 9.0 to one decimal place. There is no pass mark, there is no negative marking, and calculators and dictionaries are not permitted.

A joint computer science and mathematics degree asks for two things at once: mathematical fluency and formal reasoning. Those two lines map neatly onto the two scored modules of the TARA. The 22 Problem Solving questions do not require deep mathematics. Ratios, percentages, rates, area and volume, straightforward algebra and reading data from tables and charts will cover it. The difficulty lies in translating a block of prose into a calculable structure quickly, under time pressure and with incomplete information, while recognising the distractors that have been built into the options. That is the same skill as defining a problem cleanly before writing any code, which is why this module sits so close to what G430 is about, and why applicants from a strong maths background often score best here. The 22 Critical Thinking questions test the argument itself: identifying the conclusion, spotting unstated assumptions, and judging which statement would weaken or strengthen a line of reasoning. Strong mathematicians frequently lose marks here, because nothing can be calculated and everything depends on sensitivity to language and structure. Give both modules the same preparation budget, and do not let your feel for the stronger module set your expectations for the other. UCL has published no module-level requirement or preference for G430, and this page does not speculate about one.

The following dates come from the official UAT-UK deadlines page and are given in UK time. Registration opens 1 June 2026, 3pm BST. Booking opens 20 July 2026, 3pm BST. The deadline for access arrangements is 14 September 2026, 6pm BST. The bursary deadline is 21 September 2026, 6pm BST. Booking closes 28 September 2026, 6pm BST. The October testing window runs 12-16 October 2026, with fixed regional days for China, Hong Kong and Macau: the TARA is sat on 14 October 2026, with 12-13 October for the ESAT and 15-16 October for the TMUA. Results are released on 16 November 2026. For the January sitting, booking opens 26 October 2026, 3pm GMT and closes 21 December 2026, 6pm GMT, the testing window is 4-8 January 2027 with the TARA on 7 January 2027 for China, Hong Kong and Macau, and results are released on 8 February 2027. The test fee is £78 for the UK and Ireland and £133 elsewhere. Oxford accepts the October sitting only, so anyone also applying to an Oxford TARA course effectively has one attempt. Which sittings UCL accepts should be confirmed on UCL's own admissions pages; this page does not decide that for you.

No TARA past papers have ever been released, and that fact should shape the whole revision plan. The official materials amount to three things: the TARA Specification, the TARA Question Guide, and two practice tests on Pearson VUE (a specimen test with worked explanations and a sample test with an answer review, both covering all three modules). UAT-UK itself recommends supplementing these with BMAT Section 1 papers from 2003-2023 and TSA Section 1 papers from 2008-2023, and hosts those PDFs on its own site. In other words there is no bank of real papers to work through, so volume has to come from original papers built to the same specification, and their usefulness depends on whether they genuinely follow the 22 plus 22 plus 750-word format across three 40-minute modules. FrontierVUE offers 18 Frontier Original parallel papers. Each has 45 questions (22 Critical Thinking, 22 Problem Solving and one Writing Task) and a 120-minute limit, matching the structure of the real test. Those papers contain 810 questions, alongside a further 350 questions in a topic-based practice bank, for 1,250 TARA questions in total. Every question carries a worked explanation and a Chinese translation, and Papers 1 and 2 are free to try. To be explicit: these are original parallel papers, not official past papers, and FrontierVUE has no affiliation with or endorsement from UAT-UK, Pearson or UCL.