The Test of Academic Reasoning for Admissions (TARA) will be taken for the first time in 2025 for certain UCL applicants. If you’re one of these applicants, it’s important to know how the test is scored and what result you should be aiming for to remain competitive in your application.
In this guide, we’ll explore everything you need to know about TARA scoring and results to help you effectively prepare for your test. Let’s begin!
What Is The TARA?
In case you weren’t already aware, the TARA is an admissions test that was introduced in 2025 for various courses at University College London (UCL). The test is non-subject-specific and is split into three modules:
TARA Module 1: Critical Thinking
A multiple-choice quiz containing 22 questions, each relating to a provided passage. You will need to answer a variety of questions relating to themes, arguments and the author’s intentions.
TARA Module 2: Problem Solving
Another multiple-choice quiz containing 22 questions. This time, you will need to solve a variety of contextual numerical problems using basic mathematical skills.
TARA Module 3: The Writing Task
You will need to choose one of three prompts to answer an essay-style question about. You will only have 750 words to do so with.
As you can see, there are two different question styles featured in the test, which means there are two different scoring systems. Let’s explore both of these, starting with Modules 1 and 2.
Boost your TARA score with UniAdmissions
At UniAdmissions, we have spent over 10 years preparing students for all manner of admissions tests for a variety of universities, as well as the other aspects of their application. We have developed a comprehensive curriculum that can support you through every major university admissions test in the UK.
Discover our Full-Blue UCL Programme below and find out how you can enrol and triple your chances of success.
UCL TARA Multiple-Choice Scoring
The first two modules in the TARA each feature 22 multiple-choice questions, meaning 44 in total. Each question is worth one mark within the test, meaning there is a maximum of 44 marks available across both of these modules.
However, the final score in the TARA is not displayed as a mark out of 44 (or 22 for each module). Instead, these marks are converted into a final score that falls onto a scale between 1.0 and 9.0 (rounded to one decimal place).
This is the same scoring system that can be seen by two other admissions tests used by UCL, the Test of Mathematics for University Admissions (TMUA) and the Engineering and Science Admissions Test (ESAT). While these two admissions tests cover very different topics from the TARA, they both feature multiple-choice questions and use the same scoring scale to display final results.
We don’t yet have full details of how the final TARA score is calculated, but it is likely to be similar to these two admissions tests. These two tests have individual conversion tables for each section, which assign a score on the scale to each potential number of marks. While these are not regularly made available to the public, the tables below are taken from the 2021 TMUA:
| Paper 1 Raw Score | Paper 1 Reported Score |
|---|---|
| 20 | 9.0 |
| 19 | 9.0 |
| 18 | 8.3 |
| 17 | 7.9 |
| 16 | 7.6 |
| 15 | 7.3 |
| 14 | 7.0 |
| 13 | 6.8 |
| 12 | 6.6 |
| 11 | 6.1 |
| 10 | 5.6 |
| 9 | 5.0 |
| 8 | 4.5 |
| 7 | 3.9 |
| 6 | 3.3 |
| 5 | 2.6 |
| 4 | 1.9 |
| 3 | 1.0 |
| 2 | 1.0 |
| 1 | 1.0 |
| 0 | 1.0 |
| Paper 2 Raw Score | Paper 2 Reported Score |
|---|---|
| 20 | 9.0 |
| 19 | 9.0 |
| 18 | 8.3 |
| 17 | 7.8 |
| 16 | 7.5 |
| 15 | 7.2 |
| 14 | 6.9 |
| 13 | 6.7 |
| 12 | 6.3 |
| 11 | 5.7 |
| 10 | 5.1 |
| 9 | 4.5 |
| 8 | 3.9 |
| 7 | 3.3 |
| 6 | 2.7 |
| 5 | 1.9 |
| 4 | 1.1 |
| 3 | 1.0 |
| 2 | 1.0 |
| 1 | 1.0 |
| 0 | 1.0 |
| Overall Raw Score | Overall Reported Score |
|---|---|
| 40 | 9.0 |
| 39 | 9.0 |
| 38 | 9.0 |
| 37 | 8.6 |
| 36 | 8.3 |
| 35 | 8.1 |
| 34 | 7.9 |
| 33 | 7.7 |
| 32 | 7.5 |
| 31 | 7.4 |
| 30 | 7.2 |
| 29 | 7.1 |
| 28 | 7.0 |
| 27 | 6.8 |
| 25 | 6.6 |
| 24 | 6.5 |
| 23 | 6.2 |
| 22 | 5.9 |
| 21 | 5.6 |
| 20 | 5.4 |
| 19 | 5.1 |
| 18 | 4.8 |
| 17 | 4.5 |
| 16 | 4.2 |
| 15 | 3.9 |
| 14 | 3.6 |
| 13 | 3.3 |
| 12 | 3.0 |
| 11 | 2.6 |
| 10 | 2.3 |
| 9 | 1.9 |
| 8 | 1.5 |
| 7 | 1.1 |
| 6 | 1.0 |
| 5 | 1.0 |
| 4 | 1.0 |
| 3 | 1.0 |
| 2 | 1.0 |
| 1 | 1.0 |
| 0 | 1.0 |
As you can see, the highest and lowest possible scores on the table actually overlap at a certain point, which means you don’t have to achieve full marks to get a score of 9.0. These tables are created based on the perceived difficulty of the section based on the results of the cohort, meaning sections that are considered to be more difficult will provide higher scores to those with lower marks, and vice versa.
As with these other admissions tests, results for these two modules of the TARA are expected to be reported individually, so you will receive two unique scores for your performance on each module (as well as potentially receiving a combined score).
Access "The Big Book Of Oxbridge Applications" For FREE
Are you considering applying to Oxford or Cambridge alongside UCL? The Big Book of Oxbridge Applications is your must-have resource. Whether you’re exploring colleges, preparing for admissions tests, mastering your UCAS application, crafting a standout Personal Statement, or aiming for exam success, this free book will be invaluable to your preparation. You’ll find:
- Over 40 admissions test practice questions
- 28 example Oxbridge Personal Statements
- Interviews with Oxbridge students and graduates
- Additional downloadable resources
UCL TARA Writing Task Scoring
The last module of the TARA is the essay writing task, which is a completely different format from the previous two modules. As the name suggests, applicants will be writing a short essay in which they answer a set of questions relating to one of three provided prompts.
Marking essays is a much more subjective task than reviewing multiple-choice answers, which can be marked automatically by a computer. While it’s possible to automate this to a certain degree, effective essay marking still needs input and feedback from at least one human.
As well as this, it’s much harder to assign a numerical score to an essay, as the expected standards and scoring criteria are far more subjective. Therefore, in the TARA, no official score is provided for your Module 3 essay.
Instead, the essay is sent to the admissions team of your chosen course, where it will be read and reviewed. Rather than providing a specific score, the quality of your essay will be used in conjunction with the rest of your application (including your Module 1 and 2 scores) to decide if each applicant should be given an offer or not.
There are no specific metrics that these essays will be assessed on, but admissions tutors will likely be looking for the standard features of a quality essay, such as structure, multi-faceted thinking and a suitably detailed explanation of your points.
As well as this, it’s essential to stay within the word limit and ensure you clearly answer all of the questions included. While it’s not stated if there will be any specific penalties for failing to adhere to these rules, there is a potential that your application could be dismissed, especially if you go over the word count.
When Do You Get Your TARA Results?
Once you’ve completed the TARA in either October or January, you won’t get your results straight away. After each testing period, UAT-UK, the exam organiser, claims that you will have to wait six weeks to receive your results.
This means that applicants taking the TARA in October will receive their results by late November, while those taking the January session will get theirs in mid-February. Your final score will be sent to you as a PDF via email. Bear in mind that these are only the results for the first two modules. It’s currently unknown if any applicants will receive feedback for their essays.
What Is A Good TARA Score?
Now that we know how the TARA is scored, let’s consider what score you should be aiming for to remain competitive in the application process.
The first thing to consider is that we don’t currently have previous results from the TARA, as the test has not yet been sat. We won’t have our first batch of results until November, so we can’t currently judge how difficult the test is. Although official practice tests are currently available on the UAT-UK website, these do not currently provide a final score on the 1.0 – 9.0 table.
Instead, we will have to look to other admissions tests to see what could be a good score. The closest comparison to the TARA is Oxford’s Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA).
While the format of the TSA is nearly identical to the TARA, the scoring system is different. The TSA give applicants a percentage score from 0% to 100% based on their raw marks. However, while the values are different, the conversion process is largely the same, assigning a score to each number of raw marks achieved.
So, we can see that there are some clear parallels between the two tests, but what is a good score for the TSA? Generally, a score of 70 or more or seen as competitive when considering the average performance of applicants. When comparing this to the TARA’s scoring system, an applicant would need to aim to score at least 6.5, potentially the equivalent of 14 – 16 marks.
However, this shouldn’t be taken as fact at this stage, especially when considering factors like the differences in admissions between Oxford and UCL, as well as the different standards between the courses that require the TARA. For now, it’s best to assume that a score of at least 7.0 will put you in a good position to be given an offer.
That concludes our look at the scoring and results of the TARA. Be sure to revisit this guide once the first set of TARA results has been released in November to get a deeper understanding of how difficult applicants found the test and what scores were most common. In the meantime, ensure you prepare effectively for the test and get ready to achieve a great score. Good luck!
No matter what score you need in the TARA, UniAdmissions will help you achieve it
Though we don’t know what score will be required for applicants yet, UniAdmissions will always be prepared to offer the most relevant and highest-quality support for you or your child. We have developed an expert curriculum over the last 10 years that gets results, meaning you are in safe hands.
Discover our Full-Blue UCL Programmes below and find out how you can enrol and triple your chances of success.
