UCL STAT Experience

There isn't much information online about ACER STAT (the admission test for UCL Computer Science, which is done through online proctoring), so I'm sharing it for future reference. I will be talking about the test process rather than the content.

TL;DR: It was a good experience. It wasn't as bad as people said online (at least for me).

Night before Test:
Make sure you have installed the required apps (ACRE Test App and Guardian Browser) and run the equipment checks. Also, make sure your PC doesn't have any dodgy apps.

Start of the Appointment:
I clicked the link in the ProctorU portal to start the test, which took me to Guardian Browser. I was stuck on a loading screen, thinking it was normal until 15 minutes later when it was still loading. I used the chat function to ask for help, and the technician got back to me, saying it's a glitch in the launching process because of my high CPU usage. So then I relaunched the test.

After relaunching, I was connected to a Proctor shortly. We ran through the pre-checks. I was asked to delete Chrome Remote Desktop. After that, he took over and disabled my clipboard history and gamebar. And then we did the rest of the checks like showing all the walls in your room and making sure your mobile phone was put away. The check was pretty quick and the proctor was nice - nothing horrible like people said online.

Test:

  • The actual test had 80 questions, which put me off slightly, as the practice test had only 70.
  • About 10 minutes into the test, the proctor told me to tilt the screen down a bit as I was slightly off the frame, which I understood, but my laptop stayed at a weird angle all the time, which was slightly uncomfortable to look at.
  • About 15 minutes till the end of the test, another proctor took over. But the second proctor didn't say anything but only typed in the chatbox, which was fine but I had to go back and forth between the test screen and the chatbox, which was a bit inconvenient.

End of Test:
Before the test is submitted, you need to rip the draft paper off in front of the proctor (which is a bit silly imo). The whole test is basically done when your test is submitted, and you'll be redirected to a survey.

Conclusion:
It was a decent experience despite the technical issues (honestly what can you expect from an online test).

However, the test felt like a waste of money and effort: £120 on the test and about £40 on the practice questions, having to clear the desk completely, ensuring a functional PC, etc. I don't know why UCL wants to do STAT but not any local admission test (e.g. STEP, TMUA and TSA). Life would probably be much easier if they did a local admission test.