TCAS preparation

TCAS is not an examination. It is the admission system that four different kinds of application pass through, and the papers sit inside it rather than above it. Round one takes a portfolio. Round two takes quota applications, which are regional and institutional rather than national. Round three is the central ranked round that most candidates think of as TCAS proper. Round four is direct admission, run by the faculties that still have places. A student can appear in more than one round, and the rounds close in order, so a place accepted early removes the later ones.

The current cycle has moved the papers earlier and made most of them free. The general and aptitude papers now fall at the very end of January, the medical aptitude paper in February, and the subject papers in the middle of March, all delivered on paper after a period of digital sittings. The general and aptitude papers carry no fee, subject papers are free for up to seven, and the first seven ranked choices in round three cost nothing. Candidates registered with the education equality fund receive a discount on the portfolio round's fee.

What is still charged is worth understanding, because it is also the strategy. Round three is priced per ranked choice, starting at 150 baht for a single choice and reaching 900 baht only if all ten are used. The fee ladder and the ranking decision are therefore the same decision, and a candidate who ranks ten programmes without a reason for each of them has paid to broaden a list they cannot actually prepare for.