Mintflavour was asking about the difference between GAPAN and BA testing. I took the GAPAN / RAF tests last week too and also got a high.
I was chuffed about this as I was expecting maybe an average at best. My low expectations were mostly because I wasn't selected for interview after taking the BA tests and I had the same experience at Oxford. Both these were a while back now and I could not get feedback on either. Although I brushed it off at the time, this did had a negative mental impact on me (woe is me, I'm a failure)
..seriously though, rejection is never good, so I wanted to do Gapan to find out my chances. Hence my delight at not failing miserably.
And the differences....
Airlines do not just test aptitude, they also do the mental/verbal reasoning type tests as well as those mind numbing personality test (200 odd questions?). These tests result in various graphs depicting 'you'. If your graph does not fit the company profile it's 'thank's but...' time. This type of testing is done more and more by all sorts of companies, it may seem unfair but that's life.
So, GAPAN / RAF test your abilities as a potential pilot, an airline will test whether you will fit into their company....as a pilot. And usually, the bar is set unusually high. This is because the interest is so high, they can basically afford to cherry pick but also don't have the resource to interview thousands of applicants so they weed out the best as soon as possible (again, sorry but that's life!).
The Gapan chaps are also very helpful and the most useful part of the whole day is the debrief after the test. These people are highly experienced pilots and are happy to answer any quesions you may have.
So, I'm glad I invested a day and £150 to go over to Cranwell, I was very worried for a while that I may come out with a low (apparently 20% do). Maybe you should be prepared for this beforehand (to hell with them I'll do it anyway or OK, lets forget the whole hairbrained idea) because the impression I got was that if you come out low they truly believe you shouldn't waste your money.
I seem to have ranted on but hope this helps others who are perhaps feeling dispondant after going to sponsorship selection and not making the grade. It doesn't mean you would make a crappy pilot! Only a small percentage get sponsorship (the lucky ******s) so don't give up on it!
So, well done Footsie, what's your next move? And good luck to anyone whose signed up for future tests, over all I think it's a very good idea.
T