Preparing For UCAT

UCAT, the University Clinical Aptitude Test that tens of thousands of prospective medical students sit. And preparing for it is no easy feat, but with the right preparation you can tackle the exam head on.

What does the UCAT involve ❓

It is 2 hours long ⌛ and tests the level of various skills which doctors are expected to have 🏥

It is a computer based test which university's use to help select their applicants

Once complete, you will be given a score between 1200 and 3600, and a band from 1-4 as a test result

The different skills are tested across 5 different sections:

Verbal Reasoning ✅

Decision Making ✅

Quantitative Reasoning ✅

Abstract Reasoning ✅

Situational Judgement ✅

How should I Prepare ❓

When revising the sections its imperative that you know what type of questions will be asked, and the manner in which they will be presented so make sure you research 📚 the questions as well as practice them 💻

Set out a time line for yourself 📆, say 5 weeks or more, and split it into 3 sections. The beginning of your preparation time is where your research will happen and you learn about the exam, this will take about a week

Next, practising the questions will take up the next 3+ weeks. Then finally, a week or so before the exam, refine your techniques 🔨 and manage your stress levels because it will be quite daunting 😱

With the right preparation you should do great ⭐

What are these Techniques ❓

So when researching the questions look at each section individually. Find out how many questions there are and how much time you have ⏱, this way you can work out how long you have for each question in the section

When practising those questions make sure you do it in exam conditions 📵 with a timer, because if there is one way to mess up all your hard-work its doing questions without timing yourself ⏰

When looking into the sections be sure to make note of the different question types, for example in the decision making section there are 6 different question types. Being able to recognise each one in the exam 🙌 will be a huge asset as then you can apply the corresponding strategy to it 😄

In a sense the exam is very strategic, this is why preparation is key. You need to equip yourself with as many tools as you can so when you come up against the questions you have the right technique to answer them 💡

As you practice the questions you’ll get better and better at recognising questions, applying techniques and then answering them 👍

What is there to Worry about ❓

There will always be questions that don’t make sense to you that you can’t wrap your head around, every single student, no matter how smart, sitting the exam will come across a question they cannot answer ⛔

What separates the strong candidates 🏋 from the weaker candidates is knowing what to do when you come across them

So what do you do when you come across hard questions? Well, remember you have a time limit per question, say 1 minute, if you cannot answer it within the minute move on. And if you can see this will take longer than a minute or however long you have, guess the answer and skip it, as simple as that 💪

There will always be easier questions ahead where you can gain marks and guessing still gives you a chance of getting it right. So don’t be afraid to guess and move on 📈

Last advice ❗

Time is precious ⏳, especially in this exam, and if you can manage it well you’ll set yourself apart from every other student taking the exam! ✅