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Unis that don't use the UKCAT test

Hi all,
I live around 30 minutes from Manchester and I want to stay at home through university rather than in dormitories. Are there any local universities that don't use the UKCAT test for medicine? I'll be starting university in September 2018 if that helps. Thanks!

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Original post by daisie
Hi all,
I live around 30 minutes from Manchester and I want to stay at home through university rather than in dormitories. Are there any local universities that don't use the UKCAT test for medicine? I'll be starting university in September 2018 if that helps. Thanks!


Only the BMAT med schools don't use the UKCAT anymore, so your options are very limited (and it's too risky to apply to all BMAT Uni's).
Original post by daisie
Hi all,
I live around 30 minutes from Manchester and I want to stay at home through university rather than in dormitories. Are there any local universities that don't use the UKCAT test for medicine? I'll be starting university in September 2018 if that helps. Thanks!


Dormitories? It's not Carry On Camping.!
Please live in halls in their first year usually and you can have your own room you know :smile:
Original post by daisie
Hi all,
I live around 30 minutes from Manchester and I want to stay at home through university rather than in dormitories. Are there any local universities that don't use the UKCAT test for medicine? I'll be starting university in September 2018 if that helps. Thanks!


SO for medicine within commuting distance (depending on which side you live on) there really is only Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Lancaster, and if I am totally honest I would not want to commute more than 30 minutes on a train to medical school every day, especially if I had placements.

No medical schools nowadays accept applicants without taking the UKCAT/BMAT, so im afraid your better taking the exam.
Reply 4
Original post by UKCATrocks
Dormitories? It's not Carry On Camping.!
Please live in halls in their first year usually and you can have your own room you know :smile:


I'll prefer to stay at home tbh. I'll end up missing home haha
Reply 5
Original post by usycool1
Only the BMAT med schools don't use the UKCAT anymore, so your options are very limited (and it's too risky to apply to all BMAT Uni's).


What's the difference between the BMAT and UKCAT? Which unis use the BMAT?
Reply 6
Original post by Natalierm2707
SO for medicine within commuting distance (depending on which side you live on) there really is only Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Lancaster, and if I am totally honest I would not want to commute more than 30 minutes on a train to medical school every day, especially if I had placements.

No medical schools nowadays accept applicants without taking the UKCAT/BMAT, so im afraid your better taking the exam.


I travel about 40 minutes to get to school now so I'm not really bothered about travelling. I thought some medical schools didn't do the test? Also they're the unis that I'm looking at. I'm north of Manchester
(edited 7 years ago)
You have to either do the BMAT or/ and the UKCAT. They're required by all medical schools now.
Original post by daisie
What's the difference between the BMAT and UKCAT? Which unis use the BMAT?


Have a quick Google search of the UKCAT and BMAT - youll get all the answers there.*

BMAT is done by Oxbridge, Imperial, UCL and a few others that I can't remember from memory. *
Original post by daisie
I'll prefer to stay at home tbh. I'll end up missing home haha


You're going to have to decide what is more important; staying at home or doing medicine. For medicine you have to apply where you stand the best chance of getting in, and that isn't necessarily going to be the closest ones to you.

You will need to do at least the UKCAT and possibly the BMAT too, depending on your UKCAT score and list of possible universities. You also need to start doing a bit of you're own research. The wiki is a good place to start, but a bit outdated so you'll have to check university websites as well.
Original post by daisie
I travel about 40 minutes to get to school now so I'm not really bothered about travelling. I thought some medical schools didn't do the test? Also they're the unis that I'm looking at. I'm north of Manchester


Ok, well trust me medical school is way more intense than school, you wouldnt want to be commuting somewhere for placement which begins at 8am etc. But if you really really cant live away I would suggest manchester or liverpool/sheffield.
You are going to have to sit an entrance exam UKCAT or BMAT because now every medical school requires one im afraid.
Reply 11
Original post by Natalierm2707
Ok, well trust me medical school is way more intense than school, you wouldnt want to be commuting somewhere for placement which begins at 8am etc. But if you really really cant live away I would suggest manchester or liverpool/sheffield.
You are going to have to sit an entrance exam UKCAT or BMAT because now every medical school requires one im afraid.


I'm not to bothered about sitting the test. I was just wondering if there were any that didn't use the test as a fourth/back up option. Again, I'm not bothered about the travelling/getting up early because I'm in school most days by 7:30am so I don't find travelling to uni early an issue.
Reply 12
Original post by daisie
I'm not to bothered about sitting the test. I was just wondering if there were any that didn't use the test as a fourth/back up option. Again, I'm not bothered about the travelling/getting up early because I'm in school most days by 7:30am so I don't find travelling to uni early an issue.


Also they're the schools I'm looking at, which is good
Reply 13
Original post by ForestCat
You're going to have to decide what is more important; staying at home or doing medicine. For medicine you have to apply where you stand the best chance of getting in, and that isn't necessarily going to be the closest ones to you.

You will need to do at least the UKCAT and possibly the BMAT too, depending on your UKCAT score and list of possible universities. You also need to start doing a bit of you're own research. The wiki is a good place to start, but a bit outdated so you'll have to check university websites as well.


See message above^^^
Why is it a decision between staying at home or studying medicine? I know a few that stay at home. My dentist also stayed at home and found it so much easier because she didn't havd to worry about meals and washing etc. (Her mum helped her)
Original post by daisie
See message above^^^
Why is it a decision between staying at home or studying medicine? I know a few that stay at home. My dentist also stayed at home and found it so much easier because she didn't havd to worry about meals and washing etc. (Her mum helped her)


Because you need to apply to your strengths. Applying to schools nearby may mean you're not optimising your application and might stand a higher chance of not getting in.

As @Natalierm2707 so rightly says, commuting isn't easy. I say this as someone who has done a forty minute minimum commute for the last two years. Medicine is draining and a forty minute commute for medicine is not the same as one for school. Especially if you're taking public transport. I seriously wouldn't recommend it! Plus you'll be 18, its good to move out and gain some independence. Whilst some people live at home (much less common in medicine than other subjects), it would usually be closer to uni. You will miss out on a great deal of socialisation if you live 40 minutes away. Plus I know some medical schools require to live within a certain radius so you're not killing yourself commuting, and have time to work properly.

Why exactly do you want to live at home? Simply to be close to family? Again, you need to look in to medicine a lot more. As it stands, for most specialities, medicine requires a great deal of moving around once you qualify, often once a year or more (unless you fancy mammoth commutes). Even at med school you can be on out block for weeks at a time, living at a random DGH miles from home
Original post by daisie
I'm not to bothered about sitting the test. I was just wondering if there were any that didn't use the test as a fourth/back up option. Again, I'm not bothered about the travelling/getting up early because I'm in school most days by 7:30am so I don't find travelling to uni early an issue.


Im afraid all require the test now sadly.

You really need to apply to your strengths with medicine, thats why many say you have to chose whether medicine or staying at home is more important as you are unlikely to get both unless your stats are absolutely amazing.
As a guide:

Manchester: very high UKCAT, at least 6A/A* grades at GCSE, good work experience/voluntary work.
Liverpool: 9A grades at GCSE is very desirable, good ukcat and very good work experience/voluntary work/extra curriculars.
Lancaster: very similar to liverpool with grades and work experience but requires the BMAT.
Sheffied: meet the UKCAT cut off and have amazing personal statement.

As for commuting from manchester.
Think of it this way, you have to get from your house to the train station, then travel to the uni town, then from the station to the uni (which for lancaster and sheffield is another 40 minutes in rush hour) you literally are looking at a 2-2.5 hour commute each way each day and this will take its toll.


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Reply 16
Just gonna chime in to say there is a girl in my year who commuted from London to Birmingham every day for the first 3 years of uni. Some people don't have a problem with crazy commutes, and that's okay. And wanting to save money on rent for 5 years makes plenty of sense. It may not work out to be possible for you, but there's no reason you shouldn't try if that's what you want to do.

As everyone has said, you now have to take some kind of entrance exam for medicine. What these are like is easily googleable
Reply 17
Original post by daisie
I'm not to bothered about sitting the test. I was just wondering if there were any that didn't use the test as a fourth/back up option. Again, I'm not bothered about the travelling/getting up early because I'm in school most days by 7:30am so I don't find travelling to uni early an issue.


I don't think you realise how different university is to school.


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Original post by daisie
What's the difference between the BMAT and UKCAT? Which unis use the BMAT?


Hello,

The UKCAT is used by around 25 universities (you can see a list of them all on this page here).

The UKCAT is broken up into five sections:

verbal reasoning
quantitative reasoning
abstract reasoning
decision making (this section is not marked for 2017 entry applicants)
situational judgement.

It's a computerised test made up of multiple choice questions. You can read more about the UKCAT here.

The BMAT is used by Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, Imperial, Brighton & Sussex, Leeds and Lancaster for undergraduate applicants.

The BMAT comprises three sections based on 1) aptitude and skills, 2) scientific knowledge, 3) a writing task. It is a written exam, unlike the UKCAT.

You can find out much more about the BMAT on these free information pages!

Hope you find this useful!

The Medic Portal
Reply 19
Original post by The Medic Portal
Hello,

The UKCAT is used by around 25 universities (you can see a list of them all on this page here).

The UKCAT is broken up into five sections:

verbal reasoning
quantitative reasoning
abstract reasoning
decision making (this section is not marked for 2017 entry applicants)
situational judgement.

It's a computerised test made up of multiple choice questions. You can read more about the UKCAT here.

The BMAT is used by Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, Imperial, Brighton & Sussex, Leeds and Lancaster for undergraduate applicants.

The BMAT comprises three sections based on 1) aptitude and skills, 2) scientific knowledge, 3) a writing task. It is a written exam, unlike the UKCAT.

You can find out much more about the BMAT on these free information pages!

Hope you find this useful!

The Medic Portal


Thank you for your help! So is the BMAT harder then?

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