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* MEGATHREAD * - UKCAT 2016 Entry Discussion Megathread

Hello all!

This is the thread for all UKCAT-related discussion for medical school applications for the coming application year applying for 2016 entry. Please try and keep all discussion within this thread.

Please note the vast majority of simple queries can be answered on the UKCAT website www.ukcat.ac.uk or by having a quick read of their handbook here.

Frequently Asked Questions about the UKCAT

When should I sit the UKCAT?
A. Some important dates:
Registration opens:1 May 2015 (bursary applications processed from this date)
Testing begins: 1 July 2015
Registration deadline: 20 September 2015 (bursary and exemption application deadline also this date)
Last testing date: 04 Oct 2015
UCAS application deadline: 15 October 2015

The exact date you sit the test is up to you, some people prefer to get it out of the way early so they know their score and can decide on where to apply from there. Others would rather wait until after they have their AS level results. Bear in mind that the price does go up at the start of September.

Q: How much does it cost?
A. July-August: £65 for those taking the test in the EU, £100 for other candidates
September-October: £80 for those taking the test in the EU, £100 for other candidates.
The price is the same regardless of whether you are taking the standard UKCAT or UKCATSEN.

Q: Do we need to put that we've done our UKCAT/or our score on UCAS?
A:There's no need. UKCAT will send your scores off to the universities you're applying to that need it.

Q: Do we get a calculator?
A:Yes. A simple on-screen calculator will be made available to you to assist you in the quantitative reasoning section. To access this you will need to click on the icon in the top left hand side of your screen. THIS HAS CHANGED FROM 2010 TEST. The calculator should look similar to this:


Q: Do we have anything to write on?
A: Yes. You will be given a double sided whiteboard with a special pen to write with. There is usually no eraser available so taking some tissues with you might be useful.

Q: When should we arrive at the test centre?
A: You should arrive at least fifteen minutes before the exam to go through the formalities and prove your identity.

Q: What should we bring to the test centre?
A: You should bring to the test centre a printout of the email that you were sent confirming your test registration as well as photographic identification (see the list on the UKCAT website).

Q: What is the average score?
A: The average score for each subtest is 600. Most candidates will score between 500-700. If your score isn't as good as you would like, it's not the end of the road. Some advice can be found in this thread

Q: Can we discuss the questions in the UKCAT once we've sat it?
A: No. You will sign something declaring that you agree not to.

Q: If I do badly can I take it again?
A: Nope, unfortunately not. You can only take the UKCAT once for each UCAS cycle so if you don't do as well as you'd have liked, you'll need to think carefully about where you are going to apply to.

Q: What book should I buy to practice from?
A: Various books have been recommended in the past:
Passing the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) and BMAT 2009, Taylor, Hutton and Hutton, Learning Matters Ltd, ISBN 1844452840
Get into Medical School - 600 UKCAT Practice Questions. Includes Full Mock Exam, comprehensive tips, techniques and explanations, Olivier Picard, Laetitia Tighlit, Sami Tighlit, and David Phillips, ISC Medical, ISBN 1905812094
How to Pass the UKCAT: Unbeatable Practice for Success in the 2009 United Kingdom Clinical Aptitude Test, Mike Byron and Jim Clayden, Kogan Page Ltd., ISBN 0749453338

Q: How is it marked?
A: Raw scores are converted to scale scores that share a common range from 300 to 900. A total scale score is generated by summing individual scale scores of the four cognitive sections. The total scale score ranges from 1200 to 3600.

The SJT is graded in bands, Band 1 being the highest band, Band 4 the lowest.

All information has been taken from the official UKCAT site: http://www.ukcat.ac.uk/


GOOD LUCK!!

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Looking for people with extremely high UKCAT scores to answer the following questions:

1: When did you take the test
2: When did you start revising for the test
3: How did you revise
4: What score you got
5: Any advice on how to do as well as you did
6: When should you apply for the test?
Score: 3740

Advice: Just do it
Original post by BigDreamer123
Looking for people with extremely high UKCAT scores to answer the following questions:

1: When did you take the test
2: When did you start revising for the test
3: How did you revise
4: What score you got
5: Any advice on how to do as well as you did
6: When should you apply for the test?


There is no magic formula for scoring well on ukcat.
Start revising after your summer exams but no more than a few weeks before your exam as you'll run out of resources. You can book the test as soon as they start booking, even if you don't want to sit it until September.

Practice with books if you want but online resources are much better (medify etc) as they give better approximation of the real thing (using the mouse and keyboard, using an on-screen calculator, time constraints).

Practice your mental maths, practice basic maths skills, get used to reading articles (newspapers, textbooks, short sections of novels) and extracting the information and the tone of the writing.

And MOST importantly... Find what works for you. There are different strategies for each section but there is no point just copying the strategy of someone because they scored well, if it doesn't work for YOU!!

Oh and stop stressing about ukcat now, focus on college.

Posted from TSR Mobile
P.S if I was to do both UKCAT and BMAT should I revise simultaneously for both or finish the ukcat and then revise for BMAT
Original post by BigDreamer123
P.S if I was to do both UKCAT and BMAT should I revise simultaneously for both or finish the ukcat and then revise for BMAT


Get the ukcat out of the way first and then revise for BMAT. The BMAT is much more revision intensive..

Oh and try and have a bit of a summer holiday as well!
Get the 600 questions book, do the mock tests online and get 2 weeks of medify before your test

All the prep you need
As has
Original post by BigDreamer123
Looking for people with extremely high UKCAT scores to answer the following questions:

1: When did you take the test
2: When did you start revising for the test
3: How did you revise
4: What score you got
5: Any advice on how to do as well as you did
6: When should you apply for the test?


As you may have already heard there is no easy solution but i got in the top decile(10%) of scores so I'll tell you what I did.

1: I would definitely recommend taking the test later sometime at theend of summer, (before school restarts) so you can do the test when you're most free and can augment your revision schedule around that. If you do it when school/college restarts
2: I started 2weeks before my test date, it is incredible tedious so I wouldn't recommend much earlier than that.
3: I used the holy book "UKCAT:600 QUESTIONS" but most importantly of all was the UKCAT COURSE "UKCAT 101"
4: 790(average) 3160 - Top Decile(10%) I got all my ukcat interviews.
5: Book the UKCAT 101 COURSE :cool: it really gave me an edge. next most important I would say is set up a timetable go about your revision methodically and don't get disheartened in practice or in any part of the actual test.
6: Apply as early as you can to the opening of registration as the good dates go pretty quickly, especially if you don't have many test centres near you.

Ask me anything on PM, if you have any questions.:biggrin:
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by BigDreamer123
Looking for people with extremely high UKCAT scores to answer the following questions:

1: When did you take the test
2: When did you start revising for the test
3: How did you revise
4: What score you got
5: Any advice on how to do as well as you did
6: When should you apply for the test?


I sat it on 11/9/14. I first looked at the questions around February time, but started properly revising after exams.

I found it best to learn the techniques and then go through questions. I also practiced my mental maths and skim reading.

Feel free to send me a message if you want more help :smile:


Posted from TSR Mobile
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by BigDreamer123
Looking for people with extremely high UKCAT scores to answer the following questions:

1: When did you take the test
2: When did you start revising for the test
3: How did you revise
4: What score you got
5: Any advice on how to do as well as you did
6: When should you apply for the test?


1. I took it in early September, wanted to maximise my prep time.
2. I started revising casually after id done my Chemistry a level but since I'm a grad and also work full time I wasn't doing all that much until a few weeks before.
3. Medify, 600q, Kaplan book. Tons of practice and also revising GCSEs maths on bbc bite size and similar.
4. 815
5. Practise, practise, practise. It's partly intelligence and partly exam technique. Make sure you're prepared for the format and know your timings. Stick to them. For me the best tactic turned out to be assessing quickly if I knew the answer to a question and moving on immediately if I didn't get it straight off. That left me with time at the end of each section to come back and finish them all.
Use the flagging function to help with this.
6. This info is all on the ukcat website.


Posted from TSR Mobile
Cud some one please guide me how to prepare for UKCAT, which books and courses are useful. Thanks in advance.
Reply 11
600 UKCAT questions is the one recommendated although I'd suggest using online courses such as Kaplan.
Thanks
Reply 13
Original post by Manyag123
Cud some one please guide me how to prepare for UKCAT, which books and courses are useful. Thanks in advance.


600Q book is outdated and slightly harder than the real thing imo. Use this book instead: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Score-Higher-UKCAT-questions-Medicine/dp/0198704313

Once you've gone through the book, get a Medify subscription and practice, practice, practice!
Original post by Clubba
600Q book is outdated and slightly harder than the real thing imo. Use this book instead: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Score-Higher-UKCAT-questions-Medicine/dp/0198704313

Once you've gone through the book, get a Medify subscription and practice, practice, practice!



thanks
Hello,

I'm going to take the UKCAT this summer and I was wondering if anyone had any book recommendations, or anything else that I could use to prepare for the UKCAT.

I searched on Amazon, but there are simply too many books which seem very similar to choose from, so I'd be grateful if anyone could offer any recommendations or advice on this.

Thanks
600Q UKCAT book is pretty good! The questions are harder than those in the actual exam, IMO. I found Medify quite useful, online subscription.
Here's a list of resources that may be of use:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=621992

I think practice and familiarity with the questions is the biggest issue. Good luck!
Reply 17
This book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0198704313/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile together with a 2 week Medify subscription is perfect imo
Reply 18
When is the actual UKCAT exam?
Reply 19
Original post by Rstlss
When is the actual UKCAT exam?


The test can be taken anytime between the beginning of July until the beginning of October. Have a look at the website for all the details

http://www.ukcat.ac.uk

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