BMAT scores?

Does anyone have any idea of the sort of BMAT score you need to get to at least get an interview for medicine? I recently took a specimen BMAT paper, and my score was not too high to say the least!! Should this discourage me?

Reply 1

lil groovy dude

14

People have been getting interviews at UCL and they got 15!! Try to get 19 though!!

:smile:

Reply 2

rahmed

i got 14 . something, and didn't get interviewed, if only i had 0.4 extra points....if only....hmmmm.....

Reply 3

rahmed

rosy123

Does anyone have any idea of the sort of BMAT score you need to get to at least get an interview for medicine? I recently took a specimen BMAT paper, and my score was not too high to say the least!! Should this discourage me?

No, because everyone gets crap marks, apart from a few... Don't go to courses like Kaplan...

Reply 4

EmberToInferno

Hey there, there isn't really a minimum score, I guess the emphasis that Unis place on it varies depending on how strong the rest of your application is etc. But, like lil_groovy_dude said, try and get 19!!

I know for a fact for a fact that Imperial don't focus much on the BMAT (it's also the first year they've been using it) since I got 16.4 and was interviewed.

However, I have heard that some Oxford applicants who were rejected w/o interview and who had strong GCSE results and A-level predicted grades were told that their BMAT score was one of the main things that let them down when recieving feedback.

Reply 5

rosy123

OP

2

thanks, so having done the specimen paper, i have the marks for the individual papers, i.e science, aptitude etc. so how would i go about working out my overall score?

Reply 6

friendlyneutron

11

I wouldn't worry too much about it - I didn't do spectacularly (19) although I did have the flu when I sat it (damn thee, immune system!) and I still got an offer from Cambridge - the interview, your personal statement, predicted grades and reference are much more important. Best of luck though, the BMAT aint fun!

Reply 7

parag

10

It depends on the uni, I got 19.9 and at UCL this year 19 guaranteed you an interview. And friendlyneutron, 19 isn't by any means a bad score, it's better than everyone I know bar 1 person!

Reply 8

rahmed

friendlyneutron

I wouldn't worry too much about it - I didn't do spectacularly (19) although I did have the flu when I sat it (damn thee, immune system!)

You don't think 19 is spectacular? :confused:

Reply 9

iceman_jondoe

18

honestly i dont know how the hell some people got higher than like 15 it annoys me when i found it bloody hard and got a measly 13.5 and most people on here got like 18 19 :angry:

grr

Reply 10

friendlyneutron

11

Sorry, I didn't mean to offend anyone - most people in my school who sat it got a bit higher than me so I thought it wasn't brilliant.

Reply 11

iceman_jondoe

18

no...its ok...i guess the test IS designed to filter out the best of the best....i mean there have to be some high scores otherwise whats the point of the test...so dw lol :smile:

Reply 12

EmberToInferno

rosy123

thanks, so having done the specimen paper, i have the marks for the individual papers, i.e science, aptitude etc. so how would i go about working out my overall score?

I have no idea...but I know the results of Sections 1 and 2 are reported on a scale of 1-9 and 0-15 for Section 3.

There's a distribution curve on the back of the results sheet that shows that for the last BMAT (November 2005) most students got a score of 4.8 for Section 1; 4.4 for Section 2 and 7.5 for Section 3

Reply 13

Ribbons

12

i think you just add the scores together to get the 'overall' score :smile:

Reply 14

Madprof

12

As EmbertoInferno said, the average scores are roughly 'half marks' as it is a standardised test (see here for the Nov 2005 results). Very few people get over about 20. Some of the most intelligent people in the country take it, and you're certainly not expected to score as highly as you would in a school exam (eg 80%).

At the moment (ie 2006 entry) the follwing medical schools used BMAT scores (no other medical schools saw what you got):

Cambridge
Imperial
Oxford
UCL

It was Imperial's first year using it, and apparently they didn't use it as a huge deciding factor, but this was purely becasue they were new to it - things might change next year. For Cambridge most people predicited AAA get an interview for medicine, and BMAT is just one of the factors used when deciding who to offer places to.

Oxford and UCL have more fixed criteria. This year, UCL automatically interviewed anyone with 19 and over (a very good score), plus about 100 (I seem to remember reading) who got less than that. Oxford use a table (2006 entry one posted here) based on GCSE scores against minimum BMAT score (in terms of ranking amongst applicants) needed for an interview. They also take another 10% for interview who didn't meet this criteria (this is how my friend got an offer) so it's not everything.

Hope that helps, remember, it may all change next year, plus there's another test coming in which you may well have to sit called UKCAT - search the forum for details.

Reply 15

rosy123

OP

2

thanks for all the information. having read the information from oxford's website from the link in madprofs post i know that the score you need to get for interview (at oxford anyway) varies, but what would be the sort of score roughly you'd need for an oxbridge interview? What's the maximum score? I appreciate all the help, my school hasn't provided us with much information, although we were told at the end of last term we may have to sit the UKCAT but were given no clue as to what that it!

Reply 16

Madprof

12

rosy123

Thanks for all the information. Having read the information from oxford's website from the link in madprof's post i know that the score you need to get for interview (at oxford anyway) varies, but what would be the sort of score roughly you'd need for an oxbridge interview? What's the maximum score? I appreciate all the help as my school hasn't provided us with much information; although we were told at the end of last term we may have to sit the UKCAT we were given no clue as to what that is!

(Essays are out of 15, score not adjusted)
Standardised Score maximum: 9 9 15 = 33
Raw Score maximum (in 2003, it may change): 29 38 15 = 82

The score needed for an Oxford interview? Well, it varies from year to year according to the scores and volume of the other applicants (hence the 'top x% of applicants' on the chart on Oxford's website); the difficulty of the test - the mean and standard deviation will shift slightly year on year; and the mean GCSEs of the other applicants. The score for a Cambridge interview is probably rather less.

If you want a (very general) idea, look at this page on the BMAT website. It lists the standardised score for that year and the raw marks needed to obtain that score. Then you need to make assumptions about those people applying to Oxbridge and then work out approximately which percentile of those people your score comes out at. In short, rather hard!

BMAT isn't everything. Do the practice, brush up GCSE science and maths, and try not to stress over it. People who are good at working out the probability of the number 57 bus turning up in the next 36.45 seconds given Jimmy the Postman has a blue shirt on today (or some equally ludicrous question) don't necessarily make the best doctors, and medical schools realise this. In the mean time, bug your school to get their act together!

OP

thanks for the help!

Try and aim for 7 in Sec 1 and 2. most prolly wont get it but you got a good chance of getting into Cambs if you get 7 and above.

Reply 19

Madprof

12

... you got a good chance of getting into Cam with a score much lower than that too!

From the results sheet I got, only the top 2-3% in each section got over 7. Since there are only four medical schools that ask for the BMAT (and you can only apply to Oxford or Cambridge), a rather small amount of Cambridge offers will be to people with over 7 in sections one and two. Obviously a better mark can only look good, but so many other things are so much more important that the difference between 6 6 and 7 7 is minimal.

BMAT scores?

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