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Worrying about the UKCAT? Apply2Medicine is here to help! - Official Q&A

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is it true that to convert your raw mark on a test into the UKCAT's 300-900 scale you:

work out what fraction of the questions you got right. e.g. 15 divided by 25

then multiply by 600
thne add 300.

Is this true??? or has someone been puling my sister's leg??? She has her exam soon and is panicking a bit!!!!!

Reply 61

Gerry Kitchingman

Original post by Crazzyyy

I have registered but still cant access. Whats all I can see is My profile, settings, my activities and sorry I could not find course modules

Thank you for all the help

Hi Crazzyyy,

Here's something my colleague sent out today. It might help. Sorry if you've had a frustrating time!

Sorry, just to clarify Gerry's response - the link to the practical guide is sent out by email. You should get it within 24 hrs of registering your request. Drop a line to [email protected] if it doesn't turn up and we'll investigate.

The 7th July webinar will be put up on the site shortly, and we'll post a link in this thread and on Twitter etc when it goes up.

Reply 62

GCSEmoron

also, she wants to know..

How to improve on situational judgement test??? She says that she always scores low. Are there any things she should be looking out for? e.g. whenever the question concerns patient care it si always very important???

Reply 63

Crazzyyy

Original post by Gerry Kitchingman

Thank you so much. I have just emailed at this email id few minutes ago. Hoping to access the Seminar soon

Reply 64

Gerry Kitchingman

Original post by haappy17

Hello, do you have any advice for situational judgement section please ?

My answer is always off by one. How do I make my answers more correct?
For eg, I will answer that it is 'important, while the real answer will be 'very important'

So far I have realised that, when patient care is being afftected, its usually very important.

Hi Haappy17,

As my colleague said earlier, this test has so many questions in the time allowed, you really do have to go with your "gut" response. The correct responses are determined by a panel of experts, however if your response does not hit the mark but is close to their correct answer, you will get partial marks. Going with gut response is surprisingly accurate, especially in this kind of test which is looking at qualities rather than mental agility as in the other 4 tests. So don't worry that it doesn't sound like much of a technique. Just trust your judgement.

You are correct in thinking there are certain situations where you should select "very important" or "most appropriate" and these often involve patient care or safety, integrity, things that compromise professionalism or ethics and so on.

A couple of other things that might help you when you answer these questions are:
Choose an answer that reflects what someone should do rather than what they might do.
Remember you can choose the same response for each part of the question.
(e.g. choose very important for all the answers)
Also, you might think, looking at the possible responses that you'd do one option straight away and another later. Ignore the timescale, just choose the best possible option.

Hope this helps.

Reply 65

Gerry Kitchingman

Original post by ~Zahra~

I got 710 last time but this time I want to get 750 or over. I got 480 in vr so it lowered my score :frown:

I signed up for the seminar and completed the bok but I still struggle with the new style questions I only have over a week what would you recommend I do to read faster?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Hello Zahra,

These new style VR questions seem to be fazing a lot of people, so you're not alone!

We are running a free seminar on Monday 4th August on VR (12.30 for about 30 minutes).

If you can spare the time, it may be helpful to you. Go to the apply2medicine website and register - the link to the practical guide is sent out by email. Or, as this date is close, I suggest you drop a line to [email protected] first thing monday at the latest. If you're unable to attend, let us know and we can give you access to the seminar afterwards (but you won't be able to send in any questions then)

We also did a seminar on AR in early July. It will be put up on the site shortly, and we'll post a link in this thread and on Twitter etc when it goes up.

For the time being though, people use a range of techniques to get their head around the text passage in VR. The most common technique I've come across is to look at the questions first, then quickly but carefully read the passage, picking out the bits that are relevant to the questions.

It's a similar technique with the new type of questions. However they are asking you to draw conclusions or inferences etc from the passage. For these questions, I would suggest that as you read the passage, ask yourself "so what are they getting at here?" or "what is this implying?" or even "what might be a counter argument?".

If you haven't already done this, I recommend that you go on the UKCAT website and download the official guide for 2014. They have some sample questions in there that might help you to develop a quicker technique.

Good luck with your test next week!

Reply 66

Crazzyyy

In the DA Section, are there more code to message questions or message to code questions more?

Thank you for the help

Reply 67

zed963

Original post by Crazzyyy

In the DA Section, are there more code to message questions or message to code questions more?

Thank you for the help

Code to message generally, this is what I've experienced.

Reply 68

Apply2Medicine

Gerry is presenting a free online seminar on Verbal Reasoning today at 12.30 'til 1.15pm (half an hour of hints and tips - then 15 minutes for a Q&A session). Here's the link if anyone would like to attend - https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/643578430

Reply 69

Apply2Medicine

Our free online seminar on Verbal Reasoning is archived here. Thanks to everyone who attended - we're answering as many of the UKCAT questions you sent in as we can and we will email them out to all the attendees as soon as possible.

Reply 70

Ross121212

After doing the practice Quantitative Reasoning questions on the UKCAT website I'm really worried, I just can't seem to do them in the time! are they generally harder than in the actual test or is this not the case?

Reply 71

Crazzyyy

Original post by Apply2Medicine

By when will the abstract reasoning seminar link will be available?

Reply 72

rachel479

Hi, firstly where is the best place to go for practice that is most like the questions that will be in the real thing this year i.e. the new style questions for 2014 (is 2014 exam different to 2013?) and a format similar to the actual computer exam.

Also Is the Calculator we are given an on-screen computer Calculator or an actual physical calculator?

My second query is that I've just started looking at the questions and finding them incredibly difficult it takes me around 10 minutes to do 6 QR questions instead of three minutes and for abstract reasoning I just can't find the relationships without looking at the answers after ages of staring blankly at the shapes should I be very worried or will this improve with practice?

Thank you very much

Reply 73

Gerry Kitchingman

Original post by rachel479

Hi Rachel479,

First let me reassure you that you will improve your performance with practice! The more you can do before your test day, the better. Please don't try to cram the night before though. You'll need to be alert and fresh when you sit the test.

At A2M, we have on line questions and if you're looking for something exactly like UKCAT, then do go to their website. They have practice tests on line there. The calculator is on screen, not handheld, so it would be worth visiting the UKCAT site just to get used to using it (you won't have time for practice on the day).

Regarding the Abstract Reasoning, we are uploading our recent seminar on AR shortly. You'll be able to find it on our website under practical guide once you've registered. If you have any problems doing this, drop an e-mail to
[email protected]

Hope this helps

Reply 74

Gerry Kitchingman

Original post by Ross121212

Hello Ross121212,

If you are doing tests on the UKCAT website, then they are the genuine article!

Can I suggest that you forget about timing yourself for the time being. Instead focus on getting to grips with the maths bit and build your confidence that way. You may find that you start to pick up ways of "short cutting" calculations and developing a more efficient technique that will help when you pit yourself against the clock!

Reply 75

n3ilsonfire

Hi!

Booked mine on 18th August since most resources advised to never take it during term-time but I wonder if it would be worth it to take it during the first week/s of term since I feel that I need more practise. Thoughts?

Cheers

Reply 76

Crazzyyy

I always run out of time in VR Questions, how can I improve it?

Reply 77

Ross121212

Original post by Gerry Kitchingman

Okay thanks! I find some I can do without using the calculator and some just take too long, not to mention that sometimes the questions are ambiguous in the data they provide. Though I've read it's worth guessing if you start to run out of time.

Also should I read the question before reading the data, I've read that this helps as the data can 'bog you down' of you start analysing it? Or is this down to personal preference?

Thanks :smile:

Reply 78

mahumk

Hi, I've been practising for the UKCAT intensively for the last few days as my test is next week. I'm not seeing any marked improvement although I feel I'm getting better with timing and understanding the questions. Any advice on what else I can do?

Reply 79

Gerry Kitchingman

Original post by n3ilsonfire

Hi N3ilsonfire,

My thoughts: I think you're being very wise to consider rescheduling your test. If you feel you need more practice - and only you will know that! - then yes, why not wait. You have nothing to lose and much to gain. Imagine how you'd feel if you sat the test and it wasn't your best day. After all you only get one crack at it this year.

If you do decide to change your date, remember to give plenty of notice or you could end up paying twice!