So I'm hoping to apply to medical school for 2016 entry this year, and I was wondering how the BMAT works? I mean, the UKCAT happens over the summer, but I checked on the BMAT website and it says 2015 testing takes place in November or something! Should I be taking it then, or have I missed it for my year of entry?
Also, does anyone who's done it have any tips for the BMAT?
But just to answer your question, if you're applying for 2016 entry, then you will take the BMAT on 4th November 2015. This is after you apply. Which is why taking the BMAT is a bit of a gamble, compared to the UKCAT. With UKCAT, you have your results before you apply, so you can base your decisions on those. With BMAT, you only get the results once you've already applied, so it's too late to change anything by then
Quick Tips for the BMAT:
Section 1
Do lots of TSA Oxford papers. They mimic the format of BMAT Section 1 almost exactly, so they're a great source of practice.
Section 2
Learn all the science you need to know, especially Physics, and especially if you're not doing Physics at AS. There's an official online guide on the BMAT website called something like "Section 2: Assumed Knowledge Guide" which is pretty good, but seems to have quite a bit of stuff that's never come up before. I've written a more realistic version of what comes up in Section 2 here (http://www.bmatcrashcourse.com/bmat-section-2-syllabus/) - I'd suggest learning the stuff on that list first, and then once you know absolutely everything on it, then learn the extra stuff in the official guide.
Regarding past papers, there are BMAT past papers available from 2003 onwards, but the syllabus changed in 2009, so only worry about the 2009-2014 Section 2 papers. Section 1 didn't change though, so still do the 2003-2008 Section 1 papers.
Other than that, the best tip I can give for Section 2 is "FRACTIONS ARE YOUR FRIENDS". This cannot be overstated enough. A huge chunk of Section 2 involves calculating fractions quickly (without a calculator), so if you can do those well, you'll be at a significant advantage.
Section 3
This is the writing task. People call it an essay but it's really just 2-3 paragraphs. You have 30 minutes for this section, of which at least 10 should be spent planning. The biggest mistake people make is going into the exam, panicking, and starting to write straight away. Please don't do that. Make sure you plan very very well before starting to write, as you're only given one sheet of paper and if you screw that up, it's over.
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I've got plenty more tips but third year exams are coming up and I need to memorise a tonne of essays :/ Feel free to DM/quote me if you've got any more questions and I'll try to respond during one of my breaks
Seems like this type of thread doesn't exist yet, so I thought I'd kick it off. If anyone cares, I'm a third-year medic at Cambridge who teaches BMAT crash courses on the weekends in the Summer holidays. Happy to answer any and all questions about life
What is the BMAT?
BMAT stands for BioMedical Admissions Test. It’s a 2-hour exam, taken by medical (and vet) school applicants every year at the start of November. In 2015, students will sit the BMAT on Wednesday 4th November. The exam is split into 3 sections – (1) Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, (2) Science and Maths, and (3) Essay.
When is the BMAT?
As mentioned above, the students applying for 2016 entry will sit the BMAT on 4th November 2015. This is after the applications go in. This means that taking the BMAT is somewhat of a gamble, in that you only take the exam after you have applied. If you do very badly in the BMAT, you’re very likely to get rejected without interview from the universities you’ve applied to that require it.
Who has to take the BMAT?
I've written an extensive article on the subject here – How universities use the BMAT. The short answer is that students applying to study Medicine at Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL, Leeds, Lancaster and Brighton & Sussex need to take the BMAT. Students applying to study veterinary medicine at Cambridge and the Royal Veterinary College also have to take the exam. Finally, if you’re reading this from Singapore or The Netherlands, you need to take the BMAT if you’re applying to Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (Singapore) or Leiden University (Netherlands).
- If you're struggling with Critical Thinking, you may find the OCR Critical Thinking textbook of some use. Although the BMAT critical thinking is so basic, and only really has 5 question types, that I personally don't think it's worth it. Just do lots of practice and it'll come to you
- Fractions are our friends. Being good/quick at doing fractions is unbelievably important when it comes to the BMAT. A lot of questions in Section 1 problem solving, and most questions in Section 2 Physics, Maths and Chemistry, involve working with fractions is one way or another. Therefore, if you can work with fractions speedily and effectively, and are quick and accurate at cancelling out etc, you'll have a huge advantage over everyone else in the BMAT.
Section 2:
- Teach yourself all the science you need to know. I've written up an unofficial specification for Section 2 here - http://www.bmatcrashcourse.com/bmat-section-2-syllabus/. That's based on everything that's come up over the last 5 years (they changed the spec in 2009, so papers 2003-2008 are unrepresentative of the actual exam).
- Again, Fractions are our Friends. As I mentioned in the earlier section, fractions come up all the time in physics, chemistry and maths, so being good at doing them is essential.
- Timing on section 2 is really really tight. You've only got around a minute per question, which isn't enough time for some of the calculations. The way around this is to really know your biology inside out - you can answer the majority of them within 10 seconds, and that means you have more time for the more complex chemistry calculations etc.
Section 3:
- if you address all the bullet points given in the question, you're practically guaranteed to get at least 3/5, which gets you over the cutoffs for any university.
- Make sure you spend a long time planning. It takes 10-15 minutes to write in the tiny box that they give you, so you should spend the first 10-15 minutes planning effectively.
Seems like this type of thread doesn't exist yet, so I thought I'd kick it off. If anyone cares, I'm a third-year medic at Cambridge who teaches BMAT crash courses on the weekends in the Summer holidays. Happy to answer any and all questions about life
ThanksI am trying to buy Kaplan bmat book bit cheaper than what amazon is selling which is about £199; but no luck. It is so expensive. Then I wonder do I really need it or can do without it. Looking for your advice...
What resources should I use to prepare for bmat? What course....
ThanksI am trying to buy Kaplan bmat book bit cheaper than what amazon is selling which is about £199; but no luck. It is so expensive. Then I wonder do I really need it or can do without it. Looking for your advice... What resources should I use to prepare for bmat? What course.... Thanks Nomita
The Kaplan book is not necessary at all. It's not even very good. For section 1, just do lots of practice TSA papers. For section 2, use BBC Bitesize and the only section 2 assumed knowledge guide (links in OP). And for section 3, just generally read around Medicine, which you'd be doing for interview preparation anyway.
The Kaplan book is not necessary at all. It's not even very good. For section 1, just do lots of practice TSA papers. For section 2, use BBC Bitesize and the only section 2 assumed knowledge guide (links in OP). And for section 3, just generally read around Medicine, which you'd be doing for interview preparation anyway.
When did you start prepping for the BMAT yourself?
I started in early September. Probably a little overkill, but I knew I wanted to apply to 3 BMAT universities, so yeah
Thank you! That's honestly such a detailed list of tips yeah, I'm thinking about starting at a similar time too, I think I might end up applying for 2/3 too, depending on how my UKCAT goes.
Hi! Thank you for this super helpful thread My situation is quite unique, in that I am an international IB student studying in Singapore, and I am planning on applying to NUS + NTU/Imperial for Medicine. NUS requires SAT+ 3 subject tests, while NTU requires the BMAT. Since the UK is really my second choice (if I don't get into Singapore) I am planning on only taking the BMAT and not the UKCAT. I am planning to apply to Imperial/UCL, Leeds, Bristol for Medicine and then King's and Queen Mary's for Biomed sciences. Given your experience with the BMAT, is this too risky a play? I have already starting preparing for the BMAT btw. Thank you so much! x
Hi! Thank you for this super helpful thread My situation is quite unique, in that I am an international IB student studying in Singapore, and I am planning on applying to NUS + NTU/Imperial for Medicine. NUS requires SAT+ 3 subject tests, while NTU requires the BMAT. Since the UK is really my second choice (if I don't get into Singapore) I am planning on only taking the BMAT and not the UKCAT. I am planning to apply to Imperial/UCL, Leeds, Bristol for Medicine and then King's and Queen Mary's for Biomed sciences. Given your experience with the BMAT, is this too risky a play? I have already starting preparing for the BMAT btw. Thank you so much! x
Tbh, I think if you're confident enough in your BMAT prep, it's reasonable to just take the BMAT. Although, there is an argument to be made for taking the UKCAT anyway and seeing what you get - you could spend a week or so preparing UKCAT, and then if you happen to come out with a stellar score, you might as well apply to some UKCAT universities. And if not, then you're stuck with BMAT anyway. You don't really lose anything by taking the UKCAT, and might potentially get a high score that warrants applying to UKCAT universities
Tbh, I think if you're confident enough in your BMAT prep, it's reasonable to just take the BMAT. Although, there is an argument to be made for taking the UKCAT anyway and seeing what you get - you could spend a week or so preparing UKCAT, and then if you happen to come out with a stellar score, you might as well apply to some UKCAT universities. And if not, then you're stuck with BMAT anyway. You don't really lose anything by taking the UKCAT, and might potentially get a high score that warrants applying to UKCAT universities
Thank you for the advice! I completely agree with that argument, however I did take a diagnostic UKCAT and scored pretty low (2100) so I doubt my score will improve much with no/little practice... in your experience is it possible to improve that much in a week's time? Obviously it depends on the person, but I would appreciate your thoughts on the matter. Thank you again!
Thank you for the advice! I completely agree with that argument, however I did take a diagnostic UKCAT and scored pretty low (2100) so I doubt my score will improve much with no/little practice... in your experience is it possible to improve that much in a week's time? Obviously it depends on the person, but I would appreciate your thoughts on the matter. Thank you again!
Yes - just get a week's subscription to Medify, do all the questions, and your score will drastically improve.
Seems like this type of thread doesn't exist yet, so I thought I'd kick it off. If anyone cares, I'm a third-year medic at Cambridge who teaches BMAT crash courses on the weekends in the Summer holidays. Happy to answer any and all questions about life
ThanksI am trying to buy Kaplan bmat book bit cheaper than what amazon is selling which is about £199; but no luck. It is so expensive. Then I wonder do I really need it or can do without it. Looking for your advice...
What resources should I use to prepare for bmat? What course....
Thanks Nomita
You definitely don't need the Kaplan book. I have one myself actually, I went on the course last year. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just not worth anywhere near £199.
I would just advise using the resources provided on the BMAT website - they've got a list of things you should know for section 2, an online revision guide for it and loads of past papers. Just work your way through those. If you really need extra help you can buy BMAT books off Amazon...or go on the BMAT Crash Course (I'm sure Refrigerator will be happy!)
Further to what's already been said on preparation, don't overlook the importance of essay practice under the time constraints of the exam. Some people say you can't prepare for this but I think you absolutely can.