590 UKCAT - too CRAP?

did it like 2 weeks ago, pretty much knew it was gonna be **** when I went in but surprised myself with a Band 1 in situational judgement and a disappointing 590 average .

So I completely dismissed all of my UKCAT choices when I got my results.

I am applying for mostly Biomed now and 2 BMAT universities for Med. I haven't sent off my application yet but my personal statement is still medicine focused for obvious reasons.

Is 590 really as crap as I think it is since the average seems quite high and I was only going to apply if I got above 650, I heard someone got into exeter in 2014 with a 590 since they had one of the best interviews. I just don't want to regret not applying if I even had a small chance...

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

HopelessMedic

Depends what your GCSE's, predictions and PS are like. Someone got into Keele with 582.5 and places like Bristol barely use the UKCAT. Similarly Cardiff hardly use it. Don't give up :smile:

Reply 2

Sarah1778

Isn't the "average" like 600 or something?
Yours isn't too bad in all honesty, unless your choices of unis are really picky.

Reply 3

Exotic-L

im in the same situation as you but my average is lower than yours :frown:

but dont lose hope, im still applying for medicine but am still looking for unis but this time im taking into account the weighting of the ukcat, entry requirements etc. I dont want to give up go im still gonna give it a go and apply

Reply 4

thtgreeneyedgirl

I'm a graduate applicant applying to all 5-year courses now as my UKCAT was 640 :frown:

- WAY below what GEM would accept. I'm applying to uni's that place little emphasis on the UKCAT/look at the whole application: Glasgow, Bristol, Aberdeen and Edinburgh.

Good luck guys :smile:

Reply 5

vybzkartel

Original post by HopelessMedic

Depends what your GCSE's, predictions and PS are like. Someone got into Keele with 582.5 and places like Bristol barely use the UKCAT. Similarly Cardiff hardly use it. Don't give up :smile:

they do use it now, especially when people will be applying with alot higher scores :/

I might consider Keele then :smile:

Reply 6

vybzkartel

Original post by Exotic-L

im in the same situation as you but my average is lower than yours :frown:

which do you know of that consider low UKCAT? :////// I think ill only apply to one UKCAT uni in this case and keep 2 BMAT and 2 Biomed

Reply 7

thtgreeneyedgirl

Original post by vybzkartel

which do you know of that consider low UKCAT? :////// I think ill only apply to one UKCAT uni in this case and keep 2 BMAT and 2 Biomed

Bristol count it as 10%, if you have a strong PS it's worth applying there :smile:

. There's also Cardiff. I'm not applying there myself, but I hear they barely look at UKCAT.

Reply 8

tomtom32

Hi guys urgent help is needed!! Just done my UKCAT - got 580 in VR, 690 in QR, 580 in AR, and band 2 in sjt so an average of 617My predicted grades are (A*,A,A) in maths,bio,chem. I have 4 A*'s and 5 A's I have put down imperial and sussex as my two BMAT choices and I have narrowed down the list of UKCAT unis to these: so please could you advise me on which two to choose:Birmingham, St georges, Bristol ( 70% on personal statement scares me!), Durham, Norwich, Kings college, Sheffield and Southampton. The other ukcat unis have been omitted from my list due to them being too far away - so these are the best ones location wise!I don't think I will do that well in the BMAT so that puts me off adding any more BMAT unis to my selection!I really appreciate any help and advice! Thanks

Reply 9

HopelessMedic

Original post by vybzkartel

they do use it now, especially when people will be applying with alot higher scores :/

I might consider Keele then :smile:

Cardiff only use GCSE's and the PS for interview, they sometimes use the UKCAT to distinguish between close candidates. Bristol only place 10% weight on the UKCAT, so you do have a chance at these.

Original post by tomtom32

Rule out KCL, Sheffield, Southampton, Durham ( now Newcastle ) St georges for sure, check your score for Bham online.

Reply 10

tomtom32

Original post by HopelessMedic

Cardiff only use GCSE's and the PS for interview, they sometimes use the UKCAT to distinguish between close candidates. Bristol only place 10% weight on the UKCAT, so you do have a chance at these.

Rule out KCL, Sheffield, Southampton, Durham ( now Newcastle ) St georges for sure, check your score for Bham online.

Hi - thanks for your reply - my score for Bham is below 6 so its too low to be considered :frown:

I have narrowed down my choices with your help and my research to Norwich and Bristol and then Leeds ( BMAT ) - out of those 3 I need to choose 2. So which 2 should I choose - bristols personal statement ranking of 70% is very scary and I would say my personal statement is good but not a 10/10!
I already have 2 BMAT unis down but should I just put down Leeds as well or is it too risky - I don't think I will do that well in the BMAT as well.

Thanks

Reply 11

OneAfrica

Original post by thtgreeneyedgirl

I'm a graduate applicant applying to all 5-year courses now as my UKCAT was 640 :frown:

- WAY below what GEM would accept. I'm applying to uni's that place little emphasis on the UKCAT/look at the whole application: Glasgow, Bristol, Aberdeen and Edinburgh.

Good luck guys :smile:

Are you a Scottish applicant? And I'm more or less applying to the same places as you.

Reply 12

thtgreeneyedgirl

[QUOTE=OneAfrica;67884552]Are you a Scottish applicant? And I'm more or less applying to the same places as you.

No English applicant :smile:

Reply 13

HopelessMedic

Original post by tomtom32

Hi - thanks for your reply - my score for Bham is below 6 so its too low to be considered :frown:

I would avoid 3 BMAT uni's, so put down UEA and Bristol.

Reply 14

tomtom32

Original post by HopelessMedic

I would avoid 3 BMAT uni's, so put down UEA and Bristol.

Thank you very much for your advice - what do you think about putting St georges instead of Bristol? I am being predicted A* A A and people in another threads have said St georges will like that! Do you think I would have a better chance at St georges? Thanks

Reply 15

HopelessMedic

Original post by tomtom32

St Georges have had a cut off of over 650 for the past couple of years ( feel free to correct me if I'm wrong ) so it wouldn't be wise to apply there.

Reply 16

vybzkartel

Original post by thtgreeneyedgirl

I'm a graduate applicant applying to all 5-year courses now as my UKCAT was 640 :frown:

- WAY below what GEM would accept. I'm applying to uni's that place little emphasis on the UKCAT/look at the whole application: Glasgow, Bristol, Aberdeen and Edinburgh.

Good luck guys :smile:

What the hell is GEM lol

Reply 17

Amedic

Original post by vybzkartel

What the hell is GEM lol

Graduate Entry Medicine :wink:

Reply 18

GANFYD

Original post by thtgreeneyedgirl

I'm a graduate applicant applying to all 5-year courses now as my UKCAT was 640 :frown:

- WAY below what GEM would accept. I'm applying to uni's that place little emphasis on the UKCAT/look at the whole application: Glasgow, Bristol, Aberdeen and Edinburgh.

Good luck guys :smile:

Glasgow are generally considered fairly UKCAT heavy and generally have a UKCAT cut off around 655+. Aberdeen use UKCAT for 40% of their pre-interview scoring, so unless you score very highly on their academic criteria, UKCAT is likely to be quite important. Edinburgh use UKCAT cognitive sections for 20% of their scoring and SJT for 15%, but you have to score pretty well perfectly on all sections to be offered a place (37-38/40 and anything below about 655 will lose you more marks than this, even if you score full marks everywhere else), so these cannot really be considered safe places to apply with low UKCAT scores.