MEGATHREAD - The Big Medicine UKCAT 2013 Entry Thread

UKCAT discussion for 2013 entry

This thread is for all discussion of the UKCAT for 2013 entry applications to medicine.

UKCAT discussion threads from previous years

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2009 entry

What is the UKCAT?

The UKCAT stands for the United Kingdom Clinical Aptitude Test and is an admissions test used by the majority of medical schools. The test is sat between 5 July and 7 October and should be taken by applicants who are planning to apply to medical school in the same year. The test takes about two hours and tests mental aptitude and ability and is not a test of knowledge. It is not possible to revise for the exam, however it is perfectly possible to practice. It is made up of four sections which each test different things: Quantitative Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning, Decision Analysis and Verbal Reasoning. Each section is scored between 500 and 900, which leads to an overall UKCAT average score of between 500 and 900. The majority of applicants will score between 600 and 700, with approximately 620 being the average.

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How do medical schools use it?

The UKCAT is used differently by different medical schools. Some medical schools hardly use the test at all, some medical schools look at the average score and some medical schools look at each individual sub-section score. Broadly, medical schools can either: 1) not use it for any significant part of their admissions procedure, 2) look at the average/sub-section score as part of an applicant's overall application or 3) rank applicants using their UKCAT score, and invite the top x% to interview.

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Important Information

Key Dates

Registration Opens: 01 May 2012
Testing Begins: 03 July 2012
Registration Deadline: 21 September 2012
Bursary Application Deadline: 21 September 2012
Exemption Application Deadline: 21 September 2012
Last Testing Date: 05 October 2012

Key Costs

Tests taken in the EU between 3 July 2012 - 31 August 2012: £65.00
Tests taken in the EU between 1 September 2012 - 5 October 2012: £80
Tests taken outside the EU: £100

→ More information on bursaries

FAQ

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.

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.

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:

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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

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Passing the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) and BMAT 2009, Taylor, Hutton and Hutton, Learning Matters Ltd, ISBN 1844452840

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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

(edited 11 years ago)

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

aggar

Hey all,

The standard of the UKCAT practice material varies significantly in terms of the QR section. The Full time practice is ridiculously hard, the short time test is easier and the UKCAt book (purple one) is easier still.

For all of you that have done the real test, is the QR section similar to the short timed practice online test or more like the standard of the full time practice test?

I have tried searching this forum for the answer, but there is no conclusive answer.

Cheers and good luck everyone :smile:

Reply 2

lotusx

to be honest, it's in the middle. the short practice test is much easier than the real thing, in my opinion. for me personally, i thought the questions weren't too bad; it was the timing that was an issue.
that said, maths was never my strong point so my thoughts may vary from other people's.

Reply 3

ajdj

I found the QR MUCH easier than the practice test.. both the full time and short test. The questions were not as long.. I mean there wasnt much to read so not much time lost. Many of the questions were able to be done in the head.

Reply 4

v8_HEMI

i found it alot harder, really long worded questions - hard not to run out of time on my set of questions

Reply 5

x.beth.x

I found it a lot harder than any practice as well. Just make sure you guess them if you don't answer them and you will be fine :smile:

Reply 6

Isometrix

the maths is easier i found...i really don't want to lower your hopes, but it would take a superhuman effort to even finish 30/40 properly (i only got up to about 15).

Reply 7

IcarusExMachina

It all depends. You're always going to be pressed for time in doing the Quantitative reasoning is hard to complete in all the time given. VERY hard. You have to work hard when you do it to make sure that everything works out. I didn't finish the whole thing but the trick is to stay calm. And to more directly answer your question, i would say its harder than the practice test on the website, i didn't buy any books or other stuff so can't answer that part for you. Hope that helps

Reply 8

FFCrusader

I agree the real thing is hard to finish within the time given....I probably did like half properly and had to guess the rest before I ran out of time (happened this year and last year...)

I would say the most time spent is reading the data and understanding it before actually answering the questions...although quite some time could be spent on the answering - especially with that annoying calculator they give you (best to clear it every time you start a question)

It does seem though if you make sure the questions you do properly are right you'll get quite a good score (or so i have found anyways)

Reply 9

aggar

Thanks guys. I agree that the time limit is insane, but that said, I've heard people only doing half the questions but getting them right and scoring above 700.

Reply 10

AWZC

The maths is easy, the time given is tricky.

Reply 11

AnonymousPenguin

maths is easy. I got to 31, guessed to 36 and did the last four. Ended up with 760.

Reply 12

LozengeC

I found the timing an issue. =P I got 690 though, so I couldn't have done that badly, especially as I guessed about 15-20 questions quickly. :p:

It might be best to go through at the start looking at reasonable answers for 2/3 minutes, and then try to answer them properly? =]

Good luck! :biggrin:

Reply 13

Kathryn128

The maths is fine, the timing's the issue.

To be honest, I only got about about halfway through before I had to start blind guessing to finish in time. And, as you can see, it was my highest score :confused:

And it was terrible guessing.

Reply 14

Summer2

i hate ukcat.....the amths is so hard!! i cant even answer any :frown:

Reply 15

IAmMclovin

Out of the UKCAT revision/prep websites, which is the best/most useful? :smile:

Reply 16

kingcoltzan

The 600 UKCAT book, your own brain and time and possibly if you have money to spare the Kaplan course :smile:

Reply 17

IAmMclovin

Original post by kingcoltzan

The 600 UKCAT book, your own brain and time and possibly if you have money to spare the Kaplan course :smile:

yeah, i was going to use them as well, im just looking for a bank of questions that will last me for a while for light practice , cos i dont want to use up the ukcat book yet :smile:

Reply 18

anoldbaby

going through the 600 then the practise test on the ukcat web site should be more than enough

u can go hunt around more q's if u still need more then

Reply 19

Panda89

Original post by IAmMclovin

Out of the UKCAT revision/prep websites, which is the best/most useful? :smile:

I've only used Emedica and Onexamination, so I can't comment on Medify (although I've heard that it's very good for AR). I would highly recommend Emedica. I think there are ~10 mocks for each section and they get progressively harder - the later ones definitely match the level of the real test. On the other hand, I didn't find Onexamination all that helpful, but if you want some really tough DA questions then by all means go for it (I have to say, in my mocks, DA was constantly my best section, yet it was one of the lowest in the actual test).

You can't forget the 600Q book, though. I'd thoroughly go through that book first before supplement your revision with online resources. You could also try Kaplan - there are many people who recommend it for all the sections, especially for QR.