t0thetop's DIY UCAT guide

Hello everyone! I'm sorry that I didn't write this sooner, but better late than never, and I hope it can be useful for future applicants as well (assuming they don't change the UCAT format).

Please note that this is purely my own experiences and I cannot tell you specifically what it is that each of you should do - there is no one-size-fits-all approach to any test, especially one designed to differentiate between highly capable applicants to a highly competitive course.

This UCAT thread is intended to help you with your preparation and guide you through what I did for the UCAT, as well as to pass on some of my reflections as I look back. For reference, I am a gap year student, and I will be studying medicine at Nottingham this September.

The first time I sat the UKCAT my score was as follows:

Verbal reasoning: 820
Decision making: 820
Quantitative reasoning: 870
Abstract reasoning: 660
Situational Judgement: Band 2

Total: 3170 = average of 792.5

In this first year, the UCAT was done at home via remote proctoring (webcam monitored).

The second time I sat the UCAT my score was:

Verbal reasoning: 740
Decision making: 850
Quantitative reasoning: 880
Abstract reasoning: 830
Situational Judgement: Band 2

Total: 3300 = average of 825

This time, I went to a test centre to do the test.

Some considerations:
- On the second attempt, the increase in score could have been due to having had prior experience of what the test was going to be like, and being better prepared as a result.
- You should also consider the result of any random chance - e.g. a question which is an outlier in terms of difficulty, or the result of any guesses you make.
- Your mental state on the day may have an impact on your performance, you might feel tired or stressed, and so predicting your performance can be difficult.

Overview

I assume that you are familiar with the format of the UCAT: a 2 hour long test, with five sections.

Verbal reasoning: 44 questions, 21 mins
Decision making: 29 questions, 31 mins
Quantitative reasoning: 36 questions, 25 mins
Abstract reasoning: 50 questions, 12 mins
Situational judgement: 66 questions, 26 mins

For more information: https://www.ucat.ac.uk/about-ucat/test-format/

Preparation

The first time around, I just used the UCAT official mock tests (https://www.ucat.ac.uk/prepare/practice-tests/). These tests are what I logically believed to be the most accurate representation of the real thing, and so are an incredibly valuable resource that you can use to prepare (and one that everyone should use!). I used the first test (test A, timed) as a diagnostic test - to see what I would have gotten if I had sat down and sat the real thing right there and then. From that, you should go through each of the questions, even the ones you got right, in order to make sure that you understand the reasoning behind why the answer you chose was wrong, and to check that you chose the correct one for the right reasons.

Each of the other tests should also be done in the same manner - I aimed to spread them out with some days between them, always going through every question afterwards, and noting which sections I was struggling with so that I could focus on understanding the reasoning behind them more (as well as obviously getting some more practice). You can probably tell that Abstract reasoning was my least favourite section by my comparatively low score (I'll cover that later on).

Also note that the questions in the question bank are all from the tests, so I would recommend avoiding the question banks until you have finished all the tests.

My goal here was to understand the thought process behind getting the answer right - not to memorise the questions.

The most challenging part of the UCAT is the timing - I tended not to find the questions themselves hard, but the relentless pace of the test was something I struggled with initially. I would recommend doing practice questions from other tests (e.g. online abstract reasoning question banks, gcse maths papers [non calculator], logic questions etc.) as a way to strengthen your foundation of problem solving skills.

You should be able to answer most, if not all questions from each of the sections (quantitative in particular, since it's just maths) with little to no difficulty, and this will save you time that you can use on the more difficult or lengthy questions.

The second time I took the test, I used Medify. From what I remember, the questions on Medify followed a slightly different thought process to the official practice tests, but I found the vast quantity of Abstract reasoning questions useful, and I focused on this since I knew this to be a weakness (from the year before). I suspect this, along with a lack of reading over summer, contributed to my lower score in Verbal reasoning. The UCAT section approach lessons also helped me for abstract reasoning in particular since they described the common themes that I should be paying attention to, and the general patterns present in the actual exam.

I personally would not recommend using Medify - if you are confident and are doing fine in the official practice tests, then there are plenty of alternative free resources available that can be used instead. It is not essential to succeed in the UCAT - as evidenced by all the people who sit the UCAT without using Medify and who get interviews/offers.

One benefit of Medify is the number of questions and mock tests - in the first UCAT sitting, I had already gone through all the practice tests, so I wasn't getting a fresh set of questions and (although I incorporated the same approach as I used for the first sitting) I reasoned that it would not simulate the real test experience as effectively. I would do a set number of questions of each set each day, and I would do a practice test every so often. All the tests I did were under timed conditions, just to get used to the timings.

In all, I think I didn't even use a quarter of the available question material on Medify by the time I sat the test, and I gave my login details to a friend so she could use it to prepare (don't tell Medify ) since I still had a month left on the subscription.

I hear of cases of people preparing 2 months before their test, and if this is what works for you (e.g. if you revise for a similar period before exams and ace them) then feel free to continue. However, just because someone on youtube with a 3200 UCAT is raving about how you should cram every day for 6 weeks, doesn't mean it is a good approach. Sure, it might work for them and for a handful of others, but for me or you it likely won't work. Prepare over a reasonable timescale and plan it out - are you going to do a practice test every week? Are you going to do x amount of questions each day?

The danger is that you can overprepare and burn out before your test, and so may be sabotaging yourself.

Section specific thoughts

Verbal reasoning

This section really has a lot of time pressure since you spend time reading and rereading the text passages, and then have to make inferences about a specific part of it. Reading books and news articles could help you to get used to reading and analysing passages quickly, but practice is probably the best here.

Decision making

Pretty much just logical puzzles, I used to love doing these. BMAT section 1 can be useful for prep. Get used to the question styles and expect some common ones e.g. A sits next to B but on the left of C. C is between D and E. Who is on the left of X. etc. (you get the idea). Don't be afraid of using the whiteboard to quickly scribble a diagram to help make things clearer if you need to.

Quantitative reasoning

Maths - pretty basic. Not particularly hard but time pressure is a big factor for this section. Be prepared to do mental maths and practice doing this (e.g. maybe try gcse non calc questions done purely in your head). Mental maths speeds things up a lot, and again use the whiteboard to jot down numbers and carry out calculations if you really need to. Get used to the on-screen calculator and shortcuts, but if you're really fast, you can often just skip using the calculator as that takes longer than doing it either mentally or by hand (bus stop division as an example). Please be careful with the calculator - it's too easy to accidentally press the wrong number on the keyboard and mess the whole calculation up. Again don't hesitate to skip a question if you feel it will take you too long to do at that point in time.

Abstract reasoning

I used Medify the second time around, it was ok for the other sections, but I found it really helpful for AR specifically since it revolves around patterns. I can't remember the common patterns but there are a lot of free abstract reasoning questions around the web. I wouldn't worry about this section too much as it really can be guesswork, aim to get at least average.

Situational Judgement

I'm probably not the one to ask for advice on this since I did get Band 2 both times, but I thought it wasn't too bad - have a read of the GMC good medical practice and try to understand ethics/professionalism and choose your responses based on those.

On the day

Try not to let nerves get to you - treat it like any other test. I did an official practice paper and some questions on the morning of the test, just to warm up my brain. Try and avoid coffee/tea as they may make you want to go to the toilet during the test, and I don't think they pause the timer. Dress light, the test centre I went to was quite warm and it wasn't exactly ideal for test taking. Stay focused on the questions and 2 hours will fly by before you even know it. At the test centre they give you your results straight afterwards, so you don't have to spend days anxiously worrying .

General tips

- Don't be afraid to skip and flag questions if you think they will take too long
- Use keyboard shortcuts when you need them, but don't just use them for the sake of using them (if they save you time, go ahead) https://www.ucat.ac.uk/prepare/test-tools/
- If you are running out of time (e.g. 2 mins left and 6 questions flagged and unanswered), go through them and make guesses.
- The result of the guesswork will always be unpredictable, and when preparing always assume the worst i.e. you guessed wrong.
- Never leave a question unanswered
- Don't waste time and end a section early if you finish the questions - always review your answers and be double checking them (only exception to this might be the SJT since I always had spare time even after checking them over, and I didn't want to change them too much and potentially make more mistakes by overthinking)
- Identify bad habits and consciously avoid them (e.g. I have a bad habit of doubting myself, and I like to change my answers a lot as a result. My personal rule is if there is an obvious, logical reason as to why my first answer is wrong, then change it, but if there isn't then my first answer was probably right.)
- Try to not get distracted by anything during your test

Good luck everyone!

Feel free to ask any questions!

There is a thread you can add this to. Think it's this one....

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7240541&p=97561487&page=7#post97561487

My post got moved, I posted it in Medicine originally, not sure why
Thanks though

I would go for the thread for people preparing, rather than those already positing results, so
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7161733

Thank you both

Hello everyone! I'm sorry that I didn't write this sooner, but better late than never, and I hope it can be useful for future applicants as well (assuming they don't change the UCAT format).

Please note that this is purely my own experiences and I cannot tell you specifically what it is that each of you should do - there is no one-size-fits-all approach to any test, especially one designed to differentiate between highly capable applicants to a highly competitive course.

This UCAT thread is intended to help you with your preparation and guide you through what I did for the UCAT, as well as to pass on some of my reflections as I look back. For reference, I am a gap year student, and I will be studying medicine at Nottingham this September.

The first time I sat the UKCAT my score was as follows:

Verbal reasoning: 820
Decision making: 820
Quantitative reasoning: 870
Abstract reasoning: 660
Situational Judgement: Band 2

Total: 3170 = average of 792.5

In this first year, the UCAT was done at home via remote proctoring (webcam monitored).

The second time I sat the UCAT my score was:

Verbal reasoning: 740
Decision making: 850
Quantitative reasoning: 880
Abstract reasoning: 830
Situational Judgement: Band 2

Total: 3300 = average of 825

This time, I went to a test centre to do the test.

Some considerations:
- On the second attempt, the increase in score could have been due to having had prior experience of what the test was going to be like, and being better prepared as a result.
- You should also consider the result of any random chance - e.g. a question which is an outlier in terms of difficulty, or the result of any guesses you make.
- Your mental state on the day may have an impact on your performance, you might feel tired or stressed, and so predicting your performance can be difficult.

Overview

I assume that you are familiar with the format of the UCAT: a 2 hour long test, with five sections.

Verbal reasoning: 44 questions, 21 mins
Decision making: 29 questions, 31 mins
Quantitative reasoning: 36 questions, 25 mins
Abstract reasoning: 50 questions, 12 mins
Situational judgement: 66 questions, 26 mins

For more information: https://www.ucat.ac.uk/about-ucat/test-format/

Preparation

The first time around, I just used the UCAT official mock tests (https://www.ucat.ac.uk/prepare/practice-tests/). These tests are what I logically believed to be the most accurate representation of the real thing, and so are an incredibly valuable resource that you can use to prepare (and one that everyone should use!). I used the first test (test A, timed) as a diagnostic test - to see what I would have gotten if I had sat down and sat the real thing right there and then. From that, you should go through each of the questions, even the ones you got right, in order to make sure that you understand the reasoning behind why the answer you chose was wrong, and to check that you chose the correct one for the right reasons.

Each of the other tests should also be done in the same manner - I aimed to spread them out with some days between them, always going through every question afterwards, and noting which sections I was struggling with so that I could focus on understanding the reasoning behind them more (as well as obviously getting some more practice). You can probably tell that Abstract reasoning was my least favourite section by my comparatively low score (I'll cover that later on).

Also note that the questions in the question bank are all from the tests, so I would recommend avoiding the question banks until you have finished all the tests.

My goal here was to understand the thought process behind getting the answer right - not to memorise the questions.

The most challenging part of the UCAT is the timing - I tended not to find the questions themselves hard, but the relentless pace of the test was something I struggled with initially. I would recommend doing practice questions from other tests (e.g. online abstract reasoning question banks, gcse maths papers [non calculator], logic questions etc.) as a way to strengthen your foundation of problem solving skills.

You should be able to answer most, if not all questions from each of the sections (quantitative in particular, since it's just maths) with little to no difficulty, and this will save you time that you can use on the more difficult or lengthy questions.

The second time I took the test, I used Medify. From what I remember, the questions on Medify followed a slightly different thought process to the official practice tests, but I found the vast quantity of Abstract reasoning questions useful, and I focused on this since I knew this to be a weakness (from the year before). I suspect this, along with a lack of reading over summer, contributed to my lower score in Verbal reasoning. The UCAT section approach lessons also helped me for abstract reasoning in particular since they described the common themes that I should be paying attention to, and the general patterns present in the actual exam.

I personally would not recommend using Medify - if you are confident and are doing fine in the official practice tests, then there are plenty of alternative free resources available that can be used instead. It is not essential to succeed in the UCAT - as evidenced by all the people who sit the UCAT without using Medify and who get interviews/offers.

One benefit of Medify is the number of questions and mock tests - in the first UCAT sitting, I had already gone through all the practice tests, so I wasn't getting a fresh set of questions and (although I incorporated the same approach as I used for the first sitting) I reasoned that it would not simulate the real test experience as effectively. I would do a set number of questions of each set each day, and I would do a practice test every so often. All the tests I did were under timed conditions, just to get used to the timings.

In all, I think I didn't even use a quarter of the available question material on Medify by the time I sat the test, and I gave my login details to a friend so she could use it to prepare (don't tell Medify ) since I still had a month left on the subscription.

I hear of cases of people preparing 2 months before their test, and if this is what works for you (e.g. if you revise for a similar period before exams and ace them) then feel free to continue. However, just because someone on youtube with a 3200 UCAT is raving about how you should cram every day for 6 weeks, doesn't mean it is a good approach. Sure, it might work for them and for a handful of others, but for me or you it likely won't work. Prepare over a reasonable timescale and plan it out - are you going to do a practice test every week? Are you going to do x amount of questions each day?

The danger is that you can overprepare and burn out before your test, and so may be sabotaging yourself.

Section specific thoughts

Verbal reasoning

This section really has a lot of time pressure since you spend time reading and rereading the text passages, and then have to make inferences about a specific part of it. Reading books and news articles could help you to get used to reading and analysing passages quickly, but practice is probably the best here.

Decision making

Pretty much just logical puzzles, I used to love doing these. BMAT section 1 can be useful for prep. Get used to the question styles and expect some common ones e.g. A sits next to B but on the left of C. C is between D and E. Who is on the left of X. etc. (you get the idea). Don't be afraid of using the whiteboard to quickly scribble a diagram to help make things clearer if you need to.

Quantitative reasoning

Maths - pretty basic. Not particularly hard but time pressure is a big factor for this section. Be prepared to do mental maths and practice doing this (e.g. maybe try gcse non calc questions done purely in your head). Mental maths speeds things up a lot, and again use the whiteboard to jot down numbers and carry out calculations if you really need to. Get used to the on-screen calculator and shortcuts, but if you're really fast, you can often just skip using the calculator as that takes longer than doing it either mentally or by hand (bus stop division as an example). Please be careful with the calculator - it's too easy to accidentally press the wrong number on the keyboard and mess the whole calculation up. Again don't hesitate to skip a question if you feel it will take you too long to do at that point in time.

Abstract reasoning

I used Medify the second time around, it was ok for the other sections, but I found it really helpful for AR specifically since it revolves around patterns. I can't remember the common patterns but there are a lot of free abstract reasoning questions around the web. I wouldn't worry about this section too much as it really can be guesswork, aim to get at least average.

Situational Judgement

I'm probably not the one to ask for advice on this since I did get Band 2 both times, but I thought it wasn't too bad - have a read of the GMC good medical practice and try to understand ethics/professionalism and choose your responses based on those.

On the day

Try not to let nerves get to you - treat it like any other test. I did an official practice paper and some questions on the morning of the test, just to warm up my brain. Try and avoid coffee/tea as they may make you want to go to the toilet during the test, and I don't think they pause the timer. Dress light, the test centre I went to was quite warm and it wasn't exactly ideal for test taking. Stay focused on the questions and 2 hours will fly by before you even know it. At the test centre they give you your results straight afterwards, so you don't have to spend days anxiously worrying .

General tips

- Don't be afraid to skip and flag questions if you think they will take too long
- Use keyboard shortcuts when you need them, but don't just use them for the sake of using them (if they save you time, go ahead) https://www.ucat.ac.uk/prepare/test-tools/
- If you are running out of time (e.g. 2 mins left and 6 questions flagged and unanswered), go through them and make guesses.
- The result of the guesswork will always be unpredictable, and when preparing always assume the worst i.e. you guessed wrong.
- Never leave a question unanswered
- Don't waste time and end a section early if you finish the questions - always review your answers and be double checking them (only exception to this might be the SJT since I always had spare time even after checking them over, and I didn't want to change them too much and potentially make more mistakes by overthinking)
- Identify bad habits and consciously avoid them (e.g. I have a bad habit of doubting myself, and I like to change my answers a lot as a result. My personal rule is if there is an obvious, logical reason as to why my first answer is wrong, then change it, but if there isn't then my first answer was probably right.)
- Try to not get distracted by anything during your test

Good luck everyone!

Feel free to ask any questions!

Thank you!! This was very helpful 🙂

I was just wondering, do you remember your overall score if you did a set of questions for the very first time (as in with 0% preparation and not having practised or tried any questions beforehand)?

You're welcome!

Unfortunately the only time I did a set of questions without preparing was over 3 years ago now and my memory isn't that good 😅 sorry!

Good luck!
(PS: the UCAT doesn't matter as much as you'd think - a decent score will be enough - interviews matter more 🙂 )