The UKCAT for Dentistry

The UKCAT stands for the 'United Kingdom Clinical Aptitude Test' and is an admissions test used by nine out of the thirteen dental schools in the UK.

The test is sat between 5 July and 7 October and should be taken by applicants who are planning to apply to Dentistry in the October of the same year. The test lasts around two hours and tests mental aptitude and ability and is not a test of knowledge. It is made up of four sections: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning and Decision Analysis and each test different skills. 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 national average. For more information on how the UKCAT is scored, see here.

The UKCAT is used differently by different dental schools, and some don't use it at all in their admissions process.

For more information, take a look at the Official UKCAT website: http://www.ukcat.ac.uk/ and if after reading you have other questions that have not yet been answered, ask them in this thread.

Important Dates

Registration opens: 5 May 2011

Bursary applications processed from: 5 May 2011

Testing begins: 5 July 2011

Registration deadline: 23 September 2011

Bursary application deadline: 23 September 2011

Exemption application deadline: 23 September 2011

Last testing date: 7 October 2011

UCAS application deadline: 15 October 2011

Costs

Sit the test between 5 July and 31 August 2010: £65 EU / £100 for Non-EU

Sit the test between 1 September and 7 October 2011: £80 EU / £100 Non EU

If you are in receipt of Income Support or Educational Maintenance Allowance at the top rate (£30) you can apply for a bursary voucher entitled to the full cost of the exam. You can apply for the voucher by filling out a form found on the UKCAT website and attaching adequate evidence of your eligibility with this form. The bursary voucher is received by e-mail, which you need to keep as the number on the voucher is needed when booking your UKCAT exam.

The UKCAT is made up of four subsections - Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning and Decision Analysis.

Each of the sections are scored on a scale between 300 and 900. The higher the score, the better.
The test is designed so that the national average will be around 600, though this will vary from year to year.
The majority of applicants will score an average between 500 and 700, with exponentially less numbers as the difference from the mean increases.

It is worth noting that the majority of dental schools will use either an average or a total score, rather than look at individual subsections. As such, if you do badly on one particular subsection it does not necessarily mean you will not get in to dental school.

Although you essentially cannot "revise" for the UKCAT as it is not a test of knowledge, some preparation is essential so that you are familiar with the time-limits and style of questions in the test.

• The most recommended book to practice with is the 'Get into Medicine - 600 UKCAT Practice Questions'. Comments gathered from this forum show that this is the most realistic, and therefore the most useful preparation book to use. Members agree that most questions match the level of the exam, except for quantitative reasoning which is harder in the book - but provides excellent practice for the most challenging questions.

• There are practice tests which simulate the real exam, available to download from the Official UKCAT website. It is advisable to complete at at least one of these official tests, in order to familiarise yourself with the strict time limits, screen layout and on-screen calculator.

• There is also this thread on The Student Room which offers a host of alternative resources specific to each section of the UKCAT. Credit goes to Lu-x of the medicine forum for finding and compiling these resources together.