The Student Room Group

Bad ukcat results and getting into medicine 2017

So I've been waiting until I actually sat my UKCAT exam to post this because I knew I would eventually have to.

In my UKCAT exam today I scored:
VR-590
QR-600
AR-640
SJ-Band 2

I'm going to take the BMAT in November and hope for the best with that. I just want to know what my chances in medicine are.

GCSE's and Extra Qualifications: 1 A*, 9 A's, 6 B's and 1 C
AS Level subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English Language and Literature(results pending) + EPQ

Any advice and options for unis will help pls. Thanks
(edited 7 years ago)

Scroll to see replies

Original post by imanonymous123
So I've been waiting until I actually sat my UKCAT exam to post this because I knew I would eventually have to.

In my UKCAT exam today I scored:
VR-590
QR-600
AR-640
SJ-Band 2

I'm going to take the BMAT in November and hope for the best with that. I just want to know what my chances in medicine are.

GCSE's and Extra Qualifications: 1 A*, 9 A's, 6 B's and 1 C
AS Level subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English Language and Literature(results pending) + EPQ

Any advice and options for unis will help pls. Thanks


What did you get in decision making? Your UKCAT is not the strongest but provided your AS levels are AAAA and you've got good volunteering and work experience you can still apply to some UKCAT places eg keele. Avoid new castle, Kings college and other UKCAT heavy universities though. Will you be applying to one or two BMAT universities?
Original post by imanonymous123
So I've been waiting until I actually sat my UKCAT exam to post this because I knew I would eventually have to.

In my UKCAT exam today I scored:
VR-590
QR-600
AR-640
SJ-Band 2

I'm going to take the BMAT in November and hope for the best with that. I just want to know what my chances in medicine are.

GCSE's and Extra Qualifications: 1 A*, 9 A's, 6 B's and 1 C
AS Level subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English Language and Literature(results pending) + EPQ

Any advice and options for unis will help pls. Thanks


Sadly your UKCAT score is under the national average and this will mean that a lot of the medical schools will not consider or look favourably upon your score, meaning your application may suffer. But dont fear there are other options.

Have a look at medical schools which only use the UKCAT very slightly such as bristol and Keele.
You may be stuck in the unfortunate situation of having to risk putting 2 or 3 BMAT universities down on your application, so make sure your BMAT prep is very good. Have a look at Lancaster, BSMS, UCL, Imperial etc.

100% avoid these schools: Manchester, newcastle, exeter, southampton, Cardiff, Birmingham, Glasgow, St andrews, liverpool, plymouth, kings, barts, SGUL.
Original post by Pinkberry_y
What did you get in decision making? Your UKCAT is not the strongest but provided your AS levels are AAAA and you've got good volunteering and work experience you can still apply to some UKCAT places eg keele. Avoid new castle, Kings college and other UKCAT heavy universities though. Will you be applying to one or two BMAT universities?



This year was different and the Decision Making became Decision Analysis so we didn't get marked on it. And I'm waiting for Results Day next week but I'm hoping for the A's. I'll hopefully try to apply for one BMAT because I don't want to risk not getting a great result in November. So far, I've had work experience had a GP and a Pharmacy and I've got my hospital one coming up. And I currently volunteer at Oxfam and as a childminder.
Original post by Natalierm2707
Sadly your UKCAT score is under the national average and this will mean that a lot of the medical schools will not consider or look favourably upon your score, meaning your application may suffer. But dont fear there are other options.

Have a look at medical schools which only use the UKCAT very slightly such as bristol and Keele.
You may be stuck in the unfortunate situation of having to risk putting 2 or 3 BMAT universities down on your application, so make sure your BMAT prep is very good. Have a look at Lancaster, BSMS, UCL, Imperial etc.

100% avoid these schools: Manchester, newcastle, exeter, southampton, Cardiff, Birmingham, Glasgow, St andrews, liverpool, plymouth, kings, barts, SGUL.


I'm going to apply for one BMAT because I don't want to risk getting a bad result in November but I will start prepping for it now. I'm going to wait until Results Day and see how it goes.
Avoid the medical schools that look at the sj band(for example Edinburgh)
Original post by imanonymous123
This year was different and the Decision Making became Decision Analysis so we didn't get marked on it. And I'm waiting for Results Day next week but I'm hoping for the A's. I'll hopefully try to apply for one BMAT because I don't want to risk not getting a great result in November. So far, I've had work experience had a GP and a Pharmacy and I've got my hospital one coming up. And I currently volunteer at Oxfam and as a childminder.


Sorry meant analysis, don't know I wrote making :biggrin:. I know what you mean about the risk factor, I only applied to one as well (did 2 UKCAT, 1 personal statement, 1 BMAT). You sound like you've got a strong volunteering and work experience. Make sure you reflect reflect reflect on this in your personal statement and interviews. Say what these experiences taught you, how they made you want to become a doctor, how they will make you a better doctor, what you learnt about the negative and positive sides of being a doctor, importance of mutli-disciplinary team etc! Let me know if you need any advice about the application process :smile:
Reply 7
Original post by imanonymous123
So I've been waiting until I actually sat my UKCAT exam to post this because I knew I would eventually have to.

In my UKCAT exam today I scored:
VR-590
QR-600
AR-640
SJ-Band 2

I'm going to take the BMAT in November and hope for the best with that. I just want to know what my chances in medicine are.

GCSE's and Extra Qualifications: 1 A*, 9 A's, 6 B's and 1 C
AS Level subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English Language and Literature(results pending) + EPQ

Any advice and options for unis will help pls. Thanks


Do you have any idea why you may have done bad?, Was it due to nerves or did you not prep enough? I feel i'm trying to prepare a lot, but because I know how important the test is, and what lies with it's result, i'm becoming really stressed and nervous!*
Original post by Pinkberry_y
Sorry meant analysis, don't know I wrote making :biggrin:. I know what you mean about the risk factor, I only applied to one as well (did 2 UKCAT, 1 personal statement, 1 BMAT). You sound like you've got a strong volunteering and work experience. Make sure you reflect reflect reflect on this in your personal statement and interviews. Say what these experiences taught you, how they made you want to become a doctor, how they will make you a better doctor, what you learnt about the negative and positive sides of being a doctor, importance of mutli-disciplinary team etc! Let me know if you need any advice about the application process :smile:


Yes, I've tried to talk about my work experience as much as possible without overloading my statement. Yes, I would like some advice about the application process. To what extent does the personal statement affect my entry? As in will it be seen as a last resort? Some unis say that it does matter whereas they say that they mostly focus on the academics and UKCAT/BMAT. And if you don't mind me asking, what were your stats?
Original post by Junioh
Avoid the medical schools that look at the sj band(for example Edinburgh)


I'm definitely avoiding Edinburgh, what are other examples of unis that look at the SJ band as well?
Original post by 123ash
Do you have any idea why you may have done bad?, Was it due to nerves or did you not prep enough? I feel i'm trying to prepare a lot, but because I know how important the test is, and what lies with it's result, i'm becoming really stressed and nervous!*


I prepared the normal amount of time which is about 1 or 2 hours a day over a period of 4 weeks+ and I did loads of mocks at home which I actually did good in. And I completed the 1000 UKCAT book a few times. But in the end I just got really nervous, and I started shaking during the exam because I was so stressed. I started focusing more on the time left than the actual questions and as you can see I improved as I went along but not as well as I expected. The VR was tough, the time went by and I ended up having 1 minute left and loads of questions left so I just kept on clicking a random choice and pressing next. Even though, I practiced under timed conditions many times previously, it was nothing like I expected.
Original post by imanonymous123
Yes, I've tried to talk about my work experience as much as possible without overloading my statement. Yes, I would like some advice about the application process. To what extent does the personal statement affect my entry? As in will it be seen as a last resort? Some unis say that it does matter whereas they say that they mostly focus on the academics and UKCAT/BMAT. And if you don't mind me asking, what were your stats?

Personal statement depends on the uni. Obviously unis which have no entrance tests will be mainly looking at that. I know Imperial take a more holistic approach and look at it along with your GCSE, predicted grades after they've decided you're above the BMAT threshold. It will be looked at by all the unis to check things like motivation for medicine etc, but I'm not really sure the exact weight personal statement holds for each uni. I wouldn't worry about it too much though, so long as it's clearly written and nicely, you've reflected well on your experiences and not just listed, included a few hobbies and extra reading you should be fine. Get teachers in your school to read it and critique it. I printed out like 6 copies and gave it to my form tutor, head of 6th form, biology teachers, careers lady and head of Oxbridge applications to read and their feedback was helpful. though sometimes take that feedback with a pinch of salt as at the end of the day they're not medics.
My UKCAT was 660 and BMAT was 5.4, 6.1 and 4A
Original post by imanonymous123
I'm definitely avoiding Edinburgh, what are other examples of unis that look at the SJ band as well?


just googled it and found this, check out this website: https://www.jobtestprep.co.uk/ukcat_universities
i can only speak for scottish medical schools: aberdeen(yes, if the ukcat score is similar) dundee(yes, same as aberdeen) glasgow(no)
Original post by imanonymous123
I prepared the normal amount of time which is about 1 or 2 hours a day over a period of 4 weeks+ and I did loads of mocks at home which I actually did good in. And I completed the 1000 UKCAT book a few times. But in the end I just got really nervous, and I started shaking during the exam because I was so stressed. I started focusing more on the time left than the actual questions and as you can see I improved as I went along but not as well as I expected. The VR was tough, the time went by and I ended up having 1 minute left and loads of questions left so I just kept on clicking a random choice and pressing next. Even though, I practiced under timed conditions many times previously, it was nothing like I expected.


exactly what happened to my ukcat..
the vr was a nightmare, i was brain dead after two minutes, then started guessing
don't worry too much, it's done now, so focus on bmat or avoid ukcat heavy unis
Original post by Pinkberry_y
Personal statement depends on the uni. Obviously unis which have no entrance tests will be mainly looking at that. I know Imperial take a more holistic approach and look at it along with your GCSE, predicted grades after they've decided you're above the BMAT threshold. It will be looked at by all the unis to check things like motivation for medicine etc, but I'm not really sure the exact weight personal statement holds for each uni. I wouldn't worry about it too much though, so long as it's clearly written and nicely, you've reflected well on your experiences and not just listed, included a few hobbies and extra reading you should be fine. Get teachers in your school to read it and critique it. I printed out like 6 copies and gave it to my form tutor, head of 6th form, biology teachers, careers lady and head of Oxbridge applications to read and their feedback was helpful. though sometimes take that feedback with a pinch of salt as at the end of the day they're not medics.
My UKCAT was 660 and BMAT was 5.4, 6.1 and 4A


I have to wait until school re-opens to ask my teachers but I definitely will be printing out loads of copies to give to my head of sixth form. I need to cut it down as it has vastly exceeded the character limit. And did you get all of the interviews with your UKCAT score?
Original post by imanonymous123
I have to wait until school re-opens to ask my teachers but I definitely will be printing out loads of copies to give to my head of sixth form. I need to cut it down as it has vastly exceeded the character limit. And did you get all of the interviews with your UKCAT score?

I applied to 2 UKCAT, 1 BMAT, and 1 personal statement (Lancaster- in my year it was personal statement only, now it's BMAT). The only rejection I got was from Lancaster. I received interviews and offers from the other 3
Original post by Junioh
just googled it and found this, check out this website: https://www.jobtestprep.co.uk/ukcat_universities
i can only speak for scottish medical schools: aberdeen(yes, if the ukcat score is similar) dundee(yes, same as aberdeen) glasgow(no)


Thanks, I'll check out others and see.
Reply 17
Original post by imanonymous123
I prepared the normal amount of time which is about 1 or 2 hours a day over a period of 4 weeks+ and I did loads of mocks at home which I actually did good in. And I completed the 1000 UKCAT book a few times. But in the end I just got really nervous, and I started shaking during the exam because I was so stressed. I started focusing more on the time left than the actual questions and as you can see I improved as I went along but not as well as I expected. The VR was tough, the time went by and I ended up having 1 minute left and loads of questions left so I just kept on clicking a random choice and pressing next. Even though, I practiced under timed conditions many times previously, it was nothing like I expected.


Thanks for the reply. I keep telling myself I need to relax. I'm applying for GEM, so really need a high score if i'm to stand a chance, the thought of that makes me VERY nervous!

Good luck with your BMAT!
Original post by Pinkberry_y
I applied to 2 UKCAT, 1 BMAT, and 1 personal statement (Lancaster- in my year it was personal statement only, now it's BMAT). The only rejection I got was from Lancaster. I received interviews and offers from the other 3


That's great, I want to apply for either Lancaster or Brighton and Sussex for my BMAT option but I guess I'll just wait until school starts again so I can speak to my head of sixth form.
Original post by Junioh
exactly what happened to my ukcat..
the vr was a nightmare, i was brain dead after two minutes, then started guessing
don't worry too much, it's done now, so focus on bmat or avoid ukcat heavy unis


The VR was awful. And I assumed as I took English that I was used to reading large amount of content in a short space of time. But I ended up panicking halfway and it wasn't until I had the one minute before the next subtest started that I realised how stressed out I really was. And I'm focusing on avoiding ukcat heavy, I'll hopefully only need to apply to one BMAT uni as I don't want to risk another bad result in November.

Quick Reply

Latest