UKCAT for 2017 Entry to UK

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Just a bit of reassurance for people who are panicking - I started using the 1000 Qs book about a week ago, panicked a lot and used a friend's medify login to do mock one. I got a 543 average with 430 in AR, so panic was really setting in. That was last night. This morning I did the real thing, got VR 700 QR 770 AR 890 and SJT Band 1. Obviously I'm delighted, but considering how stressed and worried I was 12 hours ago just remember that things can go a lot better in the real exam than in practice, stay calm and what happens happens.

VR, I had almost all T/F/CT questions, and an awful lot of them were CT which did freak me out. I'd say don't be scared to hit CT, and of course the questions are taken randomly from a question bank so getting 8 (!) of them same answers in a row isn't necessarily a cause for concern. I ran out of time, leaving 5 questions unanswered.

During Decision Making I relaxed, breathed deep, and did a few questions when I felt like it. Right in the middle of that section was a group of questions that looked very QR: interpreting data from a bar chart, comparing sales figures, percentage change, etc. I'd been clicking so fast I was worried that I'd clicked right through into the QR section, but no, it would be very difficult to do that. You're not allowed water in the room, so I took the opportunity to get a drink.

QR, I think I was quite lucky as most of my questions seemed to be percentage oriented which is quick once you get in the groove. I had mostly short questions, and none of my most dreaded speed/distance/time ones. I don't own a desktop computer so hadn't practiced with the keypad, but it was a lifesaver. Definitely familiarise yourself with it if you can. I ran out of time, not sure how many questions were left but I know it was under 12.

AR was almost all type 1, a few type 3 as well. They nearly all were simple patterns, only a couple had two conditions. It was a lot lot easier than in the 1000 Qs book and the medify mock 1 I did. I actually noticed when I was running out of time this time, and quickly guessed my remaining 5 or 6 questions. I think that is why my AR score is much higher than my others, so definitely aim to stop 30-45 seconds before you run out of time to guess the remaining questions.

SJT was weird, not as many clear cut situations as I had seen before. I've never got higher than Band 2 before so I don't really know what happened there. I found that most the scenarios I had were very short, and the questions also were short, so I finished with time to spare.

Good luck guys!

Reply 2461

Original post by kimsiclez

Amazing work, I'm sure it will prove useful! Ctrl+F flags the question *

Aww hopefully thank you. :smile:

Ahh I see are you sure the flag isn't Alt + F?

Reply 2462

S.G.

Would you say 650 average is an decent score?

Reply 2463

Original post by manlike99

That is Alt-F. He means Ctrl-F which in normal internet and word document, searches for a particular word, unfortunately this does not work in the exam

Hi, are you sure it doesn't work? Like have you actually tried it recently? :redface:

Reply 2464

rayrk

Honestly, just go for it. The mocks can vary in difficulty. AR and QR are in easier the day of. VR is just constantly hard for most because of time.

Reply 2465

rayrk

Guys, I think it's alt F not ctrl...

Reply 2466

manlike99

Original post by I <3 WORK

Hi, are you sure it doesn't work? Like have you actually tried it recently? :redface:

Yes, that would be retarded of Pearson if it worked

Reply 2467

manlike99

Original post by rayrk

Guys, I think it's alt F not ctrl...

No, Alt-F is just to flag

Reply 2468

rayrk

Pretty sure alt+n also helped me go to the next question.

Reply 2469

Original post by manlike99

Yes, that would be retarded of Pearson if it worked

Haha lool, but seeing all the inconsistencies with VR questions, I can see why it could've worked. :wink:

Reply 2470

wesxd

Hey so I've just finished my UKCAT and got :

VR 630
QR 710
AR 680
SJT BAND 1
Total 2020

Not sure what to make of it not amazing but not bad. Not sure what unis to focus on now? Any help would mean loads :smile:

Reply 2471

Irukandji5

Hi, I've got my UKCAT tomorrow, I've only done the pactice tests mocks but my QR is terrible, does anyone have any tips? Thanks

Reply 2472

rayrk

Original post by Irukandji5

Hi, I've got my UKCAT tomorrow, I've only done the pactice tests mocks but my QR is terrible, does anyone have any tips? Thanks

I'd say not to trust any of the mocks for QR - they're all significantly longer (especially those with tables). So basically don't worry.

Most of the questions I have are brief with minimal calculations!

Reply 2473

VS Naipaul

Original post by studentsixth

What have people got in the first Medify mock?

I got 633.33 (without applying any strategies)

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 2474

erinls2

Original post by rayrk

I'd back this up - I'd been getting between 570 and 670 on the mocks, and I got 830 in the real thing today! Just keep an eye on the time and stick to a quota - don't be afraid to flag and move on, I did just that

Reply 2475

UniAdmissions

Original post by Irukandji5

Hi, I've got my UKCAT tomorrow, I've only done the pactice tests mocks but my QR is terrible, does anyone have any tips? Thanks

Hi Irukandji5

Hoping I can help a little...

Firstly, get familiar with the on screen calculator and use the calculator with the keyboard for speed, it's really important to practice this.

Make sure you look for hard questions and skip these straight away, there is no point in wasting valuable time. If the question is hard to understand, the data you need is complex or there are many stages to the calculation, then it is a hard question and you are best to move on. If moving on, just guess an answer and flag for review in case you get extra time later. There is no negative marking so always worth having guess.

I hope that is useful.

Good luck for tomorrow!

UniAdmissions

Reply 2476

Pra99

Isnt it quicker to use the mouse to go to the next question than to use alt-n? I know it would take me a few seconds to adjust my fingers.

Reply 2477

Irukandji5

Original post by erinls2

Thanks, and wow congrats on your score! I'm honstly resting most of my hopes on BMAT but yeah fingers crossed :smile:

Reply 2478

cookiemonster15

Original post by wesxd

heya

I got a similar average to you when I did my UKCAT last year and seriously, your UKCAT doesn't deter you from many uni's (Except I think it was Kings who wanted like 700 - but this might be different for this year) You can check uni websites online and if you can't find it, just give them an email - most of them are extremely nice :smile:

Reply 2479

erinls2

Original post by Irukandji5

Thanks, and wow congrats on your score! I'm honstly resting most of my hopes on BMAT but yeah fingers crossed :smile:

Thank you, I was honestly in shock lol :P

haha I'm the complete opposite - I've decided I don't want to apply to any of the BMAT uni's plus I don't actually want to do the BMAT :P I was going to apply to Oxford but I currently go to school in Oxford so I think it'd be good to move away, plus I don't really like the traditional course structure. Where are you going to apply, do you think?