I'm currently in year 12 and I have done my internal exams. I have my maths exams in may and I am aiming for full UMS. When should I begin to prepare for my UKCAT because I would ideally like to do it mid August. Is it to early to start now if I am hoping for a high score (above 650)? Also are there any particular books I should buy or any courses?
I'm currently in year 12 and I have done my internal exams. I have my maths exams in may and I am aiming for full UMS. When should I begin to prepare for my UKCAT because I would ideally like to do it mid August. Is it to early to start now if I am hoping for a high score (above 650)? Also are there any particular books I should buy or any courses?
Start 2-3 weeks before you exam. Get medify for a few weeks. its not a test that you can revise for, it's testing your mental ability therefore get familiar with the timing. Spend lots of time on the AR section as that is something that you work on more than the other sections
I'm currently in year 12 and I have done my internal exams. I have my maths exams in may and I am aiming for full UMS. When should I begin to prepare for my UKCAT because I would ideally like to do it mid August. Is it to early to start now if I am hoping for a high score (above 650)? Also are there any particular books I should buy or any courses?
Hey, don't worry about it yet. I did mine on 19th August and started prep about the 1st of August. However, I wished I'd started earlier as right up until the day before I was getting average scores but on the day I came out with a very good score. I definitely wouldn't worry about it until your school exams are completely finished, you have ages and there is such a thing as overpreparation as the UKCAT is not like a normal exam, it essentially tests how you think. Most people recommend around 4 weeks of preparation which in hindsight I would agree with. But for sure focus on school first, no need to overload yourself with stress. You can always rebook the test closer to the time if you think you are underprepared. I used the UKCAT online tests on their website and the 650 UKCAT questions book and that worked fine for me.
I'm currently in year 12 and I have done my internal exams. I have my maths exams in may and I am aiming for full UMS. When should I begin to prepare for my UKCAT because I would ideally like to do it mid August. Is it to early to start now if I am hoping for a high score (above 650)? Also are there any particular books I should buy or any courses?
When I did mine I started about a month or so before the actual date of the exam
Start 2-3 weeks before you exam. Get medify for a few weeks. its not a test that you can revise for, it's testing your mental ability therefore get familiar with the timing. Spend lots of time on the AR section as that is something that you work on more than the other sections
Does medify use the exam format? Would you recommend intense revision a few weeks before the exam or doing 2/3 hours from now up until my exam?
Hey, don't worry about it yet. I did mine on 19th August and started prep about the 1st of August. However, I wished I'd started earlier as right up until the day before I was getting average scores but on the day I came out with a very good score. I definitely wouldn't worry about it until your school exams are completely finished, you have ages and there is such a thing as overpreparation as the UKCAT is not like a normal exam, it essentially tests how you think. Most people recommend around 4 weeks of preparation which in hindsight I would agree with. But for sure focus on school first, no need to overload yourself with stress. You can always rebook the test closer to the time if you think you are underprepared. I used the UKCAT online tests on their website and the 650 UKCAT questions book and that worked fine for me.
4 weeks on intense revision? How did you improve your score,was it mainly on practise questions or did you practise particular techniques? I will definitely check out the UKCAT website and look at which books I need to buy aswell.Thank you
Was it enough time? I originally planned on starting to prepare in the summer but I know people who are already doing practise papers.
It definitely was for me! Mind, I was vaguely looking at the styles of questions like a good 6 weeks before, just to familiarise myself with them and only properly started revision a month before and that worked out fine for me. But it may be different for you. There's no point worrying about when to start, the key concept here is making sure you understand exactly what the questions entail and familiarise yourself with not only the questions but also the time pressure! Plan your time out effectively, pencil down when you want to do each one of the five (it may have changed this year) sections and start whenever you feel it would be effective!
It definitely was for me! Mind, I was vaguely looking at the styles of questions like a good 6 weeks before, just to familiarise myself with them and only properly started revision a month before and that worked out fine for me. But it may be different for you. There's no point worrying about when to start, the key concept here is making sure you understand exactly what the questions entail and familiarise yourself with not only the questions but also the time pressure! Plan your time out effectively, pencil down when you want to do each one of the five (it may have changed this year) sections and start whenever you feel it would be effective!
Tysm, I will probably not worry about my UKCAT till early July and for that month just focus on the question types and different sections to see what they want me to be able to do. Does the SJ form part of the final score or do you only get a band for it?
4 weeks on intense revision? How did you improve your score,was it mainly on practise questions or did you practise particular techniques? I will definitely check out the UKCAT website and look at which books I need to buy aswell.Thank you
4 weeks steady revision, have a life as well, you don't need to do 10 hours a day, a few will do. I just did practice questions and targeted the sections I was worst at, remember to do it timed as well towards the end of your revision because that's what makes it so difficult. I think there were timed ones available on the website. Also, I found the test on the day easier than the resources I used if that makes you feel any better about it. My actual score went up a lot compared to the practice runs. When you have your score you can apply tactically to your universities depending on what they use in their admissions process. A bad UKCAT does not necessarily mean no interview, and there is always the option to sit the BMAT in November.
Tysm, I will probably not worry about my UKCAT till early July and for that month just focus on the question types and different sections to see what they want me to be able to do. Does the SJ form part of the final score or do you only get a band for it?
Well, two years ago the SJ was just a band that didn't form a part of the final score but I would expect it to be different now..
When you can, I would recommend practising in timed conditions, the timing for the UKCAT is ridiculous!
Well, two years ago the SJ was just a band that didn't form a part of the final score but I would expect it to be different now..
When you can, I would recommend practising in timed conditions, the timing for the UKCAT is ridiculous!
Okay I'll look into the SJ on the UKCAT website. If I struggle with timing is it worth skipping questions and moving onto the next part rather than running out of time?
It was a band last year and I'm not aware of any plans to change it
I just looked on their site, it is still given in a band form and doesn't make up the final score, however, I think it is considered by uni's (some uni's had already started considering it when I took it so I take it a lot more uni's may take it into consideration now.)
I started two-three weeks before my ukcat and I did all the questions on 'Medify' over and over and I got 630(VR), 900(QR), 680(AR) so 737 average. Best time to start thinking about is after AS levels
4 weeks steady revision, have a life as well, you don't need to do 10 hours a day, a few will do. I just did practice questions and targeted the sections I was worst at, remember to do it timed as well towards the end of your revision because that's what makes it so difficult. I think there were timed ones available on the website. Also, I found the test on the day easier than the resources I used if that makes you feel any better about it. My actual score went up a lot compared to the practice runs. When you have your score you can apply tactically to your universities depending on what they use in their admissions process. A bad UKCAT does not necessarily mean no interview, and there is always the option to sit the BMAT in November.
Okay I'll try remember that and not do too much revision.Does medify offer timed papers? I've heard the Kaplan book is a lot harder than the actual thing so I may get that aswell to practise as many different questions as I can. I am also intending on doing the BMAT which is why I want to get the UKCAT done by mid august so I can begin on my BMAT prep. Did you do the BMAT aswell?
I just looked on their site, it is still given in a band form and doesn't make up the final score, however, I think it is considered by uni's (some uni's had already started considering it when I took it so I take it a lot more uni's may take it into consideration now.)
Oh okay,thanks for letting me know I'll check the websites of the unis I am interested in to see how much they consider the UKCAT and SJ scores.
I started two-three weeks before my ukcat and I did all the questions on 'Medify' over and over and I got 630(VR), 900(QR), 680(AR) so 737 average. Best time to start thinking about is after AS levels
you did so well and only with 2/3 weeks worth of revision, well done. I will definitely need a more revision time to get a score as high as yours. I will also use medify because a lot of people have recommended it to me
Okay I'll look into the SJ on the UKCAT website. If I struggle with timing is it worth skipping questions and moving onto the next part rather than running out of time?
Yes. All questions are weighted equally so no point wasting too much time on hard ones. Put a random guess, flag the question and come back at the end if you have time.
Yes. All questions are weighted equally so no point wasting too much time on hard ones. Put a random guess, flag the question and come back at the end if you have time.
Okay, do you not lose marks if you don't answer all the questions?