UCAT extremely bad anxiety

Original post by yonoice

Hi,
I have 25 days left for UCAT and am in a really bad state I feel like I am struggling so much at abstract and pretty much every section in timings. Most people are already doing mocks and getting good scores whereas I am not after hours of practice. I am crying so much and really stressing out and panicking.

literally same 😭😭 my exams in 9 days and I haven't started prep yet so you've done so much more than me. if you know that you're doing your best then don't stress!! keep ur options open, don't only limit urself to medicine and hopefully we'll both do well : ))

Reply 2

OP

Original post by sum.jmb

literally same 😭😭 my exams in 9 days and I haven't started prep yet so you've done so much more than me. if you know that you're doing your best then don't stress!! keep ur options open, don't only limit urself to medicine and hopefully we'll both do well : ))

You are so sweet yes I am trying to stay strong 😭. Good luck for your exam let me know how it goes hope you do well.

Reply 3

Original post by yonoice

You are so sweet yes I am trying to stay strong 😭. Good luck for your exam let me know how it goes hope you do well.

no worries haha im so scared for my exam omd but I know that it's not really in my hands if I've done what I can ahhh, tell me if you have any tips pls

Reply 4

OP

Original post by sum.jmb

no worries haha im so scared for my exam omd but I know that it's not really in my hands if I've done what I can ahhh, tell me if you have any tips pls

I am trying to find tips myself haha I have been watching people do live prep mocks and getting above 700 which stresses me out even more 😭

Reply 5

OP

Original post by yonoice

I am trying to find tips myself haha I have been watching people do live prep mocks and getting above 700 which stresses me out even more 😭

I struggle a lot in verbal reasoning it's my worst section I just cannot skim read and retain

Reply 6

OP

Original post by yonoice

I struggle a lot in verbal reasoning it's my worst section I just cannot skim read and retain

I use medify which is pretty good but the verbal reasoning passages are so long

Reply 7

Bean_cat

15

Original post by yonoice

Hi,
I have 25 days left for UCAT and am in a really bad state I feel like I am struggling so much at abstract and pretty much every section in timings. Most people are already doing mocks and getting good scores whereas I am not after hours of practice. I am crying so much and really stressing out and panicking.

I'm sorry to hear about your situation, I've never taken that exam before but it truly sounds like a monstrosity to do. In regards to retaining information and improving scores try learning content in a variety of ways I'm not saying stick to reading and questions - what I mean is watching videos, listening to audio content, flash cards and revision posters scattered all over your walls. If there is something you're not that good at, then have a focus session on those things and try to search them up in depth. For me, something that helps me remember things is by associating them with something else. In regards to question wording, learn the keywords in detail and study the pattern of questions and try to draw patterns on what things are commonly asked, so you can have more familiarity with the test. If you are struggling with timings, try to give yourself more strict timings and condition yourself to that so that you can answer them with ease in the real thing. - Good Luck

Reply 8

Original post by Bean_cat

I'm sorry to hear about your situation, I've never taken that exam before but it truly sounds like a monstrosity to do. In regards to retaining information and improving scores try learning content in a variety of ways I'm not saying stick to reading and questions - what I mean is watching videos, listening to audio content, flash cards and revision posters scattered all over your walls. If there is something you're not that good at, then have a focus session on those things and try to search them up in depth. For me, something that helps me remember things is by associating them with something else. In regards to question wording, learn the keywords in detail and study the pattern of questions and try to draw patterns on what things are commonly asked, so you can have more familiarity with the test. If you are struggling with timings, try to give yourself more strict timings and condition yourself to that so that you can answer them with ease in the real thing. - Good Luck

the UCAT isn't based on learning content, it's about inferring and understanding a topic from an extract, essentially

Reply 9

Original post by yonoice

I use medify which is pretty good but the verbal reasoning passages are so long

yeahhhh im watching the vids on medify which explain the ucat and I'm also gonna use medentry but like my exams in 1 week😭😭😭

Reply 10

OP

Original post by sum.jmb

yeahhhh im watching the vids on medify which explain the ucat and I'm also gonna use medentry but like my exams in 1 week😭😭😭

I think although the videos on medify are good I personally think watching all of them is a bit of a waste of time since there is quite a lot of them instead try to familiarise yourself with question types for each section by practicing untimed. Then after you are familiar start doing timed questions. With situational judgement defo read the GMC guidelines. And for abstract I have seen someone on YouTube make a list of all the possible patterns so it's good to learn those. I think quantative is kind of GCSE maths so good to brush up on basic maths skills.

Reply 11

Bean_cat

15

Original post by sum.jmb

the UCAT isn't based on learning content, it's about inferring and understanding a topic from an extract, essentially

Fair enough, I didn't take that exam because I'm studying comp sci. Regardless of this, there are still many useful methods OP and yourself can take from my paragraph to use in preparation for this exam. Good Luck on your UCAT :smile:

Reply 12

OP

Original post by Bean_cat

Fair enough, I didn't take that exam because I'm studying comp sci. Regardless of this, there are still many useful methods OP and yourself can take from my paragraph to use in preparation for this exam. Good Luck on your UCAT :smile:

Thank you for your help 😊

Reply 13

NicolaMS

Hi! I’m just here to tell you that it’s all going to be okay, I was in your position 2 years ago as I had applied for two med cycles. I was never great at the UCAT and of course seeing all those posts and threads about people getting amazing scores on their practice tests never helped my nerves and anxiety either. However, I always took it slow, and while I was never good at it I always revised everyday and went through my mistakes thoroughly. In my first cycle I achieved 2460 b2, second cycle 2520 b2, so not a giant improvement but enough to secure me a place at HYMS this year😊. My advice to you is, always always go over your errors (big or small) especially for AR and SJT. On days when you can’t bring yourself to do a lot, watch lots and lots of YouTube videos- I found kharma medic to be absolutely fantastic at explaining questions and working through questions with. Read the GMC handbook, practice mental maths so you don’t have to rely on the calculator too much. And also make a note of all patterns you come across for AR. While my scores were not amazing, I’m happy to help you with anything.
If it doesn’t go well and say you get an average score/below average. Then I’d just say to apply strategically based on your stats and/or doing the bmat. Also remembering to work really hard towards your interview skills.
I hope this helps, a big good luck to you x

@yonoice

(edited 8 months ago)

Reply 14

ashpritgcse2020

18

Original post by yonoice

Hi,
I have 25 days left for UCAT and am in a really bad state I feel like I am struggling so much at abstract and pretty much every section in timings. Most people are already doing mocks and getting good scores whereas I am not after hours of practice. I am crying so much and really stressing out and panicking.

i would recommend rescheduling if it is that serious. if you can't then i would recommend buying an e book and sticking to the strategies. I used the ucatic ucat guide and the ace the ucat ucat ebook they were both good

Reply 15

OP

Original post by ashpritgcse2020

i would recommend rescheduling if it is that serious. if you can't then i would recommend buying an e book and sticking to the strategies. I used the ucatic ucat guide and the ace the ucat ucat ebook they were both good

Thank you so much for your advice also congrats on your offer 😊 I am trying to not stress too much and just do my best.

Reply 16

OP