Should I start preparing for the ucat in January?

I’m redoing my ucat for the second time as I only got 2450 band 2 my first time round. Is doing 40 minutes of it everyday till college ends a good Idea in order to score 3000+?

Reply 1

TSR Hippocrates

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Reply 2

GANFYD

Original post by Abdul0987

I’m redoing my ucat for the second time as I only got 2450 band 2 my first time round. Is doing 40 minutes of it everyday till college ends a good Idea in order to score 3000 ?

I don't think you can do too much AR/puzzle practice, as long as it is in short bursts like this, and mental maths for QR and speed reading and comprehension for VR are also useful skills for life, but focussed UCAT practice for too long can lead to burnout. And remember, only a very small percentage score 3000 , and that is not needed for medicine interviews, so just focus on doing the very best you can.

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 3

Abdul0987

Original post by GANFYD

I don't think you can do too much AR/puzzle practice, as long as it is in short bursts like this, and mental maths for QR and speed reading and comprehension for AR are also useful skills for life, but focussed UCAT practice for too long can lead to burnout. And remember, only a very small percentage score 3000+, and that is not needed for medicine interviews, so just focus on doing the very best you can.

Ok, thanks

Reply 4

reubenn05

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Abdul0987

Ok, thanks

what sections did you struggle the most this cycle?

Reply 5

Abdul0987

Original post by reubenn05

what sections did you struggle the most this cycle?

Vr was the hardest for me, I was doing good in dm in mocks but did the worst in in the actual exam.

Reply 6

reubenn05

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Abdul0987

Vr was the hardest for me, I was doing good in dm in mocks but did the worst in in the actual exam.

ok so for vr, start speed reading articles, but ensuring you ingest the info by setting some questions abt it at the start and answering them at the end. don't buy medify or medentry yet, but u can use free resources like passmedicine or the ucat website and also the kaplan book if u wanted. i would start using the paid resources 6-8 weeks before ur test

Reply 7

Abdul0987

Original post by reubenn05

I will do, thanks

Reply 8

circusqueen

Also, for QR I believe that refreshing the kind of mental maths that they do in year 7 /8 can be really helpful. You can get those year 7 maths work books and just work your way through it. But say, do a set number of pages in a certain amount of time . There are also Year 7 flashcard quizlet type videos on YouTube which can be useful.

For many it's not the maths which is difficult it is just doing the mental maths with the timing pressure. So practice at that can be helpful.

QR might not be something you wish to improve but it may help others.

For all of them improving speed reading and comprehension is really helpful.

Also look at the info on YouTube that covers strategies like flagging and skipping etc.

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 9

Tulipbloom

Original post by Abdul0987

I’m redoing my ucat for the second time as I only got 2450 band 2 my first time round. Is doing 40 minutes of it everyday till college ends a good Idea in order to score 3000+?

As someone who got 3000, I think it really depends how you practice. I did spaced-out practice sessions for about 3 weeks and chose to play to my strengths. I knew that DM and QR were sections I could get close to perfect scores in and so I chose to master them (couldn't really get my VR score up and AR was just my luck cause I got questions I had done before during my practice tests). For VR, I mostly skipped the long question/passage questions and only returned to them at the end. For DM you should have a lil more time to check your answers and go over calculations again. For DM and QR, learn to use the calculator effectively (it really is your best friend). With the given whiteboard, write down key numbers/info so you don't feel tempted to go over the question again (you lose time this way). AR: again the acronym works but sometimes recognizing even the most silliest of patterns (often incorrect) might end up helping you select a few of the right answers in one question pack. Aim to get the standalone questions right. For B1 SJT, I suggest envisioning yourself in such given situations and think: what's the most appropriate response in this particular case. Good luck this year!