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UCAT

(University Clinical Aptitude Test)

About me

• (^) Applied for Medicine for 2024 entry at Bristol,

Exeter, Kings College London and Cambridge

• (^) Received 4/4 interview offers
• (^) Achieved 2990 Band 1 in my UCAT (top 6%)
• (^) GCSE grades: 9999999988
• (^) A-level predicted: AAA (Biology, Chemistry, and

Maths)

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How is it scored?

• (^) Each section is converted into a score out of 900, except

from Situational Judgement (Bands 1-4 given instead, 1

being the highest)

• (^) Results are given to you as soon as you leave
• (^) Score from each section is added up to give a total out of

• (^) Average is usually around 2500
• (^) Once testing finishes, deciles and mean score is published

(around the start of October)

• (^) Each university assesses it in a different way, so apply

strategically once you get your score, and consider you’re

predicted grades and GCSEs when applying since unis have

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How to prepare

• (^) If you don't have it already, buy a keyboard and mouse you can plug into your laptop, or go to the library and use that computer: you want to simulate the real thing as much as you can.
• (^) Practice untimed first to get used to it, then timed (technique first, then speed!!)
• (^) Keep your progress recorded somewhere: I wrote and colour coded all my practice in a notebook, you can do it online but it helps to see where you are
• (^) Don't cram for it, do a little every day when you can in the weeks leading up to it, then a few hours a day when it gets to 1-2 weeks before your exam. This will prevent burnout
• (^) Focus on your stronger sections a week before the exam as it might be difficult to improve on the ones you aren't as good at, but make sure you don't neglect any section when preparing, anything can happen on the day

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How to prepare

• (^) Practice is the only way you'll see improvement, this isn't a test you can revise for
• Don’t be disheartened if you aren't doing well in practice though, go in confident and anything can happen since there are multiple tests in circulation, some may be easier than others
• (^) Take regular breaks, don't sit down for hours practicing because it's not productive
• Remember that even though having a good UCAT score can help your application a lot, it isn't the end of the world if you don't score what you want. Apply to unis based on your strengths and ones that have lower UCAT requirements
• (^) Get a whiteboard and a pen for your practice if you can, will save on paper. In the real thing you get a booklet of laminated paper and a pen that doesn't rub off to use.

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Keyboard shortcuts

• (^) Alt + N: Next question
• (^) Alt + P: Previous

question

• (^) Alt + F: Flag question
• (^) Alt + C: Opens calculator
• (^) Alt + V: Review flagged
• (^) Alt + I: Review

incomplete

• (^) Backspace when using

calc clears all digits

• (^) For calculator:
• (^) M+ adds number to

the memory

• (^) M- removes a stored

number from memory

• (^) MRC recalls the stored

number

• (^) (You'll get used to

using most of these, it

makes things quicker!)

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Verbal Reasoning

• (^) 21 minutes
• (^) 44 questions (29s per question!)
• (^) Texts with 4/5 questions per text
• (^) 'Assesses your ability to critically evaluate

information presented in written form'

• (^) Scored 660 (was my least favourite section)

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Tips for verbal reasoning

• (^) Always read the question first unless the passage is short
• (^) Guess and flag longer/harder questions and come back, you won't have time to answer every one
• (^) Don't skip true/false questions because they're the easiest
• Definitive words are more likely to be false-but not all the time (i.e. only, always, every/all, biggest, smallest, etc)
• (^) Look for author's conclusion in the last paragraph - (^) Practice skim reading and remembering info, never read the entire passage unless it is short - (^) Don't skim read the question - (^) Look for key words, or synonyms of the words used in the question - Read the sentence before and after the keyword in case they have a double negative/something misleading - (^) Don’t neglect sections you don't like (like me) because again, anything can happen on the day- I got lucky!

• PRESENTATION TITLE
• PRESENTATION TITLE

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Decision

Making