Are you applying to medical school but not sure how to prepare for the UCAT? Experienced UCAT teacher Rhiannon from U2 (Graduate Medicine, Warwick & Experimental Psychology, Oxford) provides guidance on the specific requirements of the UCAT exam, when to begin studying, how to organize your study, and best practices for answering each type of question.
What is the UCAT?
A lot of medical and dental degree programs, particularly in the UK, need admission to the UCAT entrance exam. Verbal reasoning, decision making, numeric reasoning, abstract thinking, and situational judgment are the five question categories, or “subtests,” that make up this assessment. We’ll go into more depth about each of these topics below.
You should be able to schedule your exam for a time that works for you nearby. The test is administered on a computer in a testing facility. The questions are not negatively marked, and the responses are multiple choice.
It’s important to note that this test requires relatively little particular expertise. It is centered on “thinking” abilities, such as your capacity for reasoning, and is intended to make sure your disposition is appropriate for the work of a physician or dentist. However, with careful planning and a solid grasp of the questions being asked, you can and will raise your score.
Why and what is it attempting to measure?
The tasks evaluated by the UCAT may initially seem little compared to the daily responsibilities of a physician or dentist. In actuality, though, the talents evaluated are really essential. For instance, formulating theories about a patient’s diagnosis based on a confluence of symptoms, or evaluating a research paper critically to see how the findings may be applied to a patient you are currently treating.
In a similar vein, the quantitative activities assess your ability to calculate medications precisely, frequently under time constraints. The situational judgment component is intended to simulate moral conundrums that a dentist or physician could face. It also makes sure that you are able to exhibit traits like honesty and integrity, which are essential for these professions. You may also hire a UCAT tutor to make things go smooth and easier.
When should I begin getting ready?
According to the UCAT website, you should start studying for the test around six weeks beforehand. Of course, this is a personal decision that is influenced by a variety of variables. As an illustration:
- What additional responsibilities do you have in the days before the test?
- What is the amount of time you can devote in the weeks before the test?
- Which working style is your favorite?
Knowing you have an evaluation coming up makes you perform better, or do you run the danger of being overwhelmed as the day draws near? While some individuals would rather work “little and frequently” in the lead-up to the UCAT, others would rather concentrate entirely on it for a shorter amount of time.
How do I get ready?
- It’s crucial to practice prior questions to ensure that you are familiar with the structure and don’t get caught off guard by the time constraints. The UCAT website has assembled a variety of official materials to aid in your preparation. It will also enable you to determine the questions that you find most difficult, allowing you to concentrate your preparation in these areas.
- Acquire rapid work skills. It might seem like you’re racing through the UCAT, therefore it could be better for your total score to just write down your best estimate and move on rather of focusing for a lengthy period on a single question.
- Create a plan for how you will manage your time. It may not be necessary for you to devote the same amount of time to answering every kind of question, depending on which ones you find most difficult. To ensure you don’t run out of time, be sure you know how much time you might spend on each component!
- Verify that you are OK with the test’s logistics. Make sure you are aware of the exam center’s location and allow enough time to get there. It’s also critical to confirm that you have the necessary identity papers on hand and to ensure that you have enough time to prepare them.
You should also familiarize yourself with the various question formats, as each one calls for a unique strategy. Below, these are covered in greater detail:
Oral Reasoning
This section assesses your ability to decipher a text passage and determine its meaning. Does the text explicitly proclaim a certain conclusion, or does it only indicate one? Does the article’s reasoning make sense, or are they assuming things that aren’t supported by evidence? This is significant because, as a physician or dentist, you will be reading the most recent research and considering how to use it to treat your patients with the highest quality of care. Does a research paper present a reasoned case? Can you use its findings with the patients in your group?
Dissecting an argument into its constituent parts can be beneficial, whether you do it mentally or with the aid of images or arrows if you are a visual learner. Look for a methodical technique that suits your needs. Make sure you are reading the paragraph attentively and with purpose; practice is essential for this.
Making Decisions
The decision-making category includes a variety of question kinds that revolve on how we understand and interpret data. The fundamental abilities in this subtest are somewhat similar to those in the verbal reasoning portion in that you are analyzing a piece of information critically and attempting to deduce its meaning. But the material in this section is frequently presented in the form of a graphic or shorter text.
It might be beneficial to jot down some important terms or concepts if the material is really complicated or you are starting to lose your understanding. Even if you are unsure of the exact answer, you will likely be able to rule out some possibilities, increasing your chances of being right.
Reasoning Quantitatively
Your aptitude to respond to a series of arithmetic problems is assessed in the quantitative reasoning component. Calculating percentages and doing basic mathematics are crucial skills, much like in medicine and dentistry. These are needed, for instance, when determining a prescription dosage that is tailored to a patient’s weight. Although the subject is stated in a complex fashion, the necessary mathematics abilities are often rather simple. Make sure you have practice with calculations and that you feel comfortable doing basic arithmetic operations like calculating percentages. It’s true that practice makes perfect when it comes to mental math skills!
Reasoning Abstraction
You must search for patterns among a collection of abstract forms in order to pass this subtest. Although it may seem like the most difficult area of the test at first, you will start to recognize the kinds of patterns to look for after doing a few practice problems. Consider the sort of form, its color, size, and placement, for instance.
It assesses your capacity for flexible thought, much as when you’re attempting to come up with a scientific hypothesis about a patient’s diagnosis and coming up with hypotheses to test. Having a specific structure might assist you avoid wasting time investigating the same idea more than once by knowing what to look for.
Test of Situational Judgement
This is intended to evaluate your response to a moral conundrum in the real world. What would you do, for instance, if a coworker was often late for work? As a general guideline, consider how a reputable physician or dentist would handle the same circumstance. Recall that the focus is on what you ought to do, not what you would do. The GMC has released a pamphlet titled “Good Medical Practice,” which lists some of the fundamental ideas that guide how a doctor ought to conduct themselves. Any decision you make should be based on what’s best for your patient, and you should respond appropriately. For instance, if a patient seems to be in danger, the appropriate course of action is to lessen or eliminate the threat, either for that patient right now or for others in the future. In these situations, any disagreements with coworkers or patients should be settled by effective communication, such as offering an apology, listening, and considering potential solutions for future problems.