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Tips for UCAT Improvement

vrish

Member
I'd like to add that you mentioned previously you were scoring 2800+ in your Medify mocks but got a less than satisfactory score in the real thing. In that case I would chalk it up to poor performance on the day (it happens to everyone, don't worry) maybe because or nerves, not enough sleep etc. and you're in fact perfectly capable of getting a good score. Definitely give it another shot, who knows, maybe next time you'll get a score far higher than your average :)
You got it . Well exactly that’s the point ! Thank you for highlighting it . I didn’t have a proper night sleep at all due to fear and excitement . Hardly slept for 4 hours 🙁
Just wondering whether i will do the same thing again for next year’s test too after putting in so much effort and time 🙁 only GOD can help
 
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Latte47

Member
Hello,

I started doing UCAT questions from the official bank and did absolutely awfully. Does anyone have tips they can share to improve / learn the skills the test is measuring? Is innate ability involved here and am I just a fool with bad judgment?
 

Fili

Dentist 🦷
Moderator
Hello,

I started doing UCAT questions from the official bank and did absolutely awfully. Does anyone have tips they can share to improve / learn the skills the test is measuring? Is innate ability involved here and am I just a fool with bad judgment?

The official bank questions are alright (QR is harder in the bank than the actual exam though). Have you done much prep prior to using the bank questions? If you only just started prepping then you can expect to not do that well.
 

Latte47

Member
The official bank questions are alright (QR is harder in the bank than the actual exam though). Have you done much prep prior to using the bank questions? If you only just started prepping then you can expect to not do that well.
Hi,
I'm in Year 11 so haven't done any prep. What would you recommend?
 
Here are some tips I picked up from my Medic Mind 1-1 Tutoring (really helpful btw would recommend!)

VR - Don't flag questions - If you think about it, flagging a question and coming back to it means you have to read the whole passage again so you may as well try and spend time answering the question there and then.

AR - Learn the common triggers and use SPONCS (Shape, Position, Orientation, Number, Colour and Symmetry)

QR - Use estimation as much as possible - There's no chance you can work everything out in the short amount of time you have so use estimates whenever you can

SJT - Treat each response independently. Don't think you have to order them in terms of most appropriate to least appropriate as two options could be very appropriate things to do.

DM - There are 6 main question types so become familiar with them. Recap your probability knowledge, learn the syllogisms rules for DM (theres a good video on MM's youtube channel), use the whiteboard! Can't stress this enough in my practice that for all the riddles ihave to write the info down to make it easy to understand.

Hope that all helps! Please DM me if you want some more tips :) My second year doing the UCAT (last year I used medentry which was awful and they just recycled their UMAT materials but medic mind and other uk companies seem more experienced!)
 

Fili

Dentist 🦷
Moderator
Here are some tips I picked up from my Medic Mind 1-1 Tutoring (really helpful btw would recommend!)

VR - Don't flag questions - If you think about it, flagging a question and coming back to it means you have to read the whole passage again so you may as well try and spend time answering the question there and then.

AR - Learn the common triggers and use SPONCS (Shape, Position, Orientation, Number, Colour and Symmetry)

QR - Use estimation as much as possible - There's no chance you can work everything out in the short amount of time you have so use estimates whenever you can

SJT - Treat each response independently. Don't think you have to order them in terms of most appropriate to least appropriate as two options could be very appropriate things to do.

DM - There are 6 main question types so become familiar with them. Recap your probability knowledge, learn the syllogisms rules for DM (theres a good video on MM's youtube channel), use the whiteboard! Can't stress this enough in my practice that for all the riddles ihave to write the info down to make it easy to understand.

Hope that all helps! Please DM me if you want some more tips :) My second year doing the UCAT (last year I used medentry which was awful and they just recycled their UMAT materials but medic mind and other uk companies seem more experienced!)

Hhmmm idk.

I reckon if you know your weaknesses for VR then feel free to flag questions. For example, if a passage is lengthy and has 4+ paragraphs, I tend to get them wrong so I guess a question and flag. I didn't necessarily waste any time reading the passage either since I just looked if it felt hard then flagged etc. It's better to get easier marks with smaller passages and waste less time than force yourself on longer passages since you were taught not to flag.

With QR, I found that many of the answer options were very similar to each other e.g. $351.60, $350.60 etc ... For these questions defs use the calculator. Being quick using the numpad on a keyboard helps a lot. There were only a few instances when you can guesstimate a question and feel confident about it. I found that using the calculator was fine provided you practiced using the numpad enough. Likewise, using the calculator just ensures that your answer is correct.
 

Kezza

Kevin
I’ve posted my advice in numerous other threads if you want to read it - on my phone so otherwise I’d link it.
 

TMG

Member
Hey guys,
I've been stuck at about 680-700 for verbal reasoning consistently for a while...
Any tips on how to improve??
Thanks
 

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Newbee

Member
The official bank questions are alright (QR is harder in the bank than the actual exam though). Have you done much prep prior to using the bank questions? If you only just started prepping then you can expect to not do that well.
Hi Fili, I am practising QR from last four days. Its bad...I am taking too much time for solving a question. need help..how to improve..
 

Fili

Dentist 🦷
Moderator
Hi Fili, I am practising QR from last four days. Its bad...I am taking too much time for solving a question. need help..how to improve..

How long have you practiced using the numpad on the right hand side of your keyboard? Also, don't be afraid to guess and flag if you feel that a question will take too many steps to complete.
 

Newbee

Member
How long have you practiced using the numpad on the right hand side of your keyboard? Also, don't be afraid to guess and flag if you feel that a question will take too many steps to complete.
I am now practicing everyday with numpad. It's been 4-5 days. I need to revise the concepts for almost all the GCSE maths content. Any advice for mock tests. I m not ready yet for that. I still feel to study or practice more
 

Fili

Dentist 🦷
Moderator
I am now practicing everyday with numpad. It's been 4-5 days. I need to revise the concepts for almost all the GCSE maths content. Any advice for mock tests. I m not ready yet for that. I still feel to study or practice more

Just keep practicing and get more used to the numpad. Idk what GCSE maths content etc are but most of the UCAT math are basic, they just have many steps (some of them anyways). Practice more before hopping onto mock tests then analyze your mistakes and why you keep making it.

After that, keep practicing the question types you keep getting wrong before doing another mock.

Practice untimed for learning then move onto timed for speed.
 

Newbee

Member
Just keep practicing and get more used to the numpad. Idk what GCSE maths content etc are but most of the UCAT math are basic, they just have many steps (some of them anyways). Practice more before hopping onto mock tests then analyze your mistakes and why you keep making it.

After that, keep practicing the question types you keep getting wrong before doing another mock.

Practice untimed for learning then move onto timed for speed.
Do you reckon one month for untimed practice and then doing timed for next three months?
 

whys

Regular Member
Do you reckon one month for untimed practice and then doing timed for next three months?
I'm not Fili, but rather than setting a strict time limit to adhere to, it would probably be better starting timed when you feel relatively confident with answering all the question types. It's important to get into timed as soon as possible because the exam's main difficulty factor stems from the little time given for each section. If it takes less than a month to familiarise yourself with the questions, then you get more months of timed practice. If not, you still have time to self-reflect over the different questions. Different amounts of practice work for different people, so there isn't really a standard amount of time one should be spending for untimed/timed that will definitely work. Good luck with practice!
 

Newbee

Member
I'm not Fili, but rather than setting a strict time limit to adhere to, it would probably be better starting timed when you feel relatively confident with answering all the question types. It's important to get into timed as soon as possible because the exam's main difficulty factor stems from the little time given for each section. If it takes less than a month to familiarise yourself with the questions, then you get more months of timed practice. If not, you still have time to self-reflect over the different questions. Different amounts of practice work for different people, so there isn't really a standard amount of time one should be spending for untimed/timed that will definitely work. Good luck with practice!
Thank you. I will definitely start timed practice for VR, AR, DM & SJ sooner than a month. But with QR I still need to familiarize myself with the questions and numpad. Hopefully it will be sufficient.
 

Fili

Dentist 🦷
Moderator
Thank you. I will definitely start timed practice for VR, AR, DM & SJ sooner than a month. But with QR I still need to familiarize myself with the questions and numpad. Hopefully it will be sufficient.

Yeah I agree with pretty much what whys said. Don't focus on the months you need to spend practicing but rather do timed when you're confident enough to do it. If I make mistakes or find myself lacking the skill to do a question, I backtrack from the bottom up e.g. I go watch how to do something on youtube, then do untimed questions for a while until I'm confident enough to do timed questions then mocks.

You don't just practice a bunch for a set number if weeks and move on. It's a cycle of learning, practicing untimed, practicing timed then mocks. After each step, it's VERY IMPORTANT to analyze your mistakes in case you need to start the cycle from the beginning again.

Personally, I got 22nd ish percentile in UMAT and only practiced UCAT for 3 weeks and got 92nd percentile (2870) on UCAT. Prep well and efficiently rather than doing it wrong for long periods of time.
 

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Newbee

Member
Yeah I agree with pretty much what whys said. Don't focus on the months you need to spend practicing but rather do timed when you're confident enough to do it. If I make mistakes or find myself lacking the skill to do a question, I backtrack from the bottom up e.g. I go watch how to do something on youtube, then do untimed questions for a while until I'm confident enough to do timed questions then mocks.

You don't just practice a bunch for a set number if weeks and move on. It's a cycle of learning, practicing untimed, practicing timed then mocks. After each step, it's VERY IMPORTANT to analyze your mistakes in case you need to start the cycle from the beginning again.

Personally, I got 22nd ish percentile in UMAT and only practiced UCAT for 3 weeks and got 92nd percentile (2870) on UCAT. Prep well and efficiently rather than doing it wrong for long periods of time.
Thank you very much. I am following what you have suggested here.
 

garmonbozia

Membered Value
Valued Member
Hello!

I've been spending a lot of time sifting through various UCAT resources and websites such as Medentry, Medify etc. Just wondering if a student who excelled in the UCAT could share their wisdom and recommend some favourite resources?
Plenty of people have shared their advice both in this thread and in the "Commercial UCAT Preparation Resources" thread.
 

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