Post-UCAT Discussion 2020

[hk092000]

Hey guys, I just want to post for the people who may be disappointed in their results. UCAT is very hard and tbh it's 50% luck. I just want to let you guys know that it's not the end of the road. There are always other options and opportunities so hang in there!
Date completed: 6/7/20
Venue: Dunedin
Results:

Verbal reasoning	590
Decision making	730
Quantitative reasoning	760
Abstract reasoning	800
TOTAL	2880
Situational Judgement	680

I'm saying this because these were my results from last year:
VR: 510
DM: 630
QR: 670
AR: 630
Total: 2440
SJ: 631

An improvement of 400 marks! You should be very proud of yourself

 

[Tsundoku]

Thank you for this and congrats! What would you say made the biggest difference in doing better this year/ your biggest tips for improving? Also, how would you compare this year to last year (I got very similar scores last year and am aiming to get pretty much your exact score)

The practice questions on the UCAT consortium page are very useful. I did all of the practice exams and spent at least 1 hour going through all the questions that I got right and wrong after each exam (especially important for situational judgement)

I found that VR was difficult compared to the practice questions because the monitor display at my venue was compressed and made the text look really long, which really put me off.
Pretty much in all the sections NEVER BE SCARED TO SKIP. Every one says this but it really is essential to get the easy questions right rather than spend time on every question. Don't be afraid to skip even 10 questions in VR without reading anything (obvsly still make a guess).

For DM, try to skip wordy Yes/No questions, and I found that the strongest argument questions are always relatively straightforward (still difficult). For strongest argument Qs, it doesn't matter if you agree or not, the right answer is always relevant to the prompt (usually has two aspects).

QR: again, skip all questions that might cause slip ups (e.g. lots of conversions/logic puzzles with lots of people), be sure to answer questions that ask 'X has a 40% failure rate and 30% precision rate, Y has a 60% chance of working and is accurate 50% of the time' because usually one rate is the same and the other is different (i.e. you can move on once you find the different rate, sometimes saving time). Personally, I guessed a lot of venn diagrams (chose most likely answer) and made sure to double check them at the end.

AR: really have to be creative for this one, again do the easy questions first and then spend time on the ones you don't get. I probably only figured out 2 or 3 patterns when I looked through my questions the first time, if you look at a question and you don't even know where to start, skip it. When you are practicing this subset, don't just memorise the solution, it's important to remember the types of patterns you've experienced so that you can notice any variations of that solution.

SJ: found this more difficult in the real test compared to practice. Just remember that any dishonesty = very bad. Patient health/care/safety/confidentiality = number 1 priority in any circumstance. Confidentiality of your friends when talking about red flags e.g. suicide, drug use, depression is of a LOWER priority to getting help (most appropriate action is usually to let someone else know). Team work is also very important so be careful about your team relations e.g. people's reputation. If someone makes a mistake/isn't performing, it is always best to talk to them PRIVATELY and NOT to 'tell on them' to a supervisor.

 

[whys]

Hey! Great score! In the last 2 days leading up to your exam, did you do any questions, and if so, how many?

This honestly varies so much depending on the person. I know people who did mock exams in the hours leading up to their test, and people that did nothing UCAT related in the days before their test. I think you should do what will make you feel confident on the day! If you feel you’re gonna burn out, then don’t do any questions. I did some AR a and QR questions out of a book in the couple days before my UCAT, looked over my past mocks, read over my AR mistakes sheet and practised speedreading. I didn’t want to do any mocks in the event that I did bad and got really demotivated haha. As for your specific question, I don’t really know how many I did in those 2 days! I would estimate I did around ~100-150 but it could be less. Hope this helped!!

 

[fray20]

This might be a silly question but to those that have sat the exam, would you compare your exam to be most similar to official mock A, B, C or D (in terms of difficulty as some of the practice mocks are easier than others)?

 

[whys]

This might be a silly question but to those that have sat the exam, would you compare your exam to be most similar to official mock A, B, C or D (in terms of difficulty as some of the practice mocks are easier than others)?

Again I think this really depends on the person, but the general consensus is that B and C were of medium difficulty, A was harder and D was easier. Some people do better on A than the others, or worse on D than the others, so yeah difficulty varies a lot. I’d compare the exam to mocks B, C and D but not A (I found A quite hard).

 

[ucatboy]

Again I think this really depends on the person, but the general consensus is that B and C were of medium difficulty, A was harder and D was easier. Some people do better on A than the others, or worse on D than the others, so yeah difficulty varies a lot. I’d compare the exam to mocks B, C and D but not A (I found A quite hard).

#justmockAQRthings

 

[e.oneill]

01/07, Dunedin

Verbal Reasoning	760
Decision Making	700
Quantitative Reasoning	750
Abstract Reasoning	650
Total	2860
Situational Judgement	677

 

[someday]

01/07, Dunedin

Verbal Reasoning	760
Decision Making	700
Quantitative Reasoning	750
Abstract Reasoning	650
Total	2860
Situational Judgement	677

envious of your VR - well done!! just wondering, did you read the passage or question first for VR?

 

[e.oneill]

envious of your VR - well done!! just wondering, did you read the passage or question first for VR?

Thanks! It's all a bit of a blur to be honest but I think generally I read the passage quickly first, then the question, and then confirm by re-reading the relevant bit in the passage. But I'm quite a quick reader so that approach might not suit everyone. All the best for yours

 

[sevun]

Could anyone who has done the test please confirm the following: Once your 1 min of prep time (or break time) before each section ends, does it automatically go to the next section, or does a popup box saying "Your time has expired, click OK to continue" (or something like that) appear?

 

[char001]

Could anyone who has done the test please confirm the following: Once your 1 min of prep time (or break time) before each section ends, does it automatically go to the next section, or does a popup box saying "Your time has expired, click OK to continue" (or something like that) appear?

There is a pop-up box that says exactly that- it only goes to the next section once you've clicked OK

 

[dakota2014]

The practice questions on the UCAT consortium page are very useful. I did all of the practice exams and spent at least 1 hour going through all the questions that I got right and wrong after each exam (especially important for situational judgement)

I found that VR was difficult compared to the practice questions because the monitor display at my venue was compressed and made the text look really long, which really put me off.
Pretty much in all the sections NEVER BE SCARED TO SKIP. Every one says this but it really is essential to get the easy questions right rather than spend time on every question. Don't be afraid to skip even 10 questions in VR without reading anything (obvsly still make a guess).

For DM, try to skip wordy Yes/No questions, and I found that the strongest argument questions are always relatively straightforward (still difficult). For strongest argument Qs, it doesn't matter if you agree or not, the right answer is always relevant to the prompt (usually has two aspects).

QR: again, skip all questions that might cause slip ups (e.g. lots of conversions/logic puzzles with lots of people), be sure to answer questions that ask 'X has a 40% failure rate and 30% precision rate, Y has a 60% chance of working and is accurate 50% of the time' because usually one rate is the same and the other is different (i.e. you can move on once you find the different rate, sometimes saving time). Personally, I guessed a lot of venn diagrams (chose most likely answer) and made sure to double check them at the end.

AR: really have to be creative for this one, again do the easy questions first and then spend time on the ones you don't get. I probably only figured out 2 or 3 patterns when I looked through my questions the first time, if you look at a question and you don't even know where to start, skip it. When you are practicing this subset, don't just memorise the solution, it's important to remember the types of patterns you've experienced so that you can notice any variations of that solution.

SJ: found this more difficult in the real test compared to practice. Just remember that any dishonesty = very bad. Patient health/care/safety/confidentiality = number 1 priority in any circumstance. Confidentiality of your friends when talking about red flags e.g. suicide, drug use, depression is of a LOWER priority to getting help (most appropriate action is usually to let someone else know). Team work is also very important so be careful about your team relations e.g. people's reputation. If someone makes a mistake/isn't performing, it is always best to talk to them PRIVATELY and NOT to 'tell on them' to a supervisor.

hey, congrats on such an amazing score!

01/07, Dunedin

Verbal Reasoning	760
Decision Making	700
Quantitative Reasoning	750
Abstract Reasoning	650
Total	2860
Situational Judgement	677

Hey congrats on your score, that is amazing! just wondering were the stems of QR questions relatively short? or did it contain lots of information

 

[ucatboy]

Could anyone who has done the test please confirm the following: Once your 1 min of prep time (or break time) before each section ends, does it automatically go to the next section, or does a popup box saying "Your time has expired, click OK to continue" (or something like that) appear?

Don't try and get yourself extra time by not pressing "ok".- your timer for the next section will run down behind the scenes. For example, after the 60 seconds is up and you decide to take another minute before pressing ok, you'll notice that QR will only have 23:00 left.

 

[e.oneill]

hey, congrats on such an amazing score!


Hey congrats on your score, that is amazing! just wondering were the stems of QR questions relatively short? or did it contain lots of information

Thank you!! I don't think they were too long but I'm afraid I can't really remember, sorry...

 

[NW1205]

Date completed: 7/6/2020
Venue: Pitt Street Sydney
General thoughts on your results: It is actually higher than my mock averages but slightly disappointed still as it looks like too low for any schools based on last years percentile (I'm a graduate with a completed degree).
General comments on the exam/exam experience:

The overall experience was pretty pleasant. I started my exam early and only had 4 people in my roo. I brought my own earplugs but they did have some. I also asked for extra laminated paper (there were 2 on the desks).

After the exam, I could tell I bombed the VR/DM sections a bit as I ran out of time so had to guess. I think the test were similar difficulty to official mocks, DM maybe slightly harder (but I have never been good at syllogisms). QR/AR I definitely feel like they were on the easier side (compared to official mocks). QR - nothing too long in terms of stems. AR I couldn't get two sets - so just guessed the same answer for all of them (I'm assuming I might've got 2-4 correct from guessing) and every other pattern was pretty standard.

Post exam - feeling in a mixed bag. Happy that is over and I didn't get a ridculous score. But feeling slightly deflated as I don't think I quite got a high enough score for an interview. Any thoughts on where might take me? (Willing to go anywhere in Aus).

UCAT ANZ SUBTEST SCORES

Verbal Reasoning	550
Decision Making	600
Quantitative Reasoning	760
Abstract Reasoning	860
Total Score	2770

Situational Judgement

649

 

[nb]

Date completed: 7/6/2020
Venue: Pitt Street Sydney
General thoughts on your results: It is actually higher than my mock averages but slightly disappointed still as it looks like too low for any schools based on last years percentile (I'm a graduate with a completed degree).
General comments on the exam/exam experience:

The overall experience was pretty pleasant. I started my exam early and only had 4 people in my roo. I brought my own earplugs but they did have some. I also asked for extra laminated paper (there were 2 on the desks).

After the exam, I could tell I bombed the VR/DM sections a bit as I ran out of time so had to guess. I think the test were similar difficulty to official mocks, DM maybe slightly harder (but I have never been good at syllogisms). QR/AR I definitely feel like they were on the easier side (compared to official mocks). QR - nothing too long in terms of stems. AR I couldn't get two sets - so just guessed the same answer for all of them (I'm assuming I might've got 2-4 correct from guessing) and every other pattern was pretty standard.

Post exam - feeling in a mixed bag. Happy that is over and I didn't get a ridculous score. But feeling slightly deflated as I don't think I quite got a high enough score for an interview. Any thoughts on where might take me? (Willing to go anywhere in Aus).

UCAT ANZ SUBTEST SCORES

Verbal Reasoning	550
Decision Making	600
Quantitative Reasoning	760
Abstract Reasoning	860
Total Score	2770

Situational Judgement

649

This is a great score. Don't feel too discouraged! Percentiles haven't been released yet so you never know Keep your head up champ !!

 

[LeSpicyGinger]

Date completed: 7/6/2020
Venue: Pitt Street Sydney
General thoughts on your results: It is actually higher than my mock averages but slightly disappointed still as it looks like too low for any schools based on last years percentile (I'm a graduate with a completed degree).
General comments on the exam/exam experience:

The overall experience was pretty pleasant. I started my exam early and only had 4 people in my roo. I brought my own earplugs but they did have some. I also asked for extra laminated paper (there were 2 on the desks).

After the exam, I could tell I bombed the VR/DM sections a bit as I ran out of time so had to guess. I think the test were similar difficulty to official mocks, DM maybe slightly harder (but I have never been good at syllogisms). QR/AR I definitely feel like they were on the easier side (compared to official mocks). QR - nothing too long in terms of stems. AR I couldn't get two sets - so just guessed the same answer for all of them (I'm assuming I might've got 2-4 correct from guessing) and every other pattern was pretty standard.

Post exam - feeling in a mixed bag. Happy that is over and I didn't get a ridculous score. But feeling slightly deflated as I don't think I quite got a high enough score for an interview. Any thoughts on where might take me? (Willing to go anywhere in Aus).

UCAT ANZ SUBTEST SCORES

Verbal Reasoning	550
Decision Making	600
Quantitative Reasoning	760
Abstract Reasoning	860
Total Score	2770

Situational Judgement

649

I second noodleboy. You've done a good job (absolutely legendary in AR and great in QR). If the percentiles work out, I think Adelaide, and Newcastle are your most likely bets though I'm not sure whether your tertiary studies will interfere with selection.

 

[Tsundoku]

hey, congrats on such an amazing score!


Hey congrats on your score, that is amazing! just wondering were the stems of QR questions relatively short? or did it contain lots of information

Yea I found QR question stems shorter, definitely less complicated graphs (maybe one complicated one). I guess I could compare it to the QR section in practice test D from the UCAT website?

 

[cocodreams]

Yea I found QR question stems shorter, definitely less complicated graphs (maybe one complicated one). I guess I could compare it to the QR section in practice test D from the UCAT website?

Great result for QR! What was your strategy for QR? Did you have to extract a lot of info from the premises?

 

[nonanon]

How quickly after the exam did you guys get your results?