Hiya guys! Took my UCAT yesterday for the second time in two years - here's my thoughts on it.
Subtest | 2019 | 2020 |
VERBAL REASONING | 830 | 720 |
DECISION MAKING | 640 | 830 |
QUANTITATIVE REASONING | 780 | 780 |
ABSTRACT REASONING | 770 | 700 |
TOTAL | 3020 | 3030 |
SJT | 725 | 700 |
Date completed: 31st July 2020, 4:00 - 6:00PM
Venue: Pearson Professional Centres - Parramatta
General thoughts on results:
The result isn't anything to be disappointed at - it improved marginally from last year. But it was lower than my expectations - I was achieving north of 3300+ on most of my mocks. At the end of the day, it came down to nerves on the day (more on this later).
- Verbal Reasoning - not pleased. This is one of my best subtests, and I always achieved 850+ on every single mock. I dropped here due to nerves on the day.
- Decision Making - Pleased with this result! I managed the dramatic improvement from last year by focusing on gaining 'easy' marks on logic puzzle, Strongest Argument, and puzzle questions. I also got much better at drag n' drop questions.
- Quantitative Reasoning - I'm alright with it.
- Abstract Reasoning - This was my worst subtest by far. I'm just glad I didn't get a score in the 600s!
General comments on the exam/exam experience:
Wow, it's time to absolutely dump on Pearson Professional Centres at Parramatta.
I went for a walk before the test, and arrived at 3PM. The gentleman at the front who greeted me and asked me to use hand sanitiser was friendly enough - kudos to him for being nice, as was the invigilator. Unfortunately, mirroring
EMPATHY's experience, the reception and locker staff were horrible. Although I stated that I would wait until 4PM to take my test, using the time in between to relax and calm myself, they kept on calling out loudly for me to register and put my belongings in the locker. In the end, they pressured me to begin my exam early. I had a pre-UCAT routine which involved meditating and clearing all nervous thoughts from my head, which I found made a lot of difference when I took mocks - I wasn't able to carry this out before the actual exam, and as a result I feel my performance suffered in Verbal Reasoning, although I took time to breathe before I started the test.
- Overall exam: Compared to last year's UCAT, this year's UCAT seemed more difficult. This seems to be true judging from the results of friends who're retrying for Medicine who did well in the UCAT last year and conducted a lot of practice this year.
- Verbal Reasoning: In terms of how I felt in this subtest, because of having to start the test early I felt really nervous when I hit some long passages with inference questions. I put a lot of my heart into succeeding in this year's UCAT, so I honestly wondered if I'd met the end of the line, and spiralled. It was terrible Thankfully, I regained my composure later in the subtest and sped through as much as possible, but didn't get to answer some passages properly and as a result my score suffered.
In terms of the actual subtest itself, it was on par with official mocks, or perhaps a bit more difficult. Lots of inference and comprehension questions.
TIP: Locating keywords in the question stem, then skimming the passage to match for them will get you a long way. I have a post on Verbal Reasoning on my profile with more tips.
- Decision Making: I used the minute break before to do deep breathing and reset my mind. From here on, the UCAT passed by in a flash.
The subtest itself is a bit easier than official mocks.
- Quantitative Reasoning: Easier than official mocks. The questions aren't particularly difficult, and multi-step calculations aren't complicated.
- Abstract Reasoning: Honestly, I was a bit thrown off here, I think because of nerves. The patterns weren't particularly difficult, but there were one or two sets that I couldn't solve. That, in conjunction with additional rules on simple patterns that I most likely didn't catch, threw me off.
- Situational Judgement: It's on par with any UCAT mock you'll do.
At the end of the day, I'm just glad that I got through the test with a decent result. It has been a stressful three months of preparation for me, with many of my friends who want passionately to get into Medicine not getting the score that they wanted, and ups and downs in terms of mental health. I expected there to be some huge surge of relief when I clicked the 'End Test' button, but instead it was just a feeling of 'It's done'. To be honest, I think the nerves waiting for the score report email are worse than the actual test
I focused on mindset a lot during my UCAT preparation, but it all got thrown in the drain as soon as I was made to enter the test room early and the nerves started to build. So here's my one takeaway from this year's UCAT for any future candidates:
You can do as much UCAT preparation as you like, but at the end of the day it all comes down to your mindset on the day and how well you manage your emotions. Prepare for the absolute worst - if you get forced into the test early by unpleasant staff, what will you do? What happens if you hit a difficult question that you haven't encountered before? Think about ways you can make yourself snap into a state of calm quickly, such as utilising rhythmic breathing, or visualisation (one such visualisation I used in my mocks was an image of myself floating on a cloud, calm and present as I breezed through the test).
At the end of the day, I wish I had done better, because I know I had the potential to - but I got the result that I needed (hopefully), so I'm satisfied. The absolute best of luck to everyone on this forum with getting into Medicine or Dentistry this year, particularly to the Year 12s on this forum graduating this year - you have had it tough this year with COVID disrupting your studies, and trials are approaching, so study hard, but most importantly, take care of your mental health! Hope to see you guys in the Interview Offers thread.