Post UCAT Discussion Thread 2021

[2xq]

Is standard without the number pad on the right? Thanks!

Stock standard = with NumPad

 

[KYKLL]

They generally come out 1-2 weeks after the last UCAT sitting, which meant early August in 2019 and late August in 2020, but with so much rescheduling/postponing at the moment, percentiles could come out as late as September.

Hi, considering that uni applications open in August and close in September (for VTAC at least), what would happen if the percentiles aren't released by then? Would we have to make decisions about applications without that information?

 

[2xq]

Hi, considering that uni applications open in August and close in September (for VTAC at least), what would happen if the percentiles aren't released by then? Would we have to make decisions about applications without that information?

Last year, they released a provisional document with percentiles so far in testing (because of COVID-19 disruptions). Don't know if they're going to do the same thing this year so who knows?

 

[ucatboy]

Hi, considering that uni applications open in August and close in September (for VTAC at least), what would happen if the percentiles aren't released by then? Would we have to make decisions about applications without that information?

Potentially yes, but it shouldn't matter much, you should be applying as widely as possible anyway (finances permitting) and numbering your course preferences in the order in which you would like to attend them regardless of your score.

You especially don't have anything to worry about.

 

[KYKLL]

.

 

[FumbledTheBagX4]

Can any 2020 ucat veterans fill us in on the VR difficulty/passage lengths they experienced this year compared to last year? (without violating nda)

 

[Hello2002]

Can any 2020 ucat veterans fill us in on the VR difficulty/passage lengths they experienced this year compared to last year? (without violating nda)

I second this question. Have people in general been finding VR harder this year (does anyone think the percentiles will be lower)? I found some answers to questions quite similar to each other.

And do percentiles fluctuate each year e.g are they trending higher or lower?

Cheers

 

[2xq]

I second this question. Have people in general been finding VR harder this year (does anyone think the percentiles will be lower)? I found some answers to questions quite similar to each other.

And do percentiles fluctuate each year e.g are they trending higher or lower?

Cheers

UCAT ANZ has only been run 2 times... Percentiles depend on how the entire cohort does. This is a question that should be saved. Your question will be answered as soon as a UCAT ANZ has a report with (at least preliminary) percentiles being released.

 

[Jaffa453]

Date completed:18/07/2021

Venue: Otago Museum, Dunedin

Results
VR: 680
DM: 650
QR: 760
AR: 770
Total: 2860
SJT: 673

General thoughts:
VR was about as difficult, maybe slightly more difficult than expected although the passages were quite short, roughly half the height of the screen
DM was harder than expected, especially the 5 conclusion questions with tricky and long passages above.
QR was much easier than expected, with very few long/multi-step calculations
AR the patterns seemed slightly easier than expected, however, I did much better than in my mocks (it was my lowest section)
SJT was fairly straightforward, about as difficult as expected

Considering to prepare I did about 6000 questions in about 2/3 weeks, it was better than expected

One thing to note though was the screen was stretched a little and not very high res, so was slightly annoying in VR however I got used to it pretty quickly
Also, only earplugs were provided, no headphones

 

[naian616]

Date completed:18/07/2021

Venue: Otago Museum, Dunedin

Results
VR: 680
DM: 650
QR: 760
AR: 770
Total: 2860
SJT: 673

General thoughts:
VR was about as difficult, maybe slightly more difficult than expected although the passages were quite short, roughly half the height of the screen
DM was harder than expected, especially the 5 conclusion questions with tricky and long passages above.
QR was much easier than expected, with very few long/multi-step calculations
AR the patterns seemed slightly easier than expected, however, I did much better than in my mocks (it was my lowest section)
SJT was fairly straightforward, about as difficult as expected

Considering to prepare I did about 6000 questions in about 2/3 weeks, it was better than expected

One thing to note though was the screen was stretched a little and not very high res, so was slightly annoying in VR however I got used to it pretty quickly
Also, only earplugs were provided, no headphones

congrats! u did very similar to me! lets pray we can get interview offers!

 

[Don Carlo]

Hello everyone! Sat my exam today

Date completed: 18/07/2021

Venue: Pearson centre Brisbane

Results:
VR - 510 ()
DM - 650
QR - 760
AR - 880
SJT - 615 (didn't prep for this, used common sense and hoped for the best!)
Total = 2800

Preparation and review:
I did about 3 months of practice and seen a decent improvement! In my mocks, averaged around 2700-2900; there were some 3000s but pure luck hahahaha!

Now, pretty disappointed in the results however, during my exam, I felt I would get this score. I had to guess a few and felt pretty nervous when I didn't get a question and my mind blurred - you get the gist. Just reflecting on my exam, I really think nerves had a big part to play in it. I wasn't that nervous going into the exam but whenever I didn't get a question - I became very nervous. Not sure how to combat this so hopefully I can get some words of wisdom ~

I'll actually put my reflection on each section (partly because I'd like to look back at it and hopefully it will help some people)

VR:
As stated, I wasn't overly nervous going into VR. I also knew I wouldn't be able to answer every question in this section from the way I was going in my mocks. I knew I wasn't the best in this section and I knew the questions were going to be really difficult. I ended up completing around 6 passages and had to guess 5. The questions were indeed more difficult to the ones I encountered in my practice. The passage length was very similar to the official mocks (was super shocked for this one!).

I always read the passage before answering questions (except for TFCT). I was able to read the passages quick due to its short length but maybe due to a combination of my nerves and my abilities in VR, the questions were really hard for me. Obviously freaked out but just didn't expect to get this low...

DM:
Very strange. I always did either good or bad in this section so honestly was satisfied with the result. Not much to reflect on this one as I barely did any prep for this section at all! But, biggest advice is to do the sections you enjoy and are comfortable with first! And the moment you can't do a question, guess and flag.

QR:
Kind shocked for this section. I started off in the 650s for QR in my prep, mainly because I was nervous. Over time, got to the 800s and felt way confident. In the exam, I got threw off by the first question (even though it was really simple when I came back to it). Not sure why - it was like I fell back to my old habits of freaking out in QR. I ended up arbitrarily guessing 12 questions (maybe more...) and rushing the others. After freaking out due to the first question, I just skipped the others until I found a relatively easy one (well that looked simple) and then came back to the others. I think I should have just stopped for a second and breathed in and out and just got on with the first question instead - to keep my momentum flowing.

AR:
Super shocked!!! It felt good doing the questions, except for some. I answered every question with 4 min remaining. This section took time for me to improve but I did so much timed practices! I also recorded some patterns I didn't know - however they weren't really useful for me personally as I accumulated too many patterns. Don't overthink this section.

Biggest advice:
Don't neglect the official questions. I felt I did a lot and only got acquainted with it near my exam - that's one of my biggest regrets. So, once in a while, just look at the question banks and mocks on the official UCAT website.

Do timed questions as early as you can and start off incrementally. For example, for AR, I did un-timed, then started off doing 5 min, then 10, then 13.

I remember someone said that UCAT is skill based, which is very true. I noticed it so much in AR - I never memorised a pattern but always look for triggers, compared different sets with others etc. It takes dedication and time to build these skills. Don't give up!

Thank you so much for the people who have helped me on this forum! This certainly won't be the end!!!

Ciao!!!

 

[soap]

Hello everyone! Sat my exam today

Date completed: 18/07/2021

Venue: Pearson centre Brisbane

Results:
VR - 510 ()
DM - 650
QR - 760
AR - 880
SJT - 615 (didn't prep for this, used common sense and hoped for the best!)
Total = 2800

Preparation and review:
I did about 3 months of practice and seen a decent improvement! In my mocks, averaged around 2700-2900; there were some 3000s but pure luck hahahaha!

Now, pretty disappointed in the results however, during my exam, I felt I would get this score. I had to guess a few and felt pretty nervous when I didn't get a question and my mind blurred - you get the gist. Just reflecting on my exam, I really think nerves had a big part to play in it. I wasn't that nervous going into the exam but whenever I didn't get a question - I became very nervous. Not sure how to combat this so hopefully I can get some words of wisdom ~

I'll actually put my reflection on each section (partly because I'd like to look back at it and hopefully it will help some people)

VR:
As stated, I wasn't overly nervous going into VR. I also knew I wouldn't be able to answer every question in this section from the way I was going in my mocks. I knew I wasn't the best in this section and I knew the questions were going to be really difficult. I ended up completing around 6 passages and had to guess 5. The questions were indeed more difficult to the ones I encountered in my practice. The passage length was very similar to the official mocks (was super shocked for this one!).

I always read the passage before answering questions (except for TFCT). I was able to read the passages quick due to its short length but maybe due to a combination of my nerves and my abilities in VR, the questions were really hard for me. Obviously freaked out but just didn't expect to get this low...

DM:
Very strange. I always did either good or bad in this section so honestly was satisfied with the result. Not much to reflect on this one as I barely did any prep for this section at all! But, biggest advice is to do the sections you enjoy and are comfortable with first! And the moment you can't do a question, guess and flag.

QR:
Kind shocked for this section. I started off in the 650s for QR in my prep, mainly because I was nervous. Over time, got to the 800s and felt way confident. In the exam, I got threw off by the first question (even though it was really simple when I came back to it). Not sure why - it was like I fell back to my old habits of freaking out in QR. I ended up arbitrarily guessing 12 questions (maybe more...) and rushing the others. After freaking out due to the first question, I just skipped the others until I found a relatively easy one (well that looked simple) and then came back to the others. I think I should have just stopped for a second and breathed in and out and just got on with the first question instead - to keep my momentum flowing.

AR:
Super shocked!!! It felt good doing the questions, except for some. I answered every question with 4 min remaining. This section took time for me to improve but I did so much timed practices! I also recorded some patterns I didn't know - however they weren't really useful for me personally as I accumulated too many patterns. Don't overthink this section.

Biggest advice:
Don't neglect the official questions. I felt I did a lot and only got acquainted with it near my exam - that's one of my biggest regrets. So, once in a while, just look at the question banks and mocks on the official UCAT website.

Do timed questions as early as you can and start off incrementally. For example, for AR, I did un-timed, then started off doing 5 min, then 10, then 13.

I remember someone said that UCAT is skill based, which is very true. I noticed it so much in AR - I never memorised a pattern but always look for triggers, compared different sets with others etc. It takes dedication and time to build these skills. Don't give up!

Thank you so much for the people who have helped me on this forum! This certainly won't be the end!!!

Ciao!!!

hii,
ur AR score is just wow man,, thank u so much for the tips and advice!!

 

[cocodreams]

Hello everyone! Sat my exam today

Date completed: 18/07/2021

Venue: Pearson centre Brisbane

Results:
VR - 510 ()
DM - 650
QR - 760
AR - 880
SJT - 615 (didn't prep for this, used common sense and hoped for the best!)
Total = 2800

Preparation and review:
I did about 3 months of practice and seen a decent improvement! In my mocks, averaged around 2700-2900; there were some 3000s but pure luck hahahaha!

Now, pretty disappointed in the results however, during my exam, I felt I would get this score. I had to guess a few and felt pretty nervous when I didn't get a question and my mind blurred - you get the gist. Just reflecting on my exam, I really think nerves had a big part to play in it. I wasn't that nervous going into the exam but whenever I didn't get a question - I became very nervous. Not sure how to combat this so hopefully I can get some words of wisdom ~

I'll actually put my reflection on each section (partly because I'd like to look back at it and hopefully it will help some people)

VR:
As stated, I wasn't overly nervous going into VR. I also knew I wouldn't be able to answer every question in this section from the way I was going in my mocks. I knew I wasn't the best in this section and I knew the questions were going to be really difficult. I ended up completing around 6 passages and had to guess 5. The questions were indeed more difficult to the ones I encountered in my practice. The passage length was very similar to the official mocks (was super shocked for this one!).

I always read the passage before answering questions (except for TFCT). I was able to read the passages quick due to its short length but maybe due to a combination of my nerves and my abilities in VR, the questions were really hard for me. Obviously freaked out but just didn't expect to get this low...

DM:
Very strange. I always did either good or bad in this section so honestly was satisfied with the result. Not much to reflect on this one as I barely did any prep for this section at all! But, biggest advice is to do the sections you enjoy and are comfortable with first! And the moment you can't do a question, guess and flag.

QR:
Kind shocked for this section. I started off in the 650s for QR in my prep, mainly because I was nervous. Over time, got to the 800s and felt way confident. In the exam, I got threw off by the first question (even though it was really simple when I came back to it). Not sure why - it was like I fell back to my old habits of freaking out in QR. I ended up arbitrarily guessing 12 questions (maybe more...) and rushing the others. After freaking out due to the first question, I just skipped the others until I found a relatively easy one (well that looked simple) and then came back to the others. I think I should have just stopped for a second and breathed in and out and just got on with the first question instead - to keep my momentum flowing.

AR:
Super shocked!!! It felt good doing the questions, except for some. I answered every question with 4 min remaining. This section took time for me to improve but I did so much timed practices! I also recorded some patterns I didn't know - however they weren't really useful for me personally as I accumulated too many patterns. Don't overthink this section.

Biggest advice:
Don't neglect the official questions. I felt I did a lot and only got acquainted with it near my exam - that's one of my biggest regrets. So, once in a while, just look at the question banks and mocks on the official UCAT website.

Do timed questions as early as you can and start off incrementally. For example, for AR, I did un-timed, then started off doing 5 min, then 10, then 13.

I remember someone said that UCAT is skill based, which is very true. I noticed it so much in AR - I never memorised a pattern but always look for triggers, compared different sets with others etc. It takes dedication and time to build these skills. Don't give up!

Thank you so much for the people who have helped me on this forum! This certainly won't be the end!!!

Ciao!!!

Hey, I know you've been on this forum for quite a while and you've worked hard for it! Most of the times it does come down to the day itself, however, you should still be proud of yourself! In terms of the official questions etc, do you think the questions were very similar or what was about it that made you feel you should've referred back to them? Especially for QR, i think the questions are quite difficult in the mocks and banks

 

[whys]

Results:
VR - 510 ()
DM - 650
QR - 760
AR - 880
SJT - 615 (didn't prep for this, used common sense and hoped for the best!)
Total = 2800

Well done! Congrats on that amazing AR score.

 

[Don Carlo]

Hey, I know you've been on this forum for quite a while and you've worked hard for it! Most of the times it does come down to the day itself, however, you should still be proud of yourself! In terms of the official questions etc, do you think the questions were very similar or what was about it that made you feel you should've referred back to them? Especially for QR, i think the questions are quite difficult in the mocks and banks

Thank you! Yeah I totally agree with you - it really does come down to the day. I personally believe the official questions are a good representation of what the exam is *as a whole*. Obviously some sections are harder than the officials. I think QR in mock C and D was kinda representative of the exam but I felt the actual QR in the exam was a bit harder - however I mainly think that was due to my nerves!

 

[Don Carlo]

Well done! Congrats on that amazing AR score.

Thanks whys and thank you for the advice you gave me mate

 

[dotwingz]

Well done Don Carlo . That’s a fantastic score all round, and an even more fantastic AR score. One of the highest I’ve ever seen.

Enjoy your ~7 days of break before jumping straight back into uni.

 

[Don Carlo]

Well done Don Carlo . That’s a fantastic score all round, and an even more fantastic AR score. One of the highest I’ve ever seen.

Enjoy your ~7 days of break before jumping straight back into uni.

hahahah thank you so much mate! Can finally relax for a bit!

 

[meddent124]

Hey all. I thought I would post my scores as I have been following for a while, not as high as some others but hoping it will be just enough.

Date: 17/07/2021 Venue: Canberra Pearson professional centre

Verbal Reasoning	600
Decision Making	710
Quantitative Reasoning	780
Abstract Reasoning	860
Total Score	2950

Situational Judgement	670

I did the test in 2020 as well, having taken a gap year. I ended up not being successful with a UCAT score of 2810 and graduated with an ATAR of 98.35. I am currently studying a bachelor's and hoping to enter as a non-school leaver. My results are below from 2020.

Verbal Reasoning	590
Decision Making	710
Quantitative Reasoning	780
Abstract Reasoning	730
Total Score	2810

Situational Judgement	593

I had quite a bit of improvement. Last year I put about 6 months effort into it, but this time, with uni stress and everything I only ended up studying for about 30 days, but used everything I had learnt from last year to advance my prep. I was not hoping for much so pleasantly surprised at the score. Overall experience was that the venue and staff were very professional and kind. VR was kind of expected as I never seemed to get high scores in that. Compared to how I did on mocks, I expected a higher DM score, and would say in my opinion that DM was harder than last year and all mocks I took. QR was quite general, wish I had just got through some of the easier questions quicker, but started to second guess my self. In AR, this is one of the highest scores I got, much easier than some of the final mocks I took. I was really confident with this section and just tried to look out for commonalities, and kind of disregarded secondary patterns. With SJ, I was pretty tired by the end of it, having had no sleep and a 7:30am start for the exam, but surprised with the score I ended up with because I flagged quite a few that I could not go back to.

Overall, good experience, I am happy to answer any questions (share some of the tips I used to prep with very little time!)

 

[unbroken]

Hello everyone! Sat my exam today

Date completed: 18/07/2021

Venue: Pearson centre Brisbane

Results:
VR - 510 ()
DM - 650
QR - 760
AR - 880
SJT - 615 (didn't prep for this, used common sense and hoped for the best!)
Total = 2800

Preparation and review:
I did about 3 months of practice and seen a decent improvement! In my mocks, averaged around 2700-2900; there were some 3000s but pure luck hahahaha!

Now, pretty disappointed in the results however, during my exam, I felt I would get this score. I had to guess a few and felt pretty nervous when I didn't get a question and my mind blurred - you get the gist. Just reflecting on my exam, I really think nerves had a big part to play in it. I wasn't that nervous going into the exam but whenever I didn't get a question - I became very nervous. Not sure how to combat this so hopefully I can get some words of wisdom ~

I'll actually put my reflection on each section (partly because I'd like to look back at it and hopefully it will help some people)

VR:
As stated, I wasn't overly nervous going into VR. I also knew I wouldn't be able to answer every question in this section from the way I was going in my mocks. I knew I wasn't the best in this section and I knew the questions were going to be really difficult. I ended up completing around 6 passages and had to guess 5. The questions were indeed more difficult to the ones I encountered in my practice. The passage length was very similar to the official mocks (was super shocked for this one!).

I always read the passage before answering questions (except for TFCT). I was able to read the passages quick due to its short length but maybe due to a combination of my nerves and my abilities in VR, the questions were really hard for me. Obviously freaked out but just didn't expect to get this low...

DM:
Very strange. I always did either good or bad in this section so honestly was satisfied with the result. Not much to reflect on this one as I barely did any prep for this section at all! But, biggest advice is to do the sections you enjoy and are comfortable with first! And the moment you can't do a question, guess and flag.

QR:
Kind shocked for this section. I started off in the 650s for QR in my prep, mainly because I was nervous. Over time, got to the 800s and felt way confident. In the exam, I got threw off by the first question (even though it was really simple when I came back to it). Not sure why - it was like I fell back to my old habits of freaking out in QR. I ended up arbitrarily guessing 12 questions (maybe more...) and rushing the others. After freaking out due to the first question, I just skipped the others until I found a relatively easy one (well that looked simple) and then came back to the others. I think I should have just stopped for a second and breathed in and out and just got on with the first question instead - to keep my momentum flowing.

AR:
Super shocked!!! It felt good doing the questions, except for some. I answered every question with 4 min remaining. This section took time for me to improve but I did so much timed practices! I also recorded some patterns I didn't know - however they weren't really useful for me personally as I accumulated too many patterns. Don't overthink this section.

Biggest advice:
Don't neglect the official questions. I felt I did a lot and only got acquainted with it near my exam - that's one of my biggest regrets. So, once in a while, just look at the question banks and mocks on the official UCAT website.

Do timed questions as early as you can and start off incrementally. For example, for AR, I did un-timed, then started off doing 5 min, then 10, then 13.

I remember someone said that UCAT is skill based, which is very true. I noticed it so much in AR - I never memorised a pattern but always look for triggers, compared different sets with others etc. It takes dedication and time to build these skills. Don't give up!

Thank you so much for the people who have helped me on this forum! This certainly won't be the end!!!

Ciao!!!

Man ive seen yu here for sometime asking questions and you finally did the exam haha, congrats my guy good shit! that AR score is impressive