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Post UCAT Discussion Thread 2021

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dotwingz said:
Has anyone here done both the online and the face-to-face one in like a previous testing cycle? Hard to know the difference
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Yes.
  • OnVUE
    • The check-in experience was super smooth for me.
    • There is a small delay when switching between questions (less than 1s). I'm not sure where this comes from, as I think the test is pre-loaded (system test that's requires shows a 'Downloading exam files' progress bar when running the simulation).
      • Regardless it isn't enough to impact on your experience, mindset + nerves and skill is a bigger factor.
    • Your webcam feed and access code appear as an overlaid bar on the top of the screen. It does not distract from the question layout.
    • The proctor is definitely overseas as they asked for another room scan using my webcam, and I couldn't make it out from their mic + thick accent.
    • I was more comfortable doing the OnVUE version than F2F as I was able to walk, meditate etc. before the exam whereas staff at test centres are variable.
    • Results were out 5 minutes after via checking the Score Reports on your account.
    • Your experience depends on your monitor, keyboard + number pad and distractions around (you aren't allowed to use earplugs).
      • The UCAT scales to your monitor resolution, so if you have a wide monitor this may be a problem. You can change the resolution to make it more like a 4:3 aspect ratio.
    • You use a whiteboard instead of a note board. (I found it better as you have your choice of markers, meaning writing on the whiteboard is smooth, whereas note board markers you get at the centre usually run out of ink or don't write smoothly.)
  • Face-to-face
    • There is far less latency switching between questions.
    • The monitor is a 4:3 aspect ratio and the keyboards are clicky (think the keyboards you had in your school library).
    • Environment is usually quiet, and if it's not you can use earplugs to block everything else out.
    • Other than that, there's not much difference.
 
JeydinNewWon said:
Don’t mean to intrude, but was your score ok? How did you find the OnVUE experience?
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All good. I got a pretty bad score- definitely not competitive for medicine entry. My OnVUE experience was okay for VR and DM but became pretty bad towards the end of AR because my screen froze, which then I alerted the proctor but waited 45 minutes for a response :(

Btw, is getting into Bond med hard? (I'm a yr12 student)
 
meow2288 said:
All good. I got a pretty bad score- definitely not competitive for medicine entry. My OnVUE experience was okay for VR and DM but became pretty bad towards the end of AR because my screen froze, which then I alerted the proctor but waited 45 minutes for a response :(

Btw, is getting into Bond med hard? (I'm a yr12 student)
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Getting into ALL Med courses at ALL universities is hard, Bond included. They don’t use UCAT, which makes them an attractive proposition for those who a. Can afford FFP (huge factor), and b. Didn’t do as well as they’d hoped on UCAT.

But they use academic results, psychometric test, and interview, so it’s still very competitive.
 
meow2288 said:
All good. I got a pretty bad score- definitely not competitive for medicine entry. My OnVUE experience was okay for VR and DM but became pretty bad towards the end of AR because my screen froze, which then I alerted the proctor but waited 45 minutes for a response :(

Btw, is getting into Bond med hard? (I'm a yr12 student)
Click to expand...
If you have a 99+ ATAR you could get a Melbourne FFP offer, with a high 99 you can also get offers at other medical schools who use ATAR as the only selection factor [UMelb Chancellor/FFP , USYD , Griffith all campuses] . Flinders is also there if you get a .95 , Bond costs a significant amount of money and it might be better to do a gap year/Tertiary study first before considering Bond due to the cost.
 
meow2288 said:
All good. I got a pretty bad score- definitely not competitive for medicine entry. My OnVUE experience was okay for VR and DM but became pretty bad towards the end of AR because my screen froze, which then I alerted the proctor but waited 45 minutes for a response :(

Btw, is getting into Bond med hard? (I'm a yr12 student)
Click to expand...
Did you continue doing the UCAT exam?
 
threefivetwo said:
I got 3120 / 96th percentile! I found it preferable to a test centre honestly, but that’s because it went well for me and I had a good setup.
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Insane mark, damn! And I personally preferred the test centre as I don't like being watched whilst doing the exam. But that's really good mate!! Fingers cross for this year :)
 
JeydinNewWon said:
Insane mark, damn! And I personally preferred the test centre as I don't like being watched whilst doing the exam. But that's really good mate!! Fingers cross for this year :)
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Tbf though, at the test centre as well, there is always one person watching all the people sit the exam through webcam.
 
medhope12 said:
Tbf though, at the test centre as well, there is always one person watching all the people sit the exam through webcam.
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Yeah but at least it's easier not be aware of it during the exam (onVUE literally has a video recording of you on the top of the screen along with the recording icon) . Plus, you still have more room to move for workspace as you won't be cancelled/called out if you move outta the webcam.
 
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Caffeine said:
If you have a 99+ ATAR you could get a Melbourne FFP offer, with a high 99 you can also get offers at other medical schools who use ATAR as the only selection factor [UMelb Chancellor/FFP , USYD , Griffith all campuses] . Flinders is also there if you get a .95 , Bond costs a significant amount of money and it might be better to do a gap year/Tertiary study first before considering Bond due to the cost.
Click to expand...
Hi, I keep hearing about the FFP Melbourne Med for 99+, but I can't seem to find the associated VTAC course code??!! Is this something you just get automatically if your ATAR is over 99??
 
ucat3300+ said:
Hi, I keep hearing about the FFP Melbourne Med for 99+, but I can't seem to find the associated VTAC course code??!! Is this something you just get automatically if your ATAR is over 99??
Click to expand...
You shouldn't have to wonder if your UCAT is indeed 3300+ ;)
 
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