hahahahah I might have to hit those up then. thank you!
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Pre-UCAT Discussion 2020
- Thread starter whys
- Start date
Is the Pearson VUE on screen calculator from the practice question more accurate in terms of functionality of the actual thing or is the one from commercial resources more accurate for the actual test? In the practice questions bank, the calculator seems to open up as its own tab vs. commercial resources that are a little easier to use.
S
Sokka
Guest
Any tips on how to calm down before a practice mock/ actual UCAT? I tend to get really nervous and stuff up VR as a result
It's useful to know a bit about nervousness/anxiety/fight or flight response (if you don't already), and then pick some strategies to target the symptoms that you experience. For example, if you find it hard to concentrate or settle down, mindfulness might be useful, if your heart and resp rate ramp up, then a quick breathing exercise might be good. Any strategy you go with you will need to practice using over and over and over so that it's second nature on the day and has become part of your routine (that way you're less likely to forget it, you're proficient at getting the most out of it, and your body has actually had a chance to learn the grounding/relaxation part and what it feels like so that it's easier to achieve when you need it most).
The most efficient mindfulness exercise I've come across is called Three Things, and you can modify it as much as you like, but basically it's a grounding exercise that gets you to focus on your physical environment, rather than on your thoughts (because it's your thoughts driving the anxiety).
Go through this list deliberately and with focus
1. Three things you can see that are... round/green/sharp... whatever you like. Find them in your surroundings, briefly take deliberate notice of them, then move on to...
2. Three things you can hear... the third should be listening to yourself take a breath in and out through your nose, the first two can be whatever noise is around you, then move on to...
3. Three things you can feel... again, the third should be feeling the air against your nostrils as you take a breath in and out through your nose, and the first two can be whatever you're sitting on, for example, of the feel of your feet on the solid ground.
Then... into the exam.
This is just an example, by the way. You may find it useful, you may not, and there are about a gazillion others out there if this one isn't for you
N
nb
Guest
Hey. I know that for DM section it is different, but for SJT, if you get something partially correct is that definitely 0.5 marks? So if someone got 40 correct and 20 partially correct (50 correct) would get the same score (lets say 750) as someone who got 50 correct and the rest incorrect (also 50 correct) or is this not how it works?
You raise a good point - I don't think Pearson has ever outright stated that a partially correct answer is worth half the number of marks - the word "partial" can mean anything from 0.01 to 0.99.
What happens is anyone's guess, although I wouldn't be surprised if some partial marks are worth more than others (just like how some full marks for difficult questions are worth more than others).
D
Deleted member 37402
Guest
Calling out to anyone who has sat for the test or know of this testing location at Port Macquarie NSW 2444 located North NSW.
Any opinions would be greatly appreciated as I know nothing of this location & am quite nervous. I read that some contributors to this forum have experienced hardware problems etc. Have anyone been to this location? Thanking you in advance if you have any insight.
Any opinions would be greatly appreciated as I know nothing of this location & am quite nervous. I read that some contributors to this forum have experienced hardware problems etc. Have anyone been to this location? Thanking you in advance if you have any insight.
Discussion about UCAT prep companies is strictly banned, but the results of mock exams (unidentified which platform they came from but you can probably infer) and and the actual exams last year are here: Predicting UCAT Scores from Mock Exam Results
AJ13
Member
hey legends! I hope everyone is progressing well with prep.
Just wondering if anyone has a specific text book suggestion for practicing QR?
For example a particular year 10 maths text book etc.
I’ve been improving steadily but would like a bank of questions based around probability/Venn diagrams specifically.
Just wondering if anyone has a specific text book suggestion for practicing QR?
For example a particular year 10 maths text book etc.
I’ve been improving steadily but would like a bank of questions based around probability/Venn diagrams specifically.
N
nb
Guest
From what I've seen so far, the QR questions aren't higher than year 9 maths. So if you want, you can try doing the year 9 Cambridge maths textbook (same textbook that I used when I did year 9 maths) and do the questions under strict time conditions (ie. Do about 36 questions in 24 minutes).
cocodreams
Regular Member
Does anyone find it very hard to just focus your eyes on the text in VR? I feel that I get let down in VR because I can't focus and ultimately find myself getting lost 
Omg me 100% !! I find that the hardest part about VR especially when doing longer sets of questions, I feel like I waste a lot of time just looking through the text but not actually taking in any info :/ Especially when it's on a topic I'm not interested in like history or politics or something ahahDoes anyone find it very hard to just focus your eyes on the text in VR? I feel that I get let down in VR because I can't focus and ultimately find myself getting lost
I remember last year someone said something about using a ruler to help you focus on the line you are actually reading and slowly bringing it one line down after you read. I kinda did this but with my mouse so I would leave it in the centre of the paragraph and drag it down line by line (or at a constant rate if you know how fast you read) to help you focus a little. Maybe it'll work if you give it a shot?Does anyone find it very hard to just focus your eyes on the text in VR? I feel that I get let down in VR because I can't focus and ultimately find myself getting lost
AJ13
Member
Hey all just wanted to clarify something with regards to percentiles.
I have recently taken a few mini mocks and managed to score quite well. I wanted to make sure I am calculating the percentiles correctly.
For example, one of my scores (800) shows a score +14% above mean and puts me just under 2 STDS (I’ve estimated about 1.8).
Would I be correct in assuming that these bell curves represent normal distribution, in which case a STD of ‘2’ would represent 95th percentile? And there by give me an estimated percentile slightly lower?
This is certainly not intended as a flex, I have been working on UCAT since mid January and have scored very badly in the past..
Thanks!
I have recently taken a few mini mocks and managed to score quite well. I wanted to make sure I am calculating the percentiles correctly.
For example, one of my scores (800) shows a score +14% above mean and puts me just under 2 STDS (I’ve estimated about 1.8).
Would I be correct in assuming that these bell curves represent normal distribution, in which case a STD of ‘2’ would represent 95th percentile? And there by give me an estimated percentile slightly lower?
This is certainly not intended as a flex, I have been working on UCAT since mid January and have scored very badly in the past..
Thanks!
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N
nb
Guest
Yes. The graph shown does indicate a normal curve where 2 standard deviations is the 95th percentile. However, in the actual UCAT, your scaled score won't necessarily be indicative of your percentile. This is because you get your scaled scores right after your test. Lets say you did the test on the 1st July at 9am, and you get a scaled score of 800 in VR. This does not have anything to do with the percentile as no one else has actually even does the test yet (hypothetical scenario). In essence, the actual UCAT sub-test scores do not represent a percentile whatsoever. It is only when they are combined and the cohort is ranked that we get percentiles.
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AJ13
Member
Okay, thanks for confirming.
Yes I am aware that we will all be in limbo until the cohorts results have been compiled and calculated. I’m just glad I am finally scoring close to my end goal.
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cocodreams
Regular Member
me too!! i thought i was the only one. I feel the exact same way
S
Sokka
Guest
Does anyone know any good UCAT tutors? In particularly someone who can help with VR. Willing to work with someone who scored well in VR last year
I think you’ll find the only UCAT tutors are good for is draining your wallet...
What strategies have you employed for VR? Did you start out doing timed conditions? Are there specific types of questions that you struggle with?
Post your issues as specific as possible and see if others have had them, and what they used to fix them. Generally everyone does things differently so asking around multiple opinions (such as this thread) will give you good starters