Pre-UCAT Discussion 2020

[Sokka]

Not to discourage you at all, but I’d recommend serious prep to start in Jan of the year you take your test. However, I would also recommend getting used to the questions maybe a couple months before hand. The reasons for this are:
1) you won’t run out of resources too soon- it would really suck to be at your peak without practice questions to remain at that level
2) this brings me to my next point- you won’t peak too early. Ideally you should peak a month or so before your exam, so leading up to test day you’ll be confident in your abilities. Peaking too early can give people a false sense of security and so they may be complacent and neglect the UCAT.
I just wrote this in my phone to quickly express my thoughts but I plan to write a proper guide at the end of this year

 

[garmonbozia]

Since I am also unfamiliar with the UCAT exam format, what is the test actually comprised of? (I couldn't find many resources on this). Is it similar to the BMAT where it is broken down into subsections (i.e. aptitude and skills, scientific knowledge, writing skills)? And how difficult is it in relation to other exams such as the BMAT/MCAT?

... Have you tried Google?

 

[threefivetwo]

I am curious as to when I should begin preparing and how I should prepare for this exam.

My opinion is that the most effective preparation occurs around 6 - 3 months before, where you space your mocks out evenly with sufficient time in between to target weak areas spotted in the previous mock, so that a continuous cycle of improvement occurs leading up to the exam. Any longer, and you risk the spacing between mocks being too long to 'remember' what you've learned + put it into practice + run out of practice questions, as yuzzy mentioned. Also keep in mind that you would need to flex your mock schedule around your senior assessments. I'd recommend scheduling mocks for yourself in your calendar app.

Are there any particular resources (practice tests/online courses) that I can use to help prepare for this?

Use the Official UCAT mock exams + question banks. (Content removed)

And how difficult is it in relation to other exams such as the BMAT/MCAT?

Don't worry about this and put the work in! Treat it like another high school subject.

 

[lucia20613]

Heya!
I have my UCAT on the 22nd of August, so very soon!!
I have been prepping for a while but really am struggling with QR on the mocks/mini-mocks I have done and despite doing A-level maths and having fairly decent mental maths skills, I’m just not great at it at all.
Generally, my averages on the website I’m using have been SJT band 1, VR 600, DM 700, AR 650 and then QR at like 570... not great.

Any tips on what I can do to improve across the board and specifically with QR?
Thank you guys!
Lucia

 

[whys]

Heya!
I have my UCAT on the 22nd of August, so very soon!!
I have been prepping for a while but really am struggling with QR on the mocks/mini-mocks I have done and despite doing A-level maths and having fairly decent mental maths skills, I’m just not great at it at all.
Generally, my averages on the website I’m using have been SJT band 1, VR 600, DM 700, AR 650 and then QR at like 570... not great.

Any tips on what I can do to improve across the board and specifically with QR?
Thank you guys!
Lucia

QR is all about being fast. It's really important to master using the calculator fast (this can be done through keyboard shortcuts and using the numpad) because the maths in QR isn't particularly difficult - it's the speed of calculating and synthesising relevant info within the timeframe. If you have all the maths down, then mastering the use of Pearson's archaic calculator will significantly decrease the time it takes to go through each question.

 

[threefivetwo]

Heya!
I have my UCAT on the 22nd of August, so very soon!!
I have been prepping for a while but really am struggling with QR on the mocks/mini-mocks I have done and despite doing A-level maths and having fairly decent mental maths skills, I’m just not great at it at all.
Generally, my averages on the website I’m using have been SJT band 1, VR 600, DM 700, AR 650 and then QR at like 570... not great.

Any tips on what I can do to improve across the board and specifically with QR?
Thank you guys!
Lucia

Heya!
SJT - Band 1 is already good enough, but if you get many 'completely incorrects' then you might want to focus on seeing why. (i.e. misjudging the appropriateness/importance)
Verbal Reasoning - I have some tips over here.
Decision Making - Your DM seems best in comparison to your other subtests, so I'd focus on analysing what question types (i.e. Strongest Argument, Logic Puzzles) you're losing marks in, which your website should allow, and reviewing your previous mocks to see if you're making silly mistakes. If you eliminate silly mistakes and improve your performance in those weak question types, you'd be surprised at how much you can improve your DM score.
Abstract Reasoning - Improving here depends on what you're finding difficulty with.

• Difficulty recognising patterns in general → Massed practice with a focus on checking systematically until you get good at recognising patterns via intuition
• Finding the pattern but running out of time → Conduct timed practice/drills
• Finding the pattern but losing marks on secondary rules you didn't recognise at first → Keep a 'broad' eye out for any easily recognisable features of the set (i.e. x rule and all shapes have straight sides versus y rule and all shapes have one curved side)
• Difficulty with specific rule types (etc. Smiley faces, letters, 'abstract' shapes) → Review mocks and practice sessions for questions of those types, reflect on your approach and why you have difficulty finding those rules (looks too abstract to me, can't recognise any features), and then strategise how you can approach those kind of questions

Quantitative Reasoning - whys surmised how to improve well, but I'd add that it's also important to differentiate between whether a question is genuinely difficult or just looks difficult.

		Approach
Is genuinely difficult	Question stem requires many calculations to get to the answer (i.e. find the average of x value in each population, which population has the highest value?) Question has many rules below the data	Approach with caution If the question is within your limits, solve it If you can't solve it quickly or know you'll have difficulty solving it, flag for later and move on Review and get better at these question types (get good)
Just looks difficult	Question is densely populated with data (i.e. lots of numbers) Multiple graphs and tables Multi-axis graphs Question has a long introduction or exposition below the data (i.e. rambles on about a subject with some numbers s Anything that scares you but when you look back on your mock, you think 'I could have solved that if I wasn't nervous/panicking'	Breathe and read the question stem carefully to see what it's asking - it's usually a matter of locating the appropriate information in the table and tuning irrelevant information out

 

[lucia20613]

QR is all about being fast. It's really important to master using the calculator fast (this can be done through keyboard shortcuts and using the numpad) because the maths in QR isn't particularly difficult - it's the speed of calculating and synthesising relevant info within the timeframe. If you have all the maths down, then mastering the use of Pearson's archaic calculator will significantly decrease the time it takes to go through each question.

Thank you so much for this great reply! I have taken an in-depth look at calculator shortcuts so will certainly be practising this!

Heya!
SJT - Band 1 is already good enough, but if you get many 'completely incorrects' then you might want to focus on seeing why. (i.e. misjudging the appropriateness/importance)
Verbal Reasoning - I have some tips over here.
Decision Making - Your DM seems best in comparison to your other subtests, so I'd focus on analysing what question types (i.e. Strongest Argument, Logic Puzzles) you're losing marks in, which your website should allow, and reviewing your previous mocks to see if you're making silly mistakes. If you eliminate silly mistakes and improve your performance in those weak question types, you'd be surprised at how much you can improve your DM score.
Abstract Reasoning - Improving here depends on what you're finding difficulty with.

• Difficulty recognising patterns in general → Massed practice with a focus on checking systematically until you get good at recognising patterns via intuition
• Finding the pattern but running out of time → Conduct timed practice/drills
• Finding the pattern but losing marks on secondary rules you didn't recognise at first → Keep a 'broad' eye out for any easily recognisable features of the set (i.e. x rule and all shapes have straight sides versus y rule and all shapes have one curved side)
• Difficulty with specific rule types (etc. Smiley faces, letters, 'abstract' shapes) → Review mocks and practice sessions for questions of those types, reflect on your approach and why you have difficulty finding those rules (looks too abstract to me, can't recognise any features), and then strategise how you can approach those kind of questions

Quantitative Reasoning - whys surmised how to improve well, but I'd add that it's also important to differentiate between whether a question is genuinely difficult or just looks difficult.

		Approach
Is genuinely difficult	Question stem requires many calculations to get to the answer (i.e. find the average of x value in each population, which population has the highest value?) Question has many rules below the data	Approach with caution If the question is within your limits, solve it If you can't solve it quickly or know you'll have difficulty solving it, flag for later and move on Review and get better at these question types (get good)
Just looks difficult	Question is densely populated with data (i.e. lots of numbers) Multiple graphs and tables Multi-axis graphs Question has a long introduction or exposition below the data (i.e. rambles on about a subject with some numbers s Anything that scares you but when you look back on your mock, you think 'I could have solved that if I wasn't nervous/panicking'	Breathe and read the question stem carefully to see what it's asking - it's usually a matter of locating the appropriate information in the table and tuning irrelevant information out

Hello!
Thank you for such in-depth advice. I will certainly practise with this in mind and try all of this out! I really hope that I can boost my score because it is so soon. Do you think that if my test is on the 22nd, I have enough time to boost my scores? I will certainly try so anyways
Lucia

 

[threefivetwo]

Thank you so much for this great reply! I have taken an in-depth look at calculator shortcuts so will certainly be practising this!


Hello!
Thank you for such in-depth advice. I will certainly practise with this in mind and try all of this out! I really hope that I can boost my score because it is so soon. Do you think that if my test is on the 22nd, I have enough time to boost my scores? I will certainly try so anyways
Lucia

Time is what you make of it Just don't forget to take the evening before the test, or whatever works for you, off to clear your mind and prepare yourself mentally! And get good sleep.

 

[dotwingz]

People overstate how much they need to prep as a way of or flexing that they work so hard etc etc. The evidence to suggest that people who did 6 months of study and do significantly better in the UCAT compared to those who do way less is flaky at best.

Theres is sufficient free resources out there to have a familiarity with the UCAT at your age but I honestly wouldn’t even bother touching them for another year or two considering you’re in year 10.

When the time comes closer it would be beneficial to have a greater bank of questions to practice on.

 

[ucatboy]

Yeah don't start prep in year 10 that's a dumb idea - you're gonna end up shooting yourself in the foot when you realise you've done all the UCAT questions months before your actual test.

 

[Sokka]

People overstate how much they need to prep as a way of flexing that they work so hard etc etc. The evidence to suggest that people who did 6 months of study and do significantly better in the UCAT compared to those who do way less is flaky at best.

Theres is sufficient free resources out there to have a familiarity with the UCAT at your age but I honestly wouldn’t even bother touching them for another year or two considering you’re in year 10.

When the time comes closer it would be beneficial to have a greater bank of questions to practice on.

Based off this website though haven’t the people who started in Jan-ish performed very well? Obviously I wouldn’t recommend anyone to start prep in year 11 let alone year 10, but doesn’t MSO results show a correlation between longer prep and higher scores (maybe causation??)

 

[ucatboy]

Based off this website though haven’t the people who started in Jan-ish performed very well? Obviously I wouldn’t recommend anyone to start prep in year 11 let alone year 10, but doesn’t MSO results show a correlation between longer prep and higher scores (maybe causation??)

I reckon correlation tbh, with a bit of reporting bias thrown in the mix.

There were a number of MSO users who obtained extremely high UCAT scores without months of prep i.e. Breg with 3190, frays with 3380, among others.

 

[dotwingz]

Based off this website though haven’t the people who started in Jan-ish performed very well? Obviously I wouldn’t recommend anyone to start prep in year 11 let alone year 10, but doesn’t MSO results show a correlation between longer prep and higher scores (maybe causation??)

MSO suffers from response bias. I dont think its likely that people would publish that theyve studied for 12 months and got a disappointing score.

https://www.ucat.ac.uk/media/1180/differentials-in-access-to-advice-and-support-lambe.pdf

Ive seen research to suggest that the benefit of a lot of prep isnt as much as people make it out to be, and is definetely not worth the thousands upon thousands of dollars it costs.

If you look at page 20 you can see that the benefit of doing the free tests was as 66.5 average score increase, whilst fee paying courses increased by 20 points on average. Which is alot less significant than companies make it out to be that you need to spend months up months (with expensive subscription services) in order to do well. A basic level of prep will increase you on average 161.4 points however, which is why i say that the free resources is sufficient until the last month or two.

 

[E_N]

Thanks everyone. To get an idea, can I ask how many months in advance did you begin preparation? And generally, what were the study techniques that you used (e.g. one exam paper every two weeks, focusing on individual questions, doing timed practice etc.)?

 

[hazell]

Thanks everyone. To get an idea, can I ask how many months in advance did you begin preparation? And generally, what were the study techniques that you used (e.g. one exam paper every two weeks, focusing on individual questions, doing timed practice etc.)?

February: research into ucat, mainly reading the guides on the official ucat website + untimed chilled practice questions
March: timed practice questions + technique development
April: timed mini mocks and drills + target weaknesses
May: full mocks (1-2 a week) and timed questions to target weaknesses
June: full mocks (2-3 a week) and timed questions to target weaknesses. Also did the official ucat questions banks during this time
July: revision and light practice before my exam

I didn’t do any exams in the ~2 weeks leading up to my exam, I preferred to do some light practice, review my past exams + mistakes

 

[Sokka]

Thanks everyone. To get an idea, can I ask how many months in advance did you begin preparation? And generally, what were the study techniques that you used (e.g. one exam paper every two weeks, focusing on individual questions, doing timed practice etc.)?

There are a few guides on MSO, and if you have a look at the predicting UCAT results thread and the post-ucat discussion thread there is quite a bit of information

 

[EnK]

Hi LMG!

New to this forum and I was wondering if you had commented on your experience with UCAT/GAMSAT. I’ve completed my psych honours at UTAS and thinking of applying to medicine thank you so much in advance.

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Hi LMG!

New to this forum and I was wondering if you had commented on your experience with UCAT/GAMSAT. I’ve completed my psych honours at UTAS and thinking of applying to medicine thank you so much in advance.

UTAS, hey, imagine that

I have no experience with either GAMSAT or UCAT, unfortunately. I was really only interested in UTAS and this was a few years ago now so I have only done UMAT.

We have some very active UCAT threads, though, and a less active GAMSAT one you can check out.

 

[EnK]

Thanks, I will have a browse! How did you find UMAT, did you prepare for months on end? I did a few neuroscience subjects during undergrad but nothing related to chem or physics

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Thanks, I will have a browse! How did you find UMAT, did you prepare for months on end? I did a few neuroscience subjects during undergrad but nothing related to chem or physics

I had to re-do Chem to be eligible for UTAS as a non-standard as it had been too long since I did it in college, so I had recently done Chem prior to UMAT but it was seriously of zero use.

And I hadn’t done any physics since year 12 either.

I managed 98th%ile, so it’s definitely wasn’t an issue for UMAT. Someone else will have to weigh in on UCAT.

To be honest, I found UMAT to be like a giant WAIS and I bloody loved it! It made complete sense to me as an assessment and I had a quite analytical approach to my preparation because if this. But like I said, I’ve never sat UCAT so I have no idea how the comparison holds. There are plenty of people here who have done it though, and also some guides, so definitely have a look through this forum to get a feel for things.