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Pre-UCAT Discussion 2026

Hmm. What section is your strength or which section do you feel like is easy but you cannot acheive high marks in. Also do you know the keyboard shortcuts such ALT N for next question or ALT C for calculator? Also for questions requiring calculations do you use a num pad to caliberate the calculator? These little things can save precious seconds, which can help in maximizing your score. Also how often do you do practice drills (Not Mocks) and how many hours do you spend on them?
 
so pretty much my worst subtest is vr because thats the test i get in the 500s, qr and dm are in the 600s and personally qr would be my easiest because i know how to do all the calculations but some stimuli seem very overwhelming for me so I usually just skip it and plan on coming back but never get the time to. For dm aswell sometimes I do great in syllogisms like the ones at the start but every now n then I get a few wrong and I feel the inference based syllogism scare me and are very confusing for me. I use all the shortcuts and practice on a desktop so i can use the number pad too. Also what i was planning on doing for the rest of the month was just to do a full mock daily and review then do some drilled practice based on the review...i do around 20mins for each subtest in sets of 5mins each. You think its possible to get in the 2300s in a month
 
Ok I will start with QR. In qr as you told in those type of questions you quickly just do a guess and flag and move on which you are doing. The simple questions can be done faster because you dont always need to read the whole info given in a question maybe that can be restricting you. I always try to read the question not the info so i get the idea of what i am looking for. Regarding DM, syllogisms can be very tricky and overwhelming sometimes so for them you need to do practice. The inference based questions are basically like vr, you have to read the statement and find if it is (true) yes or (false or cant tell) No. This technique helped me a lot for inference. Doing a mock every single day can be tiring maybe try 3 or 4 mocks a week and for your practice drills give more time to these sections and instead of doing 5 mins each time do around 15 or 20 minutes because 5 mins is too short and 20 mins each section per day is not enough, but do as much as it is easy for you to do. You do not want to a whole day on this. Also for VR I gave a few tips and tricks above I can share them again for all sections as well.

Also be familiar with the question types in each subtest and make sure to highlight your weaknesses and strengths and work on them as soon as you can.
 
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VR -
1. Many ppl have different approaches for example some may read the whole text first or some may just go straight to the questions. What works for me is that for reading comprehension questions, I quickly skim the paragraph first and try to understand what it’s actually talking about. Then read the question and it’ll be easier to locate. Adding on another technique is reading the first and last line of each paragraph. This gives you an idea about what will be in a paragraph
2. Simplify the text into easier words in ur head as u read
3. For tfc don’t bother reading the paragraph just read the question and find it in the text.
4. Big problem with vr is the time so what I think is a good tip is to set mini checkpoints. For example 22 mins for 44 questions so aim to get at 22 questions at 11 mins. This will help prevent you from spending too long on one stem. If you do js choose a random one and skip.
5. Another one of my tip would be to try to understand what type of text it is before reading. Is it sciencific, historic, personal text. Over time you will see they have a similar structure for example all biographies abt ppl will start with birth, early life, achievements etc. This will makw it easier for you to see where stuff is.
6. Also with questions that say “Which one of these are false”. You basically have to check each one but first try to rule out any that are obviously or more likely to not be the answer e.g some that use strong wording NEVER, WONT. This isn’t always the case but sometimes its easier. Also try to rule out the ones that have numbers e.g “he died in 1979” you can easily skim through and see if that number is in the text or not.
7. Reflect - So important to check each question you got wrong and male notes on what your getting wrong yo improve

DM -
1. Practise each subsection separately at first as they are very different and need different approaches
2. First syllogisms are easy and you should do them but make sure to understand what each term means like some is different to few etc
3. I usually skip logiv puzzles for the end because in dm the syllogisms are marked twive so i try to fo them first but when you do them its important to write it out you canr rlly do it in ur head
4. Probabilty has only a few different types so practise it and soon youll get 100%
5. Venn diagram is the easist one so quick do those
6. Lastly the opinion ones “should … “. Make sure to never think abt your personal belief just choose the one that includes both the problem and the solution

QR
1. Practise as much as you can.
2. Use keyboard shortcuts e.g Ctrl + c opens the calculator without needing to move to ur mouse. There’s many of those i don’t remember exactly but you search up it’ll be there
3. As you practise try to see what calculations you can do in your head for example in percentages if you want 60% of 50 just do 50 x 0.6. Instead of first 60/100 then times by 50
4. Memorise common fractions 1/2 is 0.5, 1/6 is 0.167 just stuff like that which will make it quicker
5. Don’t waste time writing stuff on paper
6. If you see a hard or more complex stem, skip and come back to it later finish the easier ones first


A "qualifier" in the reading programme refers to the small words that limit, soften, or set conditions on a claim, and they're crucial because they're precisely where a True statement silently becomes False or Can't Tell in UCAT Verbal Reasoning.

The idea is that the main facts in a sentence are easy to spot, but the qualifier attached to them quietly controls how strong the claim actually is. A careless reader skips over the qualifier and reads the sentence as a stronger, simpler version than what was written—and that's the trap. For example, if a first-class travel passage said first-class seats offer "up to twice as much legroom," and a question almost certainly tested whether that means "twice as much." It doesn't; "up to" is a ceiling, a maximum, not a fixed amount. The legroom could be twice as much, or only slightly more. So a statement claiming "first class offers twice the legroom" would be False, even though the passage clearly talks about double legroom.

The reading programme groups qualifiers into a few families. There are *amount qualifiers* like "up to," "as much as," "at least," "no more than": these set limits rather than fixed values. There are *frequency and proportion qualifiers* like "most," "generally," "usually," "some," "often," "can": these never mean "all" or "always," so any statement that says "all" or "always" is then False. There are *time qualifiers* like "originally," "then," "later," "formerly": these decide whether a fact applied before or after a change. And there are *condition qualifiers* like "only," "except," "unless" — strict limits that are easy to read past but decisive for the answer.


Yes I am giving ucat this year
 
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hi guys, i'm a bit lost about the 'partial marks' thing for the SJT and DM. maybe I'm missing something, but is there a way to know whether i've gotten partial marks in the practice materials provided by UCAT? Because otherwise, my SJT score is looking real bad for the question banks. thanks!
 
hi, well the questions on site do not calculate your partial marks. You have to mark yourself for the partial marks because they site just takes it as a wrong question. Do you need me to explain on which questions in dm or sjt the partial marks apply?
 
for further context, my first SJT score was 37 incorrect, but about 17 of those are like D when it should've been C, and B when it should've been A. I've seen people state that if the answers were on the 'same side' (i.e. A/B and C/D), those will be awarded partial marks for SJT--is this true?Y
hi, well the questions on site do not calculate your partial marks. You have to mark yourself for the partial marks because they site just takes it as a wrong question. Do you need me to explain on which questions in dm or sjt the partial marks apply?
yes please!
 
so basically in sjt if you answer C and the real answer is either B or D then you get 0.5 marks for it. The same for other answers such as answer was B but you said A or C you will get the partial mark, but if you said D for this one you will get it wrong
 
For the DM partial marks only apply in syllogisms and inference based questions. Both types have 5 statements in each question and you have to find out if they are (true) YES or (false or cant tell) NO. For the partial marks you have to get atleast 4 statements right. 5 statements right means you got full marks on that question and 4 statements means partial marks. If you get 3 statements or below this right then you dont get any marks.
 
so basically in sjt if you answer C and the real answer is either B or D then you get 0.5 marks for it. The same for other answers such as answer was B but you said A or C you will get the partial mark, but if you said D for this one you will get it wrong
How do you know this, by the way? if it's from UCAT themselves, i'd love a link so i can read more.
 
You get to know this once you start doing practice of these questions and review your mistakes. The UCAT official site is the only one which doesn't count the partial marks so you won't get to know the trend.

Scoring | UCAT ANZ Consortium This link is tells how it is scored but doesnt tell partial mark system for DM that I told you. Many people get to know once they start the practice sessions.

If you have any other questions am happy to answer them
 

Final UCAT Tips Before Next Month's Exam

Verbal Reasoning — Read efficiently and avoid subvocalising. Pay close attention to the precise wording of each question (note the difference between "can" and "cannot"), and ensure every answer is directly supported by the passage.

Decision Making — Identify your weakest question type — whether syllogisms, Venn diagrams, or logic puzzles — and practice it deliberately. Flag questions that consume too much time, and make full use of the note board.

Quantitative Reasoning — Master the keyboard shortcuts (ALT-N, ALT-P, ALT-C, ALT-F), keep your working clear and legible, and confirm what each question is asking before you begin calculating.

The Final Month — Priorities timed practice, review your mistakes carefully, and develop the discipline to flag and move on. A single difficult question should never compromise the five that follow.

Most importantly: the UCAT is the key that opens the interview door, but the interview is where assessors evaluate your communication, motivation, and commitment to medicine. Rather than pursuing perfection, focus on performing to your best, completing the exam, and securing the opportunity to interview.
 
Any idea on what the cutoff for WSU might be looking like for GWS this year? I heard last year it was around 766-768 (not exactly sure). What score would be considered safe/high chance of getting an interview offer?
Curious as well my weighted score this year is 774 hopefully that’s enough
 
Curious as well my weighted score this year is 774 hopefully that’s enough
We wouldn't know until we have many UCAT scores posted on MSO or UCAT publishes the percentiles, to see whether they are generally higher or lower or similar to last year.
 
hey everyone, i'm really confused about official practice test D VR question 40 (sorry. i can't post screenshots for some reason)--it's a T/F/CT question with the statement "The size of a robin's territory depends on the amount of vegetation in it." the main part of the passage i think it's talking about is where it says "...a territory capable of providing the family with sufficient food--mainly insects such as caterpillars and greenfly. When food is plentiful, the territory can be smaller than in a lean year." The only vague reference to vegatation/plant matter/etc. is "The male robin singing loudly in the bush is warning off other males, encouraging a female to join him, and marking out a territory."
So, the answer says that this statement is true because 'the amount of vegetation affects the amount of insects present. (etc.)'. it doesn't cite anything in the article, which makes sense, because nowhere in the passage does it mention that insect population is affected by vegetation. am i missing something? i thought that we're not supposed to use outside knowledge. i thought it was a trap question because 'true' would require outside knowledge, but the answers uses outside knowledge.
is there a type of VR question that needs use to use outside knowledge? i'm so confused.
 
I just read the question and the whole passage. I think it is true because their territory is a bush. Bushes can have different sizes we all know that so from that point of view it is true. In VR sometimes you do get a question which requires you to join points yourself. I myself struggle a lot with these types of questions, so the question itself wants you to read that paragraph again and again to waste your time, a very dangerous trap in which many students fall in.

The best you can do for this type of a question is give it an educated guess, flag and move on. For this specific question as it asks about vegetation density or you could say the size of the vegetation, which is ultimately the bush, is determining territorial size. I hope you understand the explanation.
 
i have my test tomorrow morning. does anyone have any last minute advice?
also, are the distributions of each of the question categories that appear the same as in the OQB? (e.g. the probability questions are always at the end of the DM, the SJT's pattern is importance --> appropriateness --> drag/drop, etc.)

also, any advice for QR/DM in particular would be much appreciated. my timing is really bad.
many thanks :)
p.s. how much time do you guys spend on the logic puzzle questions? i struggle to do them in good time.
p.p.s how many people are banking more on their atars?
 
Good luck with your exam. Just dont take much tension and try your best to remain calm. After finishing each section during the break of around 1 minute inbetween the sections close your eyes and take a deep breath and say " i will do better in this section". This thing helps me focus on the next section and helps me calm down a lot.

Yes the questions are in the same order as in the practice you have done. For dm and qr just make sure to make use of the laminated sheet they will give you especially for logic puzzles. I spend around 40 seconds to 2 minutes depends on each question. I sometimes flag guess and skip one question from logical puzzles.
 
Hey guys, I'm sitting the ucat for the 2nd time this year and my test is in 5 days. I'm really unsure about what scores I should be getting in my practice at this stage. I'm aiming for WSU as a non-rural, non-GWS, NSW resident so I'm quite worried about VR in particular. Do I definitely need 800+ weighted score this year?? I also qualify for EAS, will that help me?

My scores for VR are fluctuating like crazy. I'm getting in the 35-40 range for 50% of my mocks while the other 50% are in the 28-32 range. Can I expect to get minimum 790 in VR in the actual thing do you think?? I think I can get around 870 for QR and 800+ for DM, but I'm scared out of my wits for VR.

Also I feel like VR on the OQB requires a bit more inferencing than I'm used to so I can't even immediately pick a right answer and move on. I find myself wasting time checking through each answer option and using deduction to find the correct one. I can't find a better way to do it tbh. Does anyone have any strategies for this?

Any advice is really appreciated. Thanks.
 
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