Pre-UMAT 2018 Discussion Thread

[DrDrLMG!]

Hey everyone,

Just wondering how experienced UMAT'ers found the ACER practice tests when compared to the real deal; with a particular comparison to each practice test?
Also, in your experience, what do you find is a good x/134 mark to achieve on practice tests on average to roughly predict UMAT performance.

Thanks for your input! I think I've seen these questions asked on the forum somewhere but cannot find it!

I personally found the 3 ACER exams available last year (there is a fourth this year that I can’t comment on) to be easier than the real deal. I got well over 100/134 on each, and I think something like 126/134 for exam 1 in particular. 126/134 equates to (very roughly) 250+/300. My actual exam result was 198/300 (98th %ile).

 

[UpTheGunners]

Hey guys,

Currently in the middle of UMAT prep for this year’s exam. Have done most of the drills you get from ME and in the ME exams I seem to get between 88-110 consistently out of 134 approximately and this is for exams 1-8. However, surprisingly I’ve been very disappointed with my ACER practice exams 1 and 2 as my scores are only about 100-105 out of 134 which isn’t that great and I’m a bit worried why I’m making silly mistakes in these prac exams which everyone says is ‘extremely easy’. Was asking for someone who had a similar experience going into the real UMAT.

 

[Chrismm]

Hey guys,

Currently in the middle of UMAT prep for this year’s exam. Have done most of the drills you get from ME and in the ME exams I seem to get between 88-110 consistently out of 134 approximately and this is for exams 1-8. However, surprisingly I’ve been very disappointed with my ACER practice exams 1 and 2 as my scores are only about 100-105 out of 134 which isn’t that great and I’m a bit worried why I’m making silly mistakes in these prac exams which everyone says is ‘extremely easy’. Was asking for someone who had a similar experience going into the real UMAT.

I'm getting 76-100 out of 134 on the ACER papers. I think the most important aspect of UMAT practice is the timing. So if you can do all the questions within 3 hours then that's fine.

 

[Grant Hughes]

I personally found the 3 ACER exams available last year (there is a fourth this year that I can’t comment on) to be easier than the real deal. I got well over 100/134 on each, and I think something like 126/134 for exam 1 in particular. 126/134 equates to (very roughly) 250+/300. My actual exam result was 198/300 (98th %ile).

No dramas, thanks LMG! I think my timing for s1 questions is my real killer in my prep. I'll have to keep practicing under timed conditions and put myself in a clear frame of mind. Are there any other s1 tips you have done to improve this? Thanks!

 

[DrDrLMG!]

No dramas, thanks LMG! I think my timing for s1 questions is my real killer in my prep. I'll have to keep practicing under timed conditions and put myself in a clear frame of mind. Are there any other s1 tips you have done to improve this? Thanks!

My tip to give you better timing for S1 is to get faster at S3, tbh. It’s the easiest concept to “learn”, and you can save lots of time to then use on S1. My timing split was 90/30/60 over the 3 sections.

 

[kiwikillaz]

My tip to give you better timing for S1 is to get faster at S3, tbh. It’s the easiest concept to “learn”, and you can save lots of time to then use on S1. My timing split was 90/30/60 over the 3 sections.

Only 30 minutes on Section 2?

Also a bit of a weird question for everyone, but do they announce how long we have left during the exam? And at what intervals do they announce it eg. '1 hour to go'? "10 minutes to go?"

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Only 30 minutes on Section 2?

Also a bit of a weird question for everyone, but do they announce how long we have left during the exam? And at what intervals do they announce it eg. '1 hour to go'? "10 minutes to go?"

Yes, 30 minutes. And yes, “10 minutes remaining” warning.

 

[kiwikillaz]

Yes, 30 minutes. And yes, “10 minutes remaining” warning.

Thanks for the info!

At what other times do they give you a warning?

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Thanks for the info!

At what other times do they give you a warning?

Only at the end of reading time, IIRC.

 

[kiwikillaz]

Only at the end of reading time, IIRC.

Oh man time management is my biggest killer! So only at 10 minutes to go and end of reading time!! Did they cross off times on a screen or anything, I get so stressed about the timing of UMAT!

 

[A1]

Did they cross off times on a screen or anything

They don't but you can do that yourself with your own watch (must be an analog).

 

[adelaidemedplz]

Hey guys,

Currently in the middle of UMAT prep for this year’s exam. Have done most of the drills you get from ME and in the ME exams I seem to get between 88-110 consistently out of 134 approximately and this is for exams 1-8. However, surprisingly I’ve been very disappointed with my ACER practice exams 1 and 2 as my scores are only about 100-105 out of 134 which isn’t that great and I’m a bit worried why I’m making silly mistakes in these prac exams which everyone says is ‘extremely easy’. Was asking for someone who had a similar experience going into the real UMAT.

Huh, that's very surprising, usually people see a significant bump in their score on the Acer exams compared to ME. Are you doing everything under timed conditions?

PS: COYG

 

[adelaidemedplz]

Hey everyone, been lurking for a long time here and I just wanted a veteran opinion (LMG!, A1, Mana, anyone is more than welcome).

Currently I've done all but 1 of the ME exams and I still have 3 of the Acer exams to go (left them for last to serve as a bit of a morale boost). For all of the ME exams, I've been consistently getting 92-95/134, and for the singular Acer exam I did, I got 121/134 (although I still had 30m to spare). Do you guys think I'm on track of 90+ percentile in the real thing?

In terms of my strengths, I'm strong in logical reasoning, analysing texts, interactions, PTM, and 'this is to that'.

For my weaknesses, there isn't anything I consistently get wrong but I find it hard to find consistency with certain types of problem solving questions, such as the ones featuring timetables or card games especially. Any strategies for those long winded S1 questions? Would speeding through them or taking my time be more appropriate?

Thanks a bunch MSO!

 

[Indecisive]

Hey all,

For those who did Medentry and have done the UMAT, are the questions encountered in section 3 of the UMAT comparable to those given by Medentry? Also, how frequent do questions requiring mapping appear on the real exam, and were there many questions which forced you to think vastly outside the box?

Thanks!

 

[UpTheGunners]

Huh, that's very surprising, usually people see a significant bump in their score on the Acer exams compared to ME. Are you doing everything under timed conditions?

PS: COYG

Haha YTB COYG. Also yeah I am doing everything under timed conditions. I think honestly, the fact that I hadn't done UMAT or any exams for 2 months between mid-term exams is why I probably made more errors than expected. Good luck for the exam as well and hope you get Adelaide!

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Hey all,

For those who did Medentry and have done the UMAT, are the questions encountered in section 3 of the UMAT comparable to those given by Medentry? Also, how frequent do questions requiring mapping appear on the real exam, and were there many questions which forced you to think vastly outside the box?

Thanks!

I used mapping in the actual exam lots last year and got 64.

 

[MambaMent..]

Hey, was just wondering how people are finding acer prac exams and what kinda score we should be aiming for to get above 90th percentile, particularly for pactice test 3 and 4 (as ppl say they are more representative of the actual exam). Thanks!

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Hey, was just wondering how people are finding acer prac exams and what kinda score we should be aiming for to get above 90th percentile, particularly for pactice test 3 and 4 (as ppl say they are more representative of the actual exam). Thanks!

I did exams 1, 2, and 3, and got over 110ish/134 on each (inc. 126/134 on exam 1). I got 198/300 on UMAT (98th %ile).

 

[Littlebro]

Hey guys,

In preparing for Section 2 I was wondering how much emphasis you should focus on learning new/more complex vocabulary (and whether you're going too far)?

And does reading loads of novels really help for this?

 

[jiaxing]

Hi everyone,

I want to know how closely MedEntry is to the real UMAT exam. I think there was a thread which discussed this, but now I can't seem to find it.

So, can anybody who has done the UMAT shed some light on how closely MedEntry mocks the real thing?

FYI: I'm currently getting 13+/20 in Section 1 drills, averaging 9+/15 in section 2 drills and 13/15 in Section 3.

Thanks! Any help would be greatly appreciated!