UCAT

16 Aug

2022

Admissions Test
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Introduction The UKCAT is a two-hour computer based test. It is held at Pearson Vue centres which can be found at a variety of locations both in the UK and abroad. It consists of five sections which are timed separately and have been designed to test a variety of skills deemed to be important for someone wishing to enter the medical or dental fields. The UKCAT is also used by universities as a filter to narrow down the number of qualified candidates.   Each university and course uses your UKCAT results differently. Of all the factors that the university takes into account, your UKCAT results might well take up 50% of the total. As such it is a good idea to look into and study for the UKCAT in advance so you have an idea of what to expect when you get to your assessment date.  The UKCAT is very different from any other exam that you are likely to have encountered in the past. It adopts a different format and the skills required to do well in the UKCAT are very different from those which are used in normal public examinations, especially in terms of time and prioritisation.  UKCAT Examination Structure   Overview<figure class="table"><table><tbody><tr><td>Section</td><td>Items </td><td>Timing (mins)</td></tr><tr><td>Verbal Reasoning </td><td>44</td><td>22</td></tr><tr><td>Decision Making</td><td>29</td><td>32</td></tr><tr><td>Quantitative Reasoning </td><td>36</td><td>25</td></tr><tr><td>Abstract Reasoning </td><td>55</td><td>14</td></tr><tr><td>Situational Judgement</td><td>69 questions on   22 scenarios</td><td>27</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>  Verbal Reasoning This section tests your ability to critically evaluate written information. You will be presented with a number of question sets. Each set will be related to one block of text and contains a series of questions. You will have to choose between: (i) true (ii) false or (iii) cannot tell.  Decision Making  This section tests your ability to make sound judgments when given complex information. You will be presented with stand-alone questions that may refer to text, charts or graphs. A simple on-screen calculator is available for use in this section.  Quantitative Reasoning  This section tests your ability to critically evaluate numerical information. You will be given charts, graphs and tables and asked to solve problems. A simple on-screen calculator is available for use in this section.  Abstract Reasoning  This section tests your use of convergent and divergent thinking to infer relationships from information. There are 4 different item types:  <ul><li>Type 1 - there will be two sets of shapes, each consisting of 6 shapes. Each of the 6 shapes within a set has a common feature. You will need to identify this common feature in order to answer the questions relating to these sets. </li><li>Type 2 – there will be a series of shapes and you will be asked to select the next shape in the series. </li><li>Type 3 – there will be a statement involving a group of shapes. You will be asked to determine which of these shapes completes the statement. </li><li>Type 4 – involves two sets of shapes labelled A or B. You will be asked to indicate which of the answer options belongs to Set A or B.  </li></ul>Situational Judgment This section assesses the candidate’s capacity to understand real world situations and identify the appropriate behaviour required. For these questions you will be presented with a scenario and questions relating to it. You will be asked to determine how ‘appropriate’ each option is as well as how important a piece of information is in responding to the scenario. Each of these questions should be considered independently of each other.  There will be 3 answer choices: best option, second best and worst option.   <figure class="image"><img src="https://oxbridge-blogs-1.s3.ap-northeast-2.amazonaws.com/xFudpO1hKW49ytHqGeRf.png"></figure> Scoring System Each question in the first 4 sections is worth 1 mark. Your overall raw score is then scaled according to a system decided by the UKCAT Consortium. This will result in a final score for the first 4 sections out of a total of 900.  For the Situational Judgment segment, you will be placed in bands ranging from 1 through 4.  How to Prepare for the UKCAT  Candidates are recommended to start preparation about a month in advance of the test date. Familiarising yourself with the format and the content of the assessment ensures that you are mentally prepared, especially since many of the test segments involve skills which candidates would not have had to use for a long time, if not ever.  Generally, the sections which candidates tend to find the most difficult are:a) verbal reasoning; as well as b) abstract reasoning. This may be due to the fact that students preparing for the UKCAT tend to have a better grounding in the mathematical and science based subjects. Some of them find the Verbal Reasoning segment difficult as they have to deal with large chunks of text under time pressure.  The Abstract Reasoning segment also tends to pose difficulty because the pattern recognition involved is not really used taught in school and the patterns presented in the questions often appear ambiguous. Searching for patterns under time pressure also causes confusion for some candidates.  Preparation for the UKCAT starts with the official UKCAT website, which can be found here: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ukcat.ac.uk/">www.ukcat.ac.uk</a>  The site contains a wealth of resources to help you familiarise yourself with the test, including advice, question banks and mock tests. The latter will be critical for your UKCAT preparation as they mirror the actual test format. You can download past papers at: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ukcat.ac.uk/ukcat-test/ukcat-preparation/">www.ukcat.ac.uk/ukcat-test/ukcat-preparation</a>  In addition, candidates are recommended to obtain the book “Get into Medical School - 1250 UKCAT Practice Questions” by Olivier Picard. This book regularly updated and contains a bank of practice questions accompanied by explanations. There is information on each section of the test as well as strategies for dealing with the different types of questions.  Finally, for those who would like an additional source of practice questions, they can be found at: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.themedicportal.com/e-learning/ukcat/">www.themedicportal.com/e-learning/ukcat/</a>. But do note that the official UKCAT questions should still be your primary focus.  UKCAT Techniques   General  A very important technique is to learn how to ‘triage’ questions and learn that you will sometimes have to guess the answer to a question and move on to the next without being sure whether the answer you have picked is correct, and more importantly to not let this bother you during the test. As the questions are weighted equally and you have a very limited amount of time to answer each, it is better for you to answer every question than to spend too much time on one difficult question and potentially miss out on easier ones. Get used to using the flagging system which is set up so that you will be presented with a screen with all of your flagged questions at the end of the section. You can return to these easily at the end if you have time.  Time management is incredibly important, especially since normal public exams are not at all as time sensitive as the UKCAT  Practice using an on-screen calculator like the one which will be used in the test as people are often not used to using this kind of calculator and using the number keys on computers, this is something which can slow you down unnecessarily during the test.  Verbal Reasoning Segment  Practise reading large blocks of text in online newspapers or articles. This will help you get used to reading off a screen – something that can be off-putting if you are used to reading hard copy materials. When tackling practice questions, scan for key phrases and when you have located them, look very carefully for subtle differences between the statement given in the question and what has been said in the text.   Quantitative Reasoning Segment Maximise the number of ‘no maths’ questions that you can answer. Practice eyeballing calculations and simplifying the numbers given and approximating in order to eliminate the obviously incorrect answers and narrow down your possible options. Even if you still need to guess, you’ll have a better chance of getting the right answer.  The UKCAT questions often make the numbers look more complicated than they actually are. If you simplify them, you’ll often find that there is one answer which is the closest to what you’re looking for. Practice simple calculations, such as:  <ul><li>% change</li><li>Speed </li><li>Means </li><li>Percentages and proportions </li><li>Geometry formulae   </li></ul>Decision Making Segment Make sure that you really understand the information provided because there will often be details in the question which have an impact on which answer you pick.  Abstract Reasoning Segment The general strategy for Type 1 questions is as follows:  <ul><li>Ignore the test shape </li><li>Scan the sets and find the pattern</li><li>Evaluate the test shape </li><li>Eliminate and select the answer</li></ul> Some basic characteristics to look for include:  <ul><li>Shape </li><li>Colour </li><li>Arrangement </li><li>Number </li><li>Size   </li></ul>Situational Judgment Segment It is a good idea to read through some medical guidelines. These can be found at: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/good_medical_practice.asp">www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/good_medical_practice.asp</a>. The guidelines give you an idea of what is generally expected of practicing doctors and the principles underlying their behaviour when faced with some of the scenarios in the UKCAT.  Also, it is important to read the whole scenario in full so as to not miss out any key information which could potentially change your answer choice.  UKCAT Grades  The score UKCAT required varies greatly both between universities as well as from year to year. The variation is due to the overall standard of candidates applying to each university as well as the test difficulty from year to year. It is a good idea to have a look at your intended university’s website. It will often have information about the average score of successful applicants for the previous application cycles. This will give you a good idea of the score that you should aim for.   A safe score ranges from between 2700 to 3000 overall for all 4 sections. Note however that this is just a rough guide since the importance of the UKCAT varies across universities.  Registering and Taking the UKCAT  Registration is possible starting from May through the official UKCAT website: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ukcat.ac.uk/ukcat-test/ukcat-registration/">www.ukcat.ac.uk/ukcat-test/ukcat-registratio</a>n UKCAT test scores are sent directly to the candidates’ intended universities. This means that you will need to provide your UCAS ID when registering for the UKCAT. You take the UKCAT once a year from between July and October at a Pearson Vue centre. Centre locations can be found on the UKCAT website.  Results are released immediately after the test when you leave the testing centre. Statistics about the entire UKCAT cohort are released after the testing period has closed.  Finally, note that the UKCAT score is only valid for a year and repeat applicants will need to take the UKCAT again. Conclusion  Be structured about the way that you prepare for the UKCAT. Applicants commonly spend 1-2 hours a day in the first few weeks before increasing to 2-4 hours in the weeks immediately preceding the test. At the same time, do not stress yourself out during the preparation process since that can often be counterproductive and affect your performance. Ensure that you have dealt with all the administrative details before the test (for instance, double check your test ID and read the test confirmation email) and get to the test centre well ahead in time. Remember that life continues after you’ve finished the test! Although it can feel like your whole world at the time, remember that this is just one phase and once you get it over with you can move on!

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16 Aug

2022

UCAT

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