The University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) is used in the UK, New Zealand, and Australia as part of the admissions process for medical and dental schools.
It's famous for being very competitive with only the top 80% or 90% of takers being accepted onto university programs for medicine or dentistry.
The test itself is also quite varied and isn't something you can just do without having prepared. With that in mind, let's take a look at some of the things on the test, what the format of the test is, and how you can prepare for it.
What Is On the UCAT?
Just to make matters more complicated, the UCAT is a series of tests within a test. The UCAT has 5 main sections and candidates will need to perform well in each of these sections.
Let's see what the sections are and what they aim to test.
Verbal Reasoning
The verbal reasoning section tests a candidate's ability to understand the written word, extract information from text, and answer questions based on reading comprehension.
For medical and dental professionals, this is important as they'll often need to read things like patient histories, medical literature, and communications between colleagues and patients.
Quantitative Reasoning
In addition to understanding the written word, candidates also need to prove they're good with numbers and the quantitative reasoning section of the UCAT tests their understanding of numerical and statistical information.
Questions in this section will often include charts and graphs, too, with candidates needing to prove that they understand different mathematical concepts.
Abstract Reasoning
Abstract reasoning tests the candidate's ability to make conclusions, recognise patterns, and make logical inferences from abstract information.
These kinds of skills are particularly useful in diagnosis when medical and dental professionals are
Decision Making
Decision-making is a huge part of working in medicine or dentistry, especially when a lot is riding on the outcomes of said decisions.
The UCAT tests decision-making by providing candidates with scenarios and multiple-choice questions where they have to analyse the information provided and make the best choice possible.
Situational Judgement
The situational judgement subtest covers both ethical and practical scenarios and has candidates evaluate scenarios including interactions with colleagues and patients and make decisions.
Despite the test being for medical and dental school, it doesn't actually test for medical or dental knowledge but instead tests candidates on all the other skills they might need for their university course.
How to Prepare for the UCAT
Knowing what skills will be tested is a good start, but since you need to outperform a lot of other candidates to get into most medical or dental programs, preparation is key.
Put Together a Study Plan
Once you understand the test, you can start putting together a study plan of where, when, and how you'll study the question types across the different subtests.
Your study plan will also help give you a better idea of what UCAT resources you'll need. We recommend starting with official UCAT resources. If you exhaust these resources, you can always look for third-party resources.
Test Yourself
While doing a lot of reading and research is a good idea, you need to test yourself regularly to make sure that you've retained all the information.
In addition to testing yourself on what you've just read, it's also important that you regularly do practice versions of your UCAT using sample papers and questions.
Once you've tested yourself, you need to go back over your performance to see where you did well, where you can improve, and where things went wrong. It's always a good idea to start with the latter as this is often the easiest way to make quick gains, too.
While it's definitely more fun to study the sections that you find easy, there isn't much point in spending hours to get a few more questions right if there are entire sections that you're struggling with.
Track Your Progress
Make sure you keep a record of the progress that you're making. Not only will this help you to know if you're on the right track, but it can also serve as a motivational tool.
If progress is too slow, it can motivate you to work harder but it's even better if you're making good progress and can see the results of your hard work.
Develop Exam Technique
One of the most difficult parts of the UCAT is the time constraints. With all the time in the world, the test would probably be quite easy, but being given a limited time to do anything instantly makes things more complicated.
It's a good idea that when you practise doing the UCAT, you pay particular attention to the time, and how long each section and subtest takes you.
You should also remember how much time you'll have for each section, work out how long you can spend on a question before you need to move on, and decide on the most effective use of your time to maximise your results.
Avoid Burning Out
Breaks are hugely important when preparing for your UCAT. While you will need to study a lot, taking breaks can be just as important as this will give you time to absorb information.
The same is true of living a healthy lifestyle and while you're preparing for the UCAT, make sure that you're eating right, sleeping well, and taking regular breaks.
There is such a thing as studying too much and you'll find that if you're studying for too long without a break, you won't be learning as effectively as you could be. Everybody learns better when they're well-rested.
Get Help and Support
The UCAT isn't easy and you don't have to prepare for it on your own. There are lots of resources out there to help and people who can help you with your studies.
Get Help from Friends and Family
The first place you can turn is to your friends and family. While they might not be experts on the UCAT, they can always sit down with you when you're testing yourself and help you.
Even if they can't help at all with the UCAT, friends and family members can provide moral support when you're studying for the UCAT.
Get Help from Teachers and Faculty Members
As it's common for the UCAT to be taken by students in their final year of secondary school and before they go to university, medical school, or dental school, you should be able to get help with the test from teachers and faculty members at your school.
Again, while not every staff member will be an expert on the UCAT, that doesn't mean that they can't provide you with help and advice on how to best study and suggest techniques and approaches that might help.
Get Help Studying for the UCAT from a Private Tutor
Having a dedicated tutor to help you study for the UCAT is another excellent way to do well on the test.
You can find private tutors that specialise in the UCAT, exam technique, and study skills. Much like having a coach to help you train for sports, your private tutor can make sure that you're completely ready on the day of your UCAT and that you get the best possible results that you're capable of.
They can work with you to put together your study plan, work out your strengths and weaknesses, and adapt every session and activity to whatever will work best for you.
Private tutors either work face-to-face, online, or in groups, which can affect the cost of your sessions.
Generally, face-to-face sessions are more costly but they're also the most cost-effective way to learn as you'll have your tutor there with you.
Online tutoring is another great way to learn or study because it's easier to schedule sessions and find tutors because you can broaden your search beyond your local area. As they don't have to pay as much for travel costs, online tutors tend to charge less than their face-to-face counterparts.
For those on a really tight budget, you can save money by splitting the cost of the tutor with other students and getting group tutoring. While these sessions won't be as effective as one-on-one tutoring, they can be much cheaper face-to-face or online.
If you're looking for a private UCAT tutor, it's easy to search for them on the Superprof website. Just search UCAT and where you live and you can start browsing tutors' profiles.
You can see how much they charge per hour, what their other students have to say about them, and if they offer their first lesson for free. Use these free lessons to try a few different tutors out before choosing the one that's right for you and what you want to learn.
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