Hey everyone
My name is ThunderDragon and I am currently in my 2nd year in a Bachelor of Science at Monash University with the hopes of entering either Nonstandard Entry Medicine (Undergraduate Medicine at either UNSW, JMP, WSU, or JCU) or Postgraduate entry Medicine. I have done the UCAT 3 times achieving a score of 2750 in 2020 (77th Percentile in 2020), 2790 in 2021 (79th Percentile in 2021), and 3050 this year (93rd Percentile in 2022). Through completing the UCAT exam several times and achieving both ends of the spectrum of scores that weren't competitive enough for Medicine to a score that potentially puts me in a good position to receive an interview as long as the other criteria are met (namely academic results), I have good perspectives on what to do and more importantly, what NOT to do and I hope this guide will help you achieve the UCAT score that you desire.
I would like to preface and say that this guide is purely my own experiences as well as other tips that I have gathered from medical students and other applicants that have achieved high UCAT scores so take the advice with a grain of salt since UCAT is a very personal thing and will depend on each individual person and circumstances. The guide will be separated into several categories as this is quite long and includes:
- Test scores and test experience
- Resources and Practice Mock Scores
- Revision Schedule
- Subsection Specific Tips
- General Tips
Test Scores and Test Experience:
The scores that I received for the 2022 UCAT sitting were:
Verbal Reasoning: 670
Decision Making: 750
Quantitative Reasoning: 880
Abstract Reasoning: 750
Situational Judgement: 583 (A low Band 2 if you're in the UK although generally Australian students do worse than UK students in this section since most unis don't care about SJT)
Total Score: 3050 (93rd Percentile)
I sat my exam at the La Trobe testing center in Melbourne CBD on the 20th of July Wednesday which was roughly in the middle of the testing period (July 1st to August 12th) at 12 pm. I arrived roughly an hour early in the city and walked around as well as making sure I got the location of the testing center correct. I checked in roughly 20 minutes early and was sent up the lift where I had to read some rules, sign my name, checked my ID, and also took a photo of myself before I had to pat myself down, turn my pockets inside out and then place everything into a locker except for my ID and the key for the locker. I was then told to sit and wait until I got called in by the testing staff. I then had to pat myself down again and the staff also checked my glasses. I was given a marker and some laminated sheets which I could do working out. I was also offered earplugs or headphones (not all testing centers will have soundproof headphones but most will have earplugs at the very least) and then led to a computer in the room. The time went by pretty fast after that and soon enough I was done with the exam. I received an email about an hour later saying my test results were ready. I wasn't able to open the results on my phone for some reason but I was able to open it on my laptop.
Resources and Practice Mock Scores:
I would highly recommend using Medify for UCAT Prep as they have a massive question bank, 24 full length mocks and even more mini-mocks for each section. Medentry is also a good alternative as they have a large range of mocks too and the difficulty is known to be a bit harder than the real exam so it might mean you are better prepared. Personally, I found Medify VR and DM to be a bit easier than the actual UCAT exam while Medify QR and AR were quite a bit harder than the actual UCAT exam. If I had to choose between Medify or Medentry, I would go with Medify however if you do have the money, then getting both wouldn't be a terrible idea either. I would also recommend UCAT official resources as well even though the interface is a bit laggy and Mocks A and B are notrious for being way harder than the actual exam especially the QR. If you needed a free resource, then I would recommend Passmedicine which has some free UCAT tests however the quality of them is definitely a lot lower than Medify or Medentry.
Outside of practice banks, I would recommend checking out the UCAT Discord server which is a community where students can help each other out with any questions and you can also do some study sessions. Given that the UCAT and applying for medical school is quite a tough journey, having a community just means its a bit less isolating. Do tread with caution though since occasionally with people constantly talking about their mock scores, it can get a bit toxic and annoying to hear about UCAT 24/7 so access with moderation.
I have listed my practice scores below since I found that having something to compare to was helpful but at the same time, UCAT is subjective so take these scores with a grain of salt (these were done out of order as well btw):
Medify Mock 1: 3140
Medify Mock 2: 3300
Medify Mock 3: 3100
Medify Mock 4: 3040
Medify Mock 5: 3040
Medify Mock 6: 2980
Medify Mock 7: 3250
Medify Mock 8: 3300
Medify Mock 9: 3070
Medify Mock 10: 3010
Medify Mock 11: 3010
Medify Mock 12: 3080
Medentry Mock 18: 2820
Official Mock A: 2820
Official Mock B: 2980
Official Mock C: 2980
Official Mock D: 3180 (Last practice exam I did - 3 days before my actual exam)
My mock average comes out to be around 3064 so I did a little bit worse in my real exam however some people do better, the same or worse in the real exam depending on various other factors like nerves etc.
Revision Schedule:
The amount of time you spend studying for the UCAT will depend on the individual but generally around 2 - 3 months is a good time frame. Anything more than a year is a bit excessive and can lead to burnout which can lead to lower scores on the real exam. I spent around 3 months studying for the UCAT with the first month or so mainly just doing untimed questions for each section just to get familar with the types of questions being asked as well as occasionally some mini mocks for specific sections sprinkled throughout. In my 2nd month, I did a lot more mini mocks as well as starting to do timed questions and also did around 1-2 full length mocks. In my last month of prep, I was doing mainly timed questions for my weaker areas as well as full length mocks every 2-3 days.
Subtest Specific Tips:
Verbal Reasoning:
Generally the worst performing section in most students, this section in my opinion is the least yield section to study for although you should do a bit of study anyway. All my homies hate Verbal Reasoning. My strategy was to do all the True False Can't Tell Questions first since they are generally easier and then once that was done, make a second run and do some of the easier Reading Comprehension questions and then finally do the harder Reading comprehension questions. Skipping is quite vital in this section as you don't want to be stuck on some hard what is the author's intention on this article about some 18th century crap when there are much easier questions elsewhere.
- For True False Can't Tell questions, I generally read the question first then skimmed and scanned the text for keywords to find the answer.
- For the Reading Comprehension type questions, I generally read the whole text quickly before attempting to answer the questions since those usually required a greater depth of understanding.
- Numbers, names and proper nouns are your best friends.
- When reading the texts, keep a vague idea of what each paragraph is talking about. One paragraph might be talking about the history of the city whereas the next paragraph may be talking about issues in the present day city.
- Read a couple of boring texts on the day of the exam before your UCAT to get your mind into the UCAT mode
Decision Making:
Bit of a wildcard section given there are so many different question types in this section. Be familiar with the various different types of question styles so spend a bit more time on untimed questions in this section first before moving onto timed questions. Time pressure wise, this is an alright section given you have quite a bit of time so you should be able to finish the section somewhat comfortably.
- Make sure to do the first 4-5 Syllogisms (Yes or No drag and drop questions) since they use the same skills as VR previously.
- Yes in Syllogisms is if it is explicity stated or can be infered from the data given while No is when its directly contradicted or you can't tell from the information given
- Used the arrow method for the Syllogisms although some people like using Venn Diagrams
- Use your whiteboard a lot for this section so making quick sketches or tables is very helpful
- In the strongest argument type questions, go for the one with the most factual evidence (assumptions and opinions aren't as strong) and also make sure it's relevant to the topic and audience (if it's talking about fining school kids, a strong argument needs to reference specifically about school kids).
- Get comfortable with basic probability rules. OR is addition of probabilities and AND is multiplication of probabilities.
Quantitative Reasoning:
Probably the easiest section in my opinion given the maths is very very basic and the only hard thing about this section is the time and also the ability to make dumb errors or put the wrong calculations in the calculator. This is coming from someone who scored a Raw 23 in Maths Methods and only got above a Raw 20 cause of MHS SAC scaling.
- Know your Speed/Distance/Time Formula and how to manipulate it. Use a SDT triangle if needed.
- Get comfortable with Mean/Median/Mode from info as well as tables and graphs
- Percentage Change (Increase or Decrease) is tested a LOT so get very very familar with them
- Original price and New Price is also tested quite a lot
- Basic area, volume and surface area is also quite a common theme and occasionally circles will pop up as well as know Pi Radius squared and 2Pi Radius.
- Currency conversions and conversion of units pops up a lot so know how to switch between pounds and pennies or Euros to American Dollars or Metres to Centimetres etc.
- Use and practice with a number pad and practice with the Onscreen calculator provided so you become a speed demon at it
- While the onscreen calculator proficiency is a must, basic mental maths should be used to save time too. If you need to use a calculator to multiply 7 times 8, then that's an issue.
Abstract Reasoning:
This is probably the weirdest section when you first start looking at the UCAT and it is ok if you can't get any patterns initially. With repeated practice, most people see significant improvement in this section and it ends up being people's best section, even if that means you see AR patterns in your dreams (Post Traumatic AR Disorder is real).
- Create a list of patterns you can't get and look over it when you can
- Shove the hardest patterns or similar ones you always get wrong into Anki. Although it is about recognition and not memorisation, if you constantly get a similar type of pattern wrong, then memorising it may help accelerate the understanding aspect. Don't do this for all patterns you get wrong though.
- Do as many questions as you possibly can. I did around 1500+ Sets of patterns because I sucked at this section
- In the early stages, use pnemonics such as SCANS or SPERM ARSE ROSE OP ANAL CHODE (it is legit i am not a weirdo) however once you get to the exam, you shouldn't need to use these anymore since they will have been built into your brain
- In Set A/B/Neither Questions, look at the simplest box
- Personally, dont be too close to the screen and take a step back and generally I find I can see the pattern more easier
- Look at the Pattern first, ONLY LOOK AT THE QUESTION WHEN YOU GET THE PATTERN
- Since you are so time pressured, if you don't get the pattern within 30 seconds, flag, skip and move on and come back to it later if you got the time.
- Generally it is simpler patterns like odd/even or number of intersections and DONT OVERTHINK IT.
Situational Judgement:
Most Australian Unis don't really give a shit about this section so I wouldn't recommend doing any prep except the ones built into the mocks. Just use common sense and you should get above 50th percentile and you'll be fine. You will waste your time if you spend time studying for this and you should do okay if you are an ethical person (yes my score was like 50th percentile for SJT but thats cause I needed to pee real bad and just sped thru the section so I could go pee).
General Tips:
- FLAG, SKIP AND COME BACK IS YOUR BEST FRIEND OR ELSE YOU WILL RUN OUT OF TIME
- RLY FOCUS on your weaknesses.
- Generally, the most gains occur in Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning followed by Decision Making and then Verbal Reasoning. That being said, don't neglect a section either.
- Keep track of your scores so you can see how you are going and if you are improving, stagnating or decreasing
- Practice test conditions. Examples include using a numberpad to practice your calc skills and making sure you are not distracted in mocks. Sit maybe 1-2 mocks at a PC in a library or uni since you will be doing it at PCS in the real thing.
- Know your short cuts like Alt F for Flagging etc as these can save precious time
- Practice holding your urine in for the entire 2 hours as going to the toilet during the middle of the exam will waste precious time
- Drink enough water but don't drink too much
- Before the real exam, do a bit of exercise to release those beta endorphins (PSYCH 3/4 FTW) as it can reduce stress and anxiety
- Don't do mocks everyday (at most every 2-3 days) otherwise you will burn out.
- Reflecting on your mistakes (even the dumb ones) is very important and equally if not more important therefore create a logbook of your errors
- If you find yourself getting tired or scores are dropping, take a break. This is a sign of burn out starting.
- Quality over Quantity. I did less mocks in 2022 than 2021 and did better and instead hammered out on my weaknesses (like percentage change in QR)
These are just some of my tips for the UCAT exam. I would not stress starting UCAT prep right now because it is still quite early and instead you should focus on school and if you are doing any 3/4s, focus on that. If you wanted to start a bit earlier, you could do a little bit on the school summer holidays before Year 12 and familarise yourself with the format and the types of questions. That being said, once school starts, try and do a bit every week (maybe block off Saturdays for UCAT) since Year 12 will get hectic and you might realise that you have forgotten about UCAT until theres only 2 weeks left and by then, it will be very stressful. In terms of scheduling when to do the UCAT, try and go for mid - July ish as this will roughly be your 2nd week of the term holidays giving you a lot of time to study and focus on the UCAT. Also try not to reschedule because most of the time, its just you being anxious and it can perpetuate stress making you do worse (learnt that the hard way in my 2nd sitting).
I know this was very long (good VR practice 😀 ) but I wanted to help you out on this ardous journey and make things a bit more simple. If you have any questions, feel free to comment below and I will try and answer them (I may take a while since I'm drowing in Uni) and keep your eyes peeled since I may or may not be potentially offering UCAT tutoring (will know around January).
ThunderDragon sigining out.
