Hi there,
My advice would be to practice doing the questions under timed conditions, whether this be a couple of questions or a full section of the exam, as timing is crucial for the exam. Also, learn to leave a question when you don’t know - take a guess and flag it up to come back to later.
For the situational judgement section in particular, I would also advise making a document and noting down scenarios where you were far off from the correct answer. Note down the scenario and the correct answer as well as the wrong answer that you chose - and explain why (for your future self) - think about the core values of a doctor as the scenarios cannot change drastically and will all be similar in the exam.
For the patterns/sequences of abstract reasoning, so I would also note these down and try to categorise them for yourself (eg. patterns with lines, patterns with clocks, patterns with shapes etc) . As you do more questions, you may notice recurring patterns.
These lists will serve as a 'cheat sheet' for yourself, so you can quickly look through them the night before/the morning of your exam.
On the exam day itself, don’t stress yourself too much, and try to forget about the previous section as you move on to the next section. Don’t dwell on any of the previous questions - give yourself a clean slate and try your best on the next section.
I would also advise you to sit the UCAT in the summer between year 12 and 13 if you can, so that you can focus on your a levels in y13 and also so that you can use your result to really ‘play the game’ when applying. Don’t be disheartened if you don’t do as well as you had hoped - instead, focus on looking at the different weighting’s each medical school puts on the UCAT and play to your other strengths.
We have a comparison table under the Application to Med School: Ultimate guide to UK medical schools tab which contains information about each university’s UCAT requirements so do check that out. We also have an article under the Application to Med School: Admissions Exams tab where a student has shared their top tips and tricks for the UCAT exam so have a look at that as well for more specific tips and tricks in each section of the exam!
Hi there, My advice would be to practice doing the questions under timed conditions, whether this be a couple of questions or a full section of the exam, as timing is crucial for the exam. Also, learn to leave a question when you don’t know - take a guess and flag it up to come back to later.
For the situational judgement section in particular, I would also advise making a document and noting down scenarios where you were far off from the correct answer. Note down the scenario and the correct answer as well as the wrong answer that you chose - and explain why (for your future self) - think about the core values of a doctor as the scenarios cannot change drastically and will all be similar in the exam. For the patterns/sequences of abstract reasoning, so I would also note these down and try to categorise them for yourself (eg. patterns with lines, patterns with clocks, patterns with shapes etc) . As you do more questions, you may notice recurring patterns. These lists will serve as a 'cheat sheet' for yourself, so you can quickly look through them the night before/the morning of your exam.
On the exam day itself, don’t stress yourself too much, and try to forget about the previous section as you move on to the next section. Don’t dwell on any of the previous questions - give yourself a clean slate and try your best on the next section.
I would also advise you to sit the UCAT in the summer between year 12 and 13 if you can, so that you can focus on your a levels in y13 and also so that you can use your result to really ‘play the game’ when applying. Don’t be disheartened if you don’t do as well as you had hoped - instead, focus on looking at the different weighting’s each medical school puts on the UCAT and play to your other strengths.
We have a comparison table under the Application to Med School: Ultimate guide to UK medical schools tab which contains information about each university’s UCAT requirements so do check that out. We also have an article under the Application to Med School: Admissions Exams tab where a student has shared their top tips and tricks for the UCAT exam so have a look at that as well for more specific tips and tricks in each section of the exam!
Best of luck!