Ways and Tips to ace the UCAT
University Clinical Aptitude Test, also known as UCAT, is a standardized medical admission test for medical and dentistry schools in the UK constructed and governed by the UCAT Consortium and regulated by Pearson VUE all over the globe for students who want to pursue medicine in the United Kingdom. It's a 2-hour computerized exam consisting of five modules (QR, VR, AR, DM, and SJ). Those who are willing to apply to the top medical universities in the UK must avail of our online UCAT preparation services in India as well as the UAE.
Tips for UCAT preparation
1. The UCAT exam is designed to test the required mental abilities of a student to get into a medical or dental university in the UK.
The test comprises 5 modules and lets us have a look at the number of questions and time allotment for each section.
Sections | No. of Questions | Time Allotted (in minutes) |
Verbal Reasoning | 44 | 21 |
Quantitative Reasoning | 36 | 25 |
Abstract Reasoning | 50 | 12 |
Situational Judgment | 66 | 26 |
Decision Making | 29 | 31 |
2. Make use of timestamps
If you are going to sit for this test, then you must understand the UCAT test pattern and practice the sections within a time constraint. You can assign a certain time to each of the sections as in this way you will memorize the time that is needed to be spent on each section.
3. Practice UCAT questions
The only aim of practicing the questions is to have an understanding of the variety of questions you will be asked in your tests. You will be given many sets of questions to practice in the study material that our trainers would provide you during your UCAT preparation classes.
4. Create your data
The more you practice, the more you will be clear about the data you have to collect. Attempting the number of questions is not important if you don’t trace where you have gone wrong! Try reviewing and collecting the data (questions) after each practice set, it will help you know your strengths and weaker areas.
5. Learn to skip questions
During your UCAT preparation, you need to practice with a mindset of skipping questions also, although there is NO NEGATIVE MARKING in the test, aiming to attempt all the questions would lead to a waste of time. You should be more focused on the questions you can attempt better rather than attempting all.
6. Plan your UCAT preparation
GoToUniversity suggests starting preparation at least 8 weeks before your final test date. This way you can have ample time to focus on the test preparation. You can practice by targeting a score and taking a mock test once or twice a week provided to you by our trainers.
7. Put together weekly targets
After knowing about the time it takes to prepare, you may set a weekly target for yourself for example- 400 questions/ week and two mock tests or as per your suitability.
8. Do not forget the Reading!
Dedicate your regular 30 minutes to the reading section and read any news, articles, blogs, and so on. You may also look up to reading the medication guide provided by the GMC to help yourself in the situational judgment section.
9. Enroll in a UCAT preparation course
When you decide on taking the test, you must also know the source or platform you would seek guidance. GoToUniversity has the answer to all of your standardized test prep queries and suggests you avail of offline and online UCAT preparation courses today!
10. Book the test early
Timely booking of a test helps students to manage the practice within a specific time and it leads to proper planning and execution of the UCAT preparation.
Some exam shortcut keys
As you know that it is a computer-based test, so we have provided you with certain shortcut keys for UCAT that can be used while preparing for the test and also taking up the final test.
Next Question | Alt+N |
Flag the Question | Alt+F |
Open Calculator | Alt+C |
Previous Questions | Alt+P |
Review Flagged Questions | Alt+V |
Review incomplete questions | Alt+I |
Review all Questions | Alt+A |
Return to the View Screen | Alt+S |
End the Review | Alt+E |
Use the keypad on the Keyboard | num lock |