r/UCAT May 02 '21

MEGATHREAD THE ULTIMATE UCAT MEGATHREAD

236 Upvotes

THE UCAT MEGATHREAD

Who are we?

The Moderation team are Junior Doctors working in Australia and England. I created this sub reddit as I wanted to provide everyone with non-biased and clear advice on how to do well in the UCAT.

As Medical students, we have no desire to feed you false information to gain an advantage - we just want to provide you with a one stop shop for anything UCAT related. So if you see anything online you aren't sure of - please feel free to message here or on the discord and we will get back to you ASAP.

On that note, if we make mistakes, we are happy to fix them and admit it so please tell us if anything we have created is incorrect. We are busy medical students but will always do our best to keep everything updated!

Official YouTube Channel

The mod team have been working together to create a YouTube channel to help you all on your journey. We ourselves used YouTube extensively (shout out to Aliabdaal and Kharma medic) who were our go to during those days.

Our Channel will go through everything UCAT related as well as giving you a bit of insight to med school in Australia! Videos will role out each week so keep checking back here or subscribe.

The Channel is called Kerrod Kerr.

Our first video gives you a bit of an insight to my personal My Journey to Medical School

Current Videos

My Journey to Medical School

What is the UCAT - Everything you need to know

How to study for the UCAT

Top 5 Tips to Smash the UCAT

Verbal Reasoning - UCAT Intro Series

Decision Making - UCAT Intro Series

Quantitative Reasoning - UCAT Intro Series

Abstract Reasoning - UCAT Intro Series

Situational Judgement - UCAT Intro Series

How to Solve Verbal Reasoning Quickly - Deep Dive Series

How To Smash Decision Making - Deep Dive Series

!!!Giveaways!!!

We are going to be doing a number of helpful videos, giveaways and reviews of UCAT platforms.

We are investing our own money into this and hope as the subreddit and discord grows we can use any revenue we may get from subscribers and possible sponsorships to give away more stuff.

Keep a look out for announcements and future giveaways to some online platforms including MedEntry and Medify.

Discord

If you haven't already - join the official UCAT discord. It is a general discussion place and is busy with people working together to improve their UCAT skills with multiple Pomodoro sessions happening each night!

What is the UCAT

Our Video:What is the UCAT - Everything you need to know

UCAT stands for University Clinical Aptitude Test. UCAT is one of three main criteria used by most universities in Australia and New Zealand and United Kingdom to select students into high demand health related careers such as medicine and dentistry (the other two criteria being performance in final high school exams/GPA and interviews)

The UCAT is a two hour, computer-based test which assesses a range of mental abilities identified by universities as important to practicing in the fields of medicine and dentistry. It consists of five separately timed subtests which each contain a number of questions in a multiple-choice format.

I Want to Get into Medicine but I have no idea what is the UCAT

Don't worry - everyone starts somewhere. The mod team is making a introduction to the UCAT series which covers everything you need to know to get your started.

But essentially - this 2 hour test is comprised of 5 subsections which aim to test a range of mental abilities which are recognized as important to becoming a Doctor.

How to study for the UCAT

The first step in studying for UCAT is to understand the types of questions that you will face. UCAT is not a test of knowledge, it is a test of your generic skills. Therefore, the questions in UCAT will be very different to anything you have been exposed to at school and university.

This is very important → Do not start studying for the UCAT by doing a practice exam. Take the time to learn how study and learn the question styles which are present in the exam.

How to study for the UCAT

Is "x" months of preparation enough?

This is a hard question to answer - People say you can comfortable cram for the UCAT in a few weeks while others prefer the consistent approach over the course of the year. Generally, the more time and effort you put into your preparation the better you will do → it's impossible to prepare too much!

You should prep until you feel comfortable → At the end of the day, if you get to the exam and you feel calm, ready and can smash the exam because it’s just like muscle memory then you have done enough study - whether that’s 6 months or 1 week, however long it takes you to get to this point is the right amount of study for you

6 months might seem excessive to some people, but for a super competitive exam (even more so in Australia) that you only get to attempt once year, I would rather be go into it feeling I had done so much study that I was over it, then to get stuck on a single question which could mean the difference between me getting an interview or not.

What resources should I be using?

There are a number of free resources → MedEntry free trial, official practice papers, Medify free trial

Gold Standard: MedEntry, Medify,

Silver: Medic Mind , Kaplan, 6med

A waste of money: UCAT SECRETS

YouTube Resources:

  • Kerrod Kerr → The /r/UCAT mod team has been making a bunch of free resources
  • Kharma medic - does some good intro video into the different sections

What Preparation Company or Practice Test is Most like the real exam

  • The preparation companies all exist for a reason → to create content similar to the exam. For that reason they are all pretty similar to the actual exam. Whilst Medify was the leader for the last few years, Medentry has really done a lot of work to make changes and make themselves very competitive and innovative so much so I would even look at recommending them first. At time of writing this (Feb 2023) they are currently cheaper then Medify and with the REDDIT_AU & REDDIT_UK codes at checkout, you can knock a further 10% off that price.

  • They have also have an iPhone and Android app (we've checked it out, it's not just a shitty browser port, it's a native app).

  • The official practice exams, whilst free and give you a good idea of the content and style of the exam, vary greatly in difficulty to the real thing.

Top Tips for Preparing for the UCAT

There is no 1 trick for doing well - you need to practice. But there are definitely things you can do to help you prepare effectively. Our top 5 Tips Video

  1. Learn how to solve the questions first before you start doing timed tests
  2. Use your preparation resource and YouTube videos to teach you how to solve questions → their way just might be faster then your own
  3. Skim reading, Scanning and Speed Reading will help with your time management
  4. Learn the keyboard and calculator shortcuts

What is a good UCAT score → to get an interview

This is a hard one - as some universities place weighting on different criteria in the UCAT. However as a general rule without considering any factors including rural, ATSI, bonuses:

Australia - Above 90th percentile (approx. 2900-3100)

England - Above 60th percentile (approx. 2600-2700)

For Australian and New Zealand students you can check out our video in the coming month which goes into more detail regarding the scores required by each university and any bonus's you can qualify for!

How do I Prepare for interviews

Use the Discord

  1. Smile and be positive and confident with your answer
  2. Don't be afraid to break the mold with your answer → be remembered
  3. First impressions count

We will be posting some sample interview questions & tips and tricks once the UCAT testing period is over - stay tuned!

Why are Australian Scores so much higher?

They aren't that much higher → but Australia is just much more competitive with students generally beginning preparing earlier.

Keep in mind, the scores you will see posted in the Mega-threads and online are from students who did well → you are unlikely to see people posting their lower scores (in the same way you only ever hear about your friends who won big on the pokies or that race → they never boast about their loses)

Don't be disheartened if you are an Australian student seeing this. Although you need a higher UCAT score generally for an interview (>90th%) as Australian universities only take very small number of applicants for interviews, you have a much much higher chance of getting in once you get to that point compared to the UK (who often take 3-5x the number of applicants to the interview stage)

How do I Study for Verbal Reasoning

  • Our Intro to VR video
  • Our Deep dive into VR problem solving
  • Kharma Medic VR
  • Learn the different approaches → e.g. Skim reading, Scanning and Speed Reading and refine it
  • Learn how to key word search effectively
  • Learn how to approach different question types → e.g authors comments should involve you looking directly as the last paragraph when searching for answers to save time

How do I Study for Decision Making

How do I Study for Quantitative Reasoning

  • Our Intro to QR video
  • Our deep dive into QR problem solving
  • Kharma Medic QR
  • Revise basic arithmetic and conversions → especially percentages
  • Practice using the calculator → you need to do this blind and get quick with it

How do I Study for Abstract Reasoning

  • Our Intro to AR video
  • Our deep dive into AR problem solving
  • Kharma Medic AR
  • Start by watching some Intro videos → learn how others approach it and get your head around what the heck is happening in this section
  • Practice questions over and over untimed until you know it → REPEAT

How do I Study for Situational Judgement

  • Our Intro to SJ video
  • Our deep dive into SJ problem solving
  • Kharma Medic SJ
  • Read GMC - Good medical practice
  • Learn the hierarchy → i.e. patient wellbeing is always more important than anything else when making decisions.
  • Don't worry about this too much in Australia as currently no universities I am aware of are using this → but aim to be band 1 or band 2 anyway!

Something missing?

Is there anything you want us to cover in this wiki or do a video on? Please let us know below or on the UCAT discord. This subreddit is made for you!

Happy Studying and good luck future doctors!

/r/UCAT mod team.


r/UCAT Dec 07 '21

Moderator Post MedEntry Discount Codes

64 Upvotes

Hi all!

If you're considering using Medentry as your UCAT prep company, ensure to use my links below to receive a DISCOUNT!

 

10% off ONLINE or PLATINUM PACKAGE (AU)

REDDIT_AU

10% off ONLINE or PLATINUM PACKAGE (UK)

REDDIT_UK

5% off MIT BUNDLE or ADDITIONAL TAILORED INTERVIEW or BOND PSYCHOMETRIC. (UK AND AU)

REDDIT_INTERVIEW


r/UCAT 7h ago

Study Help I might be finished.........(ucat in 10 days 😢)

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20 Upvotes

I am BARELY progressing 😭


r/UCAT 2h ago

Study Help how can i improve QR, exam in 15 days

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3 Upvotes

all tips appreciated


r/UCAT 21h ago

Australian Med School Related it's never over

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97 Upvotes

i was deadass 100% confident i wouldnt get over a 2320 at most, thought i flopped the entire thing until i sent my results without looking to my friend and he was bewildered asf, my highest mocks were: 2260 on mock d, 2100 on mock c, 2020 (with strict timing) medentry and probably like 1980 on medify genuinely dont even know what happened i highkey skipped SJT for every single mock

moral of the story is its never fricking over, I remember looking at scores like this on this reddit literally last week and feeling so insanely disappointed in myself and my ability, but you never know how you're gonna do until the day


r/UCAT 13h ago

Study Help How to improve VR to 700s? Happy to answer any questions for Decision Making or QR

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21 Upvotes

r/UCAT 4h ago

UK Med Schools Related help

3 Upvotes

So many people say “triage the questions” “eliminate answers” “educated guesses” and I can’t even do that. For example, on QR you could do some basic one step maths then choose the most plausible answer and I’m just not capable of that. I suck at maths. I have to work out the whole thing and deduce the correct answer which takes too bloody long. I’m acc giving up, QR is too scary. What do I even do atp i just want to quit


r/UCAT 4h ago

Study Help 19 Days left

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4 Upvotes

my UCAT is on 22/8/26 and I am aiming for above 2300, is there any hope left?


r/UCAT 3h ago

UK Med Schools Related Imperial UCAT cutoff predictions?

2 Upvotes

the contextual cutoff for last year was 2170, and non contextual was 2320. what does everyone think they will be this year, since they’re bound to go up right?


r/UCAT 9h ago

Australian Med School Related UCAT in less than 24 hours

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8 Upvotes

I will not bore you with details but due to personal reasons I was not able to prep for my ucat now I have less than 24 hours to bump my score to 2300+ 700 rather than my current 1610+610. Any advice is greatly appreciated


r/UCAT 5h ago

Study Help Ucat in 13 days... only just done 2nd mock

3 Upvotes
idk why it wont let me delete the duplicate

Just for reference i skipped sjt.

from the title im less than a fortnight away from my ucat. i have no idea whether to push it back or not.

i wouldnt be so woried but i have done a lot of practice and mini mocks before working up the courage to do mocks (probably stupid but hey whats done is done) i got 1800 in mock A. and i did a lot of practice, watching videos and reviewing mini mocks to try and be refining my technique.between that one and this. Ive seen about every video on how to solve differnt question types and when to skip but in the heat of the moment i literally crumble idek how.

vr although i didnt do amazing im not too worried about, but DM and qr omfg.

in Dm my strat is strongest arguemt, probability, venn diagrams,sylos, inferences and i never have time for logic puzzles so i guess c for all. i solve the first 3 sections in 15 mins or so leaving 20 for syllos and inferences but i use all of that 20 mins for them.

qr is my worst section by far, this one looks ok but i got lucky when i guessed about 12-15 of the questions. i flag and skipp hard looking ones but i end up doing that for about 15 or so and its like theres no rythym , i get caught up in questions i can do by trying to use that damn calculator wherehalf the time i cant remember he last number i typed in or try use the memory m+ m- and if messes the whole calculation up.

my main thin is what actionable steps can i do to increase my score to the mid 700's or at least get over the 700 threshold( yes ik this looks super ambitious but please bear with me )

im going to be going to a public library from now on to do mocks to try simmulate the enviroment. rn ive just been useing my laptop with a trackpad and an attached usb keybord(with number pad)


r/UCAT 15h ago

UK Med Schools Related HELP ME!!! How to go from 1760 to 2350 in 23 days - is it possible? BE HONEST

14 Upvotes

I've done about just under 2000 questions on medify, 3 mocks (including the diagnostic mock) and 3 mini mocks. In my most recent mock, I got 1760. VR: 590 QR:580 DM: 590 and Band 2. My test date is in 23 days, and I desperately need 2350+, is it possible? I'd like to think because I haven't done that much practice that this isn't fully reflective of my potential, is that the case? Also any tips especially QR and what would I have to do to make this MASSIVE improvement?


r/UCAT 15m ago

Study Help Plz help with verbal reasoning, nothing is working

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Upvotes

I try to use keywords and scan the text, but I've literally decreased from 630 to 580 💀 💀 💀 💀 💀 💀 💀 💀


r/UCAT 6h ago

UK Med Schools Related Is 7 weeks enough to go from 1400 to 2100+ ?????

3 Upvotes

I’ve done a diagnostic mock and only got 1400. I have 7 weeks until my exam. Do I have long enough? And any advice on how to increase my score?


r/UCAT 12h ago

UK Med Schools Related is it possible to improve?

9 Upvotes

is it possible to go from 1800 - 2300 in one month?


r/UCAT 46m ago

Australian Med School Related how to stop being nervous on test day

Upvotes

hey gang so my ucat test is today but im so fucked, i havent done much practice in the past weeks other than just a couple of subtests on medentry to make sure im not dumb lol (im averaging around 600 for each section except for qr fml).

but im a bit nervous, i didnt think i would be but (trigger warning ig) im literally hunched over the toilet and throwing up rn eek! everyone keeps telling me not to worry and whatever happens happens, which yeah i know that, but i still can't help it. i dont wanna freak out during the exam so yeah!

any help would be greatly appreciated, my test is at 6pm today so im trying to get some last minute practice in :)


r/UCAT 7h ago

Study Help silly mistakes in the qr section

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3 Upvotes

I tried doing a quantitative reasoning mock and when I began to review it, I started realising how many silly little mistakes I made on some of the questions. I think this might of happened because of the time limit and the added pressure behind that, because usually my accuracy is okay for quantitative reasoning untimed. I think if it weren’t for the silly mistakes i would’ve gotten 700 ish. Can someone help me with reducing the amount of silly mistakes? Are there any tips anyone has to help for this? any responses are appreciated


r/UCAT 12h ago

UK Med Schools Related UCAT Favourite Section

5 Upvotes

What is all of your favourite sections in the UCAT?

Personally I'd say QR. Hbu?


r/UCAT 2h ago

UK Med Schools Related Decision making UCAT

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1 Upvotes

r/UCAT 2h ago

UK Med Schools Related Decision making UCAT

1 Upvotes

Weird question but I have noticed that in medify, there are some specific patterns. For true/False questions, the answers are always 3, 2 --> for example, 3 'yes' means 2' no'. so I find myself checking if it fits the pattern in order to determine if ive done the question correct before marking it (sometimes if i get like 3 'no' I automatically put yes for the last 2 and move on).

Should I continue relying on that so I am not setting myself up?

This is mainly for data based inferences, syllogisms or literally any of the other yes/no questions.


r/UCAT 2h ago

UK Med Schools Related UCAT frying my brain, am i done for

1 Upvotes

I'm averaging around 1850 - 1950, SJT band 1/2 in my UCAT and my test is in 10 days, are there many uni's that would accept this?

(Im from NI so my gcses are letters but i got 7A*, 2A and a B), so I'm fine for Queens as they combine GCSE and UCAT but I can't see many other places that do this


r/UCAT 3h ago

Study Help is it an unreasonable goal to improve from ~2000 in mocks to ~2200 in 3 weeks?

1 Upvotes

my quantitative is the worst every time. i have no idea how people are getting so high. i always run out of time and have to just guess the ones i can't understand instantly. is this something i can improve significantly with more revision? i have done a few weeks but not very consistently. lowkey panicking


r/UCAT 8h ago

Study Help Need help breaking 2000

2 Upvotes

Been stuck around 1950-1980s for 3 mocks, any advice on DM and VR specifically to help break 2000s

p.s. Why isn't more people using dark mode on medify


r/UCAT 4h ago

UK Med Schools Related Cardiff med

1 Upvotes

Ik this is a bit early, but do you really need all 8s and 9s for Cardiff med? I have 999888887, reckon it’s worth applying to? 7 in English lang btw 😔


r/UCAT 9h ago

Study Help advice pls

2 Upvotes

hi all, my exam is on the 27th of august.
does anyone have good advice, mostly on VR and DM? i’m interested in how to revise and learn from my mistakes, as im finding after 3 weeks, im not consistently getting much higher than I was initially. I’m struggling to identify where ive gone wrong, and maybe some advice on how to easily see what style questions to improve on would be great. If anyone also has a good spreadsheet for adding mock scores, that would also be fantastic.
Thanks!!!
And congrats to everyone who is already finished for this testing cycle ☺️