UCAT
Medsoc Week 4
Contents:
1. What is the UCAT?
2. How do University use these scores?
3. How to revise for the UCAT?
4. Verbal Reasoning
5. Decision Making
6. Quantitative Reasoning
7. Abstract Reasoning
8. Situation Judgement
9. General tips
10. Have a go!!
What is the UCAT?
The University Clinical Aptitude Each of the sections are scored on
Test (UCAT) is a 2 hour exam that a scale from 300-900, which
helps medicine and dental means you can get a score
universities choose their anywhere between 1200-3600.
applicants. It consists of Verbal It is important to remember that
Reasoning, Decision Making, Situational Judgement is scored in
Quantitative Reasoning, Abstract bands 1-4.
Reasoning and Situational *BMAT is no longer needed.
Judgement.
How Universities use the UCAT?
It varies between universities some may have
cutoffs, rankings, consider it alongside other
factors. Therefore, it is important to check on
your university’s official website.
The SJT score you get is equally important.
Most Universities do not accept a band 4 score.
Bands 1 and 2 are usually prioritised in the
application process.
How to revise for the UCAT
● Understand the test format of each section.
● Learn the different question types for each section as well.
● You will be doing this probably in Year 12 Summer or start of Year 13, therefore
it is important to plan your time effectively.
● Use online resources such as the Official UCAT resources such as their
question banks and their website.
● You could use books too but remember they do not test your timings.
● Review your mistakes and understand them to improve over time.
● Use a UCAT score converter- medic mind
Verbal
01 Reasoning
Verbal Reasoning
The verbal reasoning section of the UCAT is a comprehension test that measures your ability to read
information and then decide if conclusions can be drawn from the text.
● You’ll need to read written passages of 200-300 words and answer related questions.
● 21 mins- most time pressured- 29s per question
● 11 texts
● 4 questions per passage
Only 10% are true/false/ can’t tell questions. The rest are all ‘what is this passage about, why does xyz
happen, what is the author's opinion of xyz…’
- Key word approach
- Scanning the text - do NOT read the whole passage
- Read passages everyday (non-fiction, historical) to pick up reading pace
year 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Average Score 565 570 572 567 591
Decision
02 Making
Decision Making
The decision making section requires you to use logic and reasoning to solve textual and visual data-related questions. It
requires you to solve questions that have corresponding text or visual data and you’ll have access to a basic on-screen
calculator for this section.
- There are 29 decision making UKCAT questions
- answered in 31 minutes. (64s)
- Some questions have double marks
There are different types of questions:
- Venn diagram
- Syllogisms
- Spotting strong and weak arguments
- Drawing conclusions
- Probability questions
- Puzzle questions
year 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Average Score 618 625 610 616 623
Quantitative
03 Reasoning
You can enter a subtitle here if you need it
Quantitative Reasoning
Quantitative reasoning involves critically evaluating various data sets and answering multiple-choice questions.
It’s the part of the UCAT that tests your numeracy skills.
- 36 questions
- 25 minutes
- 40 seconds per question.
Skills you will need:
- Eyeballing graphs
- Estimating
- PRACTISE USING CALCULATOR- use memory function
- Rounding
- Tables
- Ratios and percentage
- You dont need to use all the information
year 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Average Score 649 658 665 664 662
Abstract
04 Reasoning
Abstract Reasoning
The abstract reasoning section tests your abilities to evaluate and generate hypotheses and
assesses critical thinking skills. You’ll be presented with shape-based patterns and sequences to
assess your spatial awareness and reasoning.
- 50 questions
- 12 minutes
- 14s per question
- Multiple choice
It seems really hard at first but gets better with practice :))
- SPONCS
- Slideshow of patterns that you would find hard to recognise
-
year 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Average Score 638 653 651 659 652
Situational
05 Judgement (SJT)
Situational Judgement
The Situational Judgement section measures your capacity to understand real world situations and to identify critical factors
and appropriate behaviour in dealing with them. Questions do not require medical or procedural knowledge. It assesses
integrity, perspective taking, team involvement, resilience and adaptability.
- There are 69 situational judgement UKCAT questions
- answered in 26 minutes. (22s)
- Each scenario has 6 questions with it.
- You can get partial marks
There are different types of questions:
- Rating the importance
- Rating the appropriateness
- Drag and drop for least and most appropriate
*Remember to think about what you should do rather
than what you would do
Average UKCAT score
Total Score
2023- 2516
2022- 2500
2021- 2499
2020- 2511
2019- 2483
What is a competitive score?
General Tips:
Timings Familiarise Review Mistakes
Start early and practice Understand the UCAT structure Understand why you got
regularly to build up and time constraints by a question wrong and
your confidence. simulating full length mocks. focus on those areas.
Take Breaks! Time Shortcuts
The UCAT is mentally management Know the shortcuts to
demanding, take breaks It is a fast paced exam, save timings in the
to avoid burnout. do not spend too long exam.
on 1 question
General tips on the test day:
Pick an Ideal time: Sleep!
What time do you work Aim for 7-8 hours, as you need
best at? Book your test to be alert and well rested.
then.
Stay positive Time management
Even if one section Keep an eye on the time, flag
doesn’t go how you the question and move on if
plan it, stay calm and needed. Aim to attempt every
positive. question, remember no
penalties for the wrong
answer.
Practice
Questions
Questions from each section
