r/UCAT • u/KezzaPwNz • May 02 '21
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!
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
What is the UCAT - Everything you need to know
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
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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
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!
We will be posting some sample interview questions & tips and tricks once the UCAT testing period is over - stay tuned!
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)
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 • u/diaper__ • Dec 07 '21
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)
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r/UCAT • u/Internal_Shelter3697 • 13h ago
Lmao i’ve already emailed them, I think it’s quite funny. I blame UCAS though, why do they make it so easy to accidentally declare you’re a criminal ahaha
r/UCAT • u/Few-Refrigerator-900 • 12h ago
How yall feeling about your choices
r/UCAT • u/lola200000000333 • 50m ago
What are everyone's stats? Where did everyone apply?
r/UCAT • u/Accomplished-Day7642 • 12h ago
If i submitted my application at 6:02pm is it considered late? Pls helpppppp
r/UCAT • u/Glittering_Boot_8842 • 10h ago
I already submitted it. The ps I wrote was written by me and my teacher helped to edit things (which she did in front of me no ai) to make it flow better. However I put it into an ai detector and it showed up as 100% ai. I did use ai to help finish a sentence since I was in a mental block and tired from editing, which I ended up rewording and restructuring. I used basically the same ps I did as last year (resit app) but it wasn’t flagged by ucas as ai, so should I be worried?
r/UCAT • u/Wonderful-Egg317 • 1h ago
Idk why I’m seeing this out of nowhere now, but do some universities verify your work experience? Surely that would be too much of a hassle. I can obviously just send proof via the emails that I submitted and got responses to, however, if they ask me to forward the emails, they can read the entire thread and the med schools can see I wanted to apply to dentistry in the beginning, as it was in my initial email that I intended to apply for dentistry. I did work experience in a hospital and a dental practice. Isn’t that going to create a bad impression of me? I didn’t want them to know that, I wanted to make it seem like I was picking between the options and then picked medicine, after attending both work experiences. It’s 5am and I’m worrying about this. I’ve never heard of universities asking for proof.
Also what would they even ask them. Would they verify what I claim to have done during my work experience? Or would they verify I even attended?
r/UCAT • u/PrizeMidnight8118 • 8h ago
Stats:
A star A star A predicted the A is in chemistry
88877776 GCSE
1830 UCAT
Applied Lancashire, keele, hull York, UEA
r/UCAT • u/Naive-Material-9077 • 17h ago
I am resitting a-levels and I need every choice to count so I'm really worried
Idk if I should apply to kings emdp so pls help and lmk if i have a solid chance of getting an int
STATS:
Predicted AAA with BBC achieved with extenuating circumstances
2170 b3 they say they don't use sjt
Only fsm
might have additional consideration for being a young carer
my gcse aren't great 8776666666
i believe i have a good ps and reference
the site says they use ucat, gcses and wp factors for shortlisting
r/UCAT • u/Sea-Perspective5412 • 8h ago
Hey so , i just applied but basically these are my stats
(Home RUK)
888777776 D in gcse healthand and aocial care
AAA + A epq (predicted)
1930 Band 2 💔
Basically borderline i really dont wanna do the UCAT again and iv been acoeolling for hours tryna find some advice
I applied tp uclan originally but i switvhed it fpr aberdeen (i heard uclan prioity is lancashire stud.i switched to aberdeen because there recent cycle non cobtextual offer recieved was like 1720 Ucat and they dont peioritise based of region.)
But technically i may have fumbled by switching cause abeedeen is way more competitive only has likw 25-58 apots uclan had 50, forhome. Homestly tbis is fpr piece of mind cause its just a long shot atp waiting game.
Just wanted to know anyones ops! (Cant change now anyway) 😭
r/UCAT • u/No_Dragonfly7245 • 8h ago
Mine is 1950 with no guaranteed interview, I'm so worried if I'm gonna get an interview or not.
r/UCAT • u/PersonalTour4980 • 9h ago
Hey guys what colleges did you apply to with what UCAT scores?!
r/UCAT • u/Wise_Custard_3068 • 9h ago
anyone applying here? if so how many contextual points do u meet
r/UCAT • u/AvailableIce1814 • 9h ago
Guys I should’ve applied to QMUL but it’s too late now I really just missed out on a 78% post int rate. Like it wasn’t even that big of a risk what was I thinking.
Now that UCAS is done I feel so sick and I’m getting some serious PTSD to last year of checking ur emails every free and getting that rejection when you weren’t expecting it and not telling anyone and it’s winter and cold and you’ve got alevel mocks coming up and u feel chopped 😭😭😭😭😭 omg I should’ve done QMUL guys cut off last year was 2210 which I’m guessing was 89th percentile and this I year I got 89th percentile so…. Just fml
There’s no way to change it right? Ughhhhh tell me that it’s okay I would’ve have gotten in anyways 2230 b2 for dent A*AA achieved PLEASE and I know my mum wanted me to apply there and I said no too risky girl bye
r/UCAT • u/swimskiskate • 6h ago
any insight would be helpful
r/UCAT • u/MysticMocha01 • 6h ago
^^
What are we thinking ?
I think 1980-2000
r/UCAT • u/sophia_ccc • 12h ago
Has anyone applied to kcl as their 5th choice with medicine personal statement and for what course?
Has anyone previously received an offer for biomedical engineering
Who’s applied there for dentistry and what are your stats? I haven’t seen anyone talk about applying there!
r/UCAT • u/EducationalShoe1959 • 13h ago
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r/UCAT • u/MarketingNo5573 • 13h ago
Basically, the ucas deadline is today at 6pm however i wanted to ask my teacher for a prediction of A*AA (i am at an AAA) rn however my ucas application is already sent and my HOY is saying that they all got sent yesterday at 3Pm and that no changes will be made. IS there anything i can do as 2 of my choices are A*AA (kings med and ucl psych) and i really dont want to change them. i am willing to chaneg my kings but for psych i ideally want tpo apply fro a russel lomdon uni. THere is also another teacher show i asked fro a prediction up but they havent said anything. WHat do i do 💔
r/UCAT • u/Beginning_Classic118 • 11h ago
Thoughts? Any other aspiring grad dentists out there whatever ur stats like?
r/UCAT • u/TheOneMonke • 8h ago
Will a crime committed in another country show up on a UCAS dbs check??
r/UCAT • u/italkalt • 8h ago
Hi has anyone else applied to keeles foundation year to medicine? If so what were your stats!
