The UKCAT - what to expect and general tips and tricks.

The UKCAT is a medical admissions test compulsory for application to most UK medical schools as a means to differentiate between applicants.

Overall, the UKCAT was one of the most positive aspects of my application experience, so I guess it's a little ironic that the uni I eventually got an offer from, Bristol, doesn't consider it!  For me the test was the first introduction I got into the world of medical admissions, and I'm so glad it was the first thing I did.

Registration usually begins at the beginning of May, and if I were you I'd book it and sit it quickly. I was advised to sit it in one of the first sessions at the beginning of July by a friend who'd applied the year before, and I am SO glad that I did. This is because towards the end of summer you'll have so many other things to worry about, like the personal statement and the BMAT (if you're doing it) and interview prep in general, that it's best to get it over and done with and out of the way. Also, you get your score STRAIGHT away after you've finished the test, so it means that if you do it early in summer, you have more time to consider which unis you're going to apply to strategically based on your score. Some unis have high UKCAT cutoffs for interview, and some don't really use the UKCAT until later stages in the process, or at all, so your UKCAT score can be a huge factor in deciding on those crucial four choices.

In terms of test preparation, I was talking to a girl in the year below me applying for medicine, and she was considering paying out to take the Kaplan UKCAT course, which costs around 265 pounds. Now, I'm not disputing that people have taken these auxiliary help courses and done really well. But just as many people, if not more, have NOT taken these help courses, and done JUST as well, if not better. Please, please, please don't feel as if you are missing out by not taking one of these UKCAT help courses. I did not take one, and none of my friends who also applied for medicine took one, yet I received a very high mark which got me past Newcastle University's notoriously high UKCAT threshold for interview. However, if you have the money and feel like you need extra help, the Kaplan courses are something used by many prospective students every year to try and boost their eventual score. HOWEVER, although I personally don't think the Kaplan tests are worth it, that is not to say that you shouldn't prepare at all. There is a FANTASTIC book of something like 500 UKCAT questions on Amazon that I bought after a recommendation from my friend who had applied previously, and it is a book that the majority of UKCAT candidates own to practice from. Honestly, I think that this book is all the practice you will need, I went over almost every exercise in the book and was really well-prepared for the test. It lets you practice to a really high standard, especially in the quantitative unit, which I found the hardest! I'll try and stick in a link somewhere later.

I guess the important thing to try and remember is that universities made these tests to be passable on their own, and as they are very similar to the CAT tests you take when you are younger, it's based on cognitive ability so there is very little you can actually do in terms of studying, apart from practicing the questions. When I tell people that they should sit the test nice and early they're always a bit hesitant, saying that they'd rather have the extra time for studying, but honestly I don't think it's necessary, as if you've done a couple of months of studying with the book/the Kaplan course, there's not much more you can do!

The test itself can be quite a daunting prospect if you don't know what to expect, so here's a vague idea of what happens (obviously this might vary in different test centres). Firstly, make sure you've visited the building the day before or something to familiarise yourself with your surroundings, as going into a foreign building on the day of the test can add to your nerves. On the day of the test you need to bring ID, and they'll make you put all your belongings in a locker (at my test centre, the keys had spoons on them, I'm guessing to stop people nicking them...weird). They'll then make you sign something and wait for a minute depending on how many test booths are free, and then you'll go in to sit the test. The test is sat in a room with about 15 other people, in booths on the walls, with wood partitions between each booth. The room is watched by someone on CCTV as a kind of invigilator, so you do feel like you're in an exam setting. For the actual exam, you get big headphones to cancel the noise of other people taking the test, you must use the onscreen calculator, and you'll receive a laminated grid and a marker pen to use for planning answers to the questions, which I wasn't expecting! The test seems over before it begins, and when I sat my test they were trialling the new situational judgement test, so I had to take a trial of that which had no impact on my score, but as I didn't know this was happening beforehand it was a bit of a shock as I thought it was part of the test I hadn't prepared for, haha! Obviously this section of the test is now a legitimate, tested section of the exam. After the test you'll leave the room and they'll print out your results for you, and hopefully they'll be a high score!

Anyway, I think that's enough for now, if you have any other questions about the UKCAT feel free to comment and I'll respond, or maybe I'll edit this post at a later date.

Bye for now, and good luck!