The UK Clinical Aptitude Test is a test used to measure the ability of medical school applicants. Some universities use it alongside your personal statement and grades achieved so far to look at your application. However do note that not all medical schools require UKCAT, some may ask you to do BMAT instead. Booking (costs £65, a bursary is available) and doing the test is currently open, booking will close on the 1st October and testing will finish on the 2nd. Please note that sitting the test in September to October will increase the price to £87.
The UKCAT is a 2 hour test comprised of five different categories: - Verbal Reasoning (21 minutes): 11 passages of text relating to 4 different questions, the questions will ask you to make inferences or correct analysis of the texts - Quantitative Reasoning (24 minutes): 36 different mathematical questions, this section assumes you have a passable GSCE level of maths. You may use a calculator in this section however it has to be the one provided in the test - Decision Making (29 minutes): 31 questions testing your ability to approach a decision or answer from either texts, tables or statistics using logic - Abstract Reasoning (13 minutes): 55 questions with four different types, you have to find the link between the image displayed in front of you to reach the answer - Situational Judgement (26 minutes): 69 questions with 22 different scenarios, this section whilst it does not count towards your overall score it stands alone and bears significance importance as an incredibly poor performance will not be accepted by many universities. You are asked to choose the most appropriate action for the situation presented to you; partly right answers are still scored correct but not as highly as completely correct ones.
Tips
Below are some tips current medical students believed helped them pass (these will not guarantee you success, however they may prove useful)
1. Book for an early date before school will restart to allow you to fully devote your time to it
2. Give yourself lots of time to prepare so you can practise continuously and begin to familiarise yourself with the style of questions
3. You don’t have to do the courses you pay for, though they may be helpful they are not a necessity nor will they magically give you the results you want
4. Make good use of the UKCAT practice website to practise, they have lots of questions and tests on there for you to use free of charge, with explanations of the answers. Also get used to the on-screen calculator as this will prove useful in the actual testing
5. Don’t always do new questions, sometimes return to old ones you previously got wrong a week later to see if you still understand where you went wrong
6. Find the area you struggle with most in the UKCAT and ensure you spend an appropriate amount of time addressing that issue
7. For verbal reasoning, read the news when you get the chance to familiarise yourself more with the style of factual writing present in this area
8. Learn to quickly skim over information and take the necessary information to speed up your timing
9. On the day if you’re unable to muster any sort of answer, go with your gut instinct and guess! Ensure you answer all the questions
10. Remember that the UKCAT is not a test of your knowledge; it is a test of your “natural” ability. With enough practise, dedication and focus, anyone can succeed in it.
Useful links: https://www.ukcat.ac.uk/ http://practice.ukcat.ac.uk/ https://www.medify.co.uk/ - You can try their free questions, and if you have the money to spare their online courses membership cost range from £30 - £45
Useful books: 2nd hand UKCAT 600 questions Ultimate UKCAT Guide 1250 practise questions
If you need any further help don’t hesitate to get in touch with via email at wamsocsoton@gmail.com, and for more future support sign up to our e-mentoring scheme.
Best of luck, WAMsoc Southampton