UCAT: Tips from a Leicester medical student who achieved 2780
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Course
UCAT
Institution
UCAT
A document compiling all of my notes when I from when I took the UCAT in 2020. However these are still relevant now! I got 2 offers to medical school and a UCAT score of 2780
● Prioritise to get the easier marks by guessing (A or C), flagging and skipping the harder
ones
Timing
Subtest Question (including 1 min Actual Timing Timing per
s per subtest for Question
instruction)
Verbal Reasoning 44 22 minutes 21 minutes 28.6 seconds
Decision Making 29 32 minutes 31 minutes 64 seconds
Scoring:
Subtest Question Scale score Marking
s range
Verbal Reasoning 44 300 - 900 Questions are worth 1 mark
Decision Making 29 300 - 900 Questions with one correct
answer are worth 1 mark
Questions with multiple
statements are worth 2 marks -
one mark is awarded to partially
correct responses
Quantitative Reasoning 36 300 - 900 Questions are worth 1 mark
Abstract Reasoning 55 300 - 900 Questions are worth 1 mark
Total scale score range - 1200 - 3600 -
As the Situational Judgement test is a measure of non-cognitive attributes, it will be
considered by universities in a different manner to the cognitive subtests.
Those in Band 1 demonstrated an excellent level of performance, showing
Band 1
similar judgement in most cases to the panel of experts.
Those in Band 2 demonstrated a good, solid level of performance, showing
Band 2 appropriate judgement frequently, with many responses matching model
answers.
Band 3 Those in Band 3 demonstrated a modest level of performance, with
, appropriate judgement shown for some questions and substantial
differences from ideal responses for others.
The performance of those in Band 4 was low, with judgement tending to
Band 4
differ substantially from ideal responses in many cases.
Verbal Reasoning:
The Verbal Reasoning subtest assesses your ability to read and think
carefully about information presented in passages and to determine
whether specific conclusions can be drawn from information
presented. You are not expected to use prior knowledge to answer the
questions.
Doctors and dentists need excellent verbal reasoning skills in order to
understand complex information and communicate this clearly and simply to
patients is essential. Medical practitioners must also be able to interpret
findings from published materials and apply this to their own practice. It is
essential they are able to critique such materials and draw their own
conclusion as to the validity of any findings.
You will be presented with 11 passages of text, each associated with 4
questions. You have 21 minutes to answer the 44 questions in this subtest.
Some questions assess critical reasoning skills, requiring candidates to
make inferences and draw conclusions from information. You will need to
read the passage of text carefully. You will then be presented with a question
or incomplete statement and 4 response options. You are required to pick
the best or most suitable response. You will only be able to select one
response.
For other questions, your task is to read each passage of text carefully and
then decide whether the statement provided follows logically. There are 3
answer options you can choose from:
True: On the basis of the information in the passage, the statement is true.
False: On the basis of the information in the passage, the statement is false.
Can’t Tell: You cannot tell from the information in the passage whether the
statement is true or false.
● Read the question carefully first
● Skim through the whole passage for about 10 seconds, gauging its main subject and
the different topics covered in each paragraph
● Then scan (not read or skim read) for key words in the question and the passage, eg.
capitalised words, numbers or common phrases.
● Do this by sifting through text 2 lines at a line, then once you find it, read the lines above
and below, always in whole sentences
● Compare the statement with the evidence
, ● By Q9 you should have 17 minutes left, and by Q21, 11 minutes
● True = matches the passage (either directly stated or an inference)
● False = opposite to the passage (either a contradiction or a statement going too far)
● If a statement uses extreme language, and requires a big assumption, it's more likely to
be False or Can’t Tell than True
● Can’t Tell = out of the passage’s scope
● Choose Can't Tell if pushed for time or if the passage is vague on a specific subject
● There are more questions with statement answers than T, F or CT ones now. Typically it’s
7/11 vs 4/11 passages
● Read each statement quickly before scanning the passage
● Double check question phrases that intend to trick you out, eg. superlatives, negatives
⇒ eg. main,
⇒ eg. true / false,
● Only check your answer if you have big doubts
● Information needed to answer a question may be from different parts of the passage
● Only ever use the information that’s provided, not your outside knowledge (this applies to
all UCAT sections)
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