What Is The UCAT Exam For Medicine?

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UCAT Exams

What Does UCAT Mean?

The UCAT exam stands for the University Clinical Aptitude Test. It is essentially for all purposes an admissions test by selection used by 31 out of 44 universities in the UK for medicine or dentistry. Therefore, if you are applying for medicine to become a doctor, you must sit this test at some point before applying to UCAS. The university clinical aptitude test or The UCAT Exam will gauge your critical thinking and problem-solving skills in a short period of time. It is an intense and difficult test so therefore early preparation is required.

The reason why this test exists is because there are so many applicants for medicine that the medical universities therefore need extra differentiation between students. The UCAT Exam is taken near a location where you live so there are numerous centres up and down the country. Why do universities insist that their applicants for Medicine and dentistry take The UCAT Exam? This is because nearly all the students will have excellent academic profiles and results. However it is important to note that each University will use the UCAT score in a different category selection process in order to rank the applicant students.

The UCAT examination tests your problem-solving skills and your critical thinking skills but not your academic knowledge.

 The test is made up of 5 different separate parts which are detailed below.

  1. Verbal reasoning section
  2. Decision-making section
  3. Quantitative reasoning section
  4. Abstract reasoning section
  5. Situational judgment section

The UCAT Exam will last for 2 hours and it has a total of 228 questions across the five different categories. The exam is carried out at a designated exam centre near your vicinity and it is a computerized example exam. 

Which Universities Will Require You To Sit The Ucat Exam?

As already stated above, The UCAT Exam is used by 33 out of the 37 medical schools here in the UK.

Below we have the list of medical schools in the UK that will use The UCAT Exam.

  • University of Aberdeen
  • Aston University
  • Anglia Ruskin University
  • Brunel University London
  • University of Bristol
  • University of Birmingham
  • University of Chester
  • Cardiff University
  • University of Dundee 
  • University of East Anglia
  • University of Edinburgh
  • Edge Hill University
  • University of Glasgow
  • University of Exeter
  • Hull York medical school
  • Keele University
  • King’s College London
  • Kent and Medway medical school
  • University of Liverpool
  • University of Leicester
  • University of Manchester
  • University of Newcastle
  • University of Nottingham
  • Plymouth University
  • Queen-Mary University of London
  • Queen’s University of Belfast
  • University of Southampton
  • University of Sheffield
  • University of St Andrews
  • University Dr of Sunderland
  • University of Warwick
  • University of Worcestershire
  • St. George’s University of London

Who Needs To Take The UCAT Exam For Medicine?

If you are applying for medicine at the above listed universities, then you are required to sit the examination before you apply to UCAS.

Where Does The UCAT Exam Take Place?

In the UK, the UCAT exam takes place at Pearson VUE testing centres. Pearson VUE testing centres are the company which are responsible for administering and regulating the UCAT exam. These centres are computer based testing centres and are situated and can be found all over the UK. This means that there will be a testing centre present near your house. It is therefore relatively simple to book a test date with them and then travel easily to it.

When Do I Need To Sit The UCAT Exam?

This year in 2022, the UCAT exam must be sat between the dates of 11th of July 2022 and 29th of September 2022. Firstly, you need to open an account with them and then when the registration opens you can then pick a date at Pearson VUE testing centre which is most convenient to where you live.

How Do I Register For The UCAT Exam?

The first thing you need to do is to follow the instructions on the official UCAT website. Once you have opened a UCAT account, you can then register and find out where your nearest Pearson VUE testing centre is. Once you have chosen a suitable venue and the most convenient date for yourself, you can then pay for the test at the same time.

This is a procedure that you need to do yourself as the school or your Sixth Form College do not get involved in this. Just as a general tip, try to schedule your date slightly earlier rather than a late one just in case you ever need to cancel that short notice. Here at University Expert we recommend that you carry out at least 100 hours of revision from a suitable reputable source. It is always better to have slightly extra time rather than becoming rushed at the very last minute. The cost of the exam within the UK is £70 however if you do sit the test outside of the UK, it then costs slightly more at £115. 

How Long Is The UCAT Exam?

 The UCAT exam lasts for a total of 2 hours without any gaps or breaks. Once you have decided to start, the clock for 2-hours will start ticking. At the beginning, there is a minute reading time for instructions. It is best to carry out mock tests beforehand so as to acclimatize yourself appropriately.

What Is The Structure Of The UCAT Exam?

 As already stated above, the UCAT exam has five different distinct sections to it. These sections are as follows.

UCAT Verbal Reasoning

 Firstly there is the verbal reasoning section. Here you are given statements and procedures to analyse and interpret. During our one-to-one UCAT tutorial sessions with students, we go through the different types of statements and procedures that commonly arise and importantly teach you the skills needed.

Although practice makes perfect, you still need specific tips, skills and techniques in order to get the highest possible mark. This verbal reasoning section consists of 44 questions and you will have only less than one minute to read and answer each question. In actual fact, it is far less than this and this works out to only 28 seconds per question.

UCAT Decision Making

The second section of the test is called the decision-making part. In contrast to the verbal reasoning section which is 21 minutes long, this decision-making part is 31 minutes long. There are 29 questions in total and this therefore means you have just under 1-minute per question. This part of the test will test your ability with text, tables, charts, graphs and diagrams. We are at University Expert, we will go through the skill set needed for each student on an individual basis in order for them to gain the maximum advantage in the shortest amount of time. 

UCAT Quantitative Reasoning

The third section of the test is called the quantitative reasoning part. As the name suggests, it involves considerable mathematical and numerical skills in order to answer problems. The problems will often involve graphs, charts, tables and narrative.

As a general rule of, the questions are grouped in about 4 sets which correlate with the same mathematical data required. We teach you the mathematical principles required in order to accomplish this section quickly and efficiently. This part of the exam consists of 36 questions and you have less than 1-minute for each question. The 24 minutes required for the 36 questions corresponds to 40 seconds per question.

UCAT Abstract Reasoning

This fourth part of the exam is also known as the abstract reasoning section which consists of identifying common patterns amongst abstract shapes in view. The abstract reasoning section of the UCAT exam tests your ability to critically evaluate certain common changes in the patterns put in front of you.

The answer is based on trying to identify the pattern. This section has the most questions which come at 55 questions altogether but only 13 minutes to complete the questions. This therefore means there is hardly any thinking time at all because there is only 15 seconds available per question. Too many students, in our view, spend too long and this jeopardizes their overall score.

UCAT Situational Judgement

This final section of the UCAT test is called the situational judgment part. This is where you are presented with a real-life ethical type scenario and you are required to answer the most appropriate solution. There are 69 questions altogether with only 26 minutes to complete the entire section which corresponds to about 20 seconds per question. Only in this section, the overall market is converted into one of four bands which are banded as 1, and 2, Band 3 and band 4 which is the lowest. Most universities will expect you to achieve band 2 or 3 in order to be successful.

What Is The Scoring System Used For The UCAT Exam?

 Each question within each of the four initial subsections is worth 1 mark or point each. The marks are added together and each individual section is scored between 300 to 900 as a maximum. Your overall UCAT result will be the average of those four sections. The situational judgment section is scored differently and a different band is allocated between 1 to 4.

When Do I Receive My UCAT Result?

 When you are at the testing Centres and the exam is totally finished, you will wait to be given a printout of your result at the individual Pearson VUE testing centre. Although this is given to you, the score is automatically transmitted to UCAS accordingly.

UCAT Tutoring Medicine

As university experts, we take the complexity and uncertainty out of your Medicine UCAT preparations and that is why we have a high success rate. Many of our students come to us through recommendations. Success with students results in them recommending more applicants for us to provide professional cost effective 1:1 coaching/ tutoring. At University Expert, our UCAT tutoring for Medicine is thorough, precise and affordable.