UKCAT tomorrow

[joanne82]

Only 25 but thats old compared to 18! Seems like decades ago that i was that age! Good luck- where are you applying to?

[keenbo]

CRAAAAAP!!!! i hav my UKCAT tomorro and i havnt done anything for it! lol been too busy partyin after my exams to even think about it! i kno u's probly r thinkin ooooh he musnt be dedicated to medicine but come on, work hard, play hard! so yeh...am i absolutely dead or will it be ok? I hear people saying oooh you cant do anythin for it...then why are books published about it? i havnt got any books/preparation...ill be doing the online test later on? is that sufficient? i hope! .... booked it early incase i needed to repeat ... ??

[georgiegirl]

keenbo

You can't repeat the UKCAT. If you're not happy with your score, you could take it again later this year but the second result would be invalid so it would be a complete waste of money! You only get one go a year, so you'd have to wait until next year to repeat it.

That said, you'll probably be fine anyway. I shouldn't worry about the lack of preparation, there's not a huge amount you can do anyway. I bought the book and have done some practice tests, but I haven't sat an exam for years, and haven't done any maths since O level in 1987...

Maybe stay off the sauce tonight though, eh?

Good luck

George

[keenbo]

oooh! lol sucks for me then lol! ill just hav to give a gud aul stab tomorro! HOPEFULLY it wont be too bad! some of my friends did it last week and got average 600s...which is a good enough score, so fingers crossed! Thanks for the reply lol and reassurance, greatly appreciated!

gettin nervous now! :O

[Miss Monkey]

Last year I didn't do any prep for it except for the one practice test, and came out with 800, 760, 580 and 580. Not an amazing average compared to some people on here, but it didn't hurt my application. Good luck!!

[Pammy]

Just to say I totally agree with the people who've criticised the UKCAT book! The verbal section in this book is terrible. Lots of the answers are really inconsistent with the instructions, and the passages are harder than in the real test...I think the book is actually damaging as it makes you very nervous seeing the verbal section comes first. Better advice is to look out fo the Exhibit buttons! Time is not too much of an issue I found, other than in the maths section where you really have to be pretty quick.
Good luck to all!
Pammy

[georgiegirl]

Yes, the one that really bugs me is question 21 in the book. In the explanation of which is the right answer it says that the statement 'may or may not have some credence'... Ok, so it must be 'Can't Tell', right? Er, wrong...'it is just the opinion quoted from vince Cable the Liveral Democrat treasury spokesman, and is more likely to be political sniping. Therefore the answer is False'. What!!!???? Don't know about anyone else, but if something 'may or may not have some credence', I find it hard to see how we can definitively say it must be False. Also we're supposed to base our judgements on what is in the passage, rather than other assumptions. This is only one example, some others are equally dodgy!!!

Feel a bit cheesed off that thanks to the book I postponed my UKCAT. It's on 12th July now, and I can't wait to get it out of the way.

Best of luck to anyone who is taking it before then.

George

[Pammy]

Hey! I would really advise ignoring the book for the verbal part, as it makes you paranoid and you end up trying to see snags in every question and thinking around 3 corners...The real test is better than this for sure! At least, mine was...I just remember reading the first passage, looking at the first few questions, and breathing a sigh of relief. I wish I had never ever looked at those verbal questions in the book as they were the primary factor responsible for my nervousness before the test...

[hash118118]

The best preparation you can do is rest your brain! Just do the practise questions on the website to familiarise yourself with the type of questions asked. I wouldn’t bother buying these books - they won't help.

[georgiegirl]

Originally Posted by hash118118

The best preparation you can do is rest your brain! Just do the practise questions on the website to familiarise yourself with the type of questions asked. I wouldn’t bother buying these books - they won't help.

Hmm. Not sure I agree with this. Personally I have found the book pretty helpful, notwithstanding the problems with the verbal reasoning section. The bits on quantitative reasoning and abstract reasoning are good - they explain the rationale behind the correct answers, and for abstract reasoning they provide a systematic way to evaluate the sets of shapes to establish the commonalities. I've done some practice tests and I'm scoring higher, and faster, since I went through the book, so it was worth the money.

That said, I haven't done any maths since O level 20 (ouch!) years ago, and haven't sat an exam for over five years, so obviously I am less in need of 'resting my brain' than those who have just finished A levels. Ultimately no amount of preparation can help someone develop reasoning skills they don't have, because these are basically innate, but honing technique is helpful. Personally I want to feel that I've done everything I can to enable me to do my best, so from my point of view having and reading the book has had a placebo effect... got a feeling we should all know about this !!?? Lol

I must say I am grateful for this forum, because I felt really confused about some of the anomalies in the book and now I realise others felt the same I can blame the book, not myself!

We all have different ways of approaching things. If you think you might benefit from using the book, do so, but appreciate the caveats about the VR section!!!

Good luck to all.

Gx