Hello all,
as I have just taken my UKCAT today I thought I would post some things regarding my experiences. I must stress that these are my comments, and I do not wish to scare, annoy, elate, petrify anyone. As a warning I found this exam rather difficult, so remember you may sail through it!
First of all I have to say that the man at reception in the pearson vue in gloucester is LOVELY. He even supplied me with a lucky handshake and a hand held basic calculator, dry wipe piece of paper (with squares on it) with a pen
VERBAL REASONING
I had done as much practise as I could on the questions, yet some of them just threw me. The passages seemed to be of the same complexity as those in the 'passing the ukcat' book, just a wee bit more taxing than the practise questions online, but still do-able.
I finished 2 minutes before time, and that was with reading the passage before each set of questions, reading the questions then referring back to the passage. The time constraints in this section seemed to be do-able, with the major source of time loss (supposedly) from reading (well duh the whole forum goes)
...But, as a general comment ensure you read for a couple of weeks prior to the exam at a fast pace. You kind of get the hang of gliding across the words in a floaty motion.
NUMERICAL REASONING
Ouch...I believe my brain switched off at this point.
Advice I would give is to make sure you know the volumes, depths, surface areas, percentages, means, ratios, fractions, modes...
Measuring the amount of tape required for a window, calculating the depth of a pool, interpreting the average village size, how full is the water tank, what percentage of change occured from 2002-2006 etc etc.
Time was VERY pushed in this section, I got to question 27/44 realising there were 3 minutes left. The calculations werent really the time consumer (thanks to the nifty calculator) but it was interpreting the data to begin with.
If I could do the test again I would first glance at the question before I started reading the charts/graphs/diagrams, to get in the right mind set.
ABSTRACT REASONING
Could not for the life of me grasp the patterns in 7/11 of the sets so decided to let fate run its course by going with my gut instinct. I tried to deduce the correct trends in each set, but really could not get it!!!!
I found the sets to be far more complicated than anything I have come across before, with loads of "distractions".
On the positive side the time again I found do-able, yet I used the keyboard shortcuts to control the screen. (If you dont know these I suggest you have a ganny online on the ukcat site, they speed the scrolling and "next" also "exhibit" buttons and "tile" thingamebobs)
DECISION ANALYSIS
My "favourite" section! Exactly the same as in the book previously mentioned, with plenty of time to write the words out on the paper then interpret the meaning. The codes seemed to contain almost the same words as within the practise question and the ukcat book.
NON-COGNITIVE ANALYSIS
44 questions, each relating to interpersonal values-(for moi).
I am under the impression that the computer generates randomly a set of questions, which may fall within a selection of opinion/value categories. I think this is the reason some people get one statement, whilst others get loads!
All of my questions were obviously centered around the same thing, that being how I would act, and how I think it was appropriate to act in situations compromising individuality/confidentiality against society (laws etc)
Scenarios included a teacher dating a student, man stealing and pregnant 14 yr old. Answering was mainly in the form of strongly agree--strongly disagree, with some asking for what I would say/do in a certain situation.
Answering honestly is easy, as I believe lying for the benefit of the test would get you in more trouble results wise!!!
It seems the questions have been written so "agree" and "disagree" responses are both valid, as long as the rest of the test follows suit with those principals interpretations and beliefs. There seemed to be more than one way to discuss the question, not a straight forward-"this answer is for Ms Dr."
A final read through of this section (which there is PLENTY of time for) is essential, as you can make sure questions which obviously cross link match to your beliefs. I found a couple of questions were I had answered disagree, when on a read through of the QUESTION WORDING i actually agreed.
Dont forget the exhibit bits in this section either people, they are really useful as set the scene for what they are asking. The exhibit info changes without warning either, so make sure you know what you are talking about! Again, keyboard shortcuts come in useful...
Hope this helps someone, anyone, everyone
Anybody thinking about how to prepare. I would get the book from amazon "passing the UKCAT and BMAT", just for the decision analysis, verbal reasoning and a glance at some shapes.
For those that need more preparation then there is reading lots, maths calculations, online IQ/Psychometric/Aptitude test, Critical thinking books (Close reading), AND MOST IMPORTANTLY SLEEP, GOOD FOOD AND SMILING.
Best of luck to all those Dr's in waiting out there.
Draconian
xxx
My results were 620/610/640/650
(I'm happy with this, needed 2200 for southampton-yay
)
Interpersonal values (IVQ)
Your results indicate;
Compared to the responses of other people, your responses suggest that you equally value the needs, well-being and freedom of individuals and the laws, norms and rights of society. When you feel a conflict between what each person should be able to do and what society expects them to do, you are likely to try hard to balance these interests.
Regarding the UKCAT...
