UKCAT drop ANOTHER section!

[Prolific]

Originally Posted by camel*music

It seems unfair that this decision is advantageous to some people who did poorly in this section, but for those that excelled results in a hugely reduced average score.

While I don't mean to imply you got full marks by sitting an easier form of the AR test than others did, as you may just be very good at it, surely it would be even more unfair if someone got interviews and offers based on an unfair test result, while others got none, because they were unlucky enough to land a harder test?

I scored 600 on my AR test, i found it very hard. The things the objects had in similar were very different. I had angles and lines of symmetry, placement, shape, size, colouration, rotational symmetry number of sides and so on. lots of the things they had in common were not things the practise questions had in common. While it was not too hard to figure out, in the time allowed it just seemed impossible, I felt you'd need some serious rainman skills to get 900, but then it might just be a week point of mine.

[Singh.Simran]

I can attest that different tests were wildly different, with a tiny non controlled trial to prove it.

5 friends took it with me

Halfish went before the hour, halfish after. Each set had a different test, but identical to the rest of their own set, test. One group had an average in the region of 100 marks higher.

And in my professional opinion, there was little to no difference in smarts. I was in the one that had the easy test/did well so it clearly cant have been that clever!

[okora]

i love puzzles and that kind of stuff anf got a 900 in my AR section, but did quite badly in verbal reasoning.

after talkin to most people on my course applyin to GEP medicine i found there was a fair distribution in scores...some people doin considerably better in some sections than in others.

it just brings into the limelight just how inefficeint this entrance exam seems to becoming on the whole

[okora]

Originally Posted by Singh.Simran

Ah yes, there's a good point. If anyone mailing pearson gets anything useful (a refund, or even an apology....store credit towards your driving theory test?) dont hesitate to tell the rest of us so we can get in on the action!

store credit towards driving theory test...now that would be useful!

despite how annoyed this has made me, i'm glad to see everyone's still got a sense of humour about this lol!

[Arch_Angel]

Although I do think this is by far the stupidist part of the test I think that it's unfair that they've decided to drop it at this late stage. My score average went down a point, but I know at least one person who got 900 and who will be livid that they've decided to drop it as their score will plummit. A perviously decent score could be rendered useless.

The last section they dropped was of no consequence, because no one was going to take them seriously anyway and they didn't attach a score to it.

I'm going to send an email to person vue complaining about the very flippant attitude they are taking to these life changing tests that we paid them to take. They give us the results on the day and we can make decisions based on them regarding which schools to apply to (in regard to GAMSAT schools vs UKCAT schools vs no exam schools), which then can be rendered useless by subsequent decisions made by Pearson vue.

Even if it is a dodgy test (which it was) the harm done by leaving it in is vastly less than taking it out and changing people's scores therefore making their informed decisions potentially worthless.

No doubt this will slow down the already snail pace speed these applications are progressing at. So again, my average score has only dropped by 2 points, but there will be some people who are completely screwed by this decision.

If anyone has been hit hard by this (i'm guessing there'll be a few kings GEP applicants that are now not going to get an interview when they would have before) make sure you let person vue know. I will be anyway because it's unfair to give us information to make decisions on, then to change the info after we've made them.

Nik

[georgiegirl]

I must say I have noticed quite a lot of people on this forum seem to have got 900 in AR, haven't seen anyone with 900 in any other section. Presumably this has something to do with why they don't think that section had integrity (?)

I didn't think it was easy on the test I took - like Prolific, mine was quite hard.

[camel*music]

That's a fair point prolific. However, I genuinely believe I am not autistic.

But, if people are getting harder tests than others, surely the whole thing becomes a farce?

I'm glad that it's worked in your favour and i wish you all the best. I may appear bitter lol, I'm not, you can just imagine my frustration at my best score being removed!

If I had known pearson VUE would remove the abstract reasoning subtest score earlier, I probably would have applied to Liverpool, as they do not require the UKCAT. As it stood at the time, my average was high and I applied elsewhere.

Pearson VUE have a lot to answer for.

[chrisjimmartin]

I disagree. I don't think the abstract reasoning section of the UKCAT is an indication that you may go on to be skilled at open heart surgery etc. just because you can fit some shapes together on a screen. Additionally, does that mean that everybody, surgeon wannabes or otherwise, needs to be good at this to get into med school? I did pretty average on this and still got an offer so it can't be that vital.

And it is WAY too late for changes to be made to admissions policy now. Med schools have to be seen to be fair and consistent in their selection process. They are not going to discount your results halfway through the admissions cycle. I would think they will review it next year but they cannot change a level playing field at half time.

[Singh.Simran]

Originally Posted by chrisjimmartin

I disagree. I don't think the abstract reasoning section of the UKCAT is an indication that you may go on to be skilled at open heart surgery etc. just because you can fit some shapes together on a screen. Additionally, does that mean that everybody, surgeon wannabes or otherwise, needs to be good at this to get into med school? I did pretty average on this and still got an offer so it can't be that vital.

And it is WAY too late for changes to be made to admissions policy now. Med schools have to be seen to be fair and consistent in their selection process. They are not going to discount your results halfway through the admissions cycle. I would think they will review it next year but they cannot change a level playing field at half time.

And ya think that the other units are any more useful to medical ability?

On the whole is just a HUGELY rough idea of aptitude in various means of testing, and that's all its meant to be..

it's fair and consistent to discount a section if that is what's making it NOT a level playing field, as such "irregularities" would presumably mean...

[wutang]

Do u guys actually think this is going to change anything at all! Most unis have already put people in piles, the definte yes's , No's and maybes. Seriously guys dont worry about it just stay focussed and hope for the best. Unis already see this as a joke and most of the unis have the ukcat as a requirement not cos they value its meaning in selecting good potential doctors. In the fact IF they dont have the ukcat as a requirement like lpool and bristol you get every man and his dog applying there! I for one have heard many admissions tutors say this and some such as Chrish Lote the Brum Admissions tutor thinks the whole thing is a pile of wank anyway, "whats the point of an aptitude test you can go and prepare for by going on a course". He has a point, this will have little or no influence on any decisions, im certain.