Applying from Canada - confused and wondering if it's worth it?

**Doc.Oc** · 24-09-2008, 08:29 AM

Right so I'm sitting here somewhere in the Toronto area in my last year of high school and I decide to go for med school in the UK. So I go to the Universities' Fair sometime in mid-september and they tell me about the UKCAT, which is not like the MCAT, but more like an aptitude test...

Well now I have my test booked on Oct. 7 but I'm wondering if I really have a chance on it. I went to the website and downloaded the practice questions, only to fail miserably after being able to get through a measely 25 out of 40 questions in 20 minutes on Verbal reasoning - maybe half of which I got wrong. I then redid all the quetsions carefully over maybe an hour and got about 72%. I got around 76% on abstract and a 70-something on decision analysis as well. But I also got 54% on the qunatitative reasoning. (all untimed)

So, how do you think I'd do? Because, on the math for example, my major problem isn't the level of difficulty (although it is extremely confusing and thus my 54%), but rather that if you work out the time, you have about (or less than) 30 seconds to do each question! I can barely read the information and digest the charts in that time! The same goes for a lot of the verbal reasoning. If you actually want to consider whether you "can't tell" on each question, woudln't you need a few more minutes to finish them all?

Ok so bascially I'm kind of confused about this whole thing. I've been ghosting this forum for a bit though and I kind of get the impression that the real thing "isn't that hard" but I'm still wondering about the timings. Also, how does the scoring work? is it like a %? (ie, 700 = 70%). And are there any sort of tips that I should know, like not do every question or do them all or do what you can haha. Thanks if anyone can help me here!

**Clairey_Fairy** · 25-09-2008, 11:57 PM

The UKCAT is hard for its timings however Id say jus go for it and do you're best. Its not imperitive for most uni's just mainly used as a tie-breaker to decide between 2 very similar candidates. It's basically just another hoop you have to jump through on the way to med school. Its scored out of 900 with the lowest score being 300. The average is 600 so anything above this is generally regarded as a descent score. Good Luck! Hope this helps! :-)

**Doc.Oc** · 28-09-2008, 01:02 AM

yeah thanks that really helps a lot lol - especially the explanation of the scoring. Also nice to know that it's not as major a test as I thought it was...although I'd stilll like to score well.

**stali85** · 28-09-2008, 02:59 PM

In terms of the real test and trying to tackle all the questions, dont go in their thinking you will finish each section, you are not likely to as thats part of the test. In the sections you find really pressed for time e.g VR and QR for me, some people skip the long questions (guess them first) and move on in order to get as many questions right as possible in the time allowed. Guessing was really needed in my QR but it worked out as I got 710 without working each question out. Some are easy, you can read the question and know immediately what to do and work out. Others, like you said takes all the time just to read and understand the question let alone the information given. VR didnt work out so well for me, I didnt guess as many but in my test, the passages were all HUGE! I panicked and so read the statement and skimmed the passage. Of all the passages, over half were long for me but this varies for each person as each test is different. Anywho, that was my worst section. AR is so variable, some patterns I saw straight away, others I spent ages just staring at thinking what on earth?? So I did guess quite a few and was lucky, did well. DA has always been a section that I liked and so I managed well on that one and had some time to spare. Biggest tip is to write down each of the codes, eliminate those statements that dont include certain words or have extra ones in them and then choose the one that makes the most sense, that what I did and got a 750 for my efforts.

With the time running out on you, it tends to give you that little adrenaline rush that either makes you work fast and efficient or makes you lose it. Its easier said than done, but try and stay calm, dont shoot from the hip unless you have to. Always keep an eye on the time and if you have one minute left and still a way to go, guess, guess and guess!

The scoring malarky is a mystery with the UKCAT. All we seem to know is that each section is out of 900, like earlier posts said, the minimum you can get in each section is 300. Average for those that have taken the UKCAT is 500-700. With the average of the average so to speak, being 600.

Apologies for the enormous post, got a wee bit carried away.

In any case, the best of luck for your test, I hope you do great

**Doc.Oc** · 29-09-2008, 08:27 AM

yeah I try to use the same strategy for DA, at least on practice. So you mean you actually write down the direct translations of the code? I guess there's enough time to do that since that section is shorter (I think?).

And for the QR, were there just some charts and things you totally didn't get? Or were they kind of doable. because the worst thing I'd think in QR would be to be trapped with a stupid chart you don't understand the workings of, meaning you get 4 questions in a row all wrong.

but yeah I didn't mind the long explanation - think I'm feeling a bit better now that I know it's not all about the ukcat. anyway I remember at the fair Bristol told me they'd need 85%+ for consideration ( average of 6 best subjects in canada (incl chem/bio/math), and I'm sure I'm going to have 90%+, so even if I fail this thing I could just get an interview there, or at liverpool or birmingham.

**stali85** · 29-09-2008, 03:51 PM

Yeah for DA I had enough time to write each one out

In terms of QR, it wasnt so much that the charts and graphs were very hard to work out, just that the sheer volume on information given makes them hard to see what you needed quickly. You need to read all the information because there could be a sentence there that affects all your calculations!

You need to make decisions pretty quickly as to which questions you can solve and which to guess and move on from. Again, it depends on the types of questions you get from the bank, you never know, you could be lucky and they will all be short!!