UKCAT

(entry exams)

When applying to medical school, it is important that you apply strategically. Currently, I am aware that there are three entry exams you can potentially do: the UKCAT, the BMAT and the GAMSAT. Depending on whether you are applying for undergraduate or graduate entry, Oxbridge, Imperial etc will influence which entry exam you decide to do.

As a graduate, I decided against doing the GAMSAT because I felt it would be better to focus my energies on doing better in one entry exam, then doing average on two entry exams. Furthermore, I was aware that there were some graduate entry programmes which considered the UKCAT, so I chose to do the UKCAT only. Which entry exams you chose to do is personal preference, however, I would advise that you research the type of exam, the cost of the exam, and the number of medical school's and which universities desire it. Therefore, again, it is important to research each medical school you are considering.

Although my own UKCAT score was not particularly high, based on my friend's experiences I would highly recommend using Medify. Essentially, Medify is a company which provide online stimulated versions of the UKCAT examinations, at varying difficulty levels. Much of my UKCAT revision focus was using books such as the 600 question book etc, however, I believe one of the reason's my score was not as high as it could have been is because doing mock UKCAT questions on paper, using a text book etc is completely different to how you will sit the UKCAT in real life, where you will be in front of a computer screen, where you will have an online calculator and where you will have to input your answers on a screen instead of writing them on a piece of paper. The latter is one of the main reasons I actually recommend using Medify.

I am aware of three different individuals, all of whom used Medify as their sole UKCAT preparation source who actually obtained incredibly high UKCAT scores. Of which, one individual did the UKCAT on three different entry cycles. On both their first and second attempt of the UKCAT, their UKCAT score was not good enough for interview. On their third attempt of the UKCAT, they used Medify and consequently their score was so high that they obtained four interviews for graduate entry Medicine. I am aware that Medify is a costly resource, however, I personally believe it is an investment in your future.

When applying to medical school doing the UKCAT is something which absolutely terrified me, although I worked hard for my UKCAT, my preparation techniques were poor. I treated it like a standard examination, and therefore did not prepare for it like it was an aptitude test. I would do mocks online, but make notes on where I went wrong - this is something I would advice against. The time I spent making notes could have been better spent doing more mocks, thus I could have improved my speed and technique. Nevertheless, despite obtaining an below average score on the UKCAT, I was still successful in obtaining 2 medical school interview's. Therefore, if there is anything you take away from my UKCAT advice, I want you to know that providing that you choose your medical school's strategically, after you have done your UKCAT, you still have a chance at being successful in your medical school application!

My total overall UKCAT score was: 1780, this left me in the third decile (30th percentile), and the total mean average score for 2016 was 1893 (Source: https://twitter.com/UKCATest/status/785776332844085249). Essentially, if your UKCAT score falls in the 9th decile, you are in the 90th percentile, ultimately, the higher your total UKCAT score and thus your average is - the better! If you click on this link, you will be taken to a PDF document which includes test statistics e.g. deciles and average scores for the UKCAT based on all students who did the exam in 2012-2016.

However, although my UKCAT score was in the third from last decile, below the average for my cohort of testing, and my SJT score was band 3, I still did fairly well and obtained 2 interview's. I intentionally applied to universities which relied less on the UKCAT as an means to decide who to interview, for instance for Keele, I had to meet their UKCAT cut off and after that they used the roles and responsibilities form to decide who to interview. Whereas, if say I had applied to The University of Warwick in that application cycle, I would have automatically received an pre-interview rejection because at the time, Warwick were only interviewing students with a UKCAT score of 700. Not all universities will publish their minimum UKCAT cut off score, which you have to meet in order to be considered for interview... However, they do tend to publish the cut off score for previous years and that usually gives you a realistic idea of the types of UKCAT scores students apply to that university with. To be aware of such information, again, it is crucial you look at your respective universities entry requirements. My average UKCAT score was 593, my research told me that based on the previous year's statistics, my UKCAT would not meet the cut off for a number of universities so I ruled them off my potential medical school list automatically, Warwick was one of those institutions.