Page 25 - UKCAT 2017

• Use the Question Tutorial to learn strategies for approaching and answering questions
• Make full use of the official Practice Tests. We provide you with three fully timed
tests (and a separate timed test for SJTace candidates) which mimic closely the testing experience. It is important to understand the time limitations in each section and
to develop strategies to approach each subtest with this in mind. Test items are of an equivalent standard to those you will encounter in the test and include any new sections or item types. You may review your responses against answer rationales. In our survey, 88% of respondents agreed that
the practice tests increased their familiarity with the types of questions and their ability to manage the test. 74% agreed that it increased their ability to manage the timing of the test. Use of the of cial online practice tests was associated with higher overall test performance
• Spend around 25-30 hours in preparation for the UKCAT test. This is the amount of preparation done by the highest scoring respondents to our most recent survey
• Use the UKCAT Of cial Guide as 63% of those who downloaded this agreed that doing so increased their knowledge of how to prepare for the test, and 74% agreed that it increased their knowledge about the content of the test
• If you have not studied mathematics beyond GCSE level (or recently), make additional time to revisit and practice your mathematical skills as this will impact on performance in the Quantitative Reasoning section in particular
• Go to www.thestudentroom.co.uk where there is advice available from current and past candidates. This includes links to free practice resources which can be found on the internet
• Ask for advice from your school/college and previous test takers
• Watch our video of previous test takers sharing advice on their preparations and overall test experience.
What about commercial companies?
There are many commercial companies publishing books and offering coaching in the UKCAT. We do not work with any of these companies and we are concerned that taking advantage of these opportunities can cost candidates a great deal
of money. We would advise you to be sceptical about claims they can help you do well in the test by coaching.
Please note that commercial organisations will be using items that are not necessarily of the standard you will encounter in the live test
and this may distort your performance whilst practicing. Screen views may be different and commercial organisations are unlikely to include the new item types which you may encounter in your test.
Our candidate survey suggested that use of books relevant to the UKCAT was associated with higher overall test performance. These books may contain helpful strategies for candidates taking the test and include additional practice questions. However there is lots of advice available for free on the web regarding approaches to the test and many sources of free practice questions. Unless the book has been published very recently it is unlikely to include the correct test content and timings and new test items.
UKCAT Of cial Guide 2017 25
PREPARATION