It's been a long time since my last post and I feel really bad about it. I had a really good Easter Break and now its back to work for me!
This post will be about the usefulness/effectiveness of interview/ukcat courses.
Personally, I attended 2 UKCAT Courses, one in Singapore and one in the UK.
Were they helpful?
Honestly, to a certain extent, they were kindda helpful. I did the course in Singapore first over Summer during which i got to go through the 600 UKCAT Questions book very thoroughly and through the practice, familiarise myself with the different question types. I then attended a KAPLAN Course which i though was absolutely fantastic. It was a 2 day course and we were even provided with extra tests afterwards. This was honestly very very helpful.
While the first course made me realise the difficulty level of the UKCAT, the KAPLAN course definitely raised my confidence and gave me tips and methods to handle the UKCAT questions.
In addition to these courses, i also signed up for Medify for extra online practice. I only started with medify 2 weeks before my test and I must say, i really regret not using it from the start!
The thing with the UKCAT is that it's an online test. And as with any other test, the best way to practice is under standard conditions. Medify was able to give me this opportunity to try out real questions with a format very similar to the actual UKCAT test .
Now, on to interview courses.
I have not been for any interview courses because i felt that I had invested a lot of my time and money on my UKCAT and I kindda knew that interviews were something that i was quite strong with. I had a senior who went for a course and she passed her notes on to me. From what i saw in the notes. interview courses could either be good or bad.
They could be good because:
They help you gain confidence and give you some practice
You are given some insights as to what to expect
You are given a lot of material to use for your preparation so you will not risk not learning anything important
They could be bad because:
You may come across as being TOO prepared during the actual interview
With the amount of information given , you may be over preparing/ stressing yourself out too much
To me, i think that before you invest your time and money on a course, you should seriously consider if the course will benefit you or not. Consider the following questions first:
Is this aspect of my application my weak point?(do you little confidence in it?)
Will me spending time on this course affect other aspects of my application(A levels)?
Basically, if you think the course is good, go for it, but only if you are sure that you will be able to cope.
Showing posts with label UKCAT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UKCAT. Show all posts
Thursday, 25 April 2013
Saturday, 23 March 2013
Need to sell off!
Hello!
I am trying to sell off my UKCAT Books as well as Interview books.
They are all mostly in good condition and most are just like new!
Here is a list of things that I am selling:
UKCAT Books:
UKCAT For Dummies
600 UKCAT Practice Questions
BMAT and UKCAT Uncovered
Interview books:
Succeed in your Medical school Interview
Medical School Interviews
Personal Statement book:
Write the Perfect Personal Statement
Others:
A Career in medicine: do you have what it takes?
SOLD:
KAPLAN UKCAT Course book- 20Pounds
How to Master the UKCAT-3rd edition
The Knowledge: Medical school interviews, all you need to know
So you want to be a doctor?
Do email me at lovebullets1995@gmail.com if you are interested! Prices are negotiable!
I am trying to sell off my UKCAT Books as well as Interview books.
They are all mostly in good condition and most are just like new!
Here is a list of things that I am selling:
UKCAT Books:
UKCAT For Dummies
600 UKCAT Practice Questions
BMAT and UKCAT Uncovered
Interview books:
Succeed in your Medical school Interview
Medical School Interviews
Personal Statement book:
Write the Perfect Personal Statement
Others:
A Career in medicine: do you have what it takes?
SOLD:
Do email me at lovebullets1995@gmail.com if you are interested! Prices are negotiable!
Thursday, 21 March 2013
Rejection?
If you have been rejected by all your medicals schools here are some things you may want to consider doing:
1.Ask for feedback and reflect
How far had you been successful throughout the application process?
Pre-interview rejections:
Your weakness may then have to do with the following:
Predicted Grades
If you were not given the predicted grade that you needed, it may be advisable for you to complete your A level course and achieve the AAA grade and then reapply!
GCSEs/Achieved A Level Result
If your achieved results were the reason for your rejection, then you may have to consider an alternative route into medicine or even an alternative career.
UKCAT Score
If this was a reason, work hard and practise for it again , resit it and reapply. If you are unable to achieve a satisfactory score, consider applying to BMAT schools or schools that do not look at the UKCAT.(Refer to my previous post for advice on the UKCAT: http://ajourneytofufilmydreams.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/ukcat.html)
Reference
Personally, I don't think that this would be a huge factor, but if this was something that had been a hinder to you, you will have to just prove yourself to your teacher/referee to get a better reference for your next application.
Personal Statement
I would think that this would be a common aspect of the application that has shattered the dreams of many. If the feedback you have received from your universities has to do with your lack of experience/maturity/insight/etc; you will ahve to really look at your personal statement, ask yourself, what could you improve? Could you have reflected more?To work on improving your personal statement you may .like to consider taking a gap year to gain more work experience and do some volunteering to help strengthen you application. I have touched on these aspects of the application in my previous posts.
Rejected Post-interview
If you've received interviews but had gotten rejections, i would say that your weakness would most probably lie in your interviewing skills and how you presented yourself.
Think back tonthe days of your interviews, how were you feeling? Could you have performed better?
If your nerves were the reason that you were unable to have a successful interview, you might want to take up some self-improvement courses such as public speaking courses or even take some time out to go for interview workshops!
You had already gotten quite far into the application process so no doubt, you would be a strong applicant if you reapply!
Also think about your choices, did you apply strategically, could you have made better choices?
2.Take a gap year and improve on the different aspects of your applications as stated above)
Here are some ideas for a gap year:
In your Local area
Apply for work experience at your local hospital/clinics
Volunteer at your local old age home/hospice
Sign up to help out with any activities to do with helping others!
Get a job- it may or may not have to be in a caring environment, as long as you learn something while doing it(for instance,teamwork,organisation or leadership)
Abroad:
You may want to consider going on placements/volunteering with companies such as gapmedics. A quick google search should be able to get you a long list of companies that organise these kind of things!
3.Reconsider medicine as a career.
If this is not your first rejection, you may have to decide if medicine is really the career for you.there have been cases of applicants being successful on their third application to medical school. If your situation allows for this, then by all means, go ahead!(:
4. Consider alternative routes into medicine
I touched on this in my previous post!(:
The very best of luck to everyone out there! Don't give up and keep chasing your dreams!
1.Ask for feedback and reflect
How far had you been successful throughout the application process?
Pre-interview rejections:
Your weakness may then have to do with the following:
Predicted Grades
If you were not given the predicted grade that you needed, it may be advisable for you to complete your A level course and achieve the AAA grade and then reapply!
GCSEs/Achieved A Level Result
If your achieved results were the reason for your rejection, then you may have to consider an alternative route into medicine or even an alternative career.
UKCAT Score
If this was a reason, work hard and practise for it again , resit it and reapply. If you are unable to achieve a satisfactory score, consider applying to BMAT schools or schools that do not look at the UKCAT.(Refer to my previous post for advice on the UKCAT: http://ajourneytofufilmydreams.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/ukcat.html)
Reference
Personally, I don't think that this would be a huge factor, but if this was something that had been a hinder to you, you will have to just prove yourself to your teacher/referee to get a better reference for your next application.
Personal Statement
I would think that this would be a common aspect of the application that has shattered the dreams of many. If the feedback you have received from your universities has to do with your lack of experience/maturity/insight/etc; you will ahve to really look at your personal statement, ask yourself, what could you improve? Could you have reflected more?To work on improving your personal statement you may .like to consider taking a gap year to gain more work experience and do some volunteering to help strengthen you application. I have touched on these aspects of the application in my previous posts.
Rejected Post-interview
If you've received interviews but had gotten rejections, i would say that your weakness would most probably lie in your interviewing skills and how you presented yourself.
Think back tonthe days of your interviews, how were you feeling? Could you have performed better?
If your nerves were the reason that you were unable to have a successful interview, you might want to take up some self-improvement courses such as public speaking courses or even take some time out to go for interview workshops!
You had already gotten quite far into the application process so no doubt, you would be a strong applicant if you reapply!
Also think about your choices, did you apply strategically, could you have made better choices?
2.Take a gap year and improve on the different aspects of your applications as stated above)
Here are some ideas for a gap year:
In your Local area
Apply for work experience at your local hospital/clinics
Volunteer at your local old age home/hospice
Sign up to help out with any activities to do with helping others!
Get a job- it may or may not have to be in a caring environment, as long as you learn something while doing it(for instance,teamwork,organisation or leadership)
Abroad:
You may want to consider going on placements/volunteering with companies such as gapmedics. A quick google search should be able to get you a long list of companies that organise these kind of things!
3.Reconsider medicine as a career.
If this is not your first rejection, you may have to decide if medicine is really the career for you.there have been cases of applicants being successful on their third application to medical school. If your situation allows for this, then by all means, go ahead!(:
4. Consider alternative routes into medicine
I touched on this in my previous post!(:
The very best of luck to everyone out there! Don't give up and keep chasing your dreams!
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Things to start doing RIGHT NOW!
I would think that students who are intending to apply to Medical schools for 2014 entry would be starting to prepare for the submission of their applications this October.
Here are some things you may want to consider doing to be well prepared for the stressful application when it comes:
1. Study for the UKCAT
Like,start right now!
Get your books, sign up for online UKCAT Practises, start using the sample tests on the UKCAT website!
Yes! You can study.. well, actually, practise.. you can practise for the UKCAT! Trust me! There are a lot of resources out there and the more you do the more used to you'll get to the questions and also you will have exposure to a good range of resources so you'll be very prepared for any type of question that comes out in your actual test!
Refer to my previous post for resources and advice on it : http://ajourneytofufilmydreams.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/ukcat.html
2. Arrange for work experience
Start early! Some hospitals in the UK have waiting lists of 2 YEARS! Be it volunteering at a charity shop or at a elderly home, start early! The longer your commitment, the better your experience would be a reflection of your commitment and determination.
3.Your Personal Statement
Draft it, ask people around you for opinions,ask the PS helpers on TSR to look at it and give you advice, START EARLY. It really sucks if you start panicking a week before you submit your personal statement and have to keep rushing to complete it only to feel unsatisfied with it after you've sent it off! Look at my previous posts on my advice for doing your personal statement here : http://ajourneytofufilmydreams.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Personal%20Statement
4. Study for your June exams
These exams are your last chance to prove yourself to your teachers, your last chance to show that you are worth being predicted the required AAA. Not forgetting, you also have to declare all your results in your UCAS form, it won't look nice if you have a D or an E, so hit the books and start studying!
Here are some good sites for Chemistry and Biology(AQA):
http://sciencemathsmaster.weebly.com/biology.html
http://vbio.weebly.com/a2-level.html
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1288539 (AWESOME AWESOME NOTES!)
https://www.heckgrammar.co.uk/index.php?p=10312
http://a-levelchemistry.co.uk/( OCR and AQA)
5.Check out some universities
Go for open days this Easter/Summer, go to as many as possible and talk to medical students. Look at the schools' campus, ask what universities look at strongly on your application. If you can't order prospectuses from the universities and look through them. It's always good to have a goal in your mind!
That really is about it. focus all your energy on doing all these and then start thinking about other stuff when you've sent your application off!
Best of luck!
Feel free to email me @ lovebullets1995@gmail.com if you have any questions!
Here are some things you may want to consider doing to be well prepared for the stressful application when it comes:
1. Study for the UKCAT
Like,start right now!
Get your books, sign up for online UKCAT Practises, start using the sample tests on the UKCAT website!
Yes! You can study.. well, actually, practise.. you can practise for the UKCAT! Trust me! There are a lot of resources out there and the more you do the more used to you'll get to the questions and also you will have exposure to a good range of resources so you'll be very prepared for any type of question that comes out in your actual test!
Refer to my previous post for resources and advice on it : http://ajourneytofufilmydreams.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/ukcat.html
2. Arrange for work experience
Start early! Some hospitals in the UK have waiting lists of 2 YEARS! Be it volunteering at a charity shop or at a elderly home, start early! The longer your commitment, the better your experience would be a reflection of your commitment and determination.
3.Your Personal Statement
Draft it, ask people around you for opinions,ask the PS helpers on TSR to look at it and give you advice, START EARLY. It really sucks if you start panicking a week before you submit your personal statement and have to keep rushing to complete it only to feel unsatisfied with it after you've sent it off! Look at my previous posts on my advice for doing your personal statement here : http://ajourneytofufilmydreams.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Personal%20Statement
4. Study for your June exams
These exams are your last chance to prove yourself to your teachers, your last chance to show that you are worth being predicted the required AAA. Not forgetting, you also have to declare all your results in your UCAS form, it won't look nice if you have a D or an E, so hit the books and start studying!
Here are some good sites for Chemistry and Biology(AQA):
http://sciencemathsmaster.weebly.com/biology.html
http://vbio.weebly.com/a2-level.html
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1288539 (AWESOME AWESOME NOTES!)
https://www.heckgrammar.co.uk/index.php?p=10312
http://a-levelchemistry.co.uk/( OCR and AQA)
5.Check out some universities
Go for open days this Easter/Summer, go to as many as possible and talk to medical students. Look at the schools' campus, ask what universities look at strongly on your application. If you can't order prospectuses from the universities and look through them. It's always good to have a goal in your mind!
That really is about it. focus all your energy on doing all these and then start thinking about other stuff when you've sent your application off!
Best of luck!
Feel free to email me @ lovebullets1995@gmail.com if you have any questions!
Wednesday, 6 March 2013
Random Advice #2
1. All the medical schools in the UK are equally 'good'
They may have teaching methods and facilities but they are all recognised equally by the GMC. They may have different strengths in research and some may have a better location than others but none is 'better' than the others.
2.Choose wisely pleasepleasepleaseplease
DO apply to places where your strengths are considered. If you have a high UKCAT score(>680) you may want to consider applying to places where the UKCAT is used more, but if you did poorly in your UKCAT(<600) you may want to consider applying to a medical school that does not use the UKCAT(Eg; Bristol)
However, do bear in mind that if you apply to schools that do not use the UKCAT, they could potentially be relatively more competitive.
If you feel that interviews are not your strength, you may consider applying to schools that do not interview(Eg;Edinburgh) but then you would have to be confident of your personal statement, does it bring all that you are/all the passion you have across?
And if you are applying to a university which places a lot of emphasis on your Personal Statement please know that it is a sort of 'risk' because what you may feel to be a good/strong PS may not seem so to an admissions tutor going through a thousand over applications!Some may place more emphasis on extra curricular activities while some may look at your work experience more closely.
In conclusion, apply to schools where you strengths will give you an edge!
3.Prepare for your interview early!
I think I've said this a few times now><
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/What_you_should_expect_at_a_medical_school_interview this link gives a pretty good idea what the interviews are like at each school, but please do double check with the university website to see if any changes have been made
They may have teaching methods and facilities but they are all recognised equally by the GMC. They may have different strengths in research and some may have a better location than others but none is 'better' than the others.
2.Choose wisely pleasepleasepleaseplease
DO apply to places where your strengths are considered. If you have a high UKCAT score(>680) you may want to consider applying to places where the UKCAT is used more, but if you did poorly in your UKCAT(<600) you may want to consider applying to a medical school that does not use the UKCAT(Eg; Bristol)
However, do bear in mind that if you apply to schools that do not use the UKCAT, they could potentially be relatively more competitive.
If you feel that interviews are not your strength, you may consider applying to schools that do not interview(Eg;Edinburgh) but then you would have to be confident of your personal statement, does it bring all that you are/all the passion you have across?
And if you are applying to a university which places a lot of emphasis on your Personal Statement please know that it is a sort of 'risk' because what you may feel to be a good/strong PS may not seem so to an admissions tutor going through a thousand over applications!Some may place more emphasis on extra curricular activities while some may look at your work experience more closely.
In conclusion, apply to schools where you strengths will give you an edge!
3.Prepare for your interview early!
I think I've said this a few times now><
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/What_you_should_expect_at_a_medical_school_interview this link gives a pretty good idea what the interviews are like at each school, but please do double check with the university website to see if any changes have been made
Sunday, 3 March 2013
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements play a huge role in helping you decide which medical school to apply to. Here are the main aspects of it:
1.GCSE(O Levels)
2.Predicted/Achieved Grades @ A level/IB/Scottish Highers/Etc;
3.UKCAT
4.BMAT
5.UCAS Tariff(http://www.ucas.com/students/ucas_tariff/ please refer to this website for the exact information, from what i know, Queen Mary is an example of a medical school that uses this)
Different medical schools place different emphasis on different parts of your academics.
GCSEs:
Some schools require a minimum number of As/A*s(Eg: Cardiff, Birminghan,Belfast) while some use it as part of their 'scoring system' (Eg; Leicester) While some consider it only when there is a tie breaker (Eg; Dundee)
These school may change their admissions policy from year to year so please make sure you check on their websites!(http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medical_School_GCSE_Requirements gives an extremely clear guide as to what is needed for each medical school)
Predicted/Achieved grades:
Since I only did A Levels, I can only speak for those taking their A levels.
Generally , your predicted grades should be at least AAA and a predicted A* would not usually matter unless you have already achieved your A*(My friend applied to Bristol and got an interview which he believes he got mainly because of his achieved A*)
If you are a gap year student, AAA would be the minimum grade that you need!
UKCAT
Just as how the GCSEs are used differently by different medical schools, the UKCAT is used in varying ways. Some use it as part of their 'scoring' method(eg:Leicester), some use it to decide who get an interview by ranking their UKCAT scores(Newcastle/Durham), some use it as a cut off, in the sense where if you have an average score about the threshold they set, your UKCAT would no longer matter(Eg; for 2013 Entry, the cut off for Sheffield was 600)
Please note that all these are based on the 2013 application cycle and may vary from year to year.
BMAT
There are only a handful of medical schools in the UK that require you to take the BMAT, unfortunately I am not really clear on it as I chose not to take it and apply to the schools that require it. I would hate to be misleading so I would suggest you read up about it on TSR to get a clear idea on how it is used and what it is about
This is about all that I have to say about this really ! Please note(again), that all these are based on what I have heard/learnt about the medical schools from this year's application cycle and may vary from year to year! So please do your own research and ensure you are clear of your chances of getting an interview before applying!
Best of luck to you! Feel free to contact me at lovebullets1995@gmail.com !
1.GCSE(O Levels)
2.Predicted/Achieved Grades @ A level/IB/Scottish Highers/Etc;
3.UKCAT
4.BMAT
5.UCAS Tariff(http://www.ucas.com/students/ucas_tariff/ please refer to this website for the exact information, from what i know, Queen Mary is an example of a medical school that uses this)
Different medical schools place different emphasis on different parts of your academics.
GCSEs:
Some schools require a minimum number of As/A*s(Eg: Cardiff, Birminghan,Belfast) while some use it as part of their 'scoring system' (Eg; Leicester) While some consider it only when there is a tie breaker (Eg; Dundee)
These school may change their admissions policy from year to year so please make sure you check on their websites!(http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medical_School_GCSE_Requirements gives an extremely clear guide as to what is needed for each medical school)
Predicted/Achieved grades:
Since I only did A Levels, I can only speak for those taking their A levels.
Generally , your predicted grades should be at least AAA and a predicted A* would not usually matter unless you have already achieved your A*(My friend applied to Bristol and got an interview which he believes he got mainly because of his achieved A*)
If you are a gap year student, AAA would be the minimum grade that you need!
UKCAT
Just as how the GCSEs are used differently by different medical schools, the UKCAT is used in varying ways. Some use it as part of their 'scoring' method(eg:Leicester), some use it to decide who get an interview by ranking their UKCAT scores(Newcastle/Durham), some use it as a cut off, in the sense where if you have an average score about the threshold they set, your UKCAT would no longer matter(Eg; for 2013 Entry, the cut off for Sheffield was 600)
Please note that all these are based on the 2013 application cycle and may vary from year to year.
BMAT
There are only a handful of medical schools in the UK that require you to take the BMAT, unfortunately I am not really clear on it as I chose not to take it and apply to the schools that require it. I would hate to be misleading so I would suggest you read up about it on TSR to get a clear idea on how it is used and what it is about
This is about all that I have to say about this really ! Please note(again), that all these are based on what I have heard/learnt about the medical schools from this year's application cycle and may vary from year to year! So please do your own research and ensure you are clear of your chances of getting an interview before applying!
Best of luck to you! Feel free to contact me at lovebullets1995@gmail.com !
Saturday, 2 March 2013
Random Advice
I was recently talking to some of my juniors in school and i did up a document for them with some advice and i thought some of you might find it useful(: Some may be a repeat of my previous posts><
Here it is:
I hope this is of some help to you! Sorry if it is repetitive!
Feel free to email me @ lovebullets1995@gmail.com if you need any help/ have any questions!(:
Here it is:
Things to start on:
Read on-medical history, medical ethics, recent advancement in medicine
-this is for your
interest and for you to understand more about the career you are planning to go
into
-here are some
sources you should consider reading from:
BBC
Guardian health
Student BMJ
NHS choices
New Scientist
Attend Medical school preparatory courses(if you have the time and money to spare)
These are not
essential, in my opinion, but they may help you find out more about the career
Medlink-www.medlink-uk.com
Medisix-www.synergysolutions.org.uk/medisix.html(easter)
Medsim- www.synergysolutions.org.uk/medisim.html(july)
*These are in the UK
Practise UKCAT questions
START EARLY
A Ukcat prep course
with Kaplan may prove to be useful
Think abt personal statement which includes :
Interest and motivation for medicine
Well informed about demanding nature and requirements for a successful career in medicine
Well informed about demanding nature and requirements for a successful career in medicine
Independence
Responsibility
Compassion
Commitment to helping and
caring for ppl through relevant work or personal experience(work experience is very important!!!)
Participation in a wide range of activities
Contributions to school/community
Teamwork
Why UK(if you are an international applicant)
Here are
some tips to get started:
Come up
with a list of things you have done all the way starting from high
school(achievements/voluntary work/school activities/school leadership
positions/etc;)
Read some
examples of personal statements and try to understand what elements are
essential in every successful personal statement
It is
okay to have to constantly change it! So start early !
If you
are sure of which medical school you would like to apply to , you may want to
consider reading from their websites what they expect from your personal
statement so that may help you frame up your personal statement
Start
early on this and you might want to consider asking help from people who have
already applied to edit your personal statement for you via TSR-go under
personal statement help on the student room.(i used it personally and the PS Helpers on TSR are truly AWESOME(: A BIG Thank You~! to them!!)
Find work attachment
‘shadowing’ the
following people(the list is not exhaustive, as long as it is a caring role):
Doctor(GP/Specialist/consultant/Surgeon)
Nurse
Physiotherapist
Pathologist
Dietitian
Social worker
Junior doctor
Note; the most
important thing about work experience is not the amount, it is WHAT you learn
that counts
Also, remember to
have a reflective diary of some sort during your work experience, it would be
helpful to read it before your interview
If you are unable
to find work experience you may consider going on a work experience programme
overseas with companies such as Gapmedics
Read more: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medicine_Work_Experience(like I said, TSR will be your best friend!)
Find voluntary work
Here are some
places you can consider volunteering at:
Hospitals
Residential homes
Nursing home
Hospices
Charity shops (eg
Oxfam)-if you do it on weekends alongside studying for you’re a levels it could
possibly show commitment and the ability to handle extra-curricular activities
and your studies, but your grades are more important than anything else,
without them you won’t be able to go to medical school, regardless of how
strong your application is.
Think about University choices (sensible and achievable)
Things to consider:
Campus or City
university?
PBL/traditional/integrated
course structure?
Location
Look through the
university website and CHECK THEIR ADMISSION POLICY.
Get/read books about medicine (fiction/non fiction)
If you have more time this could be helpful in the future
when you get interviews and it also gives you some insight into the career and
will help you decide if this is really what you want to do.
Take part in school activities
Join different clubs so you have a range of things you
can add to your personal statement(especially if you have a leadership position !)
Useful websites
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medicine
http://mylifeasamedstudent.tumblr.com/
(blog of a medical student)
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/medicine/prospective/planning/application/
( advice for personal statement from University of Aberdeen)
*I have not been paid by any company/person to write these, all these are based on my personal experience!!
**As i have said, TSR will be your best friend(:
I hope this is of some help to you! Sorry if it is repetitive!
Feel free to email me @ lovebullets1995@gmail.com if you need any help/ have any questions!(:
Friday, 1 March 2013
UKCAT
Alright, so now i shall talk about the UKCAT, the UK Clinical Aptitude Test.
It consists of 5 Sections:
1. Verbal Reasoning
2. Quantitative Reasoning
3.Abstract Reasoning
4.Decision Analysis
5.Situational Judgement Test
I shall approach each section and explain each of them and give some of my own tips:
1.Verbal Reasoning
You are given about 30s for each question.
You are given 3 options: True , False and Can't Tell.
You have to choose an option from the 3 after reading a statement about the passage given. You are given about 5-6 passages. This was the most difficult section to me because it requires very effective reading and also good decision making. SO my tips for this section would probably be to NOT READ the entire passage and use the key words from the questions and then find those same words in the passage and then read the sentence before and after the sentence in which the words are found it. IF you are not sure of your answer, always FLAG the question and move on, come back to it afterwords.
2.Quantitative reasoning
It is impossible to do 40 math questions in the given time. The trick of this is to pick out the easiest questions and do them!
Practise and learn how to choose what is a difficult question to not do and which are easier .
3.Abstract Reasoning
There is nothing much you can do for this except practise. It is about pattern recognition. You are given to sets of patterns and you are given a box in which there is a pattern and you are to make a decision as to whether it belongs to set A ,B or neither. This one's all about practice!
4.Decision Analysis
For this, you will be given codes and their translations in English.
There are three types of questions:
Code to English
English to Code
Choose a word that you think needs to be coded
The best way to do this section is really to write everything out, do not do them mentally.
5.Situational Judgement Test
You will be given scenarios and you would be given a range of responses to choose from. The best way to this is probably just to be honest, you will probably have a hard time trying to decide which is the most politically right answer!!
So here are some general tips for the UKCAT:
1.Practice practice PRACTICE!!!!!!
2.Start early in your preparation and do it in moderation
3. Do not be overconfident for it
4. If you can afford it/ are in the UK, attend the KAPLAN course for the UKCAT, it really was effective!(for me at least:/)
5. Start off with books and then use online resources about a month before your test
Here are some resources for the UKCAT that i used and found useful:
books:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/into-Medical-School-comprehensive-explanations/dp/1905812094/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362144496&sr=8-1 (600 UKCAT book aka The Bible)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/UKCAT-For-Dummies-Chris-Chopdar/dp/1119965845/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1362144496&sr=8-3
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Score-Higher-UKCAT-questions-Medicine/dp/0199698287/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1362144496&sr=8-4
http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Master-UKCAT-Practice-Questions/dp/0749463376/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1362144496&sr=8-5
online resources:
http://www.medify.co.uk/ukcat (AWESOME AWESOME RESOURCE)
http://www.emedica.co.uk/ukcat.html
It consists of 5 Sections:
1. Verbal Reasoning
2. Quantitative Reasoning
3.Abstract Reasoning
4.Decision Analysis
5.Situational Judgement Test
I shall approach each section and explain each of them and give some of my own tips:
1.Verbal Reasoning
You are given about 30s for each question.
You are given 3 options: True , False and Can't Tell.
You have to choose an option from the 3 after reading a statement about the passage given. You are given about 5-6 passages. This was the most difficult section to me because it requires very effective reading and also good decision making. SO my tips for this section would probably be to NOT READ the entire passage and use the key words from the questions and then find those same words in the passage and then read the sentence before and after the sentence in which the words are found it. IF you are not sure of your answer, always FLAG the question and move on, come back to it afterwords.
2.Quantitative reasoning
It is impossible to do 40 math questions in the given time. The trick of this is to pick out the easiest questions and do them!
Practise and learn how to choose what is a difficult question to not do and which are easier .
3.Abstract Reasoning
There is nothing much you can do for this except practise. It is about pattern recognition. You are given to sets of patterns and you are given a box in which there is a pattern and you are to make a decision as to whether it belongs to set A ,B or neither. This one's all about practice!
4.Decision Analysis
For this, you will be given codes and their translations in English.
There are three types of questions:
Code to English
English to Code
Choose a word that you think needs to be coded
The best way to do this section is really to write everything out, do not do them mentally.
5.Situational Judgement Test
You will be given scenarios and you would be given a range of responses to choose from. The best way to this is probably just to be honest, you will probably have a hard time trying to decide which is the most politically right answer!!
So here are some general tips for the UKCAT:
1.Practice practice PRACTICE!!!!!!
2.Start early in your preparation and do it in moderation
3. Do not be overconfident for it
4. If you can afford it/ are in the UK, attend the KAPLAN course for the UKCAT, it really was effective!(for me at least:/)
5. Start off with books and then use online resources about a month before your test
Here are some resources for the UKCAT that i used and found useful:
books:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/into-Medical-School-comprehensive-explanations/dp/1905812094/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362144496&sr=8-1 (600 UKCAT book aka The Bible)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/UKCAT-For-Dummies-Chris-Chopdar/dp/1119965845/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1362144496&sr=8-3
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Score-Higher-UKCAT-questions-Medicine/dp/0199698287/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1362144496&sr=8-4
http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Master-UKCAT-Practice-Questions/dp/0749463376/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1362144496&sr=8-5
online resources:
http://www.medify.co.uk/ukcat (AWESOME AWESOME RESOURCE)
http://www.emedica.co.uk/ukcat.html
http://www.getintomedicine.co.uk/ukcat-tutorials.php(
free website that has UKCAT practice, I suggest that you use this first
because it is not an onscreen test)
http://www.kaptest.co.uk/ukcat/practice-questions(
you can download their free practice questions I highly suggest that if you can
afford the time and money to attend this course as it is highly beneficial to
your confidence as well as your level of prepared-ness, book early!)
http://www.psychometric-success.com/downloads/download-practice-tests.htm
(this is not directly related to the UKCAT but it is very good for just casual
practice-its free !)
For more online
tests(that may or may not be directly to the ukcat test but will be highly
beneficial, please refer to the following website:
I have not been paid to advertise for any companies! All this is just based on my experiences!!
Email me @ lovebullets1995@gmail.com if you have any questions!!(:
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