Tips for Preparing to Take the UCAT Exam
1. For ucat preparation, one should make themselves familiar with the format of questions.
• There are two sections in the test: Semi-Structured & Structured Questions (SSQs & SSTs). The SSQ papers will be shorter (approximately 30 minutes), they will contain multiple-choice questions and you won’t be allowed to choose “None of these”.
• The SST paper is longer (approximately 100 minutes) and contains both multiple-choice questions, single best answer questions and “structured essay” type questions called Extended Matching Questions (EMQs).
• One can’t go back to previous questions on SST paper; one will need to answer all the questions within the 100 minutes provided.
2. Practice more sample papers! There are plenty of sample papers for UCAT test available on internet or bookstores, so practice as much as one can with them.
3. Get a good night of sleep before the exam day! If one stays up late studying/practicing without proper sleep, their mind & body won’t be able to function at its best condition during the exam day, leading to poor results. So have a good rest before taking the test. It is highly recommended that one get 7-8 hours of good quality sleep before taking the exam.
4. Make themselves familiar with the exam conditions.
• One will be given a pencil, an eraser, a ball-point pen and some other stationery items (e.g., ruler) in the exam room. However, one cannot bring any reference books, electronic gadgets or printed materials to the test room! So make sure they don’t bring them with them on exam day!
• There are no breaks between sections but there are 10 minutes rests after each section ends. When time is up for one section, it will automatically move onto next section without warning (no bell will ring). That means if one haven’t finish answering all questions during 100 minutes of SST paper, time will be up, and the system will move to the next section (SSQ) without waiting for one. You will need to finish the SSQ paper within 2 hours only because there are no breaks between sections!
• If one wants to take a bathroom break, make sure it’s not during the exam. There is no specific time for a bathroom break, but one can’t go when SST or SSQ are ongoing.
• How to get out of the test room? All doors in the test room will be locked automatically, so if one needs to go out, bring your ID card/registration sheet with you when leaving & someone who works at school may open the door for them from outside.
5. Make use of one’s spare time wisely.
• UCAT exam is a long and tiring day, so think about making use of the remaining time before the exam actually starts.
• There will be announcements made (e.g., announcement of the result) at specific timing during exam day. So make sure they are listening to them carefully and dress accordingly (e.g., take off your coat if they announce “you can now remove your coats”)
So these were some tips that definitely help one in crack UCAT exam with flying colors.
