Getting the Most from your UCAT Practice Exams
7 months ago by Rob
With every passing week, the date of your UCAT exam is inching closer. Perhaps you are working through the MedEntry curriculum modules, QBank, skills trainers and perhaps even UCAT subtest mocks. This will all aid your preparation, but an important question is, have you completed a full-length UCAT practice exam yet?
Completing a full length UCAT practice exam can be intimidating and even scary. It is easy to spend time on the QBank, or even undertake untimed UCAT practice, without the fear of receiving a predicted UCAT score or percentile.
However, it is essential that you complete a full length UCAT exam as soon as possible. It is the only way to understand the extreme time pressures placed on you during the UCAT. Completing UCAT exams will help you to develop and practice strategies that will help you answer UCAT questions accurately within UCAT time limits.
Here are three tips for getting the most from your UCAT practice exams:
1. Complete UCAT exams under simulated conditions
This is absolutely essential. One of the hardest parts of the UCAT is the timing. On UCAT test day, you will be required to sit in front of a computer screen for two hours, without a break, answering difficult questions under extreme time pressure. This isn’t easy! However, if you’ve done it ten times before, it won’t feel so alien.
So, treat each UCAT practice exam as the real thing. Lock yourself in your room, no interruptions, no drinks or snacks. Ensure you are practicing on a UCAT computer platform that exactly simulates the live UCAT, like that provided by MedEntry. Ensure you are using the equipment that you will be using on UCAT test day (ideally a desktop computer, mouse and noteboard).
Most importantly, stick to the UCAT time limits! Doing so will be scary the first time, but it is the only way to develop the skills needed to succeed in such a time pressured exam.
2. Retry your incorrectly answered UCAT questions
Retrying your incorrectly answered UCAT questions is an extremely efficient and productive way to prepare for UCAT.
There is a reason why you got a UCAT question wrong: perhaps you made a reasoning error, perhaps you ran out of time to answer the question, or perhaps you fell for tempting a wrong answer trap. Whatever the reason, re-trying that UCAT question will help you acquire strategies to ensure you do not get it wrong on UCAT test day.
Retrying your UCAT questions is the most time saving and efficient way to prepare for UCAT, as you will be working on your weaknesses. MedEntry allows you to re-try your incorrectly answered questions up to four times.
3. Review and reflect on the UCAT exam
The best way to improve in UCAT is not to simply complete practice exam after practice exam. You need to carefully review all UCAT questions, including those questions you got right (maybe you got the UCAT question right for the wrong reasons or because you guessed!). Even if you got the UCAT question right, thoroughly reviewing the solution may help you find a quicker or better way of answering that type of UCAT question. MedEntry provides comprehensive written and video solutions for UCAT questions on our online learning platform.
If you got a UCAT question wrong, reflect on why you got it wrong and how you can prevent yourself from making the same mistake on UCAT test day.
Also reflect on the whole experience of sitting a UCAT exam. What went right and what went wrong? How can you boost your performance the next time you sit a UCAT exam? MedEntry’s online learning platform generates an exam report to help you with this process and analyse your performance in each UCAT exam.
MedEntry’s UCAT practice exams are a great way to help you be prepared mentally, physically and emotionally for the live UCAT. So, what are you waiting for? Get started with those UCAT practice exams to gain experience and confidence for your UCAT test!
