Why you should be Studying for the UCAT Right Now
8 months ago by Rob
Are you all aboard the express train to Procrastination Station? Are you experiencing a motivation crisis? Are you just about ready to give up?
There may be many reasons why you’re feeling this way and they may be impacting on your will to study and prepare for UCAT. You may be feeling tired, overwhelmed, stressed. You may have many other social, academic and extra-curricular commitments that have drained your energy. A particular UCAT mock exam may have knocked your confidence and dulled your hopes for the future. As a result, rather than prepare for UCAT you may be staring at your phone, scrolling mindlessly on social media.
Well, you’re not going to give in to the internet, not this time. I am here to remind you why you should be studying for the UCAT right now!
Remember: the UCAT is one test!
If you do well in the UCAT, you will have significant leeway with your high school results, which is not one test, but a result based on a series of assessments and a number of different subjects over an entire year! Your UCAT is an individual result, whilst your high school results depend on a number of factors. Remember that there are some medical schools which will accept you into medicine with a high UCAT and an ATAR in the low 90s! Do everything you can to do well in this one test, so that if an aspect of your final year of high school doesn’t go well for you, you will still have a chance at getting into medicine!
You are developing important skills
The UCAT isn't a silly, pointless test. The UCAT is essentially a test that measures your IQ and emotional intelligence (EQ). Therefore, as you study for the UCAT and improve your ability and learn new techniques, you are essentially increasing your IQ and EQ. This can set you up for life! I'm telling you, my study for UCAT changed everything. School was entirely different for me. Exams were a breeze. My marks went up in every subject. I could focus! For hours! This isn’t a coincidence. The UCAT made a difference! It made me a more effective and inquisitive student. I learnt to value scholarship and think critically. If I never got into medicine, or if I decided medicine wasn’t the career for me, my life would still have been significantly improved as a result of studying for and sitting the UCAT! If you need help changing your mindset, Dr Ray’s UCAT workshop is a great way to do this.
Mistakes are an opportunity to improve
You are already so far ahead for even glancing over UCAT preparation materials, so why not push it further? Don’t be disheartened by disappointing results, difficult UCAT questions or silly mistakes. Use these setbacks to drive your UCAT study. Play a game with yourself: see how many of your ‘mistakes’ or ‘weaknesses’ you can overcome!
Remember why you are doing this
You could be studying medicine next year! That’s right, visualise it. In less than twelve months, you could be purchasing your first stethoscope. You could be in hospitals, surrounded by like-minded people, and delving headfirst into the intricate wonders of the human body… next year! Seriously visualise it, how great would that be? It is worth doing the little bit more UCAT study, that extra UCAT practice exam. Just do it.
UCAT study might be frustrating, you might feel like you aren’t getting anywhere, but it is honestly worth it.
In saying all this, if you are feeling really flat and it’s just not working for you, please take a break. With the exception of UCAT practice exams, you should be taking a ten-minute break every hour and half an hour break every couple of hours in order for your study to be effective. So, after reading this article, if you really are struggling, maybe leave your UCAT study for a while. Immerse yourself in nature, spend some time with your family and friends or practice a musical instrument, then come back to UCAT feeling motivated and refreshed.
You can do it… just keep swimming!
