Many students have sat UCAT ANZ and received their UCAT Score Report. However, it can be difficult for students to know how they have performed, given this is the first year of UCAT ANZ. Furthermore, the format of UCAT scores can be confusing. This blog answers some common questions about UCAT ANZ scores.
How are UCAT ANZ scores calculated?
UCAT ANZ scores are calculated by converting the number of questions you got right into a ‘scaled score’. Scaled scores range from 300-900 in each subtest. Pearson VUE do not publicly release details of how they calculate scaled scores, but they use statistical tools involving IRT (Item Response Theory).
Your scores in each of the four cognitive subtests (UCAT Verbal Reasoning, UCAT Decision Making, UCAT Quantitative Reasoning and UCAT Abstract Reasoning) are added together to form an overall UCAT cognitive subtest score, which ranges from 1200 to 3600. Students also receive a separate score for UCAT Situational Judgement, ranging from 300-900.
What is a good UCAT ANZ score?
As this is the first year of UCAT ANZ, it is not yet clear what constitutes a ‘good’ UCAT score. Ultimately, UCAT scores are a comparison of your own performance against others sitting UCAT. This means that achieving a ‘good score’ means performing well in UCAT compared to others. Statistics on how this year’s UCAT ANZ cohort performed will be available at the end of the UCAT testing cycle.
In the meantime, test statistics are available from Pearson VUE based on UKCAT (the previous name for UCAT) which took place in 2018, 2017 and 2016.
These statistics showed that the approximate mean scaled score varied somewhat depending on subtest:
|
Subtest |
Approx. UKCAT Mean Score |
|
UCAT Verbal |
570 |
|
UCAT Decision |
635 |
|
UCAT Quantitative Reasoning |
680 |
|
UCAT Abstract Reasoning |
630 |
|
UCAT Situational Judgement |
* |
*Note that in the UK, Situational Judgement scores are provided in bands (with band 1 being the highest and band 4 being the lowest) rather than scaled scores.
The following chart shows how each percentile converted to overall cognitive scaled scores in UKCAT:
|
Percentile |
Approximate UKCAT cognitive scaled score |
|
90th+ |
2800+ |
|
80th |
2700 |
|
70th |
2600 |
|
60th |
2550 |
|
50th |
2500 |
|
40th |
2450 |
|
30th |
2400 |
|
20th |
2300 |
|
10th |
2200 |
Therefore, to be in the top 10% of students sitting UKCAT in the past, you would need to have achieved an overall cognitive scaled score of over 2800.
Note that there are differences between UK students who sat UKCAT and Australian / New Zealand students who sit UCAT, and therefore the above table cannot be applied accurately to this year’s UCAT ANZ cohort of students. UCAT ANZ test statistics will be published at the end of the UCAT testing cycle.
What UCAT ANZ score do I need to get into medicine?
In general, for standard applicants to medical courses in Australia, students need to be in the top 10% of those sitting UCAT. Rural students, local students, those applying for Medical Rural Bonded places and those applying to dentistry will require lower UCAT scores for entry. This is unlikely to change significantly with the change from UMAT to UCAT.
Furthermore, at some universities, offers for medicine will be made for students performing outstandingly well in their year 12 studies. Note that medical interviews are also a very important part of the medical selection process.
Where can I get more information?
You can find UKCAT test statistics at: https://www.ucat.ac.uk/media/1312/ukcat-test-statistics-2016_2018.pdf
You can also find more information here: https://www.medentry.edu.au/ucat/entry/how-will-universities-use-ucat-anz-scores and here: https://www.medentry.edu.au/ucat/entry/how-will-medical-schools-use-ucat
