As UCAT is new as of 2019, the manner in which UCAT scores will be used is yet to be confirmed. Information regarding how universities will use UCAT scores will be made publicly available later in 2019. However, it is very likely that: UCAT will continue to form one of three main criteria required to enter medicine or dentistry (with the other two criteria being ATAR/NCEA and interview performance) Students will need to generally score above the 80 th percentile in UCAT to be considered for entry into medicine and dentistry. That is, students will need to be in the...

UCAT will take place in July 2019. However, there are a few things you can start doing now to enhance your UCAT performance. Tip 3 is to work on your speed. The questions in UCAT are not particularly challenging, and most students are be able to answer the majority of questions correctly if given sufficient time. However, UCAT is extremely time pressured, and many students are simply unable to answer the questions within the time limits. In fact, about one fifth of candidates fail to put down an answer for every question in UCAT, meaning they run out of time to...

UCAT will take place at various locations across Australia and New Zealand over the month of July. Most capital cities will have multiple testing centres across various locations. Exact locations will be available once registration opens.   State/Region Open for 4 weeks in July Open for a limited number of days / weeks NSW Sydney Newcastle Armidale, Dubbo, Wagga Wagga, Port Macquarie, Penrith Vic Melbourne Bendigo, Geelong, Mildura, Albury-Wodonga QLD Brisbane Gold Coast Townsville Rockhampton, Cairns SA Adelaide Mt Gambier WA Perth Bunbury ACT Canberra   Tas Hobart Launceston NT Darwin Alice Springs New Zealand Auckland Dunedin (open for 3 weeks) Christchurch,...

  Many of you may be well into preparing for interviews. Practicing how to answer tough personal questions and scenarios are vital. However one aspect of doing an interview that people may not focus on is how to present yourself in front of the interviewer. Presentation is just as important as the content you say in an interview. Now you might be thinking, ‘there’s no way that’s true’ however let me put it in perspective for you. In an MMI, the interviewers are sitting in a room by themselves for an entire day asking many different students the same question/s over...

First things first, congratulations on getting an interview! That’s a massive achievement all on its own! Now is the time to be prepping for that interview as it’s not the sort of thing you should be winging. There are already a couple of blogs on how to ace an interview (all of which you should read!) so this one is just about how to answer that one big question. So why do you want to be a doctor? Every medical school will ask you this in some shape or another. Here are a couple of ways it might be phrased Why...

  UCAT will take place in July 2019. However, there are a few things you can start doing now to enhance your UCAT performance. Our second tip is to brush up on your maths skills. UCAT is not a maths test, it is a test of your reasoning skills. However, many of the questions in the Quantitative Reasoning and Decision Making subtests of UCAT require mathematical manipulations. Although you are provided with an on-screen calculator in UCAT, it is cumbersome and time consuming to use. It is much quicker to make calculations in your head, or on the noteboard you are...

  Advocates of the Situational Judgement Test claim that it is a very different test to other medical entry aptitude tests. However, the Situational Judgement Test is, in essence, assessing the emotional intelligence of candidates. This is also what the Understanding People construct of the UMAT was testing. The Situational Judgement Test is merely a format or style of question. Candidates are presented with a scenario, and are asked to judge the appropriateness or importance of certain actions. The actual content, and what the questions are assessing, vary significantly. This is comparable to the difference between a Multiple Mini Interview and...

With the inclusion of the Situational Judgement Test in UCAT, it is even more important that UCAT workshops are run by medical professionals. Situational Judgement questions require an intimate understanding of issues such as teamwork, professionalism, ethics and integrity within a medical context. Questions are based on real-world medical scenarios with which doctors will have had first-hand experience. Only practicing doctors have a detailed understanding of such issues, and the big picture thinking required to perform well. It is worth noting that Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) used when scoring Situational Judgement questions are medical professionals. There are other benefits to having...

UCAT will take place in July 2019. However, there are a few things you can start doing now to enhance your UCAT skills. Our first tip is to read widely and critically. UCAT questions draw from a range of sources, including magazines, newspapers, research papers and internet articles. You may be required to interpret a passage of text, table, graph or other diagram in UCAT.  Questions cover various topics including history, geography, politics, economics and science. While UCAT does not require any prior knowledge, having a good understanding of current affairs and expanding your general knowledge will certainly help. You will...

By now you may have finished your year 12 exams. For those who sat the UMAT this year, it almost seems like the end of the road. However, there is one crucial component for entry into medicine that many major universities require – the interview. It is important you prepare and practice for this last step, especially because this time, you are competing against a tough cohort: all those students who performed outstandingly in both the UMAT and ATAR. The first step to preparing for any interview is to start practicing. Whether this be attending the MedEntry Interview Training sessions, practicing...

UCAT may seem like a daunting prospect, not least because most students will not be familiar with sitting a computer-based test. In this blog, we’ll cover what to expect on the day of UCAT. What to bring You will need to bring a printout of your confirmation email from Pearson VUE, as well as photographic identification (such as a passport or driver’s license). You are not allowed to have bags, coats, paper, books, pens, watches, wallets, keys, mobile phones, food or drinks with you when you are sitting UCAT. You will be able to store these personal belongings in a locker...

UCAT is an extremely time pressured test. You will have less than 30 seconds to complete each question. Some sections, particularly Verbal Reasoning and Situational Judgement, will require you to read passages of text. Speed reading is therefore an important skill to master to succeed in UCAT.  The following reading efficiency techniques can boost your reading rate. But even if your rate is fine, these techniques will help you   boost comprehension and concentration, both of which are key to UCAT success.   (i)  Mechanical Approach You’ve probably seen speed-readers moving their hands down a page as they rapidly read the...

  The scoring system differs between the ‘cognitive’ subtests (Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning) and the non-cognitive subtest (Situational Judgement).   Scoring of ‘cognitive’ subtests For Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning, questions are worth one mark each. For Decision Making, some questions (those with multiple statements) are worth 2 marks. In these questions, one mark is awarded to partially correct statements. Raw marks (the number of questions you got right) are converted into ‘scaled scores’ which range from 300-900. A total scaled score is generated by adding together the scaled score of each of the...

You have made it through the UMAT, found out your Year 12 results... now it's time for the interview! Not sure where to start? In this blog, I have outlined three common medical interview questions, and how to prepare for them.   Why have you decided to study medicine and not pursue another field where you can help others, such as pharmacy, education, nursing or social work? This question is designed to reveal your motivation for studying medicine, and to avoid the common answer of "I want to help others." Whilst this is a valid part of your reason for entering...

UCAT stands for University Clinical Aptitude Test. Students who are interested in applying for most medical and dentistry courses across Australia and New Zealand in 2020 will need to sit and succeed in UCAT in 2019. UCAT is the single most important and difficult test that most students will face in their medical career. However, with the right preparation and approach, it is possible to excel in UCAT. Successful preparation for UCAT involves five key steps: Plan your preparation It is vital that students plan their preparation to make the most of the UCAT resources provided. MedEntry will provide students with...

  In this blog, we will discuss the structure and content of each of the five UCAT subtests. Also be sure to check out our free sample UCAT questions .   Section 1: Verbal Reasoning Number of questions: 44 Time allocated: 21 minutes Assesses: the ability to critically evaluate information that is presented in a written form. Style: students will be presented with a passage of text, and will need to decide whether specific conclusions or inferences can be drawn from the information provided. Types of question: Choose the best/most suitable response from four options Decide whether the statement provided is...

UCAT stands for University Clinical Aptitude Test. It has replaced UMAT for entry into most medicine and dentistry courses across Australia and New Zealand. If you wish to apply for such courses in 2020, you will need to sit UCAT in 2019. The last sitting of UMAT took place in 2018.  UCAT will take place across the month of July in 2019. UCAT results are valid for one year only, and cannot be carried over from one year to the next.  If you wish to apply for any of the courses below for entry into medicine in 2020, you will need...

  Candidates taking the UCAT in 2019 for entry to universities in Australia and New Zealand in 2020 should note the following key dates:   Registration and booking opens    1 March 2019 Concession scheme* opens 1 March 2019 Concession* deadline 10 May 2019 at 5pm AEST Access arrangement application deadline # 10 May 2019 at 5pm AEST Registration closes 16 May 2019 at 5pm AEST Final booking deadline 17 May 2019 at 5pm AEST Testing begins 1 July 2019 Last testing date 31 July 2019 Results delivered to universities Early September 2019   *Candidates who hold (or who are listed as...

  UMAT (Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test) was used for over 20 years to select students into medicine and dentistry courses across Australia and New Zealand. Most universities offering undergraduate medicine were part of a group called the UMAT consortium. This group decided that UMAT should be a major component for the assessment of candidates for entry into medicine (the other two components being high school score and performance in an interview).  The UMAT consortium contracted ACER (the Australian Council for Educational Research) to develop and administer the UMAT on their behalf. ACER is a non-profit organisation, which administers...

UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test) has replaced UMAT for entry into most medical and dental courses in 2020. There are similarities and differences between the two tests, which are outlined in this blog. Similarities between UCAT and UMAT UCAT and UMAT are both aptitude tests which assess candidates’ generic competencies. The skills tested are considered relevant and important for the future study and practice of medicine. The verbal reasoning, decision making and quantitative reasoning sections of UCAT have similarities to the logical reasoning & problem solving construct of UMAT. UCAT and UMAT are both in multiple choice format. UCAT and UMAT...