UCAT study guide
UCAT · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) is an admissions test used by a consortium of UK and partner universities to help select applicants to their medical and dental degree programmes. It is used alongside other selection criteria such as academic qualifications and interviews, and it is a computer-based test delivered in Pearson test centres throughout the UK and worldwide. The test consists of four separately timed multiple-choice subtests. Verbal Reasoning assesses how well you critically evaluate written information; Decision Making assesses sound decision making and judgement using complex information; Quantitative Reasoning assesses critical evaluation of information presented numerically; and Situational Judgement measures your capacity to understand real-world situations and identify critical factors and appropriate behaviour. The UCAT study guide has 4 sections and about 1,159 words.
01Verbal Reasoning: Reading for Proof, Not Plausibility
Verbal Reasoning is a reading-under-time-pressure test. A short passage is followed by questions asking whether a statement is true (supported by the passage), false (contradicted by it) or cannot say (the passage does not give enough information).
303 words, about 2 min02Decision Making: Logic, Sets and Arguments
Decision Making mixes formal logic with everyday reasoning. Expect syllogisms (which conclusion must follow), logic puzzles with ordering or grouping constraints, Venn diagram and set questions, probability and combinatorics , and argument items: identify the assumption, the strongest argument, or the conclusion.
298 words, about 1 min03Quantitative Reasoning: Method Before Calculator
Quantitative Reasoning is GCSE-level maths applied to tables, charts and short scenarios: percentages, ratios, rates, averages, unit conversion, area and volume, and simple algebra. You have an on-screen calculator and rough paper; speed comes from deciding which operation is needed before you touch the calculator.
287 words, about 1 min04Situational Judgement: Judging Like a Future Clinician
Situational Judgement tests judgement, not recall. You rate actions for appropriateness (1 = very appropriate to 4 = very inappropriate) or factors for importance (1 = very important to 4 = not important at all).
271 words, about 1 min