What preparation actually changes
The UCAT is not a knowledge test, so there is nothing to memorise. Preparation moves your score in three ways:
- Method. Every kind of question has a reliable way of doing it. Learn the way once and you stop inventing it under pressure.
- Pace. Knowing what 30 seconds feels like, and leaving a question when it is up.
- Familiarity. The screen, the calculator, the keys, the review screen. None of it should take a thought on the day.
When to start, and how much
Most students do well on ten to twelve weeks of steady work, starting in April or May for a July test. An hour on most days beats a long session once a week, because pace is a habit. Starting much earlier is fine if you keep it light; the risk of a very long run-up is running out of fresh questions and energy by June.
A twelve-week plan
| Weeks | Aim | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 and 2 | Learn the test | Read the guide to each subtest. Sit one untimed set of each kind of question. Take the official tour of the test screen. Sit one full mock to get a starting score, and do not worry about it. |
| 3 to 6 | Build method | Work through each subtest by question kind, untimed at first. For every question you get wrong, write one line on why. Start timing single passages and data sets by week 5. |
| 7 to 9 | Build pace | Timed subtests, two or three a week, on the real screen layout. Practise guessing, flagging and moving on. One full mock a fortnight. |
| 10 and 11 | Full mocks | Two full mocks a week under test conditions: one sitting, no pauses, at the time of day you are booked. Spend longer on the review than on the mock. |
| 12 | Taper | One last mock early in the week. Light practice on your weakest kinds. Nothing new in the last two days. |
Use the official material
The UCAT ANZ site has free question banks, question tutorials, a tour of the test screen and four full practice tests. These come from the people who set the test and everyone should use them. Save at least two of the practice tests for your final fortnight, so that your last rehearsals are on official questions.
Four tests are not enough practice for twelve weeks, which is what a question bank and extra mocks are for. Whatever you use, make sure it matches the current test: four subtests, no Abstract Reasoning, and the current timings.
How to review a mock
The mock is the measurement. The review is where the improvement happens.
- Sort every wrong answer. Did you not know the method, make a slip, misread the question, or run out of time? Each has a different cure.
- Look at the slow ones too. A right answer that took two minutes cost you three other questions.
- Find the pattern. One wrong syllogism is noise. Six in ten wrong is the thing to work on this week.
- Redo, do not just reread. Work the question again from scratch a few days later.
PrepForDoc does the sorting for you. Every attempt is marked by kind of question, with your time on each beside the time the test allows, and your analysis lists the kinds costing you the most marks with a link to practise each.
Habits that are worth more than extra hours
- Never leave a blank. There is no negative marking. In the last minute of a subtest, answer everything.
- Flag and move. Decide in advance how long is too long, and keep to it.
- Practise on a computer. A desktop or laptop with a mouse and, if you can, a number pad. Not a phone or tablet.
- Use a whiteboard marker and a laminated sheet for working, as you will in the test centre.
- Reset between subtests. A bad Verbal Reasoning says nothing about your Decision Making unless you carry it with you.
If you are starting late
With four weeks, compress the plan rather than skipping stages: three days learning the format, ten days on method by question kind, then timed subtests and a full mock twice a week. Put your time into the kinds of question where you are losing the most marks, not the ones you enjoy.
The subtests one by one
Official sources
Dates, fees and entry rules change every year. Always confirm them on the official page before you act on them.