Success depends on your ability to comprehend the UCAT timings and how much time you have allotted for each segment and question. Your preparation should prioritize time management, and there are many strategies to address this.
We’ll explain the time limits for each UCAT subtest in this post, along with time-saving strategies you may use throughout the test. Let’s get started!
Why Are UCAT Practice Tests Difficult?
Because of its unusual question formats, the UCAT is a very difficult test that requires you to think creatively. The structure of the UCAT test, which consists of 225 uniquely themed questions with a strict 2-hour time constraint, is one of the factors contributing to its high prevalence in the undergraduate medical field.
In response, the UCAT practice tests are intentionally designed to be challenging. Based on this, you progressively become proficient in striking a balance between accuracy and speed, which is a crucial set of abilities needed to succeed on the UCAT.
In order to prevent you from being taken off guard on test day, it is only fitting that the UCAT practice exams replicate the distinctiveness of the actual UCAT exam.
Understanding UCAT timings: Section breakdown
Understanding the schedules for the UCAT’s five parts is essential for effective time management since each has a distinct number of questions and allotted time.
You get one minute to read each part so you may become acquainted with it before starting, even if the number of questions and the duration all vary.
Let’s now examine how much time you have allotted for each subtest and how many seconds each question really takes. See our in-depth UCAT guide for further details on how to prepare for each subtest.
Verbal Reasoning timing
The Verbal Reasoning (VR) subtest has a duration of 21 minutes and consists of 44 questions. An average of 28 seconds is spent on each question. Given that there are eleven sets of four questions, you should anticipate reading a text and responding to four of the questions in less than two minutes.
A high degree of speed reading competence and the ability to swiftly scan keywords to determine what information is essential from written material are prerequisites for success.
When interpreting texts, concentrate on keeping the most important details in mind. This will help you answer questions quickly and effectively. Remembering that practice is essential in this situation is crucial.
You may improve your ability to quickly understand and identify certain keywords so that it becomes more instinctive while taking exams with constant practice.
Decision Making timing
You have 31 minutes to complete the 29 questions in the Decision Making (DM) portion, which equates to around 64 seconds for each response.
Expect to spend a range of time on questions, however, since syllogisms often need more time than usual, although acknowledging assumptions may be completed more quickly than usual.
It is recommended that you become well-versed in probability issues and syllogisms via practice in order to do well in this portion and get the best scores possible. To improve your ability to make quick decisions based on the synthesised facts at hand, note any recurring patterns or techniques as you practice.
When completing problems, use a notepad and pen since attempting to do arithmetic in your head may cause you to lag in certain areas. This should speed up the process overall and make it simpler to visualize complicated subjects.
Quantitative Reasoning timing
You have 25 minutes to respond to 36 questions in Quantitative Reasoning (QR), which equates to around 41 seconds for each question.
It is essential that you learn how to use your on-screen UCAT calculator efficiently in order to make the most of the time given. Work on your mental math abilities, too, since they are equally essential for answering problems and reduce the need for a calculator, which may save you a few seconds here and there.
Questions in the same set on the QR subtest are often reliant on prior responses. Make careful to record any complex computations you do in earlier problems, such as lengthy summaries or averages, to avoid having to do them again.
Abstract Reasoning timing
You have 12 minutes to respond to 50 questions in the Abstract Reasoning (AR) segment. This equates to just 14 seconds for every inquiry.
Given the time constraints, preparing for the AR subtest may seem overwhelming, but there are strategies to improve your abstract thinking abilities. Making notes and being acquainted with the patterns you see will help you respond to inquiries more rapidly. Techniques such as SCANSS may also be useful.
Situational Judgement Test (SJT) timing
You have 26 minutes to complete the 69 questions on the Situational Judgement Test (SJT), or 22 seconds for each question.
The SJT assesses your ability to handle real-world situations and choose proper behavior while considering important aspects.
Use practice questions to create a hierarchy of these principles and commit them to memory. Each question revolves on a moral conundrum, such as medical safety against patient confidentiality.
Review your Mistakes after Each UCAT Practice Test
If your primary goal is to complete as many practice questions as you can without setting aside “review time,” then UCAT practice questions don’t significantly advance your UCAT study.
Examining your results on each practice exam reveals your areas of strength and growth. However, each UCAT topic should be carefully examined as a distinct entity in a UCAT practice test study. To determine your potential on each UCAT subtest, you must make sure you critically assess your strategies and use several filters.
Your performance in other UCAT sections is unaffected by the results you get in a particular subsection on the real test. Therefore, your result in the Verbal Reasoning exam is unaffected by your low performance in the Decision Making section. The various medical schools will even get a breakdown of your results, allowing them to evaluate certain portions as they see fit.
To assess your success in a particular UCAT topic, take a UCAT practice exam from the beginning and set aside an hour to go over each question to determine “why” and “how” you choose a certain approach for a particular question type. Try to re-attempt the question based on your conclusion, but this time, come up with a new plan and see if it increases your accuracy or speed. In order to monitor your progress on the questions that you found more difficult to answer under time constraints, it is equally crucial to take notes on your main conclusions from your review.
The last and most crucial phase is to focus equally on correcting your tactics for erroneous replies and going over the strategies you used to get the right answer. This opens the door to a variety of UCAT techniques; even if there are questions you don’t understand, you may use one of these methods to figure out the answer without wasting any test time.
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