The UCAT comprises four sections
The University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT), is a 2-hour multiple-choice admissions test used for medicine and dentistry applications by the vast majority of universities in the UK. The content is not medicine related – it is designed to test whether medical school applicants have the right skills to become a doctor.
The UCAT is an online test, and is usually done at designated test centres around the world. The testing session runs from July to September. It is recommended for students to take the UCAT in the early half of the testing window as students will be preoccupied with other components of their applications such as the personal statement. An additional advantage of taking the test early is that since you will receive your score as soon as you finish your test, you can plan your college options more effectively.
Do note, you are only allowed to take the test once in an admissions cycle, with the results being valid for only the admissions cycle in which the test was taken.
Verbal Reasoning 44 Questions 22 Mins
The “Verbal Reasoning” sub-test of the UCAT determines your skills in critically evaluating written information by assessing your logical-thinking skills. This section requires students to be very discerning in order to understand the information the passage provides.
- Content/Skills covered Critical reasoning, Reading comprehension
- Total time 22 minutes
- No. of questions 44 questions
- Time per question 30 seconds
Quantitative Reasoning 36 Questions 26 Mins
The UCAT Quantitative Reasoning sub-test assesses logical-thinking abilities with regard to critically evaluating quantitative information. The section itself covers three major topic areas – problem solving, medical & research applications, and data interpretation.
- Content/Skills covered Numerical problem solving, Data analysis
- Total time 26 minutes
- No. of questions 36 questions
- Time per question 43 seconds
Decision Making 35 Questions 37 Mins
The Decision Making Test evaluates the application of logic to arrive at a conclusion, as well as consider arguments and statistics. Questions will be associated with either text, charts, graphs, tables, or diagrams, with additional information embedded within the question itself.
- Content/Skills covered Logical inference, Data interpretation, Argument assessment
- Total time 37 minutes
- No. of questions 35 questions
- Time per question 63 seconds
Situational Judgement 69 Questions 26 Mins
The Situational Judgement sub-test measures your ability to recognise important factors in real-world situations and comprehending ways to resolve conflicts. It also determines how closely your responses aligns with the General Medical Council’s values.
- Content/Skills covered Ethical scenario analysis, Teamwork, Conflict resolution skills
- Total time 26 minutes
- No. of questions 69 questions
- Time per question 22 seconds
