UKCAT Exam Day

On exam day, don’t stress out!

This is obvious, but I cannot stress how important it is to make sure to get to bed early the night before, so you aren’t tired out by the time you start the two-hour exam.

This is also the most important piece of advice from me: when I sat my UKCAT, I scored the worst on Verbal reasoning (which is the first section of the test). In hindsight, I realise that I didn’t do as well on VR because I spent the first 5 minutes stressing so much that I sometimes misread or even missed out questions! If I were to take the UKCAT again, I would take the full minute provided to read the instructions and compose myself before beginning the clock, rather than rushing straight into the first passage!

Remember, it is normal to feel under-confident about taking the UKCAT; I spent the final week of preparation in tears (most people feel the same way)! Finally, don’t worry if you don’t do as well as you hoped: many options still available to all candidates, such as taking the BMAT, applying to medical school next year or focusing your application towards medical schools that don’t look at the UKCAT too much when considering you for interview.

Good Luck!