When to start prepping for UCAT? (1 Viewer)

[jimjam789]

When should I start prepping for UCAT? I've heard mixed advice ranging from 6 weeks to 6 months+. I was looking to start (medify) in the upcoming summer holidays as I'm gonna sit it in 2022 but I don't want to burden my parent's financial situation. Aiming for a 90+percentile and dentistry.

 

[icycledough]

Having prepared for it twice now (last year and this year), I can definitely say give yourself enough time. Last year, I must have started 2 months before the exam, which was in no way enough to exhaust all the possible exams and questions on the Medify package. This year though, being a uni student meant I had far more time, but still wanted to give myself enough time to prepare, so I started in January (so 8 months prep given that the exams were delayed this year). Trust me, there's far more resources out there then you may think:

• Medify question bank
• Medify exams
• Youtube videos
• Medentry (if you finish Medify and want to get it, but don't do so if it will burden your parents)

With percentiles, I'd say you need a 95+, given how competitive it has been in recent years, as students become more accustomed to the UCAT, scores will tend to rise subsequently. As an example, a score of 2920 would have been in the 95th percentile in 2019, but this year, was in the 88th percentile (so a 7 percentile drop). That alone shows how competitive it is. Don't underestimate how important it is, as it is the academic criteria which will land you interviews in most universities, before interview performance is used.

 

[jimjam789]

Having prepared for it twice now (last year and this year), I can definitely say give yourself enough time. Last year, I must have started 2 months before the exam, which was in no way enough to exhaust all the possible exams and questions on the Medify package. This year though, being a uni student meant I had far more time, but still wanted to give myself enough time to prepare, so I started in January (so 8 months prep given that the exams were delayed this year). Trust me, there's far more resources out there then you may think:

• Medify question bank
• Medify exams
• Youtube videos
• Medentry (if you finish Medify and want to get it, but don't do so if it will burden your parents)

With percentiles, I'd say you need a 95+, given how competitive it has been in recent years, as students become more accustomed to the UCAT, scores will tend to rise subsequently. As an example, a score of 2920 would have been in the 95th percentile in 2019, but this year, was in the 88th percentile (so a 7 percentile drop). That alone shows how competitive it is. Don't underestimate how important it is, as it is the academic criteria which will land you interviews in most universities, before interview performance is used.

Can I ask about your routine? How many hours a day?

 

[icycledough]

Can I ask about your routine? How many hours a day?

Well, I'm in university now, so had much more time available to prepare than a HSC student would. To start off, I would spend 2-3 hours a day but as I got closer and had more time, I ramped it up to around 6-7 hours a day. This may seem quite a bit, but I was consistently doing practice exams, reviewing it (for which the whole process is 5 hours), then 1-2 hours attempting practice questions on my weaker areas.

 

[icycledough]

Would you say to do at least like 1-2hrs per day as a HSC student or treat it as another 2 subject and study it as much as other subjects?

What I did was start just before the new year of going into Year 12 so I could make the most of the holidays by committing more hours per day. Obviously, I made sure not to burn myself out and still left time to spend with family and friends as it was the last genuine holiday I would have for an entire year. But once the term started, I had to cut down on the hours to balance my other subjects. Depending on what subjects you do and how much work they require, you can experiment with different styles and see what works for you. Personally, I spent an hour each day and then more time on weekends (4-5 hours), where I could fit in full practice exams with review sessions for those.