Understanding the UCAT exam for getting into Medicine or Dentistry

Getting in to Australian medical schools is competitive. Here's how to do it...

Being accepted into Medicine is an exciting prospect, and the UCAT can help you get there! The UCAT or the University Clinical Aptitude Test is an online computer-based assessment designed to test your abilities across a range of different criteria. This examination period runs from July to mid-August each year and lasts 2 hours*, with various amounts of time being divided across 5 subsections:

  • Verbal reasoning
  • Decision-making
  • Quantitative reasoning
  • Abstract reasoning
  • Situational judgement.

*Students with documented medical conditions or disabilities may apply for Access Arrangements to sit an extended version of the test.

What is it used for?

The UCAT is used for the direct entry (undergraduate) pathway into medicine and dentistry. The UCAT is used to help rank students who apply to each degree, alongside their ATAR and in some cases an interview. The exact requirements vary a bit between universities, but they all use a combination of these assessments with different weighting given to each component.

How is it scored?

For each section, you will get a score between 300 (the lowest possible) and 900 (the highest possible).

A larger pool of questions gets used each year, which are selected and presented randomly to each student to neutralise the possibility of cheating.

This cumulative score, which will be between 1200 and 3600 is the score most universities look at, with some universities placing a higher or lower priority on individual sections.

Overall, what is deemed a ‘competitive’ UCAT score varies each year and is hard to pinpoint exactly because the score is combined with ATAR and interviews. As a ROUGH guide, a score over 3000 sits in the ‘incredible’ range, a score between 2800-3000 will give you a red-hot chance for an interview, a score 2600-2800 gives you a fighting chance, and a score below 2600 should act as good motivation to get the highest ATAR possible.

Again, this is a very broad approximation – don’t count yourself out until the offers are released because scoring is multi-factorial, and you never know what will happen.

How do I prepare for the UCAT?

Check out our blog about exactly how the UCAT works, where we go through UCAT in-depth - such as how you can best prepare for it, exam advice from one of our top UCAT tutors, as well as the alternative pathways to getting into Medicine or Dentistry. Here are some additional free resources you can also use, where we explore the little-known tips and tricks to preparing for your UCAT exam.

Continue reading...

The UCAT can be a confusing journey to navigate, especially for students balancing UCAT studies with ATAR studies. However, we're here to help, if you need extra support with your UCAT studies, we have Australia's top-scoring Medical students in one place - KIS Academics. Our tutors are knowledgeable and can assist you with understanding exactly how to score top marks and land your dream university course.

Explore more of our topics below or browse some of Australia’s top-scoring UCAT tutors here. ‍

Understanding the

UCAT

system 🧠

The first thing we recommend you do is understand how the curriculum works. This will help you choose subjects, understand marking schemes and how it all impacts what university course you can do:

Calculating your

UCAT

ATAR 📊

Once you've got an idea of what subjects you want to do and how you'll approach your studies, you can experiment with a predicted ATAR using an ATAR Calculator.

Get your

UCAT

Marked ✅

In-school assessments are a common and important part of your final ATAR score. If you want an expert to look over your work and provide feedback before your teacher does, you've come to the right place!

Getting the right

UCAT

resources 📚

Knowing how things work is only half the challenge. You'll need to make sure that you find the best resources available for each subject you choose to do. Here are some of the most popular resources for common subjects:

Finding the best

UCAT

tutors 🎓

The best way to improve your chance of success is by finding a great mentor or tutor. Finding a good one can be difficult, but we recommend looking for a tutor who:
1️⃣ is young and relatable so lessons are engaging
2️⃣ has a good academic record, achieved a high ATAR themselves is an expert at your subject
3️⃣ loves teaching and genuinely cares about their students.
Here are some of our most popular tutors who fulfil all three criteria themselves:

Brooke Ellis

99.75
ATAR

Hello and welcome to my profile! My name is Brooke, and I’m currently studying Medicine at Monash University, after having graduated second in my cohort with an ATAR of 99.75. If you’re looking for a friendly tutor who will unlock your potential and help you achieve your goals, you’re in the right place! Aside from a comprehensive knowledge of the subjects I tutor, I understand that every student is different and I’ll do my best to provide you with highly personalised lessons, study skills, and exam tips.

I had to work super hard to get into Medicine, but fortunately I found a balance and that didn’t mean studying all day and all night. Throughout VCE I played two instruments, the trumpet and the piano, at a high standard, and was heavily involved in my school’s music program as the Senior Music Captain. I also participated in interschool sports and even found time for learning a bit of Spanish on Duolingo. I believe maintaining extracurricular hobbies is so important, and I’d love to share the effective study strategies I found with you!

I offer tutoring in VCE Maths Methods (raw 45) and Year 5-10 Math. I absolutely loved these subjects and, if you choose me as your tutor, I’ll use my experience teaching students difficult concepts and my communication skills to deliver highly engaging lessons.

Whatever your goals are, I’d love to help you achieve them, so don’t be shy to get in touch with me!

Haseeb Riaz

99.90
ATAR

Hi!

Having completed my WACE with an ATAR of 99.90, a General Exhibition and as a UWA Fogarty Scholarship recipient, I know exactly how much of a load all the work can be, and through hopefully providing you with unique past test/exam resource and insightful explanations, I can aid in taking some of the stress of your shoulders as an affable and amiable tutor. I'm a first year undergraduate med student, and I hope I can aid in any problems you may have.

Experience:
- I have tutored with both Hale School and private tutoring companies like the Funtrack Learning Centre and have a current clientele of a couple of regular weekly students.

Subjects:
- I tutor Chemistry, Physics, Maths Methods, Maths Specialist, Maths Application and General Maths for WACE subjects in Year 11/12 and can do Literature and Japanese: Second Language as well on the humanities side.
- For Year 7/8/9/10 students I can tutor any broad Science or Maths subjects and also aid in NAPLAN tutoring.
- On top of this, I can aid in Mock Trial preparation, Debating preparation and Public Speaking preparation as well.

Ben Du

99.85
ATAR

Hi there! I'm Ben and I graduated as part of the first QLD cohort to "guinea pig" the new ATAR system. I graduated from Brisbane Grammar School as a Prefect of the School and with an ATAR of 99.85.

I've been tutoring students from a variety of different year levels (7-12) for over two years now. As a tutor, I endeavour to instil confidence into the subjects students are tackling. High school can be a tough gig, but I'm here to help you develop and practice good study habits, give you tips and tricks with exams and share my experiences (some funny ones!) and journey throughout high school.

I've just completed my Bachelor of Medical Science at Griffith University with a final GPA of 7.0 and am progressing into the Doctor of Medicine in 2023.

Apart from university work, I enjoy playing guitar and piano (I'm currently writing a song but it isn't really getting anywhere haha – I'll keep you posted though 😁), and I love a good game of basketball.

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As a year 11 student doing ATAR, I was looking for a tutor that could help me with French. KIS Academics was incredibly helpful and fast at finding me a wace french tutor who could assist me with my studies. My tutor Eliza Carey over the past few months has helped me so much not only in French but in biology and maths as well. I’m incredibly grateful for the effort and commitment she has put into helping me be more comfortable and less stressed about the subjects I was having difficulty with. It’s been nothing but an honour to be tutored by Eliza and I strongly recommend her as a tutor

Maddie M.
/
Year 11 Student

I got the top mark for my SAC which was really nice, and I think that’s all because of my tutor”

Medha / Year 12 Student

“It's been absolutely fantastic and it's just been a very positive environment for learning”

Amanda / Parent of a Year 7 Student

Manoj Arachige

CEO and Founder

Why should you even listen to us?

Hello there! I'm Manoj - the founder of Keep It Simple Academics (Or KIS Academics for short).

KIS Academics is an Australia-wide tutoring company that has helped hundreds of students achieve their academic potential. Through these last few years, I've learned a thing or two about how tutoring works. Now it's my goal to grow KIS Academics and help more students across Australia achieve their dreams (and somehow complete my medical degree in one piece 😅)

In the last three years:

✅ We've helped C students get straight As.

✅ We've helped wannabe doctors get into Australia's best medical schools

✅ We've helped students who live in rural towns gain opportunities to go to metropolitan universities.

✅ We've helped students who hate maths find their passion for it

✅ We've even helped some students get into an IVY league college.

But rather than listening to me ramble on about how great KIS Academics is, book a study skills consultation with one of our tutors and experience it firsthand!

KIS Academics
It's the people around you that help you achieve your potential

That's why we set out to hire only the best tutors in Australia.

High quality tutors at competitive prices.

We have hundreds of amazing, qualified online tutors offering top quality services, starting at just $40 per hour. Whether the student is in high school or primary school, we cater for all. So, why are our tutors so amazing compared to other companies? It's simple, we pay them better. We take a low commission so you can get top scoring private tutors at the best rates. Discover our team of dedicated tutors who specialize in various subjects, from Chemistry and Maths to English and UCAT, as well as offering support for high school, HSC, and VCE, and many more. View all tutoring locations.

Free 30 minute Study Skills Assessment

Paying for an initial lesson with a tutor you've never met is absolutely crazy! And surprisingly, that's what most tutoring places will ask you to do. We think you deserve to meet your tutor and make sure they're the right fit for you - free of charge. Request a tutor and they will reach out to you to organise this free trial session!

Online courses to rival any classroom

Skeptical about online courses? Trust us, you won't be for long. With tutors specifically trained to deliver content online and use the latest and greatest teaching tools, we'll make you wish you had done things with KIS from the start. You can watch, rewatch, revise and review content as often as you need to. Starting at only $8 per week.

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