When should I start studying for the UCAT?

Advice & Insight From UCAT Specialists

Don't Measure Input, Measure Output

Revision should never be measured in terms of time put in as what one candidate may achieve in *30 minutes of focused revision, will take another candidate (who revises whilst on his phone, laptop and instagram) 3 hours! So put all your vices to one side, and consider how many questions the UCAT examination would expect you to complete in that same timeframe.

There is no strict answer to this, however there are four essential pieces of information that you should keep in mind:

UCAT Preparation <---> UCAT Score Correlation

There is a strong correlation between the amount of UCAT preparation and one’s score and many studies have shown this. Avoid the trap of thinking that the UCAT is not an examination that you can prepare for and ensure that you use every available minute to prepare for this vitally important examination without compromising your A Level academic performance.

High Yield UCAT Revision

We know that your time is valuable and that’s why rather than reading 20+ UCAT articles (taking several valuable hours) each with their own UCAT opinions, we would recommend that you join the majority of students who attend a high yield UCAT course, hence learning several years of UCAT tips and techniques in a single day. We would love for you to join us at one of our UCAT courses, however should these not be available or convenient, we would equally recommend that you consider another reputable UCAT provider to maximise the efficiency of your revision and valuable UCAT preparation time.

UCAT v GCSEs

The UCAT is very different to any examination you have done previously, and prior knowledge will be of limited benefit. Hence, almost all candidates will be starting from the same base with significant scope for improvement.

For the average candidate, this will translate to the following UCAT Preparation Plan:

4 Weeks Minimum UCAT Preparation (ideally 6+ weeks)
*30 UCAT Minutes/Day (increasing closer to the examination)

*30 UCAT Minutes Equates to
Verbal Reasoning – 63 Questions
Decision Making – 30 Questions
Quantitative Reasoning – 45 Questions
Abstract Reasoning – 127 Questions
Situational Judgement – 80 Questions