University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT)

The UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test) exam is a rigorous test assessment of an applicant’s cognitive abilities, critical thinking, and decision-making skills. More than 37,000 aspiring medics sit this exam globally and helps medical schools differentiate applicants for interview. The UCAT is typically two hours long and is completed at home or at a Pearson Vue exam centre. Aspiring medics and dentists should prepare and sit this exam if they are applying to a school in the United Kingdom, Australia, or New Zealand.

A total score between 300 and 900 will be given for the first four sections. The Situational Judgement Test will be scored a band – between band 1 and band 4. The final results that universities look at will be the average or total scores along with the SJT banding. Some universities select interviewees based on this, others use it as a tie-breaker between candidates.

The test assesses the following five main areas which must be completed in the given order and time-frame:

Section	What does it test?	Test time	Questions
Verbal Reasoning	Analysis of written/qualitative information	21 minutes	44
Decision-Making	Making informed decisions and judgements based on complex information	31 minutes	29
Quantitative Reasoning	Analysis of numerical/quantitative information	25 minutes	36
Abstract Reasoning	Logical and inductive reasoning based on patterns and shapes	12 minutes	50
Situational Judgement	Ability to interpret real-world situations and act appropriately	26 minutes	69

Timeline

The UCAT timeline varies a little for every cycle but each deadline is usually happens in the same month. These are important dates to remember as missing any of these deadlines will be detrimental to your application – Failure to sit the exam in time means you will have to wait a year for the next cycle!

Deadline	Date
Registration	May
Test booking window	June - September
Exam Window	July - September
UCAS Deadline	Mid October
Results received by university	Early November