4 Things To Do Before Booking Your UCAT Test

Think About Your Other Commitments

You can sit the 2023 UCAT between 10th July and 28th September, giving you a pretty big window to choose your preferred test date. The first thing you need to do is think about what else you already have planned during this time.

For example, if you know the date when you will be returning to sixth form and becoming busy with A-Level work, consider choosing a UCAT test day in the summer holidays. This way you can get the test done before you go back to school.

Also, if you have a family holiday planned during the summer, don’t book your UCAT test for the day after you get home! You won’t want to be revising on holiday and you won’t want it hanging over your head either.

Make sure you think about other aspects of your Medicine application too. For example, if you’re concerned about what sort of UCAT score you’ll get, doing your UCAT earlier will give you more time to choose your Medical Schools and think about how you can apply strategically.

You might also want to get the UCAT done early if you’re planning to sit the BMAT as well, so you can move on to BMAT prep afterwards.

Pick Your Preferred Test Date

There are many benefits to sitting the UCAT early. For example:

• You’ll have time to reschedule your test if you need to (e.g. due to illness).
• You will get your UCAT score on test day, which means you’ll have plenty of time to think about your Medical School choices.

However, you might prefer to choose a later test date because:

• You’ll get more time for UCAT preparation. Make sure you don’t burn out though!
• You may want to wait for your AS Level results before you actually decide whether to take the UCAT and pursue Medicine.

Some people prefer to sit the UCAT in the middle of the test cycle (i.e. August), as it can offer the most balance between preparing for the test and enjoying your summer holidays.

Try to decide on your preferred date early and book it as soon as you can, otherwise you risk missing out if the date you want gets fully booked.

* At The Medic Portal, we recommend booking your test for earlier in the test period if possible – in case you become ill and need to reschedule to a later date.

Familiarise Yourself With The Style Of Questions

It’s important that you have a go at some practice UCAT questions as soon as you can. That’s because you’ll need to get some idea of how challenging you find different subtests in order to effectively plan your prep.

Once you have tried some questions and chosen your test date, you can make a study plan that covers every section and will help you to manage your time.

Make A Plan For Your UCAT Revision

Make sure you know how to prepare for the UCAT. Your plan should be broken into three stages:

1. Learn theory and strategies, e.g. through a UCAT Course.
2. Apply the theory with practice. Make sure you’ve got access to a UCAT Question Bank, and consider getting a UCAT Tutor if you aren’t sure how to improve.
3. Consolidate your knowledge by doing mocks in timed conditions. This is an important step to build your confidence and get you test-ready.