Hey guys, I took the UMAT last year and am retaking it. I just wanted to share some stuff that possibly lead to me not doing as well as I had hoped. Just sharing this with you guys so hopefully you don't make the same mistakes I did last year
The 50/50/50 rule.
I had no clue we would be getting separate percentiles for each section as well, despite being shown what the results would look like at the Medentry workshop (told you I’m silly). Monash, the only uni in Victoria that has undergrad med has this rule. ACER doesn't just rank everyone based on how they did overall but also separately for each section. To get an interview offer from Monash, you need to get an ATAR over 90 and over 50 percentile in all three sections. I was more focused on getting a higher percentile and just missed out on an interview offer. So make sure you look up the course requirements for the unis you apply for so you have an idea of which sections you may want to focus on (some unis care more about Section 1 or 2) and which sections you want to get better at in order to get higher individual percentiles. Cookiedream has a better explanation of these things (thanks for that btw Cookiedream
).
3. Focus should be on getting more questions right.
Being a 3 hour exam with 134 questions, most people worry about getting it completed. That’s exactly what I did. I completed last year’s paper section by section. I had less than an hour left to complete the last section so instead of attempting the questions that seemed easy to do/ the ones I had a higher chance of getting right, I skimmed through the stimulus and answered the questions. Someone else I know who completed the UMAT with me didn’t even finish it and got a higher overall percentile than me plus higher percentile in the section they did not complete (which I did complete).
The time that writing time ends at should be written at the front
This is if you're going to Caufield Racecourse. Otherwise, if you forget what time you started, just ask.
I forgot what time we had begun the exam and when the supervisor gave a 15 (I think) minute warning. Plus I didn’t ask what time we would finish. As I left the centre after the exam I noticed the end time written on laminated paper in front of every one or two columns of seats. So hopefully this helps you waste less time than I did worrying about when the exam will end.
You have to raise your hand before you leave your desk.
You can’t leave before the 3 hours are up or anything, but if you need to go to the bathroom during the exam you have to raise your hand. The student in front of me was about to leave without permission before a supervisor stopped him and told him he has to let her know first.
If you get there on time though and the seats haven’t been filled yet, I suggest you go the bathroom before reading time starts so you don’t have to during your precious time. I went straight after and the lines were long even then so go as soon as possible so you can get back to your seat when reading time begins.
I hope this all makes sense and that it helps at least one of you to do better in the UMAT. In my experience, no matter how good you are at answering the questions and how well you prepared, your performance depends on how you use your time.
All the best everyone!!
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