For students hoping to enter courses in medicine, dentistry and some other clinical science courses, the UMAT (Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test) has long been a thorn in the side. Difficult to prepare for, the UMAT has traditionally been a major source of energy for very many Year 12 students. The last ever UMAT was in July 2018.
But the UMAT is no longer…
At least, not for our purposes. That is because the UMAT has been replaced by the UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test) – and this is relevant for those sitting the test in 2019 and beyond.
Whilst the basic premise of the UCAT is the same as the UMAT (to provide tertiary institutions information about applicants), the two tests are not the same. This is a really important consideration for those of you looking for resources, and ways to get ahead of the pack.
So – what is the UCAT?
The UCAT is widely used overseas, serving a similar purpose to the UMAT up until 2018. Despite this, there are some major differences. For one, the UCAT is computer-based and, unlike the UMAT, there is no specific date where you must sit the UCAT. Instead, you simply need to sit the test within a period of multiple weeks.
Those who have sat the UMAT before would be familiar with the horrible wait between test day and results day. This is no longer; you will receive your UCAT results on the day – definitely a plus of a computerised test. But those results aren’t in the same format as UMAT results, because the structure of the UCAT is different.
You can get an understanding of what the UCAT might look at here, covering sections in Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning and Situational Judgement.
What should I do now?
The first thing you should do? Try not to panic. At this point in time, there are many unknowns. There are many things that will become clearer with time, from test structure, to expectations, to advice and resources for those wishing to sit the UCAT in 2019 and beyond.
You will doubtlessly see groups and organisations try to position themselves as UCAT leaders. Those that have previously offered UMAT services may even try to masquerade their previous UMAT products as applicable to the UCAT, but again, you should be mindful that the UMAT and the UCAT are entirely independent. Be vigilant, and do not get sucked into those trying to sell to unsure students – particularly before we get more information about what is involved.
For now, sit back and take it all in – this is, fundamentally, a pretty big change. However, you’re all in the same boat, and although many of the resources previously available to those sitting the UMAT may now no longer be relevant, time will be your best friend in seeing what’s needed, and what’s not.
Stay tuned, because we’re going to bring you heaps of UCAT updates to make sure you’re not at all disadvantaged from this change!
