Janna Lawson graduated in 2016 with an ATAR of 99.50, and now studies Medicine at Monash University.
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One week out from the UMAT, here are some things you can consider. Short and sharp – that’s the way to do it!

1. Work on your weaknesses

The UMAT is supposed to be all about your natural ability. You’re not really supposed to be able to study for it.

Although, that’s so not true – you can definitely study some sections (it’s easier to study for some sections than others). If you’re naturally fairly good at logical reasoning or understanding people, then there’s only really so much you’re going to improve from doing more practice questions.

With one week to go, try to focus on the areas in which you’re least confident. There’s still time to make them a strength!

2. Time management is key

No matter how smart you are, there will always be questions on the UMAT you can’t prepare for. Don’t waste time on these!

The UMAT time limit is crazy even without wasting time on seemingly impossible questions. Don’t feel bad about (temporarily) skipping questions at all, or even narrowing it down to two or three and then guessing.

It’s not like a SAC, where you’re aiming for 90+%, and have to answer every question to get a good score.

3. In the end, don’t leave questions blank

If you’re struggling with a question for an extended period of time, leave it.

You don’t lose marks for incorrect answers, though, so it doesn’t make any sense to leave questions blank entirely. Leave yourself three or four minutes at the end, just to make sure you’ve filled in one circle for every question.

Who knows? That three or four minutes of random colouring could give you more marks than the five minutes you wasted trying to figure out a particularly difficult question.

(And it’s surprisingly easy to accidentally fill in two bubbles for one question, too – so make sure you avoid this! Continuously check you’re circling the right bubble. It may sound silly, but in the rare event you mess it up, it could cost you badly.)

4. Don’t stress!

The UMAT is not everything.

There still exists other criteria to get into Medicine that can compensate for a dodgy UMAT score. And there are heaps of other pathways into Medicine that will only take an extra year or two (which seriously isn’t that long in the broader context of things).

If you’re in the actual exam and feel flustered, take a minute or two to relax. It will be a good investment of your time.

Although you may lose a little bit of time walking to the toilet in the middle of the exam (as I did), or just pausing to take a breather and drink, it can definitely pay off in the end. 25 minutes of good concentration is so much more effective than 30 minutes of poor concentration.

5. Have a game plan

Go into the exam knowing precisely what you’re going to do to maximise your score.

If you haven’t already (which is fine), try a few different approaches in the next week, and work out what works best for you.

Personally, I did all the long readings for understanding people in reading time, and then memorised my answers. When writing time began, I could quickly answer a heap of questions in very little time – and that worked out well for me.

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The UMAT can seem overwhelming and daunting, but I promise you: you can do it!

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