UKCAT and Personal Statements

UKCAT UKCAT (UK Clinical Aptitude Test) Used by lots of universities as part of their selection process for both medicine and dentistry courses.universities Some take it more seriously than others.

Important dates Registration opens – 1 st May Testing begins – 1 st July Registration closes – 2 nd October Testing ends – 4 th October UCAS deadline – 15 th October (earlier internal deadline)

Key resource UKCAT website Practise papers (timed ones as well) Hints and tips Demonstrations If you only go to one place for prep it should be the official site.

New part to the test This years test might include a new section called the “situational judgement test”. It will give you a scenario and some options. You will pick your preferred course of action from the options.

Similar to a test that medical students have to do before being put on placement. Not much know about it. Don’t know whether universities will use it when deciding to give interviews.

BMAT BioMedical Admissions Test Certain universities use the BMAT instead of UKCAT. TheseThese Certain veterinary courses use BMAT.

Important dates Registration opens – 1 st September Closes – 1 st October BMAT exam – 6 th November Results – 27 th November

Preparing for BMAT As with UKCAT, the BMAT website offers a variety of resources for preparation. Here

Pick carefully You can get your UKCAT results before applying. This means you can carefully select your uni choice to match how well you did. BMAT exams take place after the UCAS deadline. So by the time you get your results you are committed. Don’t make all your choices BMAT universities?

Personal Statement

UCAS The start of the UCAS process isn’t far off. You have an earlier deadline. The personal statement is your first chance to stand out. Start thinking about what you’ll put in it soon. Read some guides on how to make it great.

What it needs to say You need to convince the admissions tutor of several things in your personal statement. 1. You REALLY want to be doctor/dentist/vet 2. You understand what the job ACTUALLY involves 3. You have the right personal qualities to be successful 4. You can bring other attributes to the course/cohort/university other than your academic skills

Do Be concise, you only have so much space Be unique, you want to stand out Start early, don’t rush Get plenty of people to check it, tutors, teachers, friends, family Highlight achievements, don’t show off There are many, many more herehere And I am sure you can find loads more by using Google (other search engines are available)

Don’t Brag, exaggerate, lie, be cliched, be vague, use needlessly complicated vocabulary, PLAGARISE, be vague, etc. Don’t tell the tutor what an anecdote says about you. If you have written it well they will work it out.

There are lots of things to think about. I will put examples of good and bad statements on moodle for you to have a look at. I aim to get someone in to do a session on personal statements.

Best thing for now! Get started on it. Nothing too indepth; a draft, general themes, which experiences display your best qualities? Remember it’s not about how much money you spent or how far afield you may have gone when talking about work experience. It is about what you have learnt.