Help! I Got a Poor UCAT Score for My Last Mock Exam — What Should I Do?

This blog outlines 7 tips for dealing with a poor UCAT percentile or score in a mock exam.

Everybody completing the UCAT will have certain weaknesses and strengths. For me, this was the UCAT Verbal Reasoning section, but because I identified this weakness early on and worked to improve it, Verbal Reasoning became one of my strengths. This does not mean I neglected the other UCAT sections; I simply increased the amount of time I spent practising UCAT Verbal Reasoning and reduced the time spent on the other UCAT sections. Keep in mind that your weaknesses and strengths will likely change as you progress in your training, so you may need to modify how much time you spend on each UCAT section.

Retrying incorrectly answered UCAT questions using MedEntry's retry feature, and not just reviewing them, will improve your chances of answering similar UCAT questions correctly in the future. Simply reviewing a UCAT question is not always enough, as knowing the theory behind completing a UCAT question and actually putting it into practice are two very different things, especially under timed conditions. When retrying UCAT questions, don't just go through the motions; actively focus on using what you have just learnt to answer the UCAT question quickly and correctly.

Don't just retry UCAT questions you answered incorrectly. You can also gain a lot from retrying questions you answered correctly. Consistent performance requires you to continually hone your skills in each UCAT section, and answering a UCAT question correctly does not necessarily mean you used the best method. When going through UCAT questions, flag any where you spent too long reaching the right answer, and consider whether there was a better approach. Once again, focus on improving your technique in answering UCAT questions, rather than just retrying for the sake of it.

The UCAT is a skills-based exam, as opposed to traditional content-based exams. As such, using the MedEntry skills trainers to help hone your UCAT skills may be just what you need to perform consistently well. I would recommend doing some work on the UCAT skills trainers before completing UCAT questions or before UCAT mock exams. This acts as a kind of warm-up for your brain, encouraging you to actively focus on your technique and helping you get into the right mindset for UCAT. The UCAT skills trainers significantly improved my ability to perform consistently. They felt like a short activity rather than a chore, and allowed me to practise important UCAT skills in whatever spare time I had. When commuting to and from school, I found that the skills trainers were an easy way to engage in UCAT practice and improve my scores.

Skipping a time-consuming UCAT question or question set in order to complete easier questions correctly will help maximise your marks. Consistent timing is key to achieving consistent UCAT scores. Spending even an extra minute on a difficult UCAT question can mean you do not have enough time to complete multiple questions later in the subtest. This is particularly relevant to UCAT Quantitative Reasoning. Knowing when to skip UCAT questions is vital to consistent time management.

If you notice that your score in a certain UCAT subtest is worse than others, you can allocate more of that subtest's preparation resources on your UCAT calendar. At the same time, make sure you also add in any personal events or commitments you may have, so that you can more easily visualise when you have spare time. Also, keep track of your UCAT goals and check them off as you achieve them.

Everyone gets a poor UCAT score from time to time. Some people give up, but it is important to reflect, make changes and persist in order to see improvements in your performance. Keep at it, and you will get there. Good luck.