BMAT or UCAT?
Sections
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Admissions exams for medical school will be like no other exam you have ever sat. They do not test how well you can learn things, but instead, they test your skills to think on your feet, use your initiative, pick out key details and your logical thinking.
Although you cannot revise for them, you can prepare through practice. There are many free online resources that you can find online, as well as a few paid for resources- the only one I would recommend is “Medify”, this really is the closest you can get to the real thing!
The UCAT
A 2-hour computerised exam, composed of 5 sections. All questions are multiple choice.
Verbal reasoning- tests how well you can pick out key information from texts. You are given a passage to read and then you must answer questions on them.
Decision making - this is problem solving, and involves puzzles and things that you must work out.
Quantitative reasoning- these are the maths questions, they are no harder than GCSE level. You are given a basic on-screen calculator to help you.
Abstract reasoning- this is about recognising patterns with shapes.
Situational judgement- this section gives you ethical scenarios in which you must decide the best course of action.
The first 4 sections are given scores from 900-300, with 900 being the best and anything above 700 being considered really good. You can have a look at past statistics and averages to help you to determine if your score is competitive or not: https://www.ucat.ac.uk/media/1415/ucat-test-statistics-2016_2019.pdf
SJT is given a band from 1-4, with 1 being the best. The benefit of doing the UCAT over the BMAT is that more universities accept it. Furthermore, you receive your score immediately whilst with the BMAT you get it after you have already applied. This means that you can strategically apply using your UCAT score, i.e. if it’s high, apply to University’s that put a large emphasis on it, whilst if it’s below average, apply to one that puts less emphasis on this, and maybe more on your GCSE’s, or you can choose to sit the BMAT.
A great guide for the UCAT: https://www.themedicportal.com/application-guide/ucat/
The BMAT
The BMAT exam is a type of entrance exam used by some medical schools as a selection tool for applicants. It is similar to the UCAT in terms of the way it is used by universities to rank applicants for selection to interview and offer; the difference being that different medical schools use it compared to the UCAT and that it has a slightly different question structure.
The length of the BMAT exam is two hours. Previously the exam was taken on paper but both the 2020 and 2021 exam sessions were changed to an online version to overcome logistical issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BMAT exam is split into three timed sections totalling 2 hours overall.
Section 1 – Thinking Skills (60 minutes)
Section 2 – Scientific Knowledge and Applications (30 minutes)
Section 3 – Writing Skills (30 minutes)
The BMAT exam does not test any skills or content above the level taught at GCSE. The aim of the exam is to test applicants’ thinking skills, problem solving, time management and ability to cope in a high pressure situation – applicants who score highly are deemed to possess strength in these skills and are thought of by universities as best suited to the demands of their medical course.
9 UK universities require applicants to their medical program to have taken the BMAT exam. Each of these institutions uses the exam in a different way to rank those who apply. A list of the universities that require the BMAT exam to be taken can be found here: BMAT – November | Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing It is also worth looking at individual university websites for more information on how they use the BMAT and if there are any minimum cut off scores they require.
You only need to take the BMAT exam if you intend to apply to a medical school that requires it to be taken as part of their application process. Fewer universities ask for the BMAT compared to the number that ask for the UCAT therefore many people see the BMAT exam as an optional extra rather than something they have to take (i.e. rather than take the UCAT and the BMAT people often chose to apply to UCAT accepting universities only).
When applying to medical school people often assume they must or feel pressure to take both the UCAT and the BMAT exam. This is absolutely not the case. Applicants have the choice to take just the BMAT, just the UCAT or both depending on where they wish to apply. Hence the answer to the question of whether you need to take the BMAT exam lies entirely with which medical schools you plan to apply to; if you plan or think you might want to apply to a medical school that asks for the BMAT exam your application will be declined if you have not taken the exam in accordance with the time of your application (but equally if you have no intention on applying to any universities that require the BMAT there is no reason for you to need to take the exam).
Your best position when deciding on whether to sit the BMAT exam is to make a list of the medical schools you like and research their selection process plenty of time in advance of the UCAS deadline. This will give you enough time to work out which exams you need to take and prepare for them confidently.