UCAT pacing
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The UCAT lasts almost two hours, but this time passes very quickly on Test Day. You must achieve good pacing to answer every question across all four sections.
Good pacing is the difference between completing all questions and leaving some unanswered. Every unanswered question is automatically incorrect, so reaching and finishing every question matters more than perfecting your individual answers.
Only a small number of questions in each section will be extremely difficult or time-consuming. Think of these as ‘black hole’ questions – if you get too close, they’ll consume precious time that could be better spent elsewhere.
You must learn to recognise these challenging questions with a quick glance and not let them take control of your test performance. It’s better to make an educated guess and move on than to spend five minutes on one difficult question.
Develop specific techniques for moments when you hesitate or start to panic during the UCAT. These situations are normal but need preparation to handle effectively.
If you find yourself hesitating, refocus on exactly what the question is asking you to solve – read the question stem again if needed to confirm the goal.
If you find yourself panicking, try box breathing:
- Inhale deeply and slowly through your nose as you count to four.
- Hold your breath while you count to four.
- Exhale slowly and completely through your mouth as you count to four.
- Hold your breath again and count to four, then repeat the steps.
Remind yourself: ‘I have prepared well. I am in control of this exam.’
There will be very little time for a comprehensive second pass through questions in most sections. Your first attempt at each question needs to be your best attempt.
Don’t rely on having time to return to difficult questions later. Flag questions you’re unsure about, but ensure you select an answer before moving on.
With rigorous and reliable pacing, you may be able to secure extra time for a second pass in some UCAT sections. It’s important, however, to be realistic in your expectations of this extra time.
As you revise, focus on trying to answer each question in the standard Medify pacing. This will give you the best chance of finishing the section with an answer for every question.
With excellent pacing, you also have the best chance of banking extra time for a second pass. Let’s consider how this would work in each UCAT section.
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In Verbal Reasoning, you have 22 minutes to answer 44 questions. Medify recommends 30 seconds per question. Note that this is also the average time per question in VR if you do not read the passages and use all the time solely to answer the questions.
As a result, you’re unlikely to have any extra time in Verbal Reasoning. With practice, Medify’s recommended timing is realistic but tight.
If you can answer the simplest VR questions in a bit less than 30 seconds each, you should just about finish within the allotted time. Unless you’re exceptionally speedy, don’t count on having time for a second pass in Verbal Reasoning.
Decision Making offers more flexibility than Verbal Reasoning. You must answer 35 questions in 37 minutes. With an average of about one minute per question, you can create extra time through strategic pacing and triage.
Push yourself to answer shorter question types like Strongest Argument and Probability questions in 30 seconds or less. This approach should give you a few minutes of extra time for more complex questions like Syllogisms and Inference questions that are worth two marks each.
Try Medify’s approach to five-part question triage as you practise DM. This strategy is explained in our study notes on Key DM strategies. You may find that you prefer to skip all Syllogisms and Inference questions on your first pass, ensuring that you bank at least one minute per five-part question for your second pass. Then you can focus on these harder, two-mark questions after locking in the marks on the simpler, one-mark questions.
Your extra time in Quantitative Reasoning depends heavily on your speed and accuracy. This section offers strong potential for a second pass through any questions you flagged and skipped for later.
In QR, you have 26 minutes to answer 36 questions. Medify recommends 30 seconds per question as your standard pacing, which should be just enough to answer the straightforward questions that make up the bulk of the section.
As you build your QR skills, you may find that you have five or more minutes of extra time after you complete the straightforward questions. This will likely be sufficient to tackle the hardest questions that you flagged during your first pass.
If you follow Medify’s timing guidelines in Situational Judgement, you should have a few minutes of extra time available. However, you must move briskly throughout the section.
Be sure to read each scenario in full but swiftly – don’t try to scan them, as you do with VR passages. Allow 30 seconds maximum to read each scenario. Then try to answer each question in 10 seconds or less.
Don’t overthink scenarios or answers in this section. Your first instinct about what is appropriate or important is often correct, so trust your gut, click your answer and keep moving.
The Review screen is a powerful tool, but you must train yourself to use it during timed UCAT practice. Try to simulate how you’ll use it on Test Day in order to save precious seconds.
Many students waste time on Test Day figuring out how the Review screen works. Regular practice with this feature during your UCAT revision ensures you can navigate it rapidly and use its features to maximise your score.
From the Review screen at the end of each UCAT section, you can review flagged questions, unanswered questions or all questions. You can also select individual items from a table displayed on the screen.
You will likely want to focus on flagged questions during extra time, but you could leave some questions unanswered to make it easier to pick out those from the other flagged questions.
You can toggle through just the flagged questions or just the unanswered questions. At any point, you can click ‘Review Screen’ at the lower-left corner to return to the Review screen.
Remember, you can also click any individual question from the main Review screen. Next to each question there, a shaded flag indicates whether you’ve flagged it.
While you’ll probably want to review flagged items during extra time, be extremely careful about how you apportion this limited time. Your goal is maximising marks, not perfecting your rationale for each individual answer.
Spend your extra time on questions where you can realistically improve your answer. If you had no idea about a flagged question during your first pass, it may not deserve your limited extra time. Save these toughest questions for the end of extra time – if you must run out of time, do so on the hardest questions.
Always ensure you click an answer for every single question, even if you’re running short on time. An unanswered question is automatically incorrect, which guarantees zero marks.
Even a complete guess gives you a 20%, 25% or 33.3% chance of being correct, depending on the number of answer choices. This is significantly better than 0% for an unanswered question.