WHAT IS THE UKCAT?
The UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) is committed to achieving greater fairness in selection to medicine and dentistry and to the widening participation in medical and dental training of under-represented social groups.
The test helps universities to make more informed choices from amongst the many highly-qualified applicants to medical and dental programmes. It helps to ensure that candidates selected have the most appropriate mental abilities, attitudes and professional behaviour required for new doctors and dentists to be successful in their clinical careers. It is used in collaboration with other admissions processes such as the UCAS application and academic qualifications.
The UKCAT does not contain any curriculum or science content. It focuses on exploring the cognitive powers of candidates and other attributes considered to be valuable for health care professionals. The test is run by the UKCAT Consortium in partnership with Pearson VUE, a global leader in computer-based testing and part of Pearson plc. It is delivered on computer worldwide through Pearson VUE’s high street centres.
WHO SHOULD TAKE THE TEST?
The Universities and courses requiring the UKCAT in 2015 will be made available by May 2015. The information is available on the UKCAT website http://www.ukcat.ac.uk/
Candidates are required to sit the UKCAT by 6 October 2015 if they are intending to apply for entry in 2016 (or deferred entry in 2017) to a relevant course in the UKCAT Universities.
This applies to all UK, EU and the majority of international applicants. There are test centres in locations around the world, including all EU countries. If you fail to take the test in time and apply to a programme for which the test is required, your application will be rejected unless you have been exempt from the test.
You may only take the test once in any test cycle and any instances of multiple testing in the same year may be treated as an example of unprofessional behaviour. If your application to medical school is not successful and you re-apply the following year, you will be required to take the UKCAT again.
Candidates should always check the entry requirements for each course before booking a test. Some universities may have different requirements for overseas or graduate applicants.
TEST FORMAT
The test assesses a range of mental abilities identified by university Medical and Dental Schools as important. There is no curriculum content as the test examines innate skills. Each subtest is in a multiple-choice format and is separately timed.
There are two versions of UKCAT: the standard UKCAT and the UKCATSEN (Special Educational Needs). The UKCATSEN is a longer version of the UKCAT intended for candidates who require additional time due to a documented medical condition or disability.
For more information regarding the UKCAT or to book a test, visit http://www.ukcat.ac.uk/ or visit the UKCAT Facebook or Twitter pages.
For “Top Tips” and Practice papers visit http://www.getintomedicine.co.uk/ukcat-practice-questions.php
