The UCAT Revision Roadmap

Starting to think about UCAT preparation?

Since the exam doesn’t test your academic knowledge or your scientific understanding, it can be difficult to work out how to prepare. There’s no textbook to memorise, no specification to read, and no past papers to try. 

This article offers several revision plans that cover preparation for 12 months, 6 months and 2–3 months, to help set you up for UCAT success. Thinking about how to structure your revision well ahead of your UCAT exam will also enable you to balance UCAT study with other commitments.

If you’re unsure how to revise for UCAT, you can use this article as a guide for creating a UCAT revision timetable that’s unique to you. This should take into account your existing knowledge and skills level, how long you need to prepare, and what other priorities you’re managing at the same time.

UCAT booking opens 18 June 2024

Table of contents

What should I do to help prepare me for the UCAT?
What should I do when I begin UCAT preparation?
How many practice questions should I do per section?
How many mock exams should I do?
How long should I study for the UCAT? 
Medify’s recommended approach to UCAT preparation 
12 month UCAT preparation plan
6 month UCAT preparation plan
2–3 month UCAT preparation plan
Sample UCAT revision timetable

What should I do to help prepare me for the UCAT?

First, learn about the different sections of the UCAT and then drill down into the various types of questions within each subtest:

• Verbal Reasoning
• Decision Making
• Quantitative Reasoning
• Abstract Reasoning
• Situational Judgement

Familiarise yourself with UCAT timings. This is the most challenging part of the test for most students. If you’re not ready to commit to a UCAT preparation course, we recommend taking a look at some free practice questions and resources to get an idea of what you’re up against.

Finally, read through our UCAT FAQ to get up to speed on everything you need to know about the exam, such as which medical schools require the UCAT.

What should I do when I begin UCAT preparation?

First, you'll need to know about the fundamentals of the exam, including what is being tested, what sections there are, and how the exam is scored.

You should then assess your current ability level before attempting any questions or diving into section-specific tutorials. This is known as a diagnostic test, as you're diagnosing your current abilities. Our UCAT Online Course contains a short diagnostic test that allows you to gauge which section needs most work. 

You should then follow Medify’s recommended approach to UCAT preparation.

How many questions should I do per section?

That depends on your natural ability level in various subskills being tested in each section, as well as your learning speed.

No specific number of questions can guarantee your success, but it is recommended that you go through at least 5000–10,000 practice questions to give you sufficient coverage of each section and question types.

Get more tips on how to prepare for the UCAT

How many mock exams should I do?

Aim to do at least eight mock exams during your UCAT preparation and ideally 20 or more. You should space them out throughout your preparation period so that you can regularly check how you’re doing. 

There are a handful of mock exams on the official UCAT website which you can try. If you'd like more to practise with, our UCAT Online Course has 24 full mock exams which have been designed to emulate the real UCAT exam.

Find out how to use mock exams to prepare for the UCAT effectively

How long should I study for the UCAT? 

That depends quite a lot on your natural ability in each section, as the UCAT is an aptitude test.

In general, starting your preparation earlier (6–12 months before your UCAT) allows you to space out revision at a very manageable pace and gives you more time to work on weaker skills, which gives you a higher chance of doing well in the UCAT. 

Some skilled students may achieve high scores by preparing for shorter durations, but we recommend at least 2–3 months of preparation to minimise stress levels and reduce the chance of burnout. 

In addition, research shows that students who use preparation materials and study more for the UCAT score higher.

Medify’s recommended approach to UCAT preparation 

As we’ve previously highlighted, the best place to begin is to find out about the UCAT in general. From there, you can take a diagnostic mock, and then go through the following cycle:

1) Sit a mock exam – Simulate the UCAT exam to establish your ability level
2) Review your performance – Reflect on why you got certain questions wrong
3) View tutorials – Learn how to address your weaknesses
4) Do some UCAT practice questions/mini-mocks – Practise different strategies to experiment with what works best for you

After step 4, you should then attempt another mock (step 1) to restart the cycle. Repeating the mock/review/tutorial/question cycle above will enable you to continually improve your performance over time.

How many times you repeat this cycle and how far apart you space out the cycle is dependent on when you start preparing. For example, if you start eight months before your UCAT exam, you’ll be able to get through 29 mock exams (one diagnostic mock + four official UCAT mocks + 24 Medify mocks) at a leisurely pace of one cycle per week. 

On the other hand, if you only have eight weeks to prepare for the UCAT, you might want to do two cycles per week. This wouldn’t get you through all available practice materials, but is still a decent amount of preparation if you’re able to handle the pace.

12 month UCAT preparation plan 

You should spend a few weeks learning about the UCAT, including timings, an overview of each of the UCAT sections, how the UCAT is scored, and so on. As you’ll be spreading your preparation out over 12 months, you can spend longer becoming familiar with the UCAT at the start, compared to those who are preparing for less time.

Once you have a good understanding of the UCAT and what’s involved, you’ll want to aim for one mock/review/tutorial/question cycle per week to a fortnight. Consistency is key – it’s better to do less but more frequently in order to build momentum over time, rather than cram in a lot every now and then. 

Of course, our 12 month UCAT study plan is only a guide, and you should adapt your workload depending on other commitments and availability.

6 month UCAT preparation plan 

While 6 months is still plenty of time to prepare for the UCAT, you’ll want to increase the pace of study a little more compared to the 12 month preparation plan. For instance, you should also aim for one mock/review/tutorial/question cycle per week, but then increase this to two cycles per week during the holidays leading up to the UCAT.

It’s also important to spend time learning about the UCAT before attempting any practice. Check out our UCAT blogs, as well as our UCAT articles in our Admissions Guide.

2–3 month UCAT preparation plan 

Although 2–3 months of preparation will be sufficient for some students, compared to the 6 month and 12 month revision plans, there is additional pressure to get up to speed quicker. For instance, instead of spending weeks learning about the UCAT at a leisurely pace, you should only dedicate a day or so to this.

And rather than doing a mock/review/tutorial/question cycle per week at any point, you’ll want to skip ahead to two cycles per week throughout the entire preparation period. Try your best to stay consistent – studying a little every day will be more impactful than studying for long periods with big breaks in between.

It’s more likely that individuals who study for less time will feel more stressed and anxious than those who study for longer, so it’s essential that you look after your mental health during this time.

Sample UCAT revision timetable

The following timetable shows how you could structure your UCAT revision during a particular week. Please note, this is just an example – you should adapt this plan accordingly based on what you struggle with most, how much time you have available to revise, and how far along you are into the preparation journey.

For instance, you may not have time available each day to study for the UCAT, so you may want to opt for longer study times over less days (just be careful not to cram or be too inconsistent with your revision).