The Medibuddy AI-powered UCAT question bank is the only one on the market that uses AI algorithms to deeply analyse your ability levels and create a personalised learning journey specifically tailored to boost your UCAT score.
"The question bank really mirrored the real UCAT exam style. It was very comprehensive and helpful. I have used many other ones where they used almost the same questions but your question bank was completely unique"
The Medibuddy AI-powered UCAT question bank provides this and more.
“The new [Medibuddy] adaptive UCAT question bank made my revision much more efficient and it helped me get better and quicker at answering questions”
“I used the Abstract Reasoning section as I found the website the night before my test and I was pretty bad at AR. In my official exam my AR was my 2nd best section at 860! Overall, I thought the website was a very useful resource from what I saw and I liked the algorithm that showed skill in particular question types.”
Did you know that if you spend an average of 2 minutes answering and absorbing the explanation of each question in a question bank, it will take you 333 hours to get through 10k questions!?
No wonder the vast majority of people don’t answer anywhere near 10k questions before their exam!
We surveyed 100s of medical students and asked them what their biggest issue was when preparing for the UCAT.
Over 90% said that because the UCAT wasn’t a knowledge-based exam, they could answer thousands of questions but never feel like they were getting anywhere.
The trouble with standard question banks is that everyone is given the same questions to prepare with, with no consideration of what skills or topics each person is actually struggling with.
However, everyone has a different baseline ability. You might struggle with quantitative reasoning, whereas your friend might be a maths wizard. With a standard question bank, you’ll both answer the same QR questions, in the same order, meaning you’ll be left struggling while your friend doesn’t feel stretched.
No wonder so many people can find preparing for the UCAT frustrating!
The Medibuddy adaptive UCAT question bank is here to change all that.
We recognise that the vast majority of students don’t complete all 10,000 questions in a question bank.
It’s therefore vitally important that the questions you do answer are relevant to your skill and ability level.
We’ll ensure that in the areas you’re struggling, you’ll master the basics first. Whereas in your stronger areas, you’ll be immediately pushed.
This will mean that every minute of your revision is turbo charged to maximise your UCAT score.
As you progress through the question bank, you’ll be able to see a sophisticated estimate of your current skill level for each subsection of the UCAT. When other question banks give you a performance review, they are simply telling you how many questions you’ve got right or wrong.
We do things differently.
Our algorithm will tell you exactly what your ability level is for each area of the UCAT. We calculate this based on the actual difficulty of the questions you are answering and it’s done in real time, so you can be sure that the work you’re putting in is actually translating into real gains in your UCAT score.
The Medibuddy UCAT question bank is the only one available which shows you if you’re actually getting better at answering harder questions.
Powered by artificial intelligence, the free adaptive, Medibuddy UCAT question bank offers personalised learning by adapting the questions to reflect your strengths and weaknesses, and ensuring that you focus on areas that are likely to have the biggest impact on the UCAT score you achieve.
If you’re planning to take the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT), our guide below will provide you with some key information.
The UCAT is the most widely used admissions test for applicants applying to UK medical schools and is used in the selection process for a growing number of international universities; therefore, it’s likely that you’ll be required to complete the UCAT as part of your application to study medicine.
The UCAT assesses an applicant’s mental abilities, characteristics, attitudes and professional behaviour and is used in the selection process by some medical schools to ensure candidates' suitability for studying medicine.
Delivered in Pearson VUE test centres throughout the UK and internationally, the UCAT is a 2-hour multiple choice, computer-based exam, which is separated into 5 timed subtests. The subtests are:
You can find more information about each subtest under the relevant subheading below.
For applicants applying to study medicine in 2024, the UCAT assessment period will run from 08 July 2024 to 26 September 2024.
For more information about the dates for registration, booking, bursary scheme and access arrangement applications, visit our UCAT 2024 – Complete Guide.
Given that you can only undertake the UCAT once per year, it’s crucial that you achieve a score which enables you to apply to the medical school/s of your choice; therefore, it’s important that you prepare effectively, as this will be essential to ensuring that you perform well during the exam.
Our UCAT Preparation blog offers tips on how to prepare well for your UCAT test, but the key is ensuring that you have adequate time to revise. The UCAT website advises that you allow six weeks to prepare for the exam, dedicating approximately one hour per day to your UCAT revision, as the highest scoring candidates spend approximately 25 – 30 hours preparing. You may find that you need more or less time than this, or that you prefer to study for more extended periods each session. By ensuring that you plan for the UCAT early, you’ll give yourself the opportunity to adapt your revision plan accordingly and ensure that you revise as much as you need to before undertaking the exam.
You’ll undoubtedly need to complete practice questions and tests during your UCAT preparations – you can find more information about these below – but the UCAT website also provides additional advice and resources to help you prepare well for the exam. For example, they offer a tour tutorial, which allows you to familiarise yourself with the test format and the computer functions, and a question tutorial, which provides advice on how to approach each section of the exam; both of which will support you to understand and navigate the exam more easily. Similarly, the guidance provided which outlines what will happen on the test day will ensure that you feel relaxed and prepared on the day of the exam.
If you’re looking for UCAT practice questions, the free AI-powered, adaptive, Medibuddy question bank offers personalised learning to ensure effective UCAT preparation.
As mentioned above, the UCAT test is separated into the following 5 timed subtests, each aimed at assessing different skills and attributes required for studying medicine:
Within the verbal reasoning subtest, you’ll be given a short passage to read, from which you’ll be expected to critically evaluate the information and draw conclusions based on this. Following each passage, you’ll be required to answer four questions, using the information in the text only.
You can find more information in our Verbal Reasoning blog.
The decision making subtest focuses on questions which assess your ability to analyse information and make informed decisions or judgments. The information may be presented in text, charts, tables, graphs or diagrams, with related questions.
You can find more information in our Decision Making blog.
The quantitative reasoning subtest focuses on your problem solving abilities in relation to numerical information. The information will be presented in tables, charts and/or graphs and you’ll be required to solve problems and answer questions in relation to the data given.
You can find more information in our Quantitative Reasoning blog.
The abstract reasoning subtest requires you to identify relationships and patterns within information which includes irrelevant and distracting elements; therefore, using your critical analysis skills and adapting your judgements as you go. The information will be presented as abstract shapes with one of four different question types to answer about them.
You can find more information in our Abstract Reasoning blog.
The situational judgement subtest assesses your ability to identify critical factors and respond appropriately to real world situations. You’ll need to demonstrate that you possess the required personal attributes, including qualities such as integrity, resilience and adaptability. Within the subtest, you’ll be presented with scenarios, each with up to six related questions, which you’ll be required to respond to.
You can find more information in our Situational Judgement blog.
When you undertake the UCAT you’ll receive two separate marks: one will be a score for the ‘cognitive subtests’ – made up of the verbal reasoning, decision making, quantitative reasoning and abstract reasoning subtests – and the other for the situational judgement test.
Within each of the four cognitive subtests, you’ll receive one mark for each correct answer you give; and, as there’s no negative marking, you don’t need to worry about being penalised for incorrect answers.
The number of questions, and therefore the number of available marks, varies between the four subtests, making a comparison between the raw marks impossible. Therefore, raw marks for each of the subsets are converted into a ‘scale score’, allowing them to share a common range (from 300 – 900) and subsequently generate a total scale score for the cognitive subtests.
The following table shows how the cognitive subtests are scored, according to the UCAT website:
The situational judgement subtest is scored differently to the others, with the opportunity to score partial marks if you answer close to the correct answer, and of course full marks for the correct answer.
Within the situational judgement subtest, the raw score (i.e. the number of marks that you achieve) is expressed as a band, graded band 1 – 4, with band 1 being the highest score.
The UCAT website provides the following ‘interpretation’ of performance in relation to each of the available bands:
As well as being scored differently, your situational judgement subtest will also be considered separately to your performance in the cognitive subtests within your medical school application. Make sure you're familiar with the entry requirements of your chosen medical school before you apply; remember, you’ll have your UCAT results before you submit your application, so ensure that you meet the requirements given for both the cognitive subtests and the situational judgement section.
Each year, what is considered a ‘good’ UCAT score will vary, depending on the overall performance during that year’s exam. As a general rule, scoring approximately 20 – 30 marks above the average score for each of the cognitive subtests will be a ‘good’ score. As the average score will change each year, depending on the calibre of students taking the exam, so will what’s considered a ‘good score’.
However, to give you an idea of the average score, the following are the UCAT ‘mean scores’ for 2023, up to 28 September 2023:
Remember all cognitive subtests have a scale score range of 300 – 900 and a total range of 1,200 – 3,600.
The UCAT website also provides details of the percentage of candidates in each band for the situational judgement subtest for 2023 (up to 28 September 2023):
You can find more information about the UCAT statistics for 2023, including the decile ranking, on their website.
The UCAT is designed as a tool to assist medical schools in ensuring that prospective candidates have the required characteristics to make them a good doctor.
The exam is challenging, and given how important it can be for medical school applications, it’s no wonder many candidates find the experience daunting. However, remember this won’t be the case for all medical schools, as UCAT requirements do vary across different medical schools.
Despite the challenging nature of the exam, if you prepare well and complete plenty of practice questions, you can go into the exam confident that you’ll perform well.
As mentioned earlier, tools such as the UCAT’s tour tutorial and question tutorial are useful for familiarising yourself with the test format, computer functions and the subtest sections. Similarly, understanding what questions you’ll face and what will be tested in each subtest will support you to prepare well for the UCAT. However, the most valuable resources while studying for the exam will be UCAT practice questions.
Generally, the more questions you can do while studying for the UCAT the better. It’ll help you to become more familiar with the questions and accustomed to the time pressures of the exam and how quickly you need to respond, as time is a crucial factor in the UCAT exam.
While it’s important to get as much practice as possible, you should focus on identifying the areas you need to practice the most and dedicate more time to these, rather than completing an equal amount of practice questions for each subtest. This way you can work on the areas which you need to improve and ensure that you score well across all subtests of the UCAT. The free adaptive, Medibuddy question bank will work out your strengths and weaknesses for you and ensure that you spend time practising areas that are likely to have the greatest impact on your UCAT score.
Finally, remember that the level of practice required will vary depending on your strengths and weakness, so try to focus on giving yourself adequate time so that you feel prepared and confident for the exam, without worrying about how much revision time others are undertaking.
To help you to get the most out of your preparations and UCAT practice tests, our UCAT Preparation blog will provide you with more information on how best to prepare and plan your revision. We also have information for the individual subtests – Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning and Situational Judgement Test – with tips for each area of the exam.
For more general information about the UCAT, visit our UCAT 2024 – Complete Guide and the UCAT website.
Thousands of questions and comprehensive answers written specifically for UCAT preparation, with more getting added.
The Medibuddy platform has been designed to replicate the actual exam, so you won’t get any surprises on the day.
Each question and explanation you receive will be chosen by our AI algorithm, specifically for you.
The only question bank available that tells you if you’re actually getting better and not just how many questions you’ve answered correctly.
We don’t just pick the questions for our mock exams at random, we follow a similar process to the actual exam board by calibrating every question for difficulty, based on the abilities of 100s of medical students. This means your score will be a much more accurate reflection of the real thing.
You can access our platform anywhere and it works on desktops, tablets and phones. This means you can revise at home or on the go.
When the Medibuddy team were preparing for the UCAT, working out where to start was quite overwhelming. The online resources offered thousands of practice questions and lots of generic advice. However, the only way of getting help that was specifically targeted at you was by paying for expensive tutoring.
This didn’t seem right to us. The personalised learning you get with a tutor has been shown to improve exam results across all fields of education. So why when it came to the UCAT, an exam that is vital for medical school, should it only be available to those who could afford a tutor?
The good news is artificial intelligence has changed everything! Super smart algorithms can now identify exactly where your strengths and weaknesses lie, ensuring that every minute of your revision is focused on areas that will have the biggest impact on your exam score.
Here at Medibuddy we’ve used the latest educational technology and combined it with our deep understanding of the UCAT, to produce the first ever AI-powered, adaptive UCAT question bank.
Our sophisticated question bank platform will adapt seamlessly with every question you answer. As you improve, the type and difficulty of the questions you receive will change with you, ensuring that at all times, you only receive the most relevant questions.
The Medibuddy team has been creating educational resources for medical students and doctors for years. We’ve helped thousands of students pass their exams and we’ve put all of that experience into our UCAT question bank.
We stay up to date on all the latest educational science, so you can be sure that the techniques we use are state of the art.
We know how expensive applying to medicine can be, so we do our bit by keeping our UCAT question bank FREE.
We’re able to do this by charging a little more on our educational courses and question banks for qualified doctors. We strongly believe that no one should be priced out of medicine. Our doctors agree and are happy to subsidise our educational resources for students.
As you progress through the question bank, our algorithm will be performing complicated statistical analyses of the way you answer questions. All of our questions have been tested on hundreds of 1st year medical students so the algorithm knows exactly how difficult each question is.
The algorithm looks at how you answer questions across a range of different difficulties to work out what your current ability level is.
Every question in our database has been tagged based on the skills required to answer it and its difficulty level. Once the algorithm has worked out what your ability level is and the areas you need to target, it ensures that the questions you receive focus on these areas. As you get better, the algorithm adapts with you, moving you onto new areas based on your needs.
Every single question in our question bank is written specifically for UCAT preparation and is reviewed by our editorial team to ensure it is as close a match as possible to the UCAT standard. We don’t borrow questions that have been written to prepare for other exams. In addition to this, all of our questions are calibrated by 100s of first year medical students who have recently taken the UCAT, which allows us to remove any outliers and ensure consistency.
