Personal UCAT Tutor – UCAT High Achiever Program
The UCAT High Achiever Program is a personalised program offering UCAT candidates intensive UCAT preparation along with a medical interview preparation. The Program is not simply a UCAT preparation program – it offers students a complete solution to all of the hurdles faced in entering undergraduate medical, dental, and clinical science programs. Each UCAT High Achiever is paired with a personal UCAT tutor who guides the student through their exam preparation, medical school application, and medical school interview. The Program is the undergraduate extension of the family of METC Institute High Achiever Programs offered to promising students currently in medical and post-graduate medical specialist training programs.
Candidates enrolled in the UCAT High Achiever Program receive the following:
- UCAT Workshops: Enrolment into the five specialised UCAT workshops for the domains of verbal reasoning, decision making, quantitative reasoning, abstract reasoning, and situational judgement. These are two hour workshops hosted via a member of the METC Institute Academic Faculty via the online UCAT classroom. More details about each workshop can be found under the courses section of the UCAT department webpage. Sessions are available in the months of April, May, and June prior to the official UCAT exam. See the Location & Dates tab for more information. Following their sessions, students may access recordings of their workshops. Workshops are designed to be completed in conjunction with official UCAT preparation materials (which includes 3 official full-length online UCAT exams and another 400 official UCAT questions available in a question bank) to facilitate a complete preparation that will confer a distinct advantage to students.
- Formal personal UCAT tutorials: High Achievers receive exclusive formal personal tuition from a member of the METC Institute academic faculty. There are five formal tutorials each of two-hours length that students need to complete prior to their UCAT exam. The tutorials focus on the five key domains of the UCAT exam and provide candidates with the chance to apply their developing skills under the guidance of their personal UCAT tutor.
- Unlimited informal personal tuition: High Achievers have unlimited online access to their UCAT tutor enabling them to workshop their approaches to questions, and to ask their tutor questions about the UCAT, application process, or medical admissions interview.
- Medical interview preparation: High Achievers are automatically enrolled into the Medicine Interview Online Course (CR302) to guide their preparation for the medicine admissions interview. This course provides interview candidates with a comprehensive approach to the medical school admissions interview along with access to 100+ previously used Australian medical school interview questions/scenarios along with detailed ideal responses.
Aims of the UCAT High Achiever Program
The UCAT High Achiever Program has specific aims in multiple domains. General aims of the UCAT High Achiever Program are consistent with other METC Institute mentoring programs offered in medical and post-graduate medical specialty training. These are achieved via a close relationship with the student’s personal UCAT tutor and include:
- Development of a strong work ethic and furthering of the candidate’s understanding of their potential
- Progressing and further refining the student’s conscientiousness and attention to detail
- Development of resilience in the face of professional and personal challenges, and the ability to perform amidst adverse circumstances
- Overall fostering of excellence in preparation, competency, and performance
Specific UCAT-related aims of the High Achiever Program include:
- Assisting candidates to develop a general understanding of the rationale for all the sections of the UCAT examination
- Teaching candidates specific techniques for working through questions in the domains of verbal reasoning, decision making, quantitative reasoning, abstract reasoning, and situational judgement
- Ensuring candidates minimise the habit of making assumptions when drawing conclusions, and focusing on evidence-based rationale
- Developing in candidates a fundamental understanding of deductive reasoning and how it can be applied to make decisions
- Assisting candidates to make decisions in uncertain and ambiguous circumstances, and ensuring appropriate justification for such decisions
- Providing candidates with skills in the interpretation of the major forms of data presented in the quantitative reasoning section of UCAT including interpretation of tables and graphs, and other figurative representations of multiple variables
- Providing candidates with techniques to perform quick and accurate mental arithmetic
- Providing candidates with insight into the four distinct types of questions in the abstract reasoning section, and strategies to solve each of these question types
- Teaching candidates to determine the implicit rules that underpin the figures via consideration of such variables as opposition, reflection, symmetry, position, enclosure, mirroring, adjacency, rotation, shape, shading, equivalence, and ratios
- Arming candidates with a contextual understanding of the professional medical workplace, and their roles and responsibilities in such an environment
- Providing candidates with skills to discern the appropriateness of actions in particular contexts
- Providing candidates with an efficacious plan of study in the lead up to their examination
Other aims of the UCAT High Achiever Program are related to the student’s entry into medicine and include:
- Assist students to maximise the sophistication of their medical school application
- Installation of a comprehensive understanding of the rationale and nature of the medical school admissions interview via the Medicine Interview Online Course (CR302)
- Development of a universal and flexible response framework for the medical school admissions interview via the Medicine Interview Online Course (CR302)
- Insight into the rationale for and approach to answering common personal questions asked in the medical school admissions interview via the Medicine Interview Online Course (CR302)
- Insight into the rationale for and approach to answering commons scenarios seen in the medical school admissions interview via the Medicine Interview Online Course (CR302)
About the UCAT exam
The UCAT examination is an admissions exam used by a consortium of universities for assessing entry into medical, dental, and clinical science university programs. The exam has replaced completely the now defunct UMAT exam.
The exam is completed over 120 minutes and is comprised of the following sections:
The UCAT is sat in the same year the candidate plans to apply to university. Registration for the exam opens in early March and closes in mid-May each year with the formal exam being held in later July of the same year. To find out more information about the UCAT, visit the official site www.ucatofficial.com
UCAT High Achiever Program Content
The UCAT High Achiever Program is comprised of five distinct UCAT preparation workshops and five personal tutorials along with the Medicine Online Interview Course.
UCAT Preparation workshops
Each of these workshops is detailed below. Student enrolled in these workshops will receive:
- Understanding of the rationale and therefore approach to all sections of the UCAT exam
- Specific skills for each style of question seen in the various sections of the UCAT
- A study plan to follow in preparation for the official UCAT examination
- Unlimited online access to a METC Institute UCAT tutor in the lead up to their exam
UCAT Verbal Reasoning Workshop
The UCAT Verbal Reasoning Workshop is written specifically for candidates preparing for the UCAT. The workshop teaches students specific approaches to each of the question archetypes seen in this section of the exam. These include:
- True/False/Can’t tell questions
- Incomplete statements
- According to the passage questions
- Except questions
- Most likely questions
Each style of question is addressed in the workshop both theoretically and via representative UCAT practice questions. As well as techniques specific to the above style of questions, candidates are taught general strategies to approach their preparation and the exam.
UCAT Decision Making Workshop
The UCAT Decision Making Workshop is written specifically for candidates preparing for the UCAT. The workshop teaches students the principles of deductive reasoning. These principles are applied in the context of the item types seen in this section of the UCAT. These include:
- Logical puzzles
- Syllogisms
- Information interpretation
- Recognising assumptions
- Venn diagrams
- Probabilistic reasoning
Each style of question is addressed in the workshop both theoretically and via representative UCAT practice questions. Students are shown how to progress a problem from known information to construct conclusions not immediately evident in the stimuli. As well as techniques specific to the above style of questions, candidates are taught general strategies to approach their preparation and the exam.
UCAT Quantitative Reasoning Workshop
The UCAT Quantitative Reasoning Workshop is written specifically for candidates preparing for the UCAT. The workshop teaches students to accurately use numerical skills to solve problems. These principles are applied in the context of the numerical calculations seen in this section of the UCAT. These include:
- Percentages: For example, calculating the percentage change (increase/decrease) in cost prices/quantities or writing percentages as decimals/fractions
- Proportionality: Direct proportionality, and inverse proportionality
- Rates: Understanding rates and change in rate based on changes in parameters, especially flow and speed
- Averages: Estimating and finding averages (mean, median, mode) of a number of values via use of tables, charts, and diagrams
Each key calculation is addressed in the workshop both theoretically and via representative UCAT practice questions. During the workshop, candidates are taught how to perform swift mental arithmetic in order to expedite their progress through the exam, and maximise their score. As well as techniques specific to the above style of questions, candidates are taught general strategies to approach their preparation and the exam.
UCAT Abstract Reasoning Workshop
The UCAT Abstract Reasoning Workshop is written specifically for candidates preparing for the UCAT. The workshop teaches students to accurately identify patterns amongst abstract shapes. These principles are applied in the context of the different types of questions seen in this section of the UCAT. These include:
- Type 1 – Related Shapes – Candidates are presented with two sets of shapes labelled “Set A” and “Set B”. They are then given a test shape and asked to decide whether the test shape belongs to Set A, Set B, or Neither.
- Type 2 – Sequential Shapes – Candidates are presented with a series of shapes. They are then asked to select the next shape in the series.
- Type 3 – Shapes & Statements – Candidates are presented with a statement involving a group of shapes. They are then asked to determine which shape completes the statement.
- Type 4 – Shapes of Best Fit – Candidates are presented with two sets of shapes labelled “Set A” and “Set B”. They are then asked to select which of the four response options belongs to Set A or Set B.
Each style of question is addressed in the workshop both theoretically and via representative UCAT practice questions. During the workshop, candidates are shown how to quickly determine salient information, and to solve problems. As well as techniques specific to the above style of questions, candidates are taught general strategies to approach their preparation and the exam.
UCAT Situational Judgement Workshop
The UCAT Situational Judgement Workshop is written specifically for candidates preparing for the UCAT. The workshop provides candidates with an understanding of the values which underpin professional healthcare and represent the basis of assessment for this section. The values assessed include:
- Integrity
- Perspective
- Resilience
- Adaptability
- Teamwork
Each key value is addressed in the workshop both theoretically and via representative UCAT practice questions. Students are provided with an understanding of these competencies as they apply in healthcare, and students are expected to picture how they would manifest such values in their future careers. As well as the key values underpinning healthcare, candidates are taught general strategies to approach their preparation and the exam.
UCAT High Achiever Personal Tutorial content
Each UCAT High Achiever student will receive five tw0-hour personal tutorials. Each tutorial corresponds to a section of the UCAT exam. Tutorials are as follows:
- Approach to verbal reasoning & critical thinking
- Approach to decision making & rationale
- Methods of quantitative reasoning
- Approach to abstract reasoning & pattern analysis
- Insights in situational judgement
The formal UCAT High Achiever tutorials are interactive in nature with an emphasis on active learning, and critical reasoning. While the tutorials are designed in conjunction with the UCAT workshops, they are distinct from the workshops and it is expected that students will attend the tutorials ready to apply the fundamental theory.
Medicine Interview Online Course Content
This course has been written by specialist medical physicians and senior lecturers from major Australian university medical schools. The course is suitable for students from either undergraduate (UCAT) or postgraduate (GAMSAT) streams who wish to complete a thorough interview preparation course however are unable to attend the live component of the CR301 course.
As a substitute for the attendance component, students work through over 100 medical interview questions and scenarios previously used at Australian Medical school admissions interviews. Detailed ideal responses are provided for each scenario. These modules cover the following key attributes of the Medical school admissions criteria:
Module 1: Introduction to the Medical/Dental School Interview scenarios
Module 2: Giving/taking instructions: displaying confidence, technical communication and appropriate social skills, dealing with frustration, maintaining a sense of proportion in the face of the task.
Module 3: Emotional communication: demonstrating mature social skills and a realistic perspective.
Module 4: Problem solving: demonstrating the ability to take a comprehensive approach to a problem while maintaining a sense of proportion.
Module 5: Resilience and maturity: demonstrating life experience and a realistic outlook in dealing with problems.
Module 6: Enthusiasm for Medicine: exploring curiosity and enthusiasm about Medicine and lifelong learning.
Module 7: Ethics: demonstrating a grounded perspective and an awareness of ethics as an issue.
Module 8: Awareness of common issues in Medicine: using Rural Medicine as a focus to demonstrate some familiarity with health care systems.
While students are required to complete the online modules, formal practice of interview scenarios is highly recommended. Students should seek like-minded peers or educated family members to practice thinking through and delivery of their responses to interview prompts supplied in the modules. Students should practice delivering a minimum of three scenarios from each of the above 7 core competencies.
Medicine Interview Online Course Materials
The course materials include online access to the METC Medicine Interview Preparation Module along with access to the METC Medicine Interview Scenario Module. These contain:
- Detailed analysis of Strategies and Techniques needed for success including examples of previous questions and actual scoring assessment criteria
- Access to over 100 official past interview scenarios along with ideal responses
- Practice exercises for students to complete between the course and their admissions interview
- Further suggested readings focusing on high-yield admissions interview topics
Enroling in the UCAT High Achiever Program
Enrolment into the UCAT High Achiever Program is online. To enrol, simply click the ‘Enrol’ button. Enrolment can be completed via the steps that follow.
Students will be contacted to arrange their preferred date of attendance for each of their five UCAT workshops along with contact details of their personal tutor who will shortly be in touch. After each workshop, students have access to a recording of the workshop via their individual student portal. Access to the recording is provided up to the date of the official UCAT exam.
