Introduction to the UCAT 2025 - Start Here!
What is the UCAT?
The University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) is an admissions test used in medicine and dentistry across countries including: the UK, New Zealand, Australia and Singapore. It is a timed, computed based test with 4 ‘subtests’ (sections) in the test. You are only permitted to sit the UCAT once in an application cycle and it is a major part of the selection process. Every year around 37,000 students sit the UCAT exam. The UCAT is a difficult exam which is likely different to anything you have studied before. The UCAT is delivered in Pearson VUE centres across the world (in the UK think about where you sit the driving theory test).
Despite being called an ‘Aptitude Test’, the UCAT is a test that you get better at with good preparation. Give yourself enough time to prepare well- the UCAT website quotes 6 weeks preparation time but this heavily depends on the individual (at RoadtoMed we typically recommend preparing over a longer period, starting slowly and giving yourself longer to get familiarised and then good at it).
Why is the UCAT important?
Pretty much every UK medical school requires you to sit the UCAT. A low UCAT score will likely prevent you from securing a place at your dream medical school. That said, different medical schools have different ranges of accepted scores, some universities prioritise the UCAT less in admissions whereas others prioritise it more so make sure to research your specific dream university’s accepted scores. You get your UCAT score on the day, right after sitting the test. It gets automatically sent to the universities you apply to.
UCAT test structure
The UCAT is made of 4 different sections (also known as ‘subtests’). Of these 4 subtests, 3 are called ‘cognitive subtests’. These 3 are: Quantitative Reasoning (testing numeracy ability), Verbal Reasoning (testing reading comprehension ability) and Decision Making (testing your problem solving ability). The 4th subtest is called the Situational Judgement Test (testing your understanding of ethical and professional behaviour in clinical scenarios). The SJT has a different scoring system to the 3 cognitive subtests.
Timing for each section
Here’s a nifty table with the updated 2025 UCAT test timings and numbers of questions. We have added a column for average time per question to illustrate the time pressure nature of the UCAT! Do not underestimate it!
UCAT 2025 deadlines
Here is another table with the important dates for the 2025 UCAT listed. We always advise booking your UCAT test early in the testing window for a few reasons- booking it early in the window means that if any problems crop up that prevent you from doing the UCAT on the date you first intended then you have time to reschedule. Additionally, it gives you greater ability to book the test at a time of your choosing and if you leave it to the end of the testing window, your UCAT preparation may overlap with the start of school and school work which is far from ideal.
For support with the UCAT visit our free workshops, instagram page @roadtomeduk (where we post UCAT question break downs) and our UCAT page!
