Using the free UCAT ANZ practice materials

Before paying for anything, it is worth knowing how much the test's own organisers give away. The UCAT ANZ Consortium publishes a full set of preparation materials for free, and says it believes all candidates should have access to them. This post puts them in an order that works.

What the Consortium provides

On its preparation resources page, the Consortium sets out five steps:

1. Plan your preparation. A planning tool that helps you build a study schedule of your own.
2. Tour tutorial. Shows the functions used in the computer-based test: how to answer, call the calculator, move between screens, and use the flag and review function.
3. Question tutorials. General advice plus an in-depth tutorial for each of the four subtests, with tips and strategies for each question type.
4. Question banks. Banks for each subtest, with a large number of questions to attempt over several sessions.
5. Practice tests. A set of practice tests for timed practice nearer the test date, in standard timing and in extended timing for candidates with access arrangements, plus untimed versions.

It also offers candidate advice from students who scored highly, and resources for teachers and advisers.

The Consortium says the practice tests reflect what the live test is like, and it recommends these free materials. It adds that commercial coaching firms are not partners and their materials are not endorsed, and it advises caution about courses from other providers.

Step by step

Step 1: the plan (about an hour)

The plan helps you decide how many weeks you have and how many hours a week. Be realistic: a plan you keep to for twelve weeks beats an ambitious plan you drop after two. The Essentials page lists the same order and suggests using the plan to create your own schedule.

Step 2: the tour tutorial (an evening)

Do this early, and again before the test. Functionality can save time on the day, and our post on the calculator and shortcuts covers the details.

Step 3: the question tutorials (a subtest a week)

The Consortium recommends working through each tutorial before moving to the question banks. One high-scoring candidate on its candidate advice page focused on one subtest per week for the first few months before moving to timed practice. Read each tutorial, then do the example questions inside it, and write down in your own words the strategy for each question type.

Step 4: the question banks (the long middle)

Use the banks to build accuracy before speed. Two practical points from the Consortium's practice tests page:

• Your progress through a question bank is not retained, so keep your own log of which questions you have done and which you got wrong.
• The questions are intended to be viewed on a desktop, not a phone, to match the live test.

A good log has four columns: the question, whether it was right, why it was wrong (misread, did not know the technique, too slow, careless) and what you will do differently. The log is where your learning is.

Step 5: the practice tests (the final stretch)

Use these nearer the test, under timed conditions. Details from the Consortium:

• They are available in standard timing and in extended timing for candidates with access arrangements, with untimed versions as well.
• They do not store your result or give you a score.
• At the end, a review screen shows which answers were right or wrong. You can go back to any question to see the correct answer and click Explain Answer for the rationale.

Because there is no score, you create your own measure: count the number correct in each subtest and note it in your log. The Consortium notes that the live test works the same way: you are not told which answers were right or wrong, only your scaled scores.

The practice tests are finite, so space them out if you want repeated full-length attempts: perhaps one at the start of the timed phase, then one a fortnight, and one the week before.

When to add more practice

Free materials are a complete set, but they are finite. Some students want more questions than the question banks contain, or practice written to match the style of the live test with worked answers. That is when other resources can be a sensible extra. If you add any, keep a few standards:

• It should say plainly that it is practice written independently, not the real test, and not endorsed by the Consortium.
• It should explain answers, not just mark them.
• It should not promise a score or a place.
• You should be able to stop paying easily.

Our own UCAT ANZ practice papers are written independently. We are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the UCAT ANZ Consortium. We think you get the most from them after you have done the Consortium's tutorials and question banks, not instead of them.

Pacing the whole thing

A rough shape over about three months might be:

Adjust it to your timetable and starting point.

Where to go next

• The calculator and keyboard shortcuts
• Decision Making: how it works
• A free UCAT ANZ practice sample is on our samples page, and our guides cover the free-versus-paid question in more depth.

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Not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the UCAT ANZ Consortium.