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Free and paid UCAT ANZ preparation: what to use first

Checked 19 October 2026 by XScrubs

Two stacks of papers, one tied with ribbon, in emerald light.

In short

The UCAT ANZ Consortium provides free tutorials, question banks and timed practice tests and calls its practice tests representative of the live test. It says it does not work with or endorse commercial coaching. Use the free material first, then decide for yourself whether extra practice is worth paying for.

Checked 19 October 2026 against the sources listed at the end.

What the Consortium gives you

Its preparation page (external link) sets out five steps:

  1. Plan with the preparation plan.
  2. Tour tutorial, which shows how to answer, open the calculator, move between screens and use the flag-and-review function.
  3. Question tutorials, one in depth for each of the four subtests.
  4. Question banks (external link) (one bank per subtest), each big enough for several sessions. Progress is not remembered, so keep your own list.
  5. Practice tests nearer the test date, in standard timing, extra-time timing and untimed versions (external link). The review screen reveals right and wrong answers and an Explain Answer button shows the rationale.

None of it records a score, and the Consortium suggests using a desktop to match the real test.

:::keyfact The Consortium describes its practice tests as representative of the live test. :::

What it says about coaching

The Consortium does not work with commercial coaching companies (external link) or endorse their materials. In its FAQ (external link) it warns that courses can be expensive and that third-party questions may not match the standard of the real test, which could distort how you perform while practising.

Universities say the same thing

The Consortium is not alone. UWA states that it does not recommend or endorse any commercially available admissions test courses (external link), and adds that organisations charging for books, courses and coaching have no information that is not already free. Adelaide University says it does not endorse commercially available UCAT ANZ preparation courses (external link) and encourages candidates to use the practice materials on the Consortium's website. Neither says paid practice is forbidden. They say it is not needed to be taken seriously.

A sensible order

  1. Work through the tour tutorial and the question tutorials first, so the screen, the calculator and the flag-and-review tool feel ordinary.
  2. Use the question banks across several sessions, one subtest at a time. Keep your own list of what you have done, because the banks do not remember.
  3. Hold back the Consortium's practice tests until you want a timed rehearsal. They show right and wrong answers but give no score, so judge yourself by how your reasoning held up.
  4. If you run out of material and want more volume, choose it deliberately, as the next section explains.

If you do pay for something

Ask a few plain questions before you buy:

  • What exactly is included, and what does it cost in total, including renewals?
  • Does it claim to be endorsed by the Consortium? It cannot be, since the Consortium does not work with commercial providers.
  • Does it promise a score or a place? Nobody can honestly promise either.
  • Does it let you try before you pay, and can you cancel easily?
  • Are the questions written by named people with a stated method, rather than copied from recalled test items?

The Consortium's FAQ also warns that questions from other providers may fall short of the quality of real test questions, which could skew how you do in practice. Treat third-party scores as rough signals about habits, not predictions.

Where we sit

XScrubs sells UCAT ANZ practice, so we are one of the commercial providers the Consortium mentions. Everything above holds whether or not you ever use us. If you want to try, our free sample costs nothing, and our pricing page is plain about the rest.

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

Common questions

Is the Consortium's own UCAT ANZ practice really free?
Yes. Everything on the Consortium's website is free: a preparation plan, a tour tutorial, tutorials for all four subtests, question banks and practice tests.
Do I need a coaching course to do well?
The Consortium says no. It advises candidates to be sceptical of commercial claims and to rely on its free material.
Do the Consortium's practice tests give me a score?
No. They show which answers were right and let you read a rationale, but they do not save a result or produce a score. They are meant to be viewed on a desktop.
Where would XScrubs practice fit?
As extra volume once you have worked through the free material from the Consortium. It is UCAT ANZ practice written by us, not the Consortium's content, and not a replacement for its practice tests.

Keep reading

Sources, checked 19 October 2026

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