All About UKCAT
The UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) is used as part of the selection process by a number of UK medical and dental schools to help them choose from among the high level of applicants applying to their courses.
The UKCAT is designed to test aptitude rather than academic achievement. It assesses a wide range of mental abilities and behavioural attributes which are considered important for doctors and dentists to possess.
The UKCAT is a computer based examination that tests different aspects of cognitive thinking, with a large volume of difficult questions in a short period of time. It is composed of five subtests, namely Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning, Situational Judgement Test, and Decision Making. Note that candidates appearing for the exam from 2017 will take the Decision Making section as a scored subtest contributing to the candidates’ overall scores. Questions from all the subtests are in multiple-choice format. The examination runs for about 2 hours, or 2 hours 30 mins if you are writing the UKCATSEN in place of the standard UKCAT due to a documented medical condition or disability (see below for more details on the UKCATSEN). Once the test has started, it cannot be paused, even if you need to take a break to access medication or use the centre toilets. Therefore, avoid moving out of the test room once the test starts, as valuable time is lost in doing so. For a more detailed breakdown of test, its contents, and the duration of each subtest, see our section on UKCAT Test Format.