Note: I no longer have time to update this thread, so some information may be out of date. The onus is on you to check any information and do your own research!
UMAT and Undergrad Entrance Resources, Information and Links
Post 1 - Information and tips
This thread (has two main posts) is designed to keep an index of useful information, threads contributed by our users, links and other resources. If you think a link or thread should/shouldn't be added to this list, or if you would like to contribute resources that you hold copyright to, or are legally available for free distribution, please PM a moderator or myself. We do not condone illegal distribution of copyright materials. Note that this is
not a thread for discussion regarding prep courses for the UMAT or Interviews.
A special thanks to those who contributed to finding awesome/helpful links (it wasn't just me!), Med Students Online (even enwiabe likes it, below!) for the tips (source), and all the original authors of the AN threads. Any additional questions can be posted here.Mmm, I've heard really good things about medstudentsonline. Good luck meddies, you're gonna need it!
What is the UMAT?Show
The
Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test, more commonly and logically referred to as the
UMAT, is developed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) on behalf of the UMAT Consortium universities. The test is used specifically to assist with the selection of students into the medicine, dentistry and health science degree programs at undergraduate level at the universities listed on this website. The UMAT is available to any candidate whose educational level at the time of sitting the test is their final year of secondary schooling, or higher. Furthermore:
From 2012 UMAT scores can be used for admission to any of the UMAT Consortium universities ONLY in the year following the test. For example, results from UMAT2012 can be used for undergraduate medicine or health science courses beginning in 2013 but NOT 2014. Do not register for UMAT2012 unless you are planning to apply for a course commencing in 2013 AND you meet the eligibility criteria specified in the UMAT2012 Information Booklet. Please note that the change will not affect candidates who sat UMAT2011 under the previous policy. UMAT2011 Scores will still be accepted for courses commencing in 2013.
If you have to sit the exam at an alternate date for whatever reason, here is a personal anecdote describing the situation:
Sitting The Alternate Test DateRandom fact: Boys generally outperform girls in the UMAT!
What are UMAT scores and how do they work?Show
UMAT scores are used by universities as your UMAT requirement. Essentially, the UMAT has three sections, and each section is given a raw score (note that
no-one except ACER knows how these are calculated!). Important to note that a raw score is not a percentage, percentile or an obvious indication of how many you got correct, and it's possible to get over 100 for any section raw score. These three raw scores are then totaled to give a total score which is then divided by three and rounded to the nearest whole number to give an overall score. This is then converted into a percentile score using a similar graph to below:
For example,
- Section 1 =
- Section 2 =
- Section 3 =
Therefore, total
, and and overall
to the nearest whole number rounded. Using the graph, 60 corresponds to 91%ile.
N.B. the graph changes slightly every year depending on how the cohort of the year performs on the UMAT, the above graph is for the 2011 cohort. This system is still in place despite the sections being missed into one test (2013 and on-wards).
The results are then given to you online in September in the following form:
Australian participating universities Show
The University of Adelaide: Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, Bachelor of Dental Surgery
Flinders University: Bachelor of Clinical Sciences, Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, Bachelor of Medical Science, Master of Optometry
Charles Darwin University: Bachelor of Clinical Sciences
The University of New South Wales: Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, Bachelor of Optometry
The University of Newcastle/University of New England: Bachelor of Medicine - Joint Medical Program
University of Western Sydney: Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery
The University of Queensland: Medical Program (provisional entry), Bachelor of Dental Science
Bond University: Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (NOTE: PRIVATE UNIVERSITY)
Monash University: Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, Bachelor of Physiotherapy
La Trobe University: Bachelor of Health Sciences (Dentistry)/Master of Dentistry, Bachelor of Oral Health Science
University of Tasmania: Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery
The University of Western Australia: Doctor of Medicine (assured pathway for high academic achievement), Doctor of Dental Medicine
James Cook University: Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, Bachelor of Dental Surgery (NOTE: THIS IS THE ONLY UNI ON THIS LIST THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE THE UMAT)
(Medical courses, Dentistry courses, Optometry courses, Other courses)
This list may not be fully up to date, always consult the latest UMAT ACER guide for an up to date list.
Entrance requirements Show
Summary table below, might be worth saving the image if your screen resolution is too small to display it in its completeness. Note that this table is
out-dated and that there are updates quoted below it.
Structure and contentShow
UMAT is divided into three sections (although the questions may be MIXED together) designed to measure ability in the following areas:
> Section 1: Logical Reasoning and Problem Solving
> Section 2: Understanding People
> Section 3: Non-verbal Reasoning
UMAT questions do not test academic knowledge and do not require special understanding of any academic discipline.
All questions are in multiple choice format with 4 or 5 response alternatives, from which you are asked to choose the most appropriate. Each question has only one correct response.
Questions in Sections 1 and 2 are in written form (though some Section 1 questions may present information in visual or tabular format). Section 3 questions are based entirely on visual material.
SECTION 1 - Logical reasoning and problem solving (48 questions)
Materials in this section are drawn from a wide variety of general sources and are based on a brief text or piece of information presented graphically. Questions assess your ability to comprehend, draw logical conclusions, reach solutions by identifying relevant facts, evaluate information, pinpoint additional or missing information, and generate and test plausible hypotheses.
SECTION 2 - Understanding people (44 questions)
This section assesses the ability to understand and think about people. Questions are based on a scenario, dialogue or other text representing specific interpersonal situations. Most passages will have several questions. Questions assess your ability to identify, understand, and, where necessary, infer the thoughts, feelings, behaviour and/or intentions of the people represented in the situations (a list of helpful words are posted in this thread).
SECTION 3 - Non-verbal reasoning (42 questions)
Questions in this section may be of several kinds. All are based on patterns or sequences of shapes and are designed to assess your ability to reason in the abstract and solve problems in non-verbal contexts.
UMAT consists of 3 hours of test time. All three sections are presented in one test book and there are no rest breaks between sections. You can do the sections in parts and/or in any order you like (this differs from years prior to 2013).
Tips and strategies for Section 1 (thanks to
MSO)
Show
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
These generally give you one page of text (often jargon filled), with a few questions relating to the article. The questions will often ask you for the scope of the passage, or to identify the argument/intention of someone in a given paragraph. Tactics include:
Skim through the questions first, and underline what each one is looking for
Speed read through the article, keeping an eye out for whatever the questions want. Think about what the author is trying to achieve. Speed reading is not a difficult skill to pick up and will serve you well in medicine. While it isnt a prerequisite for doing well, this ability is very useful.
Go through each option quickly but logically, crossing out the ones that are incorrect, and then choosing the most correct answer.
Dont make assumptions
Only use what the information has given you. If the article says that smoking is good for your health then dont assume otherwise unless evidence is provided in the article.
Dont let the jargon hinder your comprehension
Answer the Question
Use diagrams/arrows/whatever else helps
ANALYSING PARAGRAPHS
These usually have one or two paragraphs filled with facts, and often ask you for the scope of the paragraph, or to synthesise the info to come to a conclusion. Do the same thing as you would for huge passages.
GRAPHS AND TABLES
These make you analyse the data in graphs and tables. Tactics include:
Skim through the data and try to work out it's organised. Note the group being analysed (whole population, only men
etc), and how the data is presented (percentages, in thousands
etc)
Read through the questions/options, and eliminate them one by one.
These questions usually dont require huge manipulations of numbers, so try a different strategy if you find yourself doing this.
There are plenty of tricks: learn the typical ones and recognize them in the exam! Tricks include:
Changing the axis/scales for graphs
Using non-linear scales (e.g. a straight line on a log scale does not imply a direct relationship)
Using wrong times/dates
Confusing you with what the data is for
Confusing you with percentages and absolute values
Placing two graphs together, with a different scale (e.g. temperature and humidity may be on the same graph)
Dont make any assumptions or generalisations
NUMERACY QUESTIONS
These give you a lot of numbers/facts, and often ask you to choose the correct statement about these. For example, a question might say that there are 15000 people who know of mso, of which 45% are members and 40% of these are male. 5% of males are moderators, whilst 4% of females are moderators. Are there more male or female moderators? Remember that you are not allowed to use a calculator. Tactics include:
Don't spend too much time on calculation, and estimate/round numbers instead
Write them down if you cant do them in your head.
Practice simple calculations without a calculator
Use elimination method and cross off the ones which arent correct.
Beware of tricks (E.g. 50% of males is not 25% of the population)
LOGIC GAMES
These are games that often require a lot of logic to solve, and are often quite time-consuming. They include:
If questions. Questions with if X, then Y scenarios, to work out the correct person. E.g. if Mana is lying, then Matt is telling the truth. Mana always lies on Mondays
etc, then who is lying on Friday?
Have specific cases for each option, and if this contradicts the data, then it is wrong.
Beware of tricks (e.g. just because Mana is telling the truth doesnt mean that Matt is lying).
Matching information. These will give you a small amount of info of different people, and ask about a particular person based on their relationships with the others. E.g. Girls A,B,C is dating boys X,Y,Z, who's heights are short, medium, tall, non-respectively. If A only dates medium boys, and Y is taller than X, how tall is C's boyfriend? Tactics include:
Locate the groups (girls, boys, height) and draw a table accordingly.
Fill in all the data they give you, and extrapolate this (e.g. Y must be medium or tall)
To save time, remember your goal and only fill in the info which lets you achieve this.
Puzzles with rules. These will give you a few rules, and ask you which case is correct/incorrect. E.g. As can only marry Bs. Bs can only marry with groups higher than them
etc. Which is correct? (options have different people marrying others). Tactics include:
Understand the rules and what they mean
Go through each option and try to eliminate/contradict them
Tips and strategies for Section 2 (thanks to
MSO)
Show
QUESTION TYPES
How does she feel questions. These usually involve a passage with a question asking how a particular person would feel in that situation, or at a particular time during the passage.
What is the tone of the passage. These usually just ask you what the tone/mood is in the paragraph.
What does this mean questions. These usually just ask you what someone meant by a certain action/comment.
What is their relationship questions. These usually ask the type of relationship that 2 people have (close, brotherly, strained, distant
etc
TACTICS
CLEAR YOUR HEAD AND COOL DOWN! This section does actually require empathetic reading of the paragraphs more like you were reading a novel
Identify indications of how someone is feeling through descriptions of their actions (smiling, jumping, laughing are happy, whilst yelling, throwing, furrowed brows are not).
Put your friend in their shoes. Placing yourself in their shoes may work, however similar experiences may make you assume things, and you may spend too much time trying to sort out your own emotions.
Cross out incorrect answers and consider the rest carefully. This may require you to read a section of the text multiple times.
When deciding which answer is better, determine the difference between these two, and whether that difference makes it a stronger answer or not. If you have time, re-read the paragraph to get a feeling of the tone used, leading to the correct answer.
Dont: assume, generalize, cross off answers because theyre too obvious or seem incorrect.
Tips and strategies for Section 3 (thanks to
MSO)
Show
In general, tactics to approach this section include:
Go with a messy approach to working out sequences. If a few clues point to a certain answer, do not continue checking everything until you are sure. Choose it and move on - it is hard to finish this section in time.
It may also be helpful to rotate/move your pencil (make the rubber end the shape) in order to visualize the movement/pattern, as moving them in your head may cause mistakes if you get distracted.
Tactics for each question type include:
WHAT COMES NEXT
These questions give you 3 or 4 boxes, and ask you to find a pattern in order to identify the next box in the sequence. Tactics include:
Analyse specific components separately, rather than all the components at once. This is because, for example, the pattern for how the dot moves may be different to the squares movement.
Identify any components which vary a lot in the options, and try to find the pattern for these. You dont want to spend time working out the pattern for a dot, only to realize that you ended up eliminating one option.
There are A LOT of patterns which involve a shape moving one step at a time (or in increasing steps) in a certain direction. It is therefore beneficial to assume that a component is moving in this pattern.
PICK THE MIDDLE
These questions give you a completed pattern, however they mix up the questions. They ask you to arrange it in order, and then pick the middle one. Note that these questions often don't have a question attached, 5 answer options (A,B,C,D,E). These are usually the most difficult type, and also the most asked. Tactics include:
Find any repeating options and eliminate them. E.g. if 2 boxes are exactly the same, they will probably go on either end so use them to start off with the pattern. If there are 2 pairs, then the remaining box is usually the middle.
Dont bother finding the sequence. If you have a hunch that one is the middle, dont find the order for the rest
These patterns often also involve rotating/moving a component in a certain direction. Therefore, choose a component and test out the pattern by following it through in each box until you get stuck. Then work backwards to find the middle. Remember that if it seems like the shape will move 5 steps (E.g. will move around a pentagon), then this is often useless as it will go around in circles.
Also try mapping the movement. This involves drawing on one base where each component is in all the options, and then trying to find a pattern based on this.
FILL IN THE MISSING BOX
This is usually in a 3-by-3 grid format, and require you to find a pattern in order to find the missing box. To identify this pattern:
Try rotating the components in each row, to get the next box.
Look at each row/column, and superimpose the 2 shapes from the 1st and 2nd square in order to achieve the third
Try adding or subtracting certain components to others (e.g. if there are vertical lines in the first 2 boxes, and they disappear in the last one, there might be a subtraction rule with 1st box 2nd box = 3rd box)
If they ask you to complete the picture, notice the components and their colours, as well as their position relative to others (above, below
etc). It may be helpful to sketch the shape in the square, and choose the most similar one.
Again, thanks to Med Students Online for a lot of these tips!
Scroll down for the second part of this resources thread that includes a range of web-links