Why is medentry SOOOOOOOOOO hard??

[nerdmmb]

Hi everyone!
The title pretty much says everything.
A lot of people say medentry is easier compared to the umat. But how? I'm getting the worst percentiles and it's really hard especially pick the middle questions and problem solving.

Why on earth is the umat even tested. Like what does it even prove??

[datfatcat]

Hi everyone!
The title pretty much says everything.
A lot of people say medentry is easier compared to the umat. But how? I'm getting the worst percentiles and it's really hard especially pick the middle questions and problem solving.

Why on earth is the umat even tested. Like what does it even prove??

Hi,
I won't say medentry is easier...in fact I found section 1 was harder than the actual UMAT. Right now you shouldn't trust the percentiles because not many people have done the paper. Those who completed the papers are "super keen". After a few more months (towards June I would say), your percentiles should go up.

Anyway, no matter what you get from medentry, you can still get great result from the actual one. I didn't do so great in Medentry's section 1 papers (around 70-80%tiles) and got 90%tiles for section 3...and for the actual umat, section 1 became my best section (98%tile) and I only got high 80s for section 3. So don't give up hope just yet!

[nerdmmb]

I didn't do so great in Medentry's section 1 papers (around 70-80%tiles) and got 90%tiles for section 3...and for the actual umat, section 1 became my best section (98%tile) and I only got high 80s for section 3.

Wow! Congrats! That's really good!

I'm slightly nervous now because my percentiles are around 40-60? Is that normal considering I've only completed 3 exams so far?

[datfatcat]

Wow! Congrats! That's really good!

I'm slightly nervous now because my percentiles are around 40-60? Is that normal considering I've only completed 3 exams so far?

I won't say you are doing fine or not by looking at the numbers. Unlike VCE practice exams (where you got full marks for doing 12 papers would mean you have a high chance of doing really well in the actual exam), doing medentry is different. I know a friend who did really poorly (50%tiles most of the time) and got around 98%tile in the actual umat. I did medentry purely because if i didn't do well in the actual umat, I won't regret for the rest of my life that I didn't study for it. Don't turn this the other way around and get too worried about the percentiles as they may affect your performance on the day.

If you are nervous (which is OK) and really want to do something about it, maybe look at the questions that you got wrong and figure out what really causes you problem. Is it because you never have enough time to complete the paper? Is it the diagrams in section 3 that troubles you? Do you draw tables/diagrams for logical reasoning in section 1? Once you figure out the problem, work on them. Say you got problem with the timing, try doing more drills or use another approach to do the questions (such as highlighting keywords (would be impossible since medentry is online haha), drawing venn diagrams, tables etc on a piece of paper.)

Good luck!

[nerdmmb]

If you are nervous (which is OK) and really want to do something about it, maybe look at the questions that you got wrong and figure out what really causes you problem. Is it because you never have enough time to complete the paper? Is it the diagrams in section 3 that troubles you? Do you draw tables/diagrams for logical reasoning in section 1? Once you figure out the problem, work on them. Say you got problem with the timing, try doing more drills or use another approach to do the questions (such as highlighting keywords (would be impossible since medentry is online haha), drawing venn diagrams, tables etc on a piece of paper.)

Good luck!

Thank-you! I'll start trying that! That made me feel much better!

[gibsonaxxxs]

Hey buddy,

Just wanted to give you a quick bit of encouragement - you're doing ABSOLUTELY FINE!! Honestly. I did 1 practice paper in January and nearly died of shock at my percentile. I put it away and didn't practise until a couple of weeks before the UMAT. And I still got 100%ile.

So you're fine.

But like what datfatcat said, I'd really encourage you to figure out how/why you got those questions wrong. And how you can stop getting them wrong. Analyse the questions - that's the only reason for my score.

Don't be discouraged, and don't give up (that was my problem - I gave up too soon). Just work through it, but work through it smart. Remember, it's not about the scores in your practice - it's about your final score. And it's not about the number of questions you get wrong - it's about what you can learn from them. AND it's not about the number of practice questions you do - it's about how well you learn from them.

Haha wow that was ridiculously corny but hey it's true

Hope that helps and good luck!

[nerdmmb]

Hey buddy,

Just wanted to give you a quick bit of encouragement - you're doing ABSOLUTELY FINE!! Honestly. I did 1 practice paper in January and nearly died of shock at my percentile. I put it away and didn't practise until a couple of weeks before the UMAT. And I still got 100%ile.

So you're fine.

But like what datfatcat said, I'd really encourage you to figure out how/why you got those questions wrong. And how you can stop getting them wrong. Analyse the questions - that's the only reason for my score.

Don't be discouraged, and don't give up (that was my problem - I gave up too soon). Just work through it, but work through it smart. Remember, it's not about the scores in your practice - it's about your final score. And it's not about the number of questions you get wrong - it's about what you can learn from them. AND it's not about the number of practice questions you do - it's about how well you learn from them.

Haha wow that was ridiculously corny but hey it's true

Hope that helps and good luck!

Thank-you so much! It definitely did help
I'll start putting that into perspective
And I'm amazed by your percentile! Congrats!

Is it okay if I don't finish on time on my practice papers?

[gibsonaxxxs]

That's great to hear glad my experiences could be of some use

Yes and no - it's fine as you're getting your head around questions but personally I'd recommend finding your timing first before figuring out how to work through the questions. Timing is essential in the UMAT - since many people don't finish they actually lose potentially easy marks. So I'd recommend working on your timing as one of the first things you do when practicing

[Sense]

Why on earth is the umat even tested. Like what does it even prove??

I know I thought the UMAT would be my strong point and i'm getting 40-50%ile :/

[nerdmmb]

I know I thought the UMAT would be my strong point and i'm getting 40-50%ile :/

gibsonaxxxs made a great point here - don't be discouraged by your percentiles now.. you'll definitely see some improvement once you have identified your weaknesses

Just keep going and don't let this ridiculous test or the percentiles hinder you from performing at your optimum!
I actually know a friend who got like 20 percentiles but on the actual exam, she ended up getting 100!
And the medentry percentiles aren't even accurate (who knows, you might be one of those geniuses who score 100)

[Sense]

gibsonaxxxs made a great point here - don't be discouraged by your percentiles now.. you'll definitely see some improvement once you have identified your weaknesses

Just keep going and don't let this ridiculous test or the percentiles hinder you from performing at your optimum!
I actually know a friend who got like 20 percentiles but on the actual exam, she ended up getting 100!
And the medentry percentiles aren't even accurate (who knows, you might be one of those geniuses who score 100)

Yeah, hopefully he's right... I wish I even knew what the UMAT was in year 11 so I could start practicing like you have

Hahah, Judging by my luck in anything test wise I doubt that is the case

[nerdmmb]

Yeah, hopefully he's right... I wish I even knew what the UMAT was in year 11 so I could start practicing like you have

Hahah, Judging by my luck in anything test wise I doubt that is the case

Good news the UMAT is different so don't judge yourself so early
Most students who do exceptionally well start in yr 12

Haha I barely go on mine