WHAT IS THE UNIVERSITY CLINICAL APTITUDE TEST (UCAT)?

What Is the UCAT?
The University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) assesses a candidate’s mental ability, attitudes, and professionalism in order to help Medical Schools and Dental Schools select applicants with the aptitude to be successful in clinical careers.

A number of universities in the UK use the UCAT to select applicants for medical and dental degrees. For information on which universities request applicants to have taken the UCAT, please
Universities in the UK that request the UCAT
  • University of Aberdeen
  • Anglia Ruskin University
  • Aston University
  • University of Birmingham
  • University of Bristol
  • Brunel University London
  • Cardiff University
  • University of Dundee
  • University of East Anglia
  • Edge Hill University
  • University of Edinburgh
  • University of Exeter
  • University of Glasgow
  • Hull York Medical School
  • Keele University
  • Kent and Medway Medical School
  • King’s College London
  • University of Leicester
  • University of Liverpool
  • University of Manchester
  • University of Newcastle
  • University of Nottingham
  • Plymouth University
  • Queen Mary University of London
  • Queen’s University Belfast
  • University of Sheffield
  • University of Southampton
  • University of St Andrews
  • St George’s, University of London
  • University of Sunderland
  • University of Warwick
  • University of Worcester


The UCAT is two hours in duration, and it is divided into five sections: Verbal Reasoning; Decision Making; Quantitative Reasoning; Abstract Reasoning; and Situational Judgement. For detailed information on each section of the test, please

Verbal Reasoning
The Verbal Reasoning section of the UCAT tests a candidate’s ability to read, interpret and draw conclusions from information presented in a written form. It consists of 11 passages, each of which has four questions in a multiple-choice format. Candidates have 21 minutes to answer the 44 questions.

There are two question types in this section. These are:
  1. Candidates are given a question or an incomplete statement and asked to select the most suitable answer out of the four options given.
  2. Candidates must decide if the statement is logical by selecting ‘True’, ‘False’ or ‘Can’t Tell’. The option ‘True’ indicates that, based on the information provided in the passage, the statement is true. The option ‘False’ indicates that, based on the information provided in the passage, the statement is false. The option ‘Can’t Tell’ indicates that, based on the information provided in the passage, it is unknown if the statement is true or false.

Decision Making
The Decision Making section of the UCAT tests a candidate’s ability to make a decision, reach a conclusion, evaluate arguments, and analyse numerical information. It consists of 29 questions that include text, charts, tables, graphs or diagrams. Candidates have 31 minutes to answer the 29 questions.

A question might have four answer options and the candidate must select the correct one, or a question might have five statements and the candidate must respond ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to each one.

Quantitative Reasoning
The Quantitative Reasoning section of the UCAT assesses a candidate’s ability to solve numerical problems. It consists of 36 questions, and candidates have 25 minutes to complete it. The questions are set at the level of GCSE Mathematics.

The questions tend to be grouped into sets of four, which means that four questions share the same data (this could be graphs, tables or charts). However, some questions stand alone. Each question has five answer options, and the candidate must select the correct answer.

Abstract Reasoning
The Abstract Reasoning section of the UCAT assesses a candidate’s ability to identify patterns between shapes. It consists of 50 questions, and candidates have 12 minutes to answer them.

This section encompasses four types of question:

  1. Type 1 – Candidates are given two sets of shapes (‘Set A’ and ‘Set B’) and a test shape. They must decide to which set of shapes the test shape belongs.
  2. Type 2 – Candidates are given a series of shapes and asked to select the next shape in the series.
  3. Type 3 – Candidates are given a statement that involves a group of shapes and asked to decide which shape completes the statement.
  4. Type 4 – Candidates are given two sets of shapes (‘Set A’ and ‘Set B’) and four test shapes. They must decide to which set the four test shapes belong.

Situational Judgement
The Situational Judgement section of the UCAT assesses a candidate’s ability to appreciate real situations and to identify appropriate behaviour to manage them. It consists of 69 questions, all of which are based on scenarios. One scenario might have up to six questions associated with it. Candidates have 26 minutes to answer the questions. Candidates do not need knowledge of medicine to be successful in this section.

There are two parts to this section:

Part 1 – Candidates must rate the importance of statements in relation to the scenario.
Part 2 – Candidates must rate the appropriateness of statements in relation to the scenario.

Guidance on how to approach all five sections of the UCAT is offered in our podcasts, which are available here.

To access practice questions for the UCAT, please use the buttons below.

Verbal Reasoning
Decision Making
Quantitative Reasoning
Abstract Reasoning
Situational Judgement

How Is the UCAT Scored?

The Situational Judgement section is marked differently to the other four sections of the UCAT. For this section, candidates are awarded a ‘band’ (Band 1, Band 2, Band 3 or Band 4). Band 1 is the highest, and Band 4 is the lowest. A response that matches the correct answer will score full marks, whilst a response that is close to the correct answer will score partial marks.

The number of questions in the Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning sections is different, which means that a candidate’s raw mark needs to be converted to a scale score (between 300 and 900) for each section.A total score is then calculated by adding the individual scale score of each of the four sections; a candidate’s total score will be between 1200 and 3600.

Each questionin the Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning sections is worth one mark.In the Decision Making section, questions with one correct answer are worth one mark and questions with multiple statements are worth two marks. One mark is awarded to partially correct responses if the question is worth two marks.

Candidates do not pass or fail the UCAT. Rather, they must aim to score as highly as possible. A good UCAT score for each section is considered to be 660 and above (which gives a total score of 2640 and above).

Candidates are not penalised for incorrect answers, and performance on one question does not affect which question comes next.