Medical Schools and UKCAT (England & Wales)

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1 Medical Schools and UKCAT (England & Wales) The notes below attempt to summarise the way in which medical schools are using the UKCAT test scores as part of their selection criteria. It is not an exhaustive list. If in doubt, please check with the admissions dept. at the relevant medical school. Warwick and Swansea are Graduate Entry only. N.B. The mean score for candidates sitting the UKCAT test in 2007 & 2008 was exactly 2430 points. In 2008, the mean scores for each section were as follows: Overall scores for all candidates (n = 20512) Section Mean SD Verbal reasoning Quantitative reasoning Abstract reasoning Decision analysis Total scaled score UKCAT not required Liverpool, Birmingham & Bristol Schools requiring BMAT Imperial, UCL, Oxford and Cambridge Medical Schools using a Ranking System (or similar) Barts and the Royal London In order for us to select an appropriate number of candidates, applicants are ranked according to their UKCAT score. Those who achieve the appropriate UKCAT score will be invited to attend an interview. The appropriate UKCAT score will be determined by the performance of candidates each year. Therefore there is no predetermined cutoff score for the UKCAT at which candidates will be interviewed. However, obviously, the higher your score the more likely you are to be interviewed and candidates with scores well below average are unlikely to be interviewed. (website Oct. 2009) 1

2 Brighton & Sussex The UKCAT scores are used by different consortium members in different ways. BSMS has always taken particular care to account for both academic and nonacademic factors in considering whether to make an offer of a place, and we are broadly satisfied that our application procedures are effective at selecting students from a wide background and with all of the attributes that Tomorrow s Doctors will need. We are interested to see what additional information we might gain from the UKCAT scores, and so we will be using the UKCAT results selectively and with care in informing the judgements of our admissions assessors in making offers to individual students. This is because the UKCAT test is relatively new. An above average UKCAT score is likely to be an advantage but a lower score is not necessarily a disadvantage if outweighed by other factors in your application as a whole (website Oct. 2009) Cardiff In Cardiff, the UKCAT score is used in conjunction with a range of other academic and non-academic assessments in the selection process. No absolute UKCAT threshold is used". (website Oct. 2009) University of East Anglia UKCAT required. No other details given. HYMS 6.4 Step 3- Addition of points for the UKCAT All applicants to HYMS must take the UKCAT in the year they apply, because results are only valid for one year. Applicants who have not taken the UKCAT will be rejected. Applicants with a total UKCAT score of less than 1900 or a verbal reasoning score of less than 420 will not normally be considered. Applicants with a total score of 1900 or higher and a verbal reasoning score of 420 or higher will be awarded up to 10 points based on their total UKCAT score. The points are awarded as follows: Total UKCAT Score HYMS points <1900 Reject

3 Step 4 - Invitation to interview The UCAS form points (maximum 50) are added to the UKCAT points (maximum 10) to give each applicant an initial score out of 60. Candidates are then ranked in order of their initial score. The highest scoring 600 applicants are then invited to interview. In addition, any applicant whose overall UKCAT score lies in the top 25% of all UKCAT scores, but whose initial score is still below the threshold for invitation to interview, will have their UCAS application form reviewed again by a subcommittee of the HYMS admissions committee, which has the discretion to invite such applicants to interview. Any applicant whose initial score is below the threshold for invitation to interview will normally have their UCAS form re-read and scored by a second trained HYMS assessor. The average score of the two readers will then be calculated and added to the UKCAT points to give such applicants a revised initial score. If the revised score is above the threshold for interview the applicant will then be invited for interview. (website: Oct 2009) Keele All applicants for courses A100 and A104 should note that as part of the entry requirements they must undertake the United Kingdom Clinical Aptitude Test in the year of application. The results from this will contribute to our decision making process. All applications meeting the minimum academic requirements (including UKCAT assessment) will be assessed in detail by both the Admissions Tutors and the Admissions Manager. Applicants will then be short-listed for interview; no applicant will be offered a place without attending for interview. (website Oct. 2009) Kings College, London Your UKCAT scores will be considered in our selection for interview. They will not be the sole indicator for selection. They will be balanced against achievement in other areas, in particular your academic performance to date. All indicators will be considered together in deciding who will be selected for interview. It is therefore 3

4 important to understand that there is no universal 'cut off' score for the UKCAT when applying for 2010 entry. For example, if an applicant has an excellent academic background then the test scores will play a less significant part in selection. For those with weaker academic backgrounds (relative to our overall applicant pool), the scores will become more important. An applicant who may not normally be considered on academic grounds could be invited to interview on the strength of strong UKCAT scores that may indicate potential. Also, if applicants are very similar in all other ways, the score may be the determining factor in selection for interview. Therefore, those invited to interview could offer a broad range of UKCAT scores. For 2008 entry, the lowest average score for an applicant invited to interview was 513 and the highest 776. (website Oct. 2009) Leeds Candidates applying to Medicine at Leeds will be required to take the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT). Applicants applying for entry in 2009 must take the test between June and October UKCAT scores will be taken into account during the final stages of the Admissions process. Credit will be given at this point for high scores. (Admissions Policy 2009) Leicester The UKCAT scores are assessed individually rather than by total or mean. We do this because the four main domains are tested separately. Unlike some medical schools, we DO NOT have a fixed threshold for UKCAT achievement. We band applicants as follows: All scores >700 = 5; All scores >600 = 4; All scores >500 = 3; All scores >400 = 2; All others 1 PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU RECEIVE A SCORE OF 1 THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOUR APPLICATION WILL BE REJECTED AS ALL ELEMENTS OF YOUR APPLICATION ARE CONSIDERED. THEREFORE, A STRONG UCAS APPLICATION IS REQUIRED. (website Oct. 2009) Manchester The introduction of UKCAT and the encouraging results from our research into its merit now provide us with an additional tool. This year we will be selecting for interview by ranking by UKCAT score all those applicants who have successfully passed through our initial UCAS assessments. ( Changes to selection process 2008/09 ) 4

5 NEWCASTLE & DURHAM Applicants whom we regard on the basis of their application and UKCAT score as being strong potential entrants are invited to attend an interview. Interviews are conducted with two trained selectors who are drawn from a pool containing university academic and administrative staff, NHS clinicians and health care professionals, and lay selectors. (website: Oct. 2009) In relation to the standard 5-year programme (A100) and the 4 year programme (A101), applications fulfilling the academic threshold will then be assessed on their UKCAT scores. The UKCAT score is used to identify applicants for interview, this may differ in each admission cycle as it is dependent on the scores achieved by those applicants who apply to our Medical School in the current cycle. These scores will be used to determine in which of the following categories an applicant is placed: - to interview - unsuccessful (Newcastle & Durham Admissions Policy. May 2009) Nottingham Selection for interview will be on the basis of those candidates with the overall best profile of attributes from: academic ability, UCAS statements, UKCAT scores and further information. We do not operate a threshold for the UKCAT test results. Instead when marking your application, we will mark each of the scores you received for the above four components of the cognitive test. (website Oct. 2009) (see also Leicester above) Peninsula "Peninsula Medical School uses the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) in order to make more informed choices from amongst the many highly-qualified applicants who apply for a place on the BM,BS programme. Under normal circumstances, all applicants selected for interview must have completed a valid UKCAT test within the year of application, unless an exemption from the test has been granted by UKCAT. UKCAT test results are used alongside interview scores alongside the academic information provided on the UCAS form in order to select candidates for interview.." (website Oct. 2009) St George s (London) UKCAT: We require all candidates to sit the UKCAT entrance examination. (website Oct. 2009) St Georges currently only use UKCAT score to order their acceptance list after offers have been made! Little importance is given to UCAS personal statements! 5

6 However, significant importance is attached to a candidate s performance at interview. Interviews are organised on a carousel system where candidates are interviewed at several stations. Interviewers do not have access to a candidate s personal statement during interviews! In 2008, St George s interviewed all candidates who met the academic criteria! [1300 applications; 600+ interviewed; 250 offers; 162 places] They also have a large post-grad intake 112. (discussion with admissions office ) Sheffield Once your application has been given a score for your academic achievements and your personal qualities we will look at the combination of the two scores you have been given. The UKCAT score will then be used to decide which of the top scoring (academic achievements and personal qualities) candidates will be offered and interview. (website Oct. 2009) Southampton In 2007, Southampton issued a notice that stated that "all applicants to both the BM5 and BM6 programmes will be required to achieve an overall score of 2200 for the test". However, in that year, the format of the UKCAT test changed (additional parts to the test were introduced). Their website now merely states that the "score will be used alongside all other information as part of the selection process." (website Oct. 2009) 6