Table Of ContentScore Higher
on the UKCAT
Score Higher
on the UKCAT
The expert guide from Kaplan, with over
1000 questions and a mock online test
THIRD EDITION
Brian Holmes
Kaplan Test Prep
Dr Marianna Parker
Kaplan Test Prep
Dr Katie Hunt
Kaplan Test Prep
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Preface
One test stands between you and a place at the medical school of your dreams: the UKCAT.
No matter how strongly you perform in your GCSEs and A-levels, you are likely to find the UKCAT
incredibly challenging. Most students who apply to study medicine get top results in their other exams,
and are used to surpassing any academic challenge they have encountered. Such students make up virtu-
ally the entire UKCAT cohort, and so the UKCAT is designed to differentiate among this cohort of highly
capable and resourceful students.
Most UKCAT test-takers do very little to prepare for the exam, and each year countless students find
that Test Day comes as a rude surprise. They have never sat an exam that they were unable to finish, or in
which they were unable to understand fully the nature of the questions being asked. Sadly, these students
are unable to get a place studying medicine because of their poor UKCAT results, and must wait another
year before taking the test again. At Kaplan, we have helped hundreds of students in this situation over
the past few years, and they always tell us the same thing: they wish someone had told them they could
prepare for the UKCAT.
Despite what you may have heard, the UKCAT is very much a test you can prepare for, and here’s why:
the UKCAT is a standardised test, meaning it asks the same types of questions in the same format in each
section, regardless of the particular version of the test you may encounter on Test Day. Because the test
is standardised, you can prepare for the specific question types, and build your confidence and score by
practising for speed and accuracy—ideally with full-length mock tests in proper UKCAT format—before
you sit the actual UKCAT. This book includes two full-length Kaplan UKCAT mock tests, a Diagnostic
Test that will orient you to the format and challenges of the UKCAT, and a final Mock Test to complete
your preparation, as you put the Kaplan top tips learnt in this book fully into practice.
This book includes Kaplan’s top tips for building a higher score on each section of the UKCAT, and
distils the basics of Kaplan’s comprehensive UKCAT course into a self-study programme. We developed
the top tips at Kaplan by working with dozens of UKCAT teachers and helping thousands of students
prepare for the UKCAT since its inception in 2006. Our Kaplan top tips have a proven track record, in
that they can be learnt and practised so that they become ‘second nature’ by Test Day, and are genuinely
helpful for most students to improve their timing and their score.
We know that getting into medical school is a challenging endeavour, and we have written this book to
help you navigate the challenges of the UKCAT. By learning and practising the Kaplan top tips, we hope
you will achieve a score that will ‘make the cut’, so you can pursue your dream of becoming a doctor.
Study smart—and think success!
Brian Holmes
Dr Marianna Parker
Dr Katie Hunt
Contents
About the authors viii
Score Higher on the UKCAT: test updates and mock online test ix
1. Assessing the UKCAT 1
2. Kaplan UKCAT Diagnostic Test 5
3. Verbal Reasoning 77
4. Quantitative Reasoning 105
5. Abstract Reasoning 139
6. Decision Analysis 179
7. Situational Judgement 205
8. Kaplan UKCAT Mock Test 225
9. Getting Ready for Test Day Success 301
APPENDIX
A. Kaplan Top Tips for Test-Takers with Learning Difficulties 305
B. Chapter 2 Kaplan UKCAT Diagnostic Test Explanations 307
C. Chapter 8 Kaplan UKCAT Mock Test Explanations 332
About the authors
Brian Holmes
Brian is the Curriculum and Training Director at Kaplan Test Prep International and the head writer for
Kaplan’s UKCAT and BMAT courses. He scored a 3310 on the UKCAT. Before relocating to London in
2006, Brian lectured in drama, classics and film at Cornell University and the University of California,
Los Angeles. He graduated summa cum laude from Tulane University with a Bachelor of Arts in English
and Greek and Latin, and earned a master’s degree in theater arts from UCLA.
Dr Marianna Parker MBBS, BSc
Marianna earned a Chemistry BSc from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a medical degree
from St George’s University of London, where she was nominated for the University of London Gold
Medal. As a successful applicant to both UK and US universities, she has extensive personal experience
with admissions tests. Marianna has worked as a Kaplan UKCAT lead teacher and writer since 2006.
She is a Neonatology Fellow in the Harvard Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Training Program at Boston
Children’s Hospital.
Dr Katie Hunt MA (Cantab) MBBS
Katie studied Pre-Clinical Medicine and Developmental Biology at the University of Cambridge and then
completed her medical degree at King’s College London School of Medicine, graduating with Distinc-
tion. She has always enjoyed teaching and training, with experience both abroad and in the UK. Katie
has taught UKCAT and BMAT courses for Kaplan since 2007, including as lead UKCAT teacher. She is a
Paediatric Trainee in London and has a keen interest in research and medical education.
About Kaplan Test Prep
Kaplan Test Prep (www.kaptest.co.uk) has offered test preparation courses in the UK since 1993. Kaplan
has been the leading provider of preparation for the UKCAT and BMAT since the tests were first intro-
duced, and currently offers classroom-based and online courses and tutoring, in addition to this book.
First established in the United States in 1938, Kaplan Test Prep is the world leader in test preparation,
offering preparation for more than 90 standardised tests, including entrance exams for UK and US uni-
versities, as well as some professional licensure exams. Kaplan Test Prep’s course materials are updated on
a regular basis so that Kaplan students have the most current and helpful test prep available.
Visit Kaplan Test Prep’s website at www.kaptest.co.uk/ukcattest to access the free, full-length Kaplan
UKCAT Mock Online Test, which we recommend that you complete after working through the practice
questions and mock tests in this book.
Score Higher on the UKCAT: test
updates and mock online test
The key to achieving a high score in the UKCAT is to become familiar with the style of questions and
practise these to develop your technique. It is also very important to practise answering the questions
within the timing of the real exam. Once you have finished working through the book you can undertake
Kaplan’s Mock Online Test. You will also want to check the test updates in our Online Resource Centre in
the year you sit the UKCAT, to ensure you are aware of any test changes in that year.
Test Updates
Test updates are freely available to readers of this book, but are password protected. To access the test
updates, simply visit the online resource centre at www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/orc/kaplan_ukcat3e/
and enter the following username and password:
Username: UKCAT1
Password: Admissions
Annual changes to the UKCAT by the exam provider are usually announced in April and July, and we will
announce any updates on the Online Resource Centre soon thereafter.
Mock Online Test
This is freely available at www.kaptest.co.uk/ukcattest
The Kaplan Mock Online Test looks and functions exactly like the real UKCAT exam so on Test Day
you will be familiar with its layout and navigation. The test is automatically timed to mirror the official
UKCAT so you can practise getting your timing just right. The next page includes some screenshots of
Kaplan’s UKCAT Online Study Plan, which hosts the Kaplan Mock Online Test.
