UCAT QR and DM tips for those who asked

FOR QUANTITATIVE REASONING:

• read the end of the question first, because that’s what you’re gonna need to answer. just like how in VR they say to read the question stem first then find the answer from the passage, same thing applies here, figure out exactly what you need to find from the figures they give you, then go look for it. this will help in the multi part figures bc in each part you’re gonna get a better and better feel of what they’re showing you, while also being able to quickly answer each question.
• everyone says this one, but guess + flag + skip the long questions. to expand on that, if you see a question and you’re completely confused on what you need to do, skip it and come back. similar to my first tip, if it’s a multi part figure then answering the other, usually simpler questions will help you get a better feel of what you’re being shown, and you can get some insight on how to answer the complicated part.
• don’t fall for sunk cost fallacy. even if you’ve invested 2+ minutes into a question and you think “i’ve already spent so much time on this i’m close but i can’t quite get the answer”. just. skip. it. you can have it in the back of your mind and maybe a later question helps you realize how to answer the hard one. or maybe not, then you can just come back in the end. there are easier questions to get your points on, don’t worry.
• practice the timings, not so much the math. trust me, if you are taking this test you know how to do all the math involved, the only issue is time. untimed practice of just the math won’t get you anywhere, in my opinion, since the questions are relatively easy given enough time. focus on finding an efficient way to answer each question type during your practice.
• and if you DONT know your math, then know your math. mean, median, mode, percent change, profit/revenue/cost, and basic multiplication/addition/division/subtraction, will pretty much be the basis of your whole test. these are must-know.
• the questions are usually simpler than they seem. this is why i recommend reading the last part first, because reading all those lines of text can be confusing and time consuming, when all you need to do is take the difference between two numbers.
• use mental math when you can. you should be able to do 3 digit subtraction and addition with ease, this will save you so much time. also trust your intuition. the subconscious mind is a crazy thing, if a number pops into your head when you see 162 - 134, it’s probably your pattern recognition kicking in, and it’s probably right. be confident in your brain. if you feel mental math is a weak point, there are loads of resources online to help you get faster. ideally you want to be able to do these calculations in under 3-4 seconds, so you have time to use the calculator to do the harder ones.
• learn to use the calculator efficiently. for me, i never even touched the numpad on the keyboard as i didn’t have access to a desktop during my practice, so i used the number keys at the top of the keyboard the whole time. this was definitely less efficient and if possible i would learn to use the numpad beforehand.
• use your memory instead of writing stuff down. i barely touched the notepad except for when i had to do 4-5 step questions and had to save a number for a long time. if you have to remember a number while you do 1-2 calculations, it’ll save time if you can remember it mentally rather than taking the time to pick up the pen, write it down, put down the pen, and get back on the keyboard. little time-saves make a big difference overall.
• stay calm but work efficiently. if you start to panic about time, it messes with your head and the questions start to seem more complicated than they really are. try not to check the timer too often, as it can stress you out. check every few questions just to make sure you’re on pace (~45 seconds per question) but don’t let that distract you. you want to get into a kind of flow state, and worrying constantly about the timer will interrupt that.
• take shortcuts where you can. never type unnecessary 0’s, just type the numbers before 0 and do the calculations with that. you will still get the correct digits, and for the vast majority of questions you can just match the digits to an answer choice, knowing that the power of 10 doesn’t change anything. for example, if a question has you do calculations with 128000, just put 128 in the calculator and do whatever you gotta do with that number. then, if for example you get 64 as the result in your calculator and 64000 is an answer choice, pick that one. if, in the rare occasion they have two different powers of 10 with the same digits, like 640 and 64000, use your logic and determine which one makes sense.

FOR DECISION MAKING:

• do a bunch of practice to get used to the different problem types. they can be confusing, but if you know what to expect, you’ll be more able to get right into the problem. also, in my experience it seems like each problem type is grouped together, so it goes syllogisms, logic puzzles, assumptions, interpreting info, vent diagrams, then probability. pace yourself accordingly. in my opinion the most time-consuming are the interpreting info, followed by logic puzzles, then syllogisms, then assumptions, then venn diagrams and probability last. with this in mind, the most time consuming questions are in the first 60% of the test, so if you seem like you spend proportionately more time on the first half and are panicking about not having time for the second half, it’s okay you’re probably fine.
• know exactly how each problem type works. i’m gonna cover what i know from my limited experience about each of these problem types here, but i’m by no means an expert so do your own research and practice as well and figure out what seems to click for you.
• syllogisms: if A = B, B doesnt necessarily = A. for example if “all musicians play instruments”, it doesn’t mean “all people who play instruments are musicians”. if B = A and C = B then C = A. for example if “all B’s are A’s and all C’s are B’s”, then all C’s are A’s. pretty much bottom line is if from what they tell you, a statement is for sure 100% true, then the answer is Yes, and if you can’t definitively say Yes, then it’s No. don’t make any assumptions. also it’s helpful to learn the ucat definitions for things like “all, many, most, a few, some, none”, etc. this may seem simple but in those questions where they say “at least one…” it’s helpful to know stuff like “a few” means at least one and “most” means everyone except at least one. these can be found on the ucat website in the decision making slideshow.
• logic puzzles: use the notepad for these. a lot of people recommend you skip them until the end, but i believe if you write everything you know down they’re actually pretty simple. abbreviate names to their first (or first and second) letter to save time. write down what you are given about each person, as well as leaving blanks where things are missing. also, some people skip this part, but if you’re told that one person definitely does NOT have something, write down that thing crossed out next to the person so you know that that thing must go with someone else. you want to have a sort of table you make for each of these, but don’t actually draw out a table that wastes time. if you have everything written out on paper, it’s much easier to digest and process the information, and it’s just a matter of assigning letters and numbers to each name, making sure you don’t have repeats. once you have enough information to match an answer choice that you’re sure about, stop there, pick the answer, and move on.
• assumptions: do a bunch of practice on this, because once you do a bunch of them, you start to see patterns in what the strongest arguments have. you want to read the question carefully and see exactly WHAT they want to be addressed in the scenario, and the strongest argument will address exactly that thing. usually there are only one or two options that address the thing they actually want you to solve. for example, if a question asks “in order to help children’s health and lower obesity rates, should schools provide a healthy lunch for every student” and an answer choice says “yes, providing a healthy lunch will allow children to get the nutrients they need and prevent them from overeating” then that’s probably the right answer. if something says “no, providing a healthy lunch would be a financial burden on the schools”, then while that answer may make sense, since it doesn’t actually address the issue - children’s health - that is stated in the question, that argument is irrelevant and is likely wrong. you want to look for the answer choices that answer ALL issues presented in the question, and from there pick the strongest. usually if they have numerical or some form of data in an answer choice, it’s a stronger argument than one that poses hypotheticals and speculation. if there is no clear answer choice once you’ve found two that address the scenario, go with your gut.
• interpreting info: this was my least favorite part, but it’s really just syllogisms with more text. skim over the text to get an idea of each point they talk about, and then move on to the questions. if something is directly supported by the text, then it does follow, and if something is not mentioned, or is contradicted in the text then it does not follow. don’t use any prior knowledge in this, only use what they give you. even if you know something is true, if it is not mentioned in the text then it does not follow.
• venn diagrams: the ones that just make you interpret interlocking shapes are easy, just go straight to the answer choices and check each one until one is correct, then click it and move on. for the ones that make you make your own, it’s a bit more tricky, but essentially you want to add up numbers and find which diagram matches the information given. sometimes there are two that seem to fit perfectly but are slightly different. i just guess in that scenario for the sake of time, since it’s a 50/50 shot. i don’t really have much advice for this section, venn diagrams are pretty straightforward, you just need a bunch of practice with these problems and you’ll be able to do them quickly.
• probability: in the scenarios where they give you options A and B, and give you two different factors to consider for the options, pretty much ALL and i mean ALWAYS one of these factors will be the same between both A and B. it will probably say something like “A has a 95% chance of rain and B has a 5% chance of no rain”. these mean the same thing. you literally only have to compare the unequal factor to see which option is better. if you have a question where both factors are different, i have no idea what to do bc ive never encountered one like that. for the questions about picking objects out of a bag, just know basic statistics, and if you pick for example a red object out of a bag with 3 reds and 3 yellows, then keep it out of the bag and pick another, the chance of picking red goes down from 3/6 to 2/5. also, i’ve found that a lot of the time the longest answer is correct in these bag scenarios, but that’s just my experience it could have been coincidence i don’t recommend blindly following that. also know the addition and multiplication rules for events that are and aren’t mutually exclusive. the probability questions for the most part are easy, but seem stressful because they’re at the end and you have very limited time on them. just keep a level head and use your basic stats knowledge and you can do them all.

bonus SJT tip: if you’re unsure about something, pick B if you think it’s more on the important/appropriate side and C if it’s more on the unimportant/inappropriate side. you get partial credit if your answer is adjacent to the correct answer, so you have a 2/4 chance of partial and 1/4 chance of full credit if you pick B or C. but if you’re sure, like if something compromises patient safety or autonomy, or if someone is breaking the rules, pick whatever you’re sure about.

Good luck with your tests everyone, I hope this helped!