How to Prep for UMAT (No Prep Courses!) - Tips, Techniques and Recommended Materials

Can any of you med students who've taken the UMAT give a 2008 med hopeful some tips on the UMAT? i.e-Time constituents, Question difficulty etc.
Much Appreciated

b/c of some restrictions on what we can post on forums, this conversation might be stifled a little. www.boredofstudies.org might be a good idea to explore some related topics.

in terms of the actual umat structure have u checked out acer's website and information? and the wikipedia site for it?

only discussions on UMAT products are prohibited. UMAT exam discussion I think is still allowed. (right isuru?)

I snapped when I read the name of this topic, but seeing as the UMAT section is deleted, I've calmed down.

Anyways, just listen to AC

So now we're reduced to paranoia? Super!

Oh no im not talkin bout going to those courses in preparation for the UMAT, I mean just general tips for the UMAT that could help someone who has no intention of going to one of those courses.

My only suggestion would be to keep reading books, even in year 12, and try to be a critical thinker. So, why does that person think that, what may be influencing them (section 1) and how might this person be feeling after that happened, how might I feel if I were in that situation (section 2). As far as I'm concerned, a well-read person is at a huge advantage because they've read about a variety of situations and experiences.

yeah *sigh* I probably need help with UMAT too. I don't see how being well read helps with section 1 that much though, I mean I read heaps about different things, didn't help me at all, but that's just me.

not to say that it works against you, I guess reading a lot of different material and picking out their meaning and getting into the habit of just summarising like 1 page worth of stuff in say a sentence or two under the constraints of a min or so would help. In other words simulating UMAT conditions, so not just wide reading, but actually reading with purpose as you would in the umat.

Anyways I'm more inclined to say that I struggle severely with section 3

Originally posted by kcchippy@Feb 21 2007, 07:37 PM
yeah *sigh* I probably need help with UMAT too. I don't see how being well read helps with section 1 that much though, I mean I read heaps about different things, didn't help me at all, but that's just me.

not to say that it works against you, I guess reading a lot of different material and picking out their meaning and getting into the habit of just summarising like 1 page worth of stuff in say a sentence or two under the constraints of a min or so would help. In other words simulating UMAT conditions, so not just wide reading, but actually reading with purpose as you would in the umat.

Anyways I'm more inclined to say that I struggle severely with section 3

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You'll do better the second time round, mostly everyone does. Maybe you see how being well-read helps you draw logical conclusions, evaluate data and selectively read evidence?

Originally posted by animadverted@Feb 21 2007, 07:41 PM
You'll do better the second time round, mostly everyone does. Maybe you see how being well-read helps you draw logical conclusions, evaluate data and selectively read evidence?

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I think UMAT is a very specific application though. Like being well read is great and sure it helps but I would say that the biggest problem for people that I've spoken to is time in section 1, so yeah sure logical conclusions and whatever are facilitated by reading widely but they're not under the same conditions as the UMAT. I was just saying that you have to take it one step further and start consciously thinking about the process of reading and actively reading. Like it's easy to be well read and know how to draw conclusions fairly automatically from information when you're in the leisure of your own home, I just think it'd be more useful to practice having to frantically scan a 1 page long response and draw out important bits of information and maybe work on memory recall and yeah I don't know, I just think it is more useful to actually be more active in the way that you approach it, just wide reading isn't going to help much if you don't simulate similar conditions.