Muse’s guide to UMAT preparation!

Hello MSO, I have been thinking of writing this guide for a while now, so here it is.

Introduction
So as many, if not all of you know, UMAT is a hard test. Some (myself included) would suggest it is the hardest hurdle in the medical school admission process.

Before I go any further, I need to clarify that everyone is different in:
1. How they prepare for UMAT
2. How much they need to prepare before the test

Some kids will most likely comment saying, “I managed to get 99%tile and didn’t need to do a thing! Preparation is a placebo!” And I say to them: Congrats guys, I have never felt so proud to be your friend. But anyway, jokes aside, I must stress that you should cater this guide to suit your needs.
You should also know that there are also many kids (and adults) who will say "I got one percentile more than I needed, and I prepared a lot". Don't forget, you only get one shot each year to take the UMAT, so it's certainly worthwhile giving it your best. The most heartbreaking scenario of all - and it happens every year - are people who miss out by a percentile (or less), and know that they could have prepared more.

Let’s get started!

Should I prepare for the UMAT? Thread for discussion

Such a controversial subject, so I will re-emphasise that people are different, and some may need to do a lot more preparation than others (if they need to do it at all). I would suggest that you would know for sure if you need to do prep after you take the exam and see for yourself. See the problem here? So to counter this, may it’s a good idea to do some prep and see how you go (just in case).

Aim of UMAT preparation

There are many ‘aims’ of prep and what you aim for is really reflective of how much/ in depth preparation you do. Here are some listed out:
1. Get used to the exam style: be accustom/ familiar to the type of questions used in the exam (for each section)
2. Time management: be able to use your time effectively to finish the exam/ as much as possible
3. Answering questions correctly: improve your ability to answer certain types of questions
4. General exam practice: For some taking the Umat, you'll be doing exams non-stop at school or uni. Others may be on a gap year or be 'non-standard' and will find exam prep useful. On the day, you want to feel like it's just another exam.

What do I need to help me prepare? Thread for discussion

I think most MSOers would suggest getting the ACER practice books (ordered from the ACER/UMAT website when you register or beforehand). This is pretty essential as they will help you get used to the structure of the questions used in the UMAT. I won’t go into detail of the types of questions used (have a search around MSO, we have a heap of info) but the main aim of UMAT preparation is to be familiar with the styles of questions used.

Here on MSO, it is against our rules to discuss UMAT preparation courses (url=http://www.medstudentsonline.com.au/content/rules-420/] Rules[/url]) so I will not mention anything but this: If you have questions available from any courses, use them as you would the ACER booklets.

Look around MSO for suggestion of where to find similar type questions.

When should I start preparing? Thread for discussion

This is another thing everyone is different with, so I emphasise again that you should cater this to your needs. But I have laid out a simple time frame as a guide that you can compare to.

6 months before exam
(Some people spend years preparing, do not be intimidated by this, as I believe 6 months is sufficient)
- Spend about 2-3 hours every weekend going through practice questions.
- An hour each section
- No need to time self (but it is still strongly advised, especially once you get used to the question styles. One approach could be to spend as much time as you need when you find a 'new' or 'different' question style breaking it down and working out how you'll approach that question style. Once you understand that style, maybe try some of that nature on a timed basis.)
- Get used to the question styles used

3 months before exam
- Increase to 6 hours a week (whenever you find time)
- By now you should have found which section you need to improve the most
- Spend an extra 30% of your time on that section
- Start doing drills for an hour long (without any interruptions, and use a timer, and absolutely keep to the time allocated for that section. Remember each section has a slightly different time per question:
- Section 1: ~88s per question
- Section 2: ~75s per question
- Section 3: ~79s per question

1 month- 3 weeks before the exam
- Start doing one full practice test every weekend
- Use timer and make sure you have no interruptions!
- Practice with a watch or any other material you plan on bringing to the exam
- Spend an hour a day on weekdays
- Use this time to hone in your weakest section (and keep doing other section drills)

Day before the exam
- Do not do any preparation (or at least minimal)
- Let your brain rest as well as your body
- Prepare all that you are going to take to be ready for the morning/afternoon
- Go to bed early

Morning of the exam
- Do not do any preparation but do a little warmup. Have just a few questions from each section that you know you're comfortable with, and crack through them as a warmup.
You don't want to make the UMAT the first time you think or that day, treat these few questions like a runner or a tennis player warming up for their race or match. In the same way, maybe don't watch TV in the morning, but read the paper, or even better, your favourite book. Get your brain in gear for chewing through information. Remember, no new questions, and nothing hard, something to just let yourself warm up a bit and get some confidence.
- Make sure you arrive with a good hour or more to spare - and if you don't live near a Umat site, seriously consider staying at a hotel or motel nearby if you can afford it. Removing the stress of travel is a very good thing.)
- Do not drink coffee/energy drinks or otherwise (these are diuretics and will make you go to the toilet in the exam –something you definitely do not want!) - Unless you normally have a morning coffee or similar, in which case you need to have it early enough that you can then go, and know you won't need to go until after the exam - usually 4+ hours after you walk in)
- Spend some time alone to psych yourself up and get mental focussed

Some more points:
- Do not over prepare or over work yourself (this will make you go into a mental slump and hence your preparation will not be effective. Stop for the day when you feel you are losing focus or getting sick of the questions. Feel free to have 1-2 days off every so often)
- Take note of the not preparing the day before/on the day (Give your brain a rest! And preparing at the last minute will effectively be useless)

What marks should I be getting in the ACER preparation books? http://www.medstudentsonline.com.au/f48/what-marks-should-i-getting-umat-practice-papers-13683/] Thread for discussion [/url]

Unfortunately the ACER practice papers are not directly comparable to the real UMAT in terms of difficulty. Usually the practice ones are easier by far; which means by the end of your preparation you should pretty much be getting 100% on those if you can. Don’t stress if you can’t, but they should also be a good indicator of which section you need to improve on!

Finally, I welcome anyone with comments they wish to add, feel free to post here. Otherwise, if you have questions/ discussions on any of the topics I have mentioned, I have provided a link to a thread in which you can continue there.

Thanks goes to Big Red Sky.

Good luck everyone!!

When do you think the best time to do any such UMAT Prep Course would be?

Can't really discuss prep courses here, but they are usually yearly, so as soon as their 'year' starts, is a good time.