Entrance into UNSW Medicine is highly competitive. Students are selected on the basis of ATAR, UMAT results and an interview. These three selection criterions are equally weighted so it’s important to do your best in all of them. With the UMAT registration deadline coming up, these current UNSW Medicine students offer you their top advice to ace this test.
Anju Roy, 4th year Medicine student
“Do as many practice papers as you can get your hands on. I think that makes the biggest difference – I know of people who improved considerably from one year to the next by working on their weakest sections.”
Eleni Van Gelder, 5th year Medicine student
“I remember coming out of the exam room and there wasn’t one person who didn’t think they’d completely flunked. It’s designed to be really, really hard. I reckon the pattern recognition section can be practiced, and maybe the data section, but the ‘empathy’ section is harder to practice for. I remember it was basically a reading comprehension, which you can only improve at by reading more novels. I went to a professional UMAT coaching seminar from MedEntry… Some of the practice tests for the pattern recognition paper were good.”
Hari Sritharan, 4th year Medicine student
“It’s a tough test to prep for, since you can pretty much get any question. I’d recommend having a go at the practice papers offered by ACER as it gives you a real insight into what you’re up against. Try and devise a way of going about the exam based on that, i.e. if you’re strongest at the pattern based questions, maybe do them first and fast, then move onto your next best section of questions. Other than that, just get a good night’s rest and keep an eye on the clock, since the test finishes faster than you think.”
Leanne Qian, 3rd year Medicine student
“As clichéd as it may sound, the importance of getting plenty of sleep and being well-rested beforehand should not be underestimated. Get some exercise in the weeks leading up to it as well.”
Shiamalan Thanaskanda, 5th year Medicine student
“Doing an online preparation course really gives you confidence. Get a good night’s sleep and try to be emotionally happy during the test because you can’t really study for it. The best thing you can do for yourself is to be calm – don’t stress.”
After interviewing these current Med students, some tips to maximise your chances of doing well at the UMAT include:
- Practice for the pattern recognition and data interpretation section
- Read more books to do well at the ‘empathy’ section
- Pace yourself – do the section you’re best at first, then move onto the next section
- Consider undertaking UMAT coaching seminars
- Do some practice tests
- Get a good night’s rest
- Don’t stress. Nerves will hinder you from thinking properly.
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