The UKCAT does not test the academic knowledge of the applicant in the sense that the SAT Reasoning Test requires applicants to apply knowledge they have learned in school. The UKCAT is an aptitude test; it recognizes that successful medical professionals are not only book smart but also reason well and act professionally. If you understand the nature of the exam, you will not get hung up on getting a certain "score." The official website for the UKCAT does not endorse rigorous study for this test; in fact, the website makes it clear that "[c]oaching is not necessary, desirable or advantageous." Understanding the nature of the exam is essential preparation because you will know what you are dealing with, and you should not get stressed out over getting questions "right."
Even though the exam is an aptitude test, you should still examine and answer practice questions. This stage of preparation should be geared toward becoming familiar with the exam and its questions so you do not waste any time on the actual exam day. The UKCAT website offers free practice questions; it is highly recommended that you try each practice question. Take the practice questions according to the suggested times for each section. You should answer the 44 questions in the verbal reasoning section in 28 minutes. The quantitative reasoning section should be done in 28 minutes for 40 questions. The abstract reasoning section should be completed in 20 minutes; there are 65 questions in this section. Lastly, the decision analysis section takes about 37 minutes to complete and has 27 questions.
The UKCAT is administered on computers; no paper version of the test is given. Because of the test's format, an applicant should take some time and learn how to use the commands in the program so that they do not waste time figuring this out during the exam. The UKCAT website recommends taking a tutorial on this testing format. A link to a computer-based testing tutorial has been provided in the resources section.