This is a question we get asked time and time again, so we thought we’d devote a blog post to it. The short version is as follows: Take the UCAT in August! But there’s more to it than that as different people have different situations, so let’s explore what you need to know about UCAT dates.
UCAT Key Dates 2024
Let’s take a look at the key dates that you’re going to need to know when preparing for the UCAT, as well as preparing your application in general.
This is a basic timeline of what you’ll need to do for the UCAT, from registration all the way to results.
As you can see, the whole process can take up to 6 months depending on when you begin. One perk of taking the UCAT is that you are free to choose when you sit the exam, as long as it’s within the testing dates. This allows for much more flexibility than some other application assessments which are restricted to set days.
Remember that all Medical and Dental schools have the same UCAS deadline of October 15th. If you’re applying for subjects outside of Medicine, they may have a deadline of January 29th, but Medicine and Dental courses will always require applications in October.
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Why Take the UCAT in August?
Simply put, it’s good to get things done quickly. The application process is long and has a lot of things that need to be completed to a high standard, so holding off on jobs will just make the process more stressful for yourself when the time come to actually do the work. When your rushing to get things to finish, your application is obviously going to suffer!
On top of this, your personal and school lives are of course going to play a factor in how you can prepare. Everyone has different needs when it comes to revision, but giving yourself at least two months of prep time is strongly recommended.
Sitting the UCAT in September means that your preparation is going to be competing with your school work and the other aspects of your application. The UCAT is super important to your application but you shouldn’t jeopardise the rest of your application to prepare for it!
Taking the exam in late summer (e.g August) will give you the whole of the summer holiday to revise and perfect your UCAT strategy! If you are looking for more structured learning with your UCAT to keep you on track and prepare effectively, check out our UCAT Support.
Is it really that big a deal if I don't take the UCAT in August?
Well, no. We’d just highly recommend that you do. As mentioned before, come September, you’ll be hounded by your teachers for Personal Statement drafts and you won’t want the UCAT looming over you – trust us, we’ve been there.
But if you’re going on holiday or anything else and it’s not feasible to do it in August, then there’s nothing that can be done to sit it early. Life can sometimes get in the way, so it’s more important that you take the UCAT at all than taking it at a specific time. However, make sure you do it as early on as you can – the result will hugely influence which universities you’ll be applying to, so keep that in mind!
So there we have it! You should now understand that taking the UCAT in the earlier stages of your application will be extremely beneficial. Of course, this isn’t going to be feasible for everyone. After all, they wouldn’t run the UCAT until October if students that sat it then had no chance of getting an offer!
You can begin your preparation with UCAT.Ninja, which provides you with 15,000 practice questions to help you boost your score at a reasonable price! If you’re looking for even more comprehensive support, you can access UCAT.Ninja, one-to-one tuition, comprehensive resources and much more in our UCAT Tutoring Bundle.
All the advice that we’ve given today is strongly recommended, but none of it is essential to your application. At the end of the day, it’s down to you and when you feel prepared to take the test.
Want to find out more about how the UCAT works? Then check out our Definitive UCAT Guide for everything you’ll need to know before sitting the exam.
Need another fix of UCAT tips?
We have all sorts of amazing articles on our free UCAT Resources page! You’ll find everything you need to know to get a great score, including:
No matter when you take the UCAT, 6med is here to help you get through it!
Boost your UCAT score with expert support from 6med.
Prepare yourself for the UCAT with comprehensive resources, an expert preparation course and full access to UCAT.Ninja, available as soon as you sign up.
UCAT Crash Course
UCAT Crash Course
UCAT TUTORING BUNDLE
Boost your UCAT score with expert tuition from 6med.
Prepare yourself for the UCAT with one-to-one tuition hours, comprehensive resources, an expert preparation course and full access to UCAT.Ninja, all included in the UCAT Tutoring Bundle.
UCAT Crash Course
UCAT Crash Course
