Worried about tackling each UCAT subtest?
Worry not! While each section presents its own challenges, we’ve broken down all the UCAT sections – Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making Quantitative Reasoning, Situational Judgement – so you know exactly what to expect, and how to smash it, come test day.
REMEMBER: Abstract Reasoning has been removed for UCAT 2025.
UCAT Section 1: Verbal Reasoning
Essentials: 44 questions, 22 minutes to complete
Tests: Your ability to critically evaluate information presented in written form.
Example question:
Passage: "Many students today are unaware of the career opportunities that exist within healthcare beyond medicine. These jobs are not only rewarding but also offer work-life balance and flexibility."
Question: According to the passage, what is the perception of healthcare careers?
a) Most students see them as difficult.
b) Healthcare careers offer work-life balance.
c) Students are unaware of healthcare opportunities.
d) Healthcare careers are only for medical professionals.
UCAT Section 2: Decision Making
Essentials: 35 questions, 37 minutes to complete
Tests: Your ability to make sound decisions and judgments using complex information.
Example question:
Scenario: You are a team leader, and two team members have conflicting opinions on a critical decision. One team member has more experience, while the other is more enthusiastic and has good ideas.
Question: How should you resolve this conflict?
a) Follow the more experienced team member’s advice.
b) Take the ideas from the enthusiastic team member and compromise.
c) Mediate a discussion between both team members to come to a consensus.
d) Make the decision independently without consulting either team members.
UCAT Section 3: Quantitative Reasoning
Essentials: 36 questions, 26 minutes to complete
Tests: Your ability to solve numerical problems.
Example question:
A study of podcasts of different lengths shows a relationship between podcast length and the length of advertisements during the podcast. The length of the advertisements in a podcast is a percentage of the length of the podcast, as shown in the graph. The podcasts in the study are divided into four categories based on their lengths. The shortest podcast in the study is 12 minutes long and the longest podcast is 75 minutes long.
Question: How much longer is the length of advertisement time in a 28-minute podcast than in a 24-minute podcast?
A.4 seconds
B.24 seconds
C.28 seconds
D.40 seconds
E. 56 seconds
UCAT Section 4: Situational Judgement
Essentials: 69 questions, 26 minutes to complete
Tests: Your capacity to understand real-world situations and identify appropriate behaviours.
Example question:
Scenario: You are a healthcare worker and notice a colleague struggling to manage their workload. They appear stressed, but you are also busy.
Question: What would you do?
a) Offer to help with some of their tasks, if possible.
b) Ignore the situation since you are also busy.
c) Report the colleague’s performance to your supervisor.
d) Ask if they need help but do not offer to take on any tasks yourself.
UCAT Sections: Section by Section Analysis
If you’re just getting started with your UCAT prep, make sure to check out our step-by-step UCAT preparation guide to make sure you smash those high scores!