UMAT exam - advice/ comments?

what is the umat exam like?

any ways to prepare for it/ comments/ advice ?

thanks =]

UMAT exam - advice/ comments?

As it no longer seemed appropriate for selection into health science fields to be based purely on academic results, the UMAT was introduced to satisfy a community閳ユ獨 need for empathetic health professionals with an ability to communicate with patients. Section II of the UMAT is devoted to ascertaining if students possess an insight into human behaviour. This section of the UMAT is a compilation of short dialogues and scenarios which usually present a friend-friend problem, a family issue, or a conversation between a health professional and his/her patient. Section II of the UMAT may require the student to assess how a person is feeling by what they have said, to predict how a person may be feeling after an event that occurred, to answer what a health professional should say or do in a given situation, or simply to suggest a solution for a particular dilemma. The questions in Section II of the UMAT assess a multitude of personal qualities with respect to how the individual relates to the community and his/her peers. Overall, this section of the UMAT aims to assess the presence of interpersonal skills which can further be refined in the health science courses.

As part of the selection criteria, UMAT works in conjunction with an interview in most medical schools to assess qualities not often reflected in an academic record. A variety of subjects which are available to students in high school are not associated with health science courses and would not guarantee adequate preparation for this field of practice. The UMAT rather evaluates general skills and attributes from previous experience and learning. UMAT assesses the individual閳ユ獨 ability for logical reasoning and problem solving and is not curriculum based. However students who have some knowledge of Biology may be at an advantage in Section I of the UMAT due to a familiarity with the content in these questions. However ACER emphasises that UMAT 閳ユ笡resupposes no particular subjects of study at secondary level閳?

The UMAT is a collection of standardized questions which aim to rank the students閳?logic and reasoning ability, interpersonal skills, and abstract non-verbal reasoning. Hence the UMAT eliminates irrational prejudice against particular groups of students. A range of professionals have ensured that the UMAT is developed to a strict criteria of fairness and equity, through meticulous trial tests, analysis and final review. Validity and reliability of the information in the UMAT, as well as the duration of the UMAT and the style in which the UMAT was composed have all been improved through careful assessment. The questions in the UMAT have been carefully designed to eliminate gender, racial, religious and cultural bias. The UMAT may also include a selection of experimental questions which do not contribute to the score. Rather the trial questions aid ACER in further refining of the UMAT.

ACER aims to protect each UMAT candidate閳ユ獨 privacy by not disclosing any personal information which is made available to them, other than to the universities and tertiary admission centres. However UMAT candidates must be aware before they undertake the UMAT that any information supplied to them may be used in further UMAT research. The information used for the research into UMAT will not contain any of the UMAT candidate閳ユ獨 personal information. The UMAT candidate must sign an agreement stating that they have understood and agreed to these terms and conditions.