Are you a wannabe medic with a bad case of BMAT dread? We don’t blame you!
The BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT) is a pen-and-paper test that lasts for two hours and consists of three sections: thinking skills (60 minutes), science knowledge and application (30 minutes), and writing (30 minutes).
You’ll need a strong performance on this test to make the cut for your preferred medical school. Students who apply often have excellent academic records, stellar recommendations from teachers, and impressive extracurricular activities, and a top score on the BMAT can help you stand out from the crowd of applicants.
So without further ado, here are our three top tips for acing the BMAT.
1. Practice past papers
As part of your preparation for the BMAT, you should familiarize yourself with as many of the test’s past papers as possible.
These will help you gain a better idea of the structure and sorts of questions to expect, and skills that are expected of you. It could help to go through these papers without a timer at first, and then, after you feel confident, to attempt them under timed settings more akin to test conditions.
If you get stuck on a question, the time-tested adage from your school days works well: leave it and move on for now — you can always return to the question later.
2. Take a BMAT workshop
If you’re feeling the strain, consider enrolling in a BMAT course or workshop designed to help you learn more about the material, increase your self-confidence, and get used to the test environment.
But bear in mind, however, that there are a huge number of courses out there — and they aren’t all made equally. So to help you narrow down your search, we suggest tuition taught by tutors who have already passed the exam themselves.
3. Revisit relevant topics
The BMAT may be difficult, but the guides reveals that it does not cover any areas beyond GCSE level.
While this may come as a relief to some students, keep in mind that it is not necessarily the concepts themselves that are challenging, but rather the task of answering so many questions in such a short period of time.
For section 2 of the BMAT, you must be familiar with the curriculum of Maths and the three Sciences (Chemistry, Biology, and Physics) and be prepared to apply this knowledge under intense pressure.
Final thoughts
Remember, once you’re in the hot seat, try to panic or compare yourself to your peers — they will feel the same as you! Try to see the experience as nothing more than a chance to show off your enthusiasm for medicine. We wish you the best of luck with the exam.
