BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT)

Required for  Oxford University, Cambridge University, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Imperial College London, Lancaster University, University of Keele, University of Leeds, and University College London.

Format

---

2 hours, 3 sections

Section 1
- 1 hour
- Aptitude and Skills
- 32 questions
- Given a score out of 9

Section 2
- 30 minutes
- Science and Maths
​- 27 questions
- Given a score out of 9

 Section 3
- 30 minutes
- Essay - 1 A4 page
​- Medicine-related
- Quality of Content: score out of 5
- Quality of English: scale of A-E

---

What is a good score?

Sections 1 and 2
4.5: Average applicant
5: Good
6: Great
7+: Excellent 

Section 3 
Aim for:

• Content: 3+
• English: A/B ​

Different universities assign different importance to Section 3. ​

General  Advice

• PRACTICE! It really does make a difference!
  • ​Use all the past papers available online.
  • Use Medify
  • Use UniReach.
    
• TIMING: Start timing yourself as soon as possible. 
• ​Use scores in practice papers to help decide which universities to apply for.

Section 1

---

• PRACTICE!
  • Requires slogging through past paper and practice questions. 
  • Some UCAT and TSA questions are similar.
• Jump straight to the question.
  • ​Especially for text-based questions. 
    
  • This will help you to figure out what information in the question is useful to you.
  • It will also help to eliminate options quickly.​

---

Section 2

• Print of the BMAT syllabus. See below. 
• Identify weakness and place emphasis on these. 
  • E.g. if you are not taking A-Level Physics, this may require additional focus.
• TIMING. ​You have roughly a minute per question. Practice under timed conditions.
• Use GCSE (and perhaps A-Level) past paper questions.
  • Sometimes multiple-choice questions in AS papers can be useful.​

bmat syllabus

Section 3

---

• Use Grammarly
  
  • Can help to improve the quality of your English.
• To start, explore past papers. 
  • Go through essay titles to familiarise yourself with the different types.
  • You may find that you prefer a particular type. (Be careful to practice sufficiently for all types though).
• Next, practice with mindmaps.
  • ​Spend perhaps 15 minutes to write down all your thoughts, and then organise them into an essay plan.
    
  • Over time, cut this down to 5 minutes. 
• Discuss the topics with someone else. 
  • ​Anyone you can find! UniReach mentors are always happy to chat with you!
    
  • Can help to reach new insights and perspectives on the questions. 
• Accompany with research
  • ​Reading articles, watching the news, etc as you will be doing anyway to prepare for interview.
    
  • Memorise key facts that may be useful for your essay (e.g. size of NHS budget)
    
  • If you come across useful quotes, perhaps learn them.
  • (Note: your essay should not be overstuffed with facts).
  • Know very well your medical ethics and pillars of medicine.
• Now, start writing your essays.
  • Recommended: 1 essay per paper. 
  • For initial essays, may be worth typing on computer and putting through Grammarly. 
  • It is important though to get start practicing in the format that you will be using during the exam as soon as possible (i.e. if your exam is in-person, you should practice handwriting).
• Answer all parts of the question.
  • Make sure that all components of the question are responded to fully

Past Papers

LINK