The UMAT is the Undergraduate Medicine and
Health Sciences Admission Test. Students wishing to enter many health
science courses in Australia and New Zealand (such as Medicine, Dentistry,
Physiotherapy and others) need to sit the UMAT (and do well in it).
 Section
3 of the UMAT
General
Information on the UMAT
Section 3 of the UMAT
What
is Section 3?
Does
training for Section 3 help?
What are patterns & sequences questions?
Have there been some changes to Section 3 recently?
What
are the shapes questions?
What is Section 3?
Section 3 of the UMAT tests Non-verbal Reasoning
skills, that is, abstract reasoning via visual stimuli. In this section,
you are dealing with pictures or images rather than words. Section
3 is also known as a ‘culture-fair’ test.
Eureka is specifically designed to help you with section 3 of UMAT.
Does training for Section
3 help?
Yes!
Of all three sections of the UMAT, training
is most effective for section 3. Training familiarises you with the
types of question, time pressures involved and techniques for answering
questions. It can dramatically improve your performance.
What are patterns & sequences questions?
Section 3 of the UMAT in 2007 was entirely comprised of patterns & sequences questions. . You will be presented with a sequence or series of images and make logical deductions based on them.
Patterns & sequences questions are notorious among
students for their difficulty and uniqueness. You are unlikely to
have come across anything like these questions before. Thanks to Eureka, however,
training for section 3 is simple and effective!
To see some examples of patterns & sequences questions, please
go to our free trial section.
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Have there been some changes to Section 3 recently?
Yes.
In the past, section 3 was entirely comprised of shapes questions in which students were required to find a particular shape within a jumble of lines. However, over the last 2-3 years, a new type of question (patterns & sequences) emerged with increasing importance in section 3.
In 2006, the UMAT completely got rid of shapes questions and section 3 was entirely made up of patterns & sequences type questions. Eureka's main module trains students for patterns & sequences - there is practically unlimited training for this type of question.
However, MedEntry recognises that there are no guarantees that the shapes questions won't make a re-appearance and therefore, Eureka also has a shapes question module. Through Eureka, students should focus on the patterns & sequences questions but also be familiar with the shapes questions.
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What are shapes questions?
In past years shapes questions were common but in 2005, they were removed altogether from the UMAT. This does not mean that there is a guarantee that they won't appear in the 2009 UMAT.
In this question, students are presented with a pattern of lines, and asked
to find various shapes within the pattern. There are two types - type I and type II.
In type I questions, students are asked to
find a shape in the pattern with the same size and orientation. The
pattern may or may not have shading.
In a type II question, students are asked to
find a shape in the pattern with the same size but not in the same
orientation. The figure may be either rotated or reflected, but not
both. Rotations will only be clockwise by 90o, 180o
or 270o. Reflections will only be about a horizontal or
vertical axis.
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General Information on
the UMAT
What
is the UMAT?
Do
I need to sit the UMAT?
Do
I need to train for the UMAT?
Can
I sit the UMAT more than once?
How
do I register for the UMAT?
What
is ACER?
How
much does it cost to sit the UMAT?
When
do I need to register for the UMAT?
I
have missed the UMAT registration closing date. Can I still sit
the UMAT?
Where
can I get more information about the UMAT?
[Back to FAQ Home]
What is the UMAT?
The UMAT is the Undergraduate Medicine and Health
Sciences Admission Test. For more information about the UMAT, you
can download our information sheet from the free
downloads page.
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Do I need to
sit the UMAT?
You will need to sit the UMAT if you are interested
in any of the following university courses:
| • |
University of Adelaide (Medicine, Dental Surgery, Oral Health) |
| • |
University of Newcastle / University of New England (Medicine) |
| • |
University of New South Wales (Medicine, Optometry) |
| • |
University of Western Sydney (Medicine) |
| • |
Bond University (Medicine) |
| • |
Griffith University (Dental Science, Oral Health Therapy, Medical Science / Medicine) |
| • |
University of Queensland (Medicine - conditional entry, Dental Science) |
| • |
University of Melbourne (Oral Health) |
| • |
Monash University (Medicine, Pharmacy, Pharmacy/Commerce, Physiotherapy) |
| • |
University of Tasmania (Medicine) |
| • |
University of Western Australia (Medicine, Dentistry) |
| • |
University of Auckland (Medicine) |
| • |
University of Otago (Medicine, Medical Laboratory Science, Dental Surgery, Physiotherapy) |
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Do I need
to train for the UMAT?
Yes! Even high achieving students stumble in the UMAT. Some students with perfect year 12 scores (99.95 / OP 1) have missed out on a place in medicine and related courses due to their low UMAT scores. In some cases, your UMAT score is more important than your year 12 score in securing a place in the health sciences.
Research shows training can significantly improve UMAT score by familiarizing you with the types of questions that will be asked and developing strategies to tackle them.
An all-too-common fallacy about preparing for UMAT is that all you need to do is 'familiarise' yourself with the test by doing some practice questions. That's like saying the way to become a great basketball player is to familiarise yourself with a basketball court and practice taking a few shots.
Once upon a time, people were wrong. They thought that the automobile was an electric death-trap that would never replace the horse and carriage, computers were only for academic nerds, and people who used tuition were simply cheaters. Then, cars stopped exploding every time you started the engine, people realised that you could use computers for more than just calculating the digits of pi, and the 'cheaters' with the tuition... well, they started getting it. They got better grades, got into better universities and just plain old got better. Times change, rules change.
"Kids take prep courses to ace tests that are supposed to measure inborn aptitude" (page 100, Time Magazine, December 20, 2004).
Start preparing now!
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Can I sit the UMAT
more than once?
If you have not been successful the first time you sit the UMAT, you can re-sit it without being penalised. However, universities will use your most recent results when considering your application. UMAT scores are valid for two years.
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How do I register
for the UMAT?
You can register for the UMAT online at http://umatweb.acer.edu.au. Registrations for UMAT open in early April each year.
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What is ACER?
ACER is the Australian Council for Educational Research; an organization that administers the UMAT. You will need to contact ACER to register for the UMAT. Please visit http://umatweb.acer.edu.au for more information.
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How much does it cost
to sit the UMAT?
The registration fee is $160. If you are eligible for a concession, the registration fee is $70.
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When do I need to
register for the UMAT?
The deadline for registration is in early June each year. This year, registration closes on Friday 6 June.
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I have missed
the UMAT registration closing date. Can I still sit the UMAT?
You can still sit the UMAT as long as you register before Friday 20 June. However, you will need to pay an additional late fee of $55.
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Where can
I get more information about the UMAT?
For more information on the UMAT, you can visit the ACER website at http://umatweb.acer.edu.au
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