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Are you planning to apply Medicine or Dentistry in the UK? If so, you'll need to take the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT). At The MSAG, we understand that preparing for the UCAT can be challenging, which is why we've created our Live UCAT Course to help you achieve your best possible score. To do well in the UCAT - it's 30% knowledge and 70% strategy. Being smart with timing - answering some questions in 20 seconds rather than 40 - is what makes the difference between an average and a strong score. Our course is designed to equip you with the knowledge, skills, and confidence you need to succeed on test day and we are not shy to say it is the most thorough and effective UCAT preparation course available.
What Makes Our Live UCAT Course Stand Out?
Our Live UCAT Course stands out from the competition with its 15-hour length. While most competitor courses are only 1 day or 6-8 hours long, we understand that truly mastering the UCAT requires more time and in-depth study. The UCAT consists of 5 sections: Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning, and Situational Judgement Test. Each section comprises a variety of question types, each demanding a unique approach and strategy.
In a shorter course, it's simply not possible to cover all the sections with the necessary depth and to cover the best method for optimised speed and results for each question type. For example, we dedicate 4 hours of our course to the Decision Making section alone, which is essential when you consider the diversity of questions and approaches needed, including probability questions, Venn diagrams with 3 subtypes, conclusion drawing from data, syllogisms, and logic puzzles. A course that spends a maximum of 1.5 hours on the entire Decision Making section cannot genuinely help a student improve their skill level in that area.
Our course offers depth for every section. Although we call it a UCAT course, just like other companies, what we offer is quite different. Our 15 hours of in-depth learning ensure that you'll have the time, practice and guidance needed to truly enhance your skills and confidence across all sections of the UCAT.
When you enroll in our Live UCAT Course, you'll gain access to our digital UCAT prep, including our UCAT question bank with 6,200 questions and a 9-hour interactive online UCAT course. Our video tutorials are linked to our question bank, allowing you to easily access relevant course content for questions you struggle with. These valuable resources are designed to support your learning journey from the live course all the way until you're fully prepared for your exam. Unlike other UCAT courses that charge separately for their question banks, we give these resources as part of our commitment to your success. Take full UCAT practice tests using our custom built online built platform, with results and personal advice to help you improve your UCAT score. We will be adding a few full mocks and new videos with UCAT tips throughout the summer.
You can explore the full details of our UCAT question bank and interactive online course to understand the depth and value of these resources.
One of the key factors that set our Live UCAT Course apart is that our teachers are UCAT experts. We believe that WHO teaches you matters greatly, and we're transparent about our instructors' qualifications and experience. Many courses do not disclose who your instructor will be, leaving you unsure if you'll be taught by a doctor, a student, or if the same person will teach all 5 sections.
Our course is taught by two highly qualified instructors:
- Dr. Dibah Jiva, the founder of The MSAG, will teach the Verbal Reasoning and Situational Judgement Test sections. She created the mental mapping approach for Verbal Reasoning and has helped thousands of students achieve band 1 in the Situational Judgement Test.
- Esha Gogna, a third-year medical student and top 1% UCAT scorer, will teach the Quantitative Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning, and Decision Making sections. Esha's exceptional UCAT scores (QR 880, AR 870, DM 860) and excellent teaching skills make her an ideal tutor for these challenging sections.
Having two expert instructors, each focusing on their areas of expertise, ensures that you receive the best possible guidance and support throughout the course.
We keep our class sizes small, with a maximum of 10 students per class, to create a highly engaging and interactive learning environment. Rather than simply lecturing, our instructors work through questions together with students, thinking out loud and fostering a collaborative study group atmosphere. This hands-on approach encourages active participation and helps cement your understanding of the concepts and strategies.
The small class size also allows our instructors to get to know each student well over the course of the 8-day program. This enables us to personalise our approach and feedback to each student's starting level, ensuring that everyone is making progress and improving their skills. With this personalised attention, you'll have the opportunity to ask questions, receive targeted feedback, and interact closely with your instructors and classmates.
Practice is a crucial component of UCAT preparation, and our Live UCAT Course incorporates interactive mock exams to help you apply the strategies you've learned. Using our EXAM simulator software, which mimics the real UCAT experience, you'll take 10-minute mock exams for each section. Immediately afterwards, you'll review your performance with the UCAT tutor, receiving valuable insights and feedback.
This interactive mock exam process is designed to reinforce your learning and help you develop the skills needed for UCAT success. By applying the strategies you've learned in a realistic, timed environment and going over your results right away, you'll identify areas for improvement and refine your approach. This is effective in helping students develop the skills and confidence to do well on the UCAT.
We believe in providing ongoing support to our students, even after the Live UCAT Course has ended. Our commitment to your success extends beyond the classroom, and we offer several ways to ensure you have the guidance you need throughout your UCAT preparation journey:
- You can attend another session of the course for free within the same year if you'd like a refresher or additional support.
- We're available to answer any questions you may have after the course via email.
- Once you've completed a few timed practice sets or mock exams on our platform, you can request a personalised review of your performance. Dr Jiva will analyse your results and provide personal advice on areas for improvement and strategies to boost your score.
- We proactively monitor student progress to identify any struggles or challenges. If we notice you're having difficulty, we'll reach out with targeted advice on where to focus your efforts to make your UCAT preparation more efficient and effective.
With our ongoing support, you'll never feel alone in your UCAT preparation. In addition to UCAT preparation, our expert tutors can help with reviewing your personal statement. We're here to walk you every step of the way, offering the resources, feedback, and encouragement you need to achieve your best possible result.
Our Live UCAT Course has a proven track record of success, with outstanding results from previous years. We've been trusted by some of the UK's most prestigious schools, including Haberdashers' Aske's School for Boys, Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls, Eton College, and Hymers College, to provide preparation for their students.
Our students have consistently achieved excellent scores on the UCAT, with many going on to secure places at top medical and dental schools. When you choose our Live UCAT Course, you can feel confident that you're investing in a program with a proven history of helping students succeed.
Detailed Course Breakdown
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15-19 July, 2024
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5-9 August, 2024
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26-30 August, 2024
The course runs over 5 days, with 3-hour sessions held Monday to Friday at 2 pm UK time. This schedule allows you to maintain a consistent learning pace while providing flexibility for other commitments. If you cannot make a session in the course you picked, you are welcome to attend that session a different week. The 15 hours are split as follows:
- 3 hours of verbal reasoning
- 4 hours of decision making
- 3 hours of quantitative reasoning
- 3 hours of abstract reasoning
- 2 hours of situational judgement
Our Live UCAT Course spaces the learning over a full week, with daily sessions lasting 3 hours per session. Over the course of 15 hours, we will cover every section of the UCAT, covering the core techniques to answer the key types of questions.
- 10 hours dedicated to in-depth exploration of strategies for each question type within the five UCAT sections.
- 5 hours focused on guided practice, where you'll apply the strategies you've learned to UCAT questions.
Our expert instructors will walk you through the most effective approaches, helping you develop a toolbox of techniques to tackle even the toughest questions. After each mock exam, your instructor will lead a thorough review session, analysing the questions and explaining the correct answers. This immediate feedback helps you identify areas for improvement and refine your approach.
Verbal Reasoning (VR)
The Verbal Reasoning section of the UCAT is largely one of the most feared subtests of the exam for many medical school candidates - in 2024, the average score was 572. In our VR sessions, we'll focus on the power of "mental mapping," a technique designed by Dr. Dibah Jiva to help you effectively navigate even the most challenging passages. The strategy is unique to theMSAG team, created by us and only taught in our live course. Through engaging exercises and real-world examples, you'll learn how to quickly identify key information and tackle the trickiest questions with confidence.
Decision Making (DM)
Our DM sessions are designed to accommodate different learning preferences, providing you with both quantitative and visual approaches to problem-solving. We are the only course in the UK that dedicates four whole hours to decision making review. Whether you're a "math brain" or someone who thrives on drawing and using tables, we'll equip you with specific methods for tackling each question type. We will walk you through the process of mastering logic puzzles, decoding syllogisms, and navigating the intricacies of probabilistic reasoning and Venn diagrams.
Quantitative Reasoning (QR)
Quantitative reasoning is the highest scoring section in the UCAT. In our QR sessions, we'll go beyond simple methods for each question type, focusing on the essential skills of quick recognition and strategic decision-making. We will teach you how to identify question types within seconds, decide when to skip a question, and employ smart estimation techniques to save valuable time. Through engaging practice questions and targeted feedback, you'll develop the mental agility and problem-solving prowess needed to excel in QR.
Abstract Reasoning (AR)
The abstract reasoning section of the UCAT is where we see the fastest improvement in our students. Developing a systematic approach and building confidence are the keys to success in AR. Our blended approach of using mnemonic and critical tips to recognise common patterns fast sets you up to excel in abstract reasoning. We will show you a step-by-step process for quickly identifying patterns, rules, and relationships within abstract shapes. Through a series of fun and challenging exercises, you'll train your brain to see things quickly at a glance, giving you a significant advantage when tackling new patterns.
Situational Judgement Test (SJT)
The Situational Judgement section has gained weight in importance over the last few years. Many medical schools now have selection algorithms that strongly prefer students who achieve a band 1 in the SJT. In our SJT sessions, we focus on bridging the gap between the GMC's 'Good Medical Practice' guidelines and their practical application. Through interactive discussions and carefully selected examples, we will help you develop a deeper understanding of how to apply the duties of a doctor to a wide range of scenarios. Our sessions give you a clear framework for approaching SJT questions so that you can answer correctly with a lot more confidence.
Timing Strategies
In our focused timing session, you'll receive guidance on pacing yourself effectively throughout the UCAT. We'll share proven strategies for quickly identifying and prioritizing key information, minimizing the impact of challenging questions, and maintaining a steady pace that keeps you feeling cool, calm, and collected on test day.
Instructor Profiles
The skills of your instructors directly influences the quality of your learning experience. That's why we're proud to have two exceptional instructors leading our Live UCAT Course:
Dr. Dibah Jiva:
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Founder of The MSAG and a qualified doctor with 17 years of experience in medical school admissions.
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Created the innovative "mental mapping" methodology for the UCAT Verbal Reasoning section, which has helped thousands of students improve their scores.
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Specialises in teaching Verbal Reasoning and Situational Judgement, using her deep understanding of these sections.
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Has an exceptional track record, with most of her students achieving Band 1 (top 20%) scores in the Situational Judgement section.
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Known for her supportive teaching style and ability to break down complex concepts into easily understandable components.
Esha Gogna:
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A third-year dentistry student at the University of Birmingham and top 1% UCAT scorer, with a passion for helping aspiring medics succeed. Achieved 4A* at A-Level and received offers from multiple UK and Irish dental schools.
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Top 1% UCAT scorer (99th percentile) with exceptional scores in Quantitative Reasoning (880), Abstract Reasoning (870), and Decision Making (860).
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Specialises in teaching these three sections, drawing on her personal experience and in-depth knowledge to help students master even the most challenging question types. An engaging and approachable tutor, skilled at creating a positive learning environment and fostering student confidence.
- Recognized for academic excellence, awarded commendations and shortlisted for the Junior Clinical Dental Scholarship.
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In addition to her academic achievements, Esha is actively involved in various leadership roles and societies. She serves as the Year 3 student representative of the School of Dentistry, Co-Chair of the Staff Student Forum and the Vice-President of Toastmasters (UoB). Her involvement in the Birmingham Widening Access Medical Society show her commitment to supporting aspiring medical and dental students from diverse backgrounds.
- Actively contributes to course improvement by initiating and managing extracurricular clinical observations in specialties like Cleft Lip and Palate and Oncology and chairing meetings with senior university and NHS members to implement actionable improvements to the dental course.
Our instructors work together seamlessly to give complete support and guidance throughout the Live UCAT Course. With their combined expertise and dedication to student success, you can feel confident that you're learning from the best in the field.
Interactive/Engaging Learning Experience
We believe that the best way to learn is by doing. That's why our Live UCAT Course is designed to be highly interactive and engaging, with a strong emphasis on hands-on practice and real-time feedback. Throughout the course, we work together through a variety of UCAT questions as a way to discover and later apply strategies and techniques. These interactive sessions provide a unique opportunity to solve problems collaboratively, explain your thought process, and receive immediate feedback to help you refine your approach. We also use an EXAM simulator software that mimics the real UCAT experience. You'll have the opportunity to take 10-minute mock exams for each section, followed by detailed reviews and discussions with your instructors.
In addition, our course uses professional, fully animated presentations with interactive quizzes that further enhance the learning experience and support visual learners. These engaging materials are designed to reinforce key concepts and keep you actively involved in the learning process. By combining various teaching methods and resources, we serve different learning styles and make sure that you're able to grasp and retain the information effectively.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Live UCAT Course
Enrollment, Policies, and Comparison
UCAT Exam and Preparation
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Ucat course review
Overall the experience was very good, learnt alot of new techniques that have made me more confident and I will apply to practice on the portal. Has given me a more tactical mindset that I can use to address the questions.
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Very good for learning new techniques to answer hard questions
Overall, very good. Got some good help with techniques for answering tough questions, particularly on QR and AR sections. Good to be able to ask questions about what is on the online course. Some access to more practice questions would be helpful to review new methods.
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UCAT course
Great overall course that will help me to focus on specific areas and techniques for the UCAT exam and provides a great foundation to prepare. Teacher was really great, friendly and very supportive.
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Ucat review
Course was very good, highly recommend it. Helped me change the way I approach questions and given me more techniques to cut down time. Given me the techniques to go away and tackle the portal questions with more confidence.
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Good overview of the UCAT
Very good detailed explanation of the UCAT subsets and types of questions asked.
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Highly recommended
I am glad I chose The MSAG as my revision for the UCAT. It has given me many tips on how to answer a variety of question in each subtest and traps not to fall in. I enjoy how the lessons have been sequenced and step by step learning that explains everything amazingly.
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Very helpful for directing revision
This course was very helpful for directing my revision. I think this course would be helpful at any stage of their study. I feel much more prepared now :)
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Review of course
It was really useful. My teacher was great and managed to individualise support to everyone within the session, so being in a class had no impact on my learning. The strategies I learnt for the UCAT were so useful and I don’t think I would have improved in my UCAT score without this on my own. Thank you.
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ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC
Aqsa was amazingly awesome. Her teaching method was wonderful and very effective for me. I was able to understand things I initially thought were too difficult. Now my confidence level is 7 out of 10. With the information she has shared, I can practice more and I feel confident that I will do well in my test. Thank you to the entire msag team and specially Dr Asqa
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UCAT Course
I learned a lot, enjoyed practicing questions and being put into realistic time pressure to see how I was doing. Also I especially liked feedback on situational judgement.
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Ucat course at Liverpool
Super helpful and a good foundation to build my revision on. It was super intense but it pays off when you are doing the revision at home for it. Staff lovely and very supportive and extremely helpful . Couldn’t recommend this enough it’s worth every penny x
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Excellent Service
Great service. Really helpful tips and the customer service is stellar!! I would recommend MSAG to anyone.
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Intense but definitely, worth it!
Extremely intense workshop, but absolutely worth it for the experience to ensure high performance. The feedback from the staff regarding your performance during both days was honest and criticial, making sure that you understand your weaknesses and how to overcome them. Could not recommend higher.
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Amazing course and online resources
The course and online videos are amazing, most importantly the support by Dr Jiva and MSAG team during and after the course was really great unlike other courses
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Super helpful
Although I haven't finished with the self study course, I'm finding it extremely helpful as it is structured, organised and provides practice questions following each explanation. It is great as it even provides an explanation of how to ''guess correctly'' if you are running out of time. The two day course was also very helpful, and despite the fact that i have felt QR was fast paced for my level the self-study course complemented that and is explaining each component so I am able to go through it slowly. At the end of the session they kindly provide you with a feedback of which areas they believe you require more help with suggesting on how to maximise your revision prior o your scheduled exam. I definitely recommend this to anybody struggling with the UCAT as it gives you structure and boosts your confidence in revising.
15 hours Live UCAT Course
Taught by Esha Gogna (99 percentile score) and Dr Jiva (Founder of theMSAG.com)