Is the UCAT hard?
The questions use everyday reading and maths. The clock makes it hard: 30 seconds a Verbal Reasoning question, 43 for Quantitative Reasoning. In 2026 the average was 1,918 out of 2,700. Try one from each subtest below.
Radiocarbon dating
Living things take in carbon throughout their lives, including a small amount of a radioactive form, carbon-14. When an organism dies, it stops taking in carbon, and its carbon-14 slowly decays at a known rate. By measuring how much carbon-14 remains in a piece of wood, bone or cloth, scientists can estimate how long ago the organism died.
The method has limits. After about fifty thousand years, too little carbon-14 remains to measure reliably, so older material cannot be dated this way. The amount of carbon-14 in the atmosphere has also varied over time, so raw results must be calibrated against records of known age, such as tree rings counted year by year.
Contamination is a further risk. A sample that has absorbed newer carbon, for example from groundwater or from careless handling, will appear younger than it really is. Laboratories therefore clean samples carefully and often date several samples from the same site.
Archaeologists also stress that the method dates the death of the organism, not the use of the object. A beam cut from an old tree, or reused from an earlier building, may give a date earlier than the building in which it was found.
Statement: A beam reused from an older building could make the building it was found in seem older than it is.
Worked answers
1. Statement: A beam reused from an older building could make the building it was found in seem older than it is.
Answer: A: True
- The method dates when the tree died, “not the use of the object”.
- A reused beam “may give a date earlier than the building in which it was found”: True.
2. All shortlisted applicants submitted a portfolio. No applicant who submitted late was shortlisted. At least one applicant who submitted a portfolio submitted late. For each statement, answer Yes only if it necessarily follows; otherwise answer No. Treat only the stated facts as certain.
Answer: At least one portfolio applicant was not shortlisted: Yes. Everyone who submitted on time was shortlisted: No. No shortlisted applicant submitted late: Yes. At least one shortlisted applicant exists: No. Every portfolio applicant was shortlisted: No
- The shortlist is a subset of portfolio applicants and excludes late applicants.
- An existing late portfolio applicant is therefore outside the shortlist; no shortlist member is guaranteed.
3. What percentage of all parcels were delivered in B? Give your answer to 1 decimal place.
Answer: A: 27.3%
- The relevant quantities are 360 and 1320.
- 360 ÷ 1320 × 100 = 27.2727%.
- Select 27.3%.
4. How appropriate is the following action? Pause use of the slide and ask the tutor to clarify permission before it is shown.
Answer: A: A very appropriate thing to do
- This prevents an uncertain use of the photograph.
- It obtains appropriate guidance without making an accusation.
Where the time goes
| Subtest | Questions | Minutes | Seconds each |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verbal Reasoning | 44 | 22 | 30 |
| Decision Making | 35 | 37 | 63 |
| Quantitative Reasoning | 36 | 26 | 43 |
| Situational Judgement | 69 | 26 | 23 |
That is 111 minutes of answering in one sitting, plus a short instruction screen before each subtest.
What most people score
| 2026 result | Total |
|---|---|
| Average | 1,918 |
| Top half from | 1,920 |
| Top 20% from | 2,140 |
| Top 10% from | 2,250 |
Most medical schools that publish a line interview from somewhere in the top half. The score is the hard part, not passing.
Which section costs most marks: the hardest UCAT subtest
What makes it easier
- Learn each question type once, untimed.
- Then drill at test pace until the method is automatic.
- Sit full mocks in the last weeks, on a laptop, in one go.
Plan the weeks: how long to prepare for UCAT
A week-by-week plan for your test date: UCAT study planner