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The Hindu
18-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
How Class 12 students aiming to study in India or the U.K. can navigate the year
The previous column was a guide to navigate the application process for colleges in the U.S. This time, the focus is on India and the U.K. April to June Research: Start preparing. Studythe programmes you are interested in. U.K. Universities clearly state the marks required on their websites, so you will know how much you need to score. Familiarise yourself with the testing requirements and understand the test, the deadline and registration process. Similarly, for India, narrow down your choices, research the courses, and familiarise yourself with the tests required. Build your profile: The U.K. only wants to see subject knowledge, so your UCAS personal statement must reflect how you have built skills and knowledge in that area. Complete online courses, watch videos or try job shadowing to strengthen your profile. Private Indian universities also have space in their applications for co-curricular and extracurricular activities. Read: Build your knowledge. If you are applying to Ashoka University in India, remember that the application form asks you to mention the books. IELTS: Take the IELTS English exam over the summer if you're applying to the U.K. July to August Start personal statement: Start on your personal statement for the U.K. in July. Add all the things you did over the summer too. Focus on demonstrating academic interests, plans for the future, and suitability for the course. Entrance tests: Register for required Entrance Tests for the U.K.: UCAT, BMAT, TMUA, TARA, LNAT and required Oxbridge Tests. India also has entrance tests like the CUET, SET, AAT, FEAT depending on the college. Deadlines vary depending on which round you choose to apply in. Letters of Recommendation: Most schools send a brag sheet that needs to be be filled for recommendations. If not, identify the teacher you want a letter from, give them a detailed list of the activities and projects you've done. The LoR should be as personal and specific as possible. UCAS: Create your account when it opens in August. If your school is associated with UCAS, get the Buzz Word and link your application. September to October Predicted grades: September is a good time to work with your school, as one set of exams for Class 12 is usually over. Ask for your predicted grades. Some schools may not share this, so request for an approximate idea of your grade. College list: Review your college list, narrow it down to five for the U.K., and finalise where you want to apply early in India. Oxbridge applicants: Check supplementary requirements for these applications and ensure your IELTS score has been sent officially to these universities. October 15 is the deadline for Oxbridge and Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary courses in the U.K. Applications for Ashoka and Krea open in October. Create your accounts and start working on the essays. November to January Submit regular applications: Ashoka Round 1 usually has one deadline around mid-November. Avoid controversial topics for the essay, ensure it is unique and a good representation of who you are. Practise mock tests and timed on-the-spot essays from past years. St. Andrew's in Scotland has an unofficial preferred deadline of November 30 for undergraduate applications. Azim Premji University also has a first deadline during this time. Early December is the time for the first pre-boards in India, so prioritise and work in a focussed way to balance this and applications. If you feel you can't handle both, opt for the next round of applications. Both Flame and Krea have a first round at this time. Those applying for Law in India will also have the CLAT in early December. The final UCAS deadline is January 14, 2026. Many private universities in India have Round 2 deadlines in mid-January. Interviews: If you have applied in the Round 1 in India, you may receive interview calls. Practise answering interview questions in three categories: personal (Tell us about yourself, strengths, weaknesses), goal-related (Why this subject/college, future goals), and subject matter. February to April Track responses: Check the UCAS hub for offers and check the conditions that you need to meet. Do the same with India acceptances, which will have a payment deadline to confirm your seat. Choices: For the U.K., make Firm and Insurance choice. For India, most private universities have final rounds in April/ May. Track your deadlines closely and apply. Entrance exams: Register for the CUET by the deadline. April and May are also key months for other exams such as JEE, NEET and private university entrances (Flame, Christ, Symbiosis, Krea). Ace your board exams too! May to July Visa: Once you receive a confirmed offer from the U.K. start working towards your student visa. Accommodation: Apply for housing as it tends to fill up fast. With inputs from Kritika Malhotra The writer is Founder and CEO, Inomi Learning, a Gurugram-based career and college guidance firm. info@
Sydney Morning Herald
29-04-2025
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
University Clinical Aptitude Test removes coachable abstract reasoning section
'Once I realised this was something I wanted to pursue seriously, I looked into how to prepare for the UCAT,' he said. The former Girraween High School student successfully got into medicine at Western Sydney University. He did not get coaching but paid for a question bank from a tutoring company. Loading 'Abstract reasoning is basically pattern recognition where they give you a stimulus … Personally, I thought it was one of the easier parts of the test,' he said. 'I do agree with the UCAT decision to remove it on the basis that it is coachable. Abstract reasoning is one of the ones where [with practice] you see the greatest improvement. Research in 2020 which analysed UCAT results found women, those outside major cities and those of a lower socio-economic status underperformed compared to other applicants. It estimated just under 50 per cent of candidates were coached for the test, but said professional coaching did not markedly improve test performance. Vice dean of the University of NSW medical school Adrienne Torda said students in a metropolitan area could practise with classmates and did not need to pay for coaching to get its benefits. 'I think that informal coaching comes just by way of being in a big metro school that has a high academic focus with big groups of students trying to get into medicine,' she said. 'When I speak to students, we often have 10 students from, let's use an example, James Ruse or from a school like that. Often, 30 students are trying to get in. 'So they're going to be practising tests together … you wouldn't call that coaching, but you get a big group of students who are trying to support each other and having study groups.' The dropout rate for medicine is low, which Torda said was down to the interview process which probed students' motivations for getting into the course. 'The interview is actually quite a telling process. It's two interviewers with one interviewee for an hour speaking to them about those kinds of things. Why are they choosing to do medicine? Who are their role models? What's their inspiration? What are the things that give them joy and motivate them to go on and go forward in this world?' 'People do have parental pressure. It comes out in the interview, and it's almost like a way out. If they don't do well in the interview, they're not going to get in.' UCAT specialist Callum Chalmers from MedView Education, which provides tutoring and practice tests for UCAT, said the scores required to secure a spot in a medicine program had gone up in recent years. 'If you look at the threshold, it is going up and up each year – it is becoming harder for med schools to discern who can gain entry. So universities are struggling with that as a metric,' he said. Loading 'The students who want to do medicine but struggle a little bit more academically, they know they have to work harder to get the same results.' A spokesperson for the UCAT's Australian and New Zealand office said changes to the test had been under consideration for some time, saying the decision to remove abstract reasoning was taken worldwide, affecting prospective medical school students in Europe, Asia and the UK. Correct response: A. This is because there is a central horizontal line of shapes with a white circle and white star. There are two shaded shapes. Set A: There are nine shapes arranged in a 3 x 3 square. One to three shapes are shaded. A white circle and white star occupy one of the two diagonals of the 3 x 3 square. Set B: There are nine shapes arranged in a 3 x 3 square. One to three shapes are shaded. A white circle and white star occupy a vertical or horizontal line through the middle of the 3 x 3 square. Start the day with a summary of the day's most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Sydney Morning Herald
28-04-2025
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
Daniel wasn't coached for his medical school test. But too many of his peers were
To gain entry to most medicine degrees, students must get a top ATAR, demonstrate emotional intelligence in an interview and score highly in the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT). Over the past 10 years, the authority which runs the aptitude test noticed a pattern in one section of the test – abstract reasoning – which probes students' ability to identify patterns in shapes. Students' marks were getting better and they were completing it in a shorter period of time. '[The] abstract reasoning subtest has high coachability,' UCAT Australia and New Zealand said this year. It has decided to remove that section from the exam this year. ' Historical data on the subtest has shown that candidate performance has increased, and response times decreased over the past 10 years. The nature of the subtest makes it more coachable compared to the other cognitive subtests.' Sections covering verbal reasoning, decision-making and quantitative reasoning, alongside a situational judgment test, will remain. Medicine degrees are among the most popular university courses and each year thousands of HSC students apply. Across Australia and New Zealand last year, 15,240 students sat the UCAT exam in the main round of testing, which is also used to admit students to dentistry and clinical science courses. Among those sitting the test last year was Daniel Ouyang, who set his heart on medicine in year 10 and started preparing for the UCAT in year 11.
The Age
28-04-2025
- Health
- The Age
Daniel wasn't coached for his medical school test. But too many of his peers were
To gain entry to most medicine degrees, students must get a top ATAR, demonstrate emotional intelligence in an interview and score highly in the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT). Over the past 10 years, the authority which runs the aptitude test noticed a pattern in one section of the test – abstract reasoning – which probes students' ability to identify patterns in shapes. Students' marks were getting better and they were completing it in a shorter period of time. '[The] abstract reasoning subtest has high coachability,' UCAT Australia and New Zealand said this year. It has decided to remove that section from the exam this year. ' Historical data on the subtest has shown that candidate performance has increased, and response times decreased over the past 10 years. The nature of the subtest makes it more coachable compared to the other cognitive subtests.' Sections covering verbal reasoning, decision-making and quantitative reasoning, alongside a situational judgment test, will remain. Medicine degrees are among the most popular university courses and each year thousands of HSC students apply. Across Australia and New Zealand last year, 15,240 students sat the UCAT exam in the main round of testing, which is also used to admit students to dentistry and clinical science courses. Among those sitting the test last year was Daniel Ouyang, who set his heart on medicine in year 10 and started preparing for the UCAT in year 11.
