20th February 2024
Books are one of the best resources for preparing for the UCAT. But with so many out there, which one is the best one? In this guide, we take a look at the top UCAT books on the market and rate them based on the number of questions they contain and the techniques they suggest. Find the best UCAT book for you right here!
From hundreds of practice questions to the best advice and techniques out there, UCAT books offer you a well-rounded knowledge of all things UCAT. They are even perfect for on-the-go! Whether you are on the bus or have some spare time before your next class, you can simply open your UCAT book and have instant access to a range of questions and preparation techniques to practice. Remember, the key to success on the UCAT is to practice, practice, practice, so why not do a bit of preparation whenever you can?
With a range of information about the UCAT out there, we have ranked our list of UCAT books from the most amount of questions to the best advice and techniques so you can find the right style of UCAT book for you!
Starting with the Score Higher on the UCAT book, this UCAT book has the most practice questions out of our list. With a huge 1500 practice questions and access to more online, what more could you ask for in a UCAT book? This Kaplan UCAT book provides you with essentially all the questions you will need to prepare for the UCAT.
However, although there are a large number of practice questions available to you, there is a lack of techniques and tips for completing the questions. This means the Kaplan UCAT book is best used in combination with other resources, or it is best suited to someone who already has sound knowledge in the techniques of completing the UCAT and just wants to practice.
Next on our list is the Get Into Medical School – 1300 UCAT Practice Questions UCAT book. With 1300 UCAT practice questions and a full mock exam, you have a good amount of resources in this one book to prepare for the UCAT effectively. This particular UCAT book also offers in-depth explanations for each answer, helping you clearly understand where you might have gone wrong. Combining both practice questions and tips and techniques, this book offers the best of both worlds!
One potential challenge with this book is that some of the questions have been reviewed as being more difficult than the questions in the UCAT exam itself. Depending on the type of person you are, you may like the fact the book is more challenging or you may not like it. Nevertheless, this UCAT book provides a great combination of both practice questions and techniques, offering you a well-rounded knowledge of the UCAT in one place.
This is the previous edition of the UCAT book listed above. Although it is an older version of the 1300 UCAT Practice Questions book, it still offers a good range of relevant UCAT practice questions and is a favourite among current medical students. As with the newer version, the Get Into Medical School – 1250 UKCAT Practice Questions book offers detailed explanations for each answer.
However, there are fewer tips and techniques in this version of the book compared to the newer edition, so that is something to be aware of if you are considering purchasing this edition. Regardless, this UCAT book still offers a large variety of practice questions, perfect for those wanting to practice the techniques they have already learned.
This particular UCAT book delivers the perfect combination of practice questions and advice. Despite only containing 500 practice questions, you can take advantage of the 5 mini mock tests and one full mock, which is not offered by the other UCAT books.
Additionally, this book is written by students who scored in the top 1% for their UCAT. Who could be better to get advice from? With their advice combined with the 500 practice questions, this book provides you with a solid level of knowledge to prepare for the UCAT exam.
Leaning more toward techniques and theory now, this UCAT book offers more tips and tricks compared to practice questions. The Master the UCAT book from The Medic Portal goes through the UCAT exam step-by-step to ensure you understand each element of the exam in detail. The techniques suggested in this book have also received great reviews, successfully helping you enhance your exam strategies.
The only downside to this book is that it doesn’t contain many practice questions, which can be expected since this book focuses on techniques rather than questions. If you are looking for a book that offers more insight into the techniques and strategies you should use, this could be the ideal UCAT book for you.
Reviewed as being the best UCAT guide for UCAT preparation, the UCAT Study Guide: Self-Study Preparation Coach is the perfect book for you if you value exam theory. Full of exam strategies and techniques, you can expect to learn about how to effectively prepare for the exam through subtest-specific techniques to time-saving tips.
As this book doesn’t include many practice questions, this book is more relevant for those who want to learn more about exam techniques and strategies rather than actually implement those techniques. This book is best used in combination with a book of practice questions (like the Score Higher on the UCAT book) or with an online question bank to put into practice what you have learned in this book.
UCAT books aren’t the only resource you can use to prepare for the UCAT exam! There are plenty of online options available as well, such as UCAT guides, question banks, YouTube videos and even 1-2-1 tutoring if you feel you need more support. Take a look at each option to see what works best for you!
You may find a combination of resources might be the best option for you. For example, why not try YouTube videos paired with a UCAT book such as the Kaplan UCAT book so you can not only learn tips and techniques from people who have taken the UCAT exam before but also put those techniques into place by practicing with sample questions.
The UCAT exam is not the only element you must complete for your medical school application. From personal statements to work experience and medical school interviews, each of these elements gets you one step closer to medical school.
At PreMed, we can help you check those boxes. We have both online and in-person medical work experience courses, ticking off that work experience box! Book one of our courses today to get one step closer to med school.
There is a range of UCAT books available to you, but the best depends on what you prefer. If you are looking for a UCAT book that has a lot of practice questions, the Score Higher on the UCAT by Kaplan might be your best option as it contains over 1500 practice questions and access to more online.
If you would prefer learning about exam strategies and techniques, the UCAT Study Guide: the Self-Study Preparation Coach may be a better choice as it is filled with strategies that you can implement in the exam.
The earlier you start preparing, the better. Most students start their preparation about 2-3 months before their UCAT exam, but this depends on how you prefer to learn. For example, if you start 6 months before your UCAT exam date, there is less stress and you can start learning at a more leisurely pace.
The closer you get to your exam date, the more pressure there is to prepare. Some students like learning under pressure, so when you start your preparations is up to you!
There are plenty of guides out there on tips and tricks to achieve a high score on the UCAT. To ensure you perform your best on the UCAT exam, we recommend you:
For more information about the UCAT exam, why not take a look at our UCAT exam guide or our blog filled with UCAT Tips.