Medicine application: A-levels and the BMAT (Expert Oxford & Cambridge Application Advice)
A lot of medical school applicants have questions about the BMAT, in particular about the science section. This section (section 2) consists of half an hour of science questions which unlike the UKCAT, requires knowledge of scientific and mathematical facts and concepts. Therefore, it is much more similar to typical exams than the UKCAT, so preparation can seem a lot easier. This blog will explain how this section of the BMAT works, and what (if any) impact A-level choice may have on your performance in this section.
The questions from BMAT section 2 are taken from GCSE-level Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths content. Candidates can expect 6-8 questions on each of the sciences, and between 5 and 7 Maths questions, with just over a minute to answer each question.
Although studying any of these at A-level will undoubtedly make you more confident in these questions, there is no reason why you cannot perform well on all of the questions. A large number of candidates won’t have taken all 4 at A-level, and this proves to be no barrier to a well-prepared student. Personally, I didn’t study Physics, yet was still able to perform highly in this section. It is also worth noting that it is not a good idea to choose a subject that you wouldn’t have otherwise chosen just for the sake of the BMAT. As with all A-levels, the Science and Maths courses are challenging, and shouldn’t be undertaken lightly. Had I taken Physics, I may have had some marginal improvement in my Physics questions, yet the extra time and stress of studying such a hard A-level when I am not a natural Physicist would have impacted my application by jeopardising my grades and preparation for the other areas of a medical school application. Remember, the kind of questions you need will be relatively simple concepts that you should have previously covered so shouldn’t be a problem.
Data from the BMAT consortium shows that this is indeed the case; studying any particular course doesn’t give any tangible advantage in BMAT score. Using the data from last year’s admissions cycle, we see that (for example) those studying Physics A-level scored on average 0.6 points higher in section 2 vs those who didn’t study A-level Physics. This is comparable with the differences seen between those who did and didn’t study each of Maths, Biology and Chemistry, so isn’t something that should be considered when choosing your A- levels. Furthermore, the small differences in average BMAT performance between different subject groups falls even lower in sections 1 and 3.
In conclusion, BMAT performance should not make any influence on choice of A-levels. Instead, making sure you check the specification of assumed knowledge (see admissionstesting.org) and leave plenty of time for structured and meaningful practice and preparation, either by yourself or with a tutor, is far more important to ensure BMAT success. For any further questions about the BMAT or other areas of the medical school admission process, contact me through Doxa to arrange a meeting and work towards securing your place at medical school.
