Section 3: How does it work and how can you make it work for you

Section 3 of the UMAT® Exam is probably unlike anything else you may have experienced at school. Past school work may help you with the other 2 sections but identifying patterns is not something that is structurally taught in the Victorian school system. Before we go any further, this blog entry isn’t a substitute for section 3 notes, in fact we won’t be going into excessive detail on how to solve questions. I am just here to give you a little bit of understanding about why it should be done and maybe consider a few things that might make it a bit easier for you.

So let’s start with the why. This section of the UCAT is designed to test what is known as Spatial Reasoning. In other words this tests your ability to identify patterns and coincidences in non-verbal situations.. Now, I guess it can be a bit confusing as to why this is being tested in a medical entrance exam but the truth is doctors rely on patterns all time. From looking at pathological samples under a microscope to even making diagnoses; all depends on a doctor’s ability to recognize patterns in presenting complaints and specimens. Obviously this type of reasoning will consistently be honed and developed over time, but the UMAT® Exam is here to assess where you are currently at.

After the why, the second biggest question that people normally ask me is: can I get better? The simple answer to this is, OH DEAR GOD YES. Spatial Reasoning is almost a technique, the more you practice, the better you will get. As I mentioned before, doctors are constantly improving their reasoning with sheer experience and practice. In all likelihood, this is the area of the UMAT® Exam where you will see the most growth and improvements in marks. Initially it may seem difficult to wrap your head around these crazy shapes and colors, but pretty soon you start realizing there are set ways in how these questions are structured. There are only a finite combination of patterns which can possibly exist and the more you practice, the more likely you are to see ones that come up on the day of the UMAT® Exam. Now don’t get me wrong, they will still be challenging, but if you can break it down into components you will find it surprisingly manageable after some practice.

My two biggest pieces of advice for approaching section 3 are these: practice and break it down. When I mention practice, I mean really churn out as many questions as humanly possible. It is at these point that you’ll find having a huge bank of questions available very useful so subscribing to a preparation course with a large question bank is a must. A good preparation course is key for section 3, not just in terms of bulk questions but also in order to adequately explain the solutions so that when the same or similar pattern invariably comes up again you have it sorted. Now the second piece of advice is a little more specific, but section 3 questions generally have lots of different things going on in them at the same time. Some people call these things elements, some people call them variables but the essential principle is to break it down into individual elements. These elements could be colors or how one specific shape that moves or is rotated. Breaking up these questions like this will make you realize that in spite of how complicated it may initially seem, the questions can be made straightforward, for the most part.

Again, tricks on how to solve section 3 questions can be found in the course material of a good UMAT® Exam training preparation course. That being said, let’s now go through a general overview some of the basic types of types of questions you are likely to get in section three.
 

Pick the Middle: 
These are generally considered to be the hardest types of questions in this section of the UMAT® Exam and I personally fully agree. The questions will have 5 images which when put into an order will make a pattern, your job is to find the middle one. In most cases, in order to answer the question, you will have to rearrange all 5 images in a logical sequence, which can be quite a challenge. There are of course many ways to make it easier but now is not the time to go into that.
 

Next in the Series: 
Are the most common types of questions in the UMAT® Exam and can be quite varied. Generally, you will be given four images that follow one another forming a series and then you will be asked to identify which one would most likely come next. While splitting a question into individual components is food for most questions in section 3, you will find it almost vital for these types of questions. Practice makes perfect here because really there is only a finite ways shapes can be moved, changed in color, rotated or changed in general.
 

Numeral Reasoning: 
These types of questions are a little rarer but will still pop up every now and then. It will often require you to use basic arithmetic to either indicate what number would come next, fill in a blank or pick a middle. When approaching these questions, it is important to keep an open mind about the possible options and not get too bogged down with one approach. If it isn’t working, then try something new rather than forcing it as the questions will usually make sense on a rather simple level.
 

Missing Segment: 
Another really common type of question in which you will be given a big picture, often a 3 by 3 grid or a pie, and asked which segment will fill the missing slot. Often in these questions, the key is finding the relationship between the rows, columns and diagonals of the original image, rather than breaking the shapes down into elements.
 

Random Crazy Ones: 
Never forget that at the end of the day the UMAT® Exam is the UMAT® Exam and crazy curve ball questions are to be expected at all times. When you do inevitably come across one, avoid panicking and if you are very stuck it is okay to guess and move on.

Now remember that this is in no way a comprehensive list or explanation of how to do section 3 questions and comprehensive information can only really be gathered by relentless practice on a very large number of questions. This is more an introduction into section 3 and what I would want you to take away is an understanding of how you can get better at it and why and how they test your spatial reasoning.

As always happy studying!