NEW UCAT 2023 Feature – UCAT Navigator
6 months ago by Rob
In the time leading up to the official UCAT testing window, the UCAT ANZ consortium will often make updates to the features, structure or content of the official UCAT exam. UCAT 2023 is no different, with the launch of a new feature – the UCAT Navigator.
For a summary of changes that are occurring to the structure of UCAT ANZ 2023, see our blog.
How can I access the UCAT Navigator?
You will be able to access the UCAT Navigator window by clicking ‘Navigator’ located on the blue toolbar at the bottom right of the UCAT testing screen. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Alt + V to access the UCAT Navigator. Doing so will open a window which lists all questions within the current UCAT subtest, along with their completion status (Unseen, Incomplete, Complete) and which questions have been flagged for review.
Once you have reached the review screen at the end of the UCAT subtest, the UCAT Navigator feature will no longer be available.
How does the UCAT Navigator work?
Here is an example of what the Navigator window looks like:
To navigate to a particular question in the UCAT subtest, you can click on the question number.
If a question has been flagged for review, a blue flag will show up in the "Flagged for Review" column.
At the bottom left of the Navigator window there will be a counter showing the number of questions in that subtest that are marked as "Unseen" or "Incomplete".
To close the Navigator window, click the X button in the top right of the window or the Close button (Alt+C). You must close the Navigator before you can take any other actions in the test.
You can sort the columns in the Navigator window in different ways by clicking on a specific column’s header bar (indicated by the light blue background):
- Click the ‘Question #’ header bar to reverse the order of questions. Click the Question header bar once more to return to the questions in numerical order.
- Click the ‘Status’ header bar to order the questions by ‘Unseen’ > ‘Incomplete’ > ‘Complete’.
Click the header bar again to reverse this order.
Click the ‘Question #’ header bar to again re-sort the list by numerical order.
- Click the ‘Flagged – Review’ header bar to sort questions that are flagged for review first. Click the ‘Question #’ header bar to again re-sort the list by numerical order.
Note: closing the Navigator window reverts sorting to default, so UCAT questions will be presented in numerical order.
When should I use the UCAT Navigator?
UCAT candidates should be cautious when using the new Navigator feature, as it presents the potential to waste time or cause confusion. There is little to no point in using the Navigator early on in a subtest when there are still many UCAT questions left to be answered.
The Navigator feature is best used during the UCAT subtests (before the UCAT review screen) to help keep track of how many and which questions have been skipped (‘Incomplete’) or flagged. The Navigator feature also allows you to navigate to these questions by clicking on the question number to finish them off, or to review UCAT questions that you have flagged.
The new Navigator feature, when utilised correctly, can allow test takers to shave off valuable seconds in the highly time pressured UCAT exam.
The Navigator feature has been implemented into the MedEntry Online Learning platform, so you can practice using it right away!
