The UMAT office will not grant your request for a rechecking of your paper even if you can cite a valid reason for having dome poorly in the test, for instance having fallen ill on the day of the test, having had an accident and suchlike. The UMAT office explicitly states that while marking your scores, they will be taking into account nothing else but your performance on the day of the test. No other factor, no matter however genuine, is brought under consideration while marking your papers.

Once the UMAT Statement of Marks have been released, you can appeal for a rechecking of your marks of you feel that something does not add up. Once the application is received, the answer sheets of the concerned candidate are rescored individually. This been done, the reviewed scores are tallied along with the original scores- which are computer generated.

However, do keep in mind that the remarking procedure does not yield very satisfactory results, given that an extensive and exhaustive checking and calculation of marks is undertaken before the results are released. In case there is indeed an error in the marking, the candidate is informed in due course, and also the universities s/he has applied to. Sending of the reviewed scores to the universities follow the same procedure that is followed while notifying the universities of the original scores.

It is advisable that if your marks are high enough for the criteria of the universities that you want to apply to but not as high as your expectations, do not apply for a remark. The UMAT officials caution that the results of a remarking procedure will not be released till in time for application to the universities. So, initially the universities will have your original scores.

Do remember that the provision is only available for those candidates who are able to present before the officials some kind of ‘demonstrable illness’, as stated in the UMAT official website itself, and not for some minor illness that, although slightly hazardous, will not seriously jeopardize a candidate’s chances of appearing and sitting the test.

If you have fallen seriously sick and will definitely not be able to sit for the test on the stipulated date, please notify the UMAT authorities as soon as possible. The minimum time limit is a week before the date, but the earlier you do it, the better. Provide adequate documentation authenticating your condition. Ensure that the medical certificate is detailed and that it has been procured from a certified doctor. The words ‘unspecified illness’ on the certificate will lead to a prompt cancellation of your request.

Notification of the problem in a phone conversation is not acceptable. It must be in writing; either in the form or an application letter via post or an email or fax at the most.

In case you have fallen sick on the day of the test and have not been able to appear, ACER must be notified within three working days from the day of the test. Once the three days are over, no application for an alternative test date will be considered by the UMAT authorities. Along with the application, provide the ACER with written evidence of the illness or whatever that prevented you from taking the test. A statutory statement outlining the reason for absence will be acceptable.

Considering the application for an alternative test date depends on the UMAT officials. The most deserving candidates will only be allowed to sit the test at a later date.

The alternative date will be fixed two weeks away from the day of the test. This is the only alternative date that will be provided and cannot be negotiated. Failure to appear for the test on this day too will reject your candidature.

Rule #1: You can not only take anything from outside, barring yourself, from into the test room, but you also cannot carry anything from the room outside with you, no matter how innocuous it may look. It will immediately be confiscated even if it is something as inconsequential as a blank sheet of paper.
Rule #2: You must not pass anything to a fellow examinee while in the UMAT test centre. While passing a sheet of paper which happens to have answers written on it will certainly attract a lot of attention, handing across something like a calculator or an mp3 player will guarantee no less a commotion.
Rule #3: You simply must follow the instructions of the examiner to the letter. Even if you have completed a particular section of the test way before the stipulated time, do not start on another until and unless the instructor says you can. If required, go over your answers over and over again.
Rule #4: Put down your pencils as soon as the instructor announces the closing of the exam. In the UMAT, there is no last minute writing and squeezing in a few more points before the examiner snatches the paper away from you; you might be allowed to write down what you want to, but at the cost of a severe penalty.
Rule #5: Do NOT attempt to register for the exam if you haven’t yet reached the final year of your schooling. This step will be considered unethical behaviour even before you get to reach the exam hall.
Rule #5: Be as quiet as a mouse while you are in the test room. Speak only to the examiner if you require some assistance. Communication with a fellow candidate will ensure a whole lot of trouble. Make sure that you are not doing anything in the test room that might be disturbing any of the fellow candidates.

Failure to adhere to the regulations of the UMAT will attract severe penalties. Depending on the degree of your crime, you might be asked to leave the test room, have your scores cancelled and even be barred from taking the exam at a future date.

However, it is advisable to wait for a while before you start panicking and preparing for the interview. Do not plunge headfirst into it as soon as your exams are over; give yourself some time to relax. For one, not much will be absorbed by your already exhausted brain after the extensive amount of pressure it has endured before and during the exam. More than anything, what you really need after the exam is a short period of stress-free life.

Once you feel fresh, you can get down to preparing for the interview. Not much studying goes into this, given that the interviewers are not likely to ask you too much theoretical questions. Basically, the interview is conducted by the universities to test what the written UMAT can’t: the capability of the candidate to absorb all that will be imparted to him/her over the years. Moreover, the universities will also test you for the level of dedication you display, and also your understanding of the human psychology in various situations.

You will get quite an amount of interview material if you look for it. However, the best course of action will certainly be to take advice from someone who has gone through it all. It is of course best if you are lucky enough to be in touch with someone who has sat a UMAT interview.

Remember that the different universities will be conducting interviews in their own fashion. So there is no stereotype preparation code. Look around for a bit to see what kind of questions the interviewers at your choice university might come up with. Overall, remember that the universities will be looking in you the potential to become a great doctor.

It is understood that candidates are often sacred of the questions. What actually is it that makes them think that it is so difficult to solve the paper? Is it the length of the question paper or the sections that the paper comprises of? Actually both the factors act in favour of it. However, the most crucial factor that contributes to the development of the nervousness is the structure of the questions. Take a glance at the questions and you will know why. The questions are of the multiple choice question pattern which is why they seem to appear all the more confusing. Even if one or two options can be easily discarded there often occurs confusion between the remaining two. Therefore, the best way to resolve the confusion is to indulge into a through practice session of the questions.

Collect as many UMAT sample questions as you can along with the practice booklets. These booklets and test papers form the basic part of the UMAT preparation material. These are formed by experts and therefore practising them will not just make you come out of the fear but also make you an expert by sharpening your aptitude skill. Remember the whole purpose of the examination is to test your aptitude level. Isn’t it obvious that the question paper will be tricky? Afterall, it is conducted for the purpose of testing the nerve of the future medical practitioner.

While solving the UMAT sample you must not commit the grave mistake of taking it lightly. It often happens that students take it casually thinking that it has no importance. They feel the final UMAT exam is what matters. Remember sample test is the first step that you take in your whole preparation course. It is the best way to judge your existing skills for it will point out the areas you need to work hard upon. Sample tests basically give students a feel of the pattern of the question paper and make them familiar with the kind of questions they will be required to answer in the exam hall. Therefore, each and every candidate should see to it that they take sample tests before they start with their preparation.

There are plenty of UMAT sample questions that candidates can avail. In order to accumulate sufficient details students can always resort to the Internet. One vital task that rests on the shoulder of every UMAT aspirant is to check the content of the sample test papers. You must be alert enough to see whether the sample test paper bears the same pattern as that of the actual test content. This checking will help you in your choosing of the question papers that you are going to practice for getting through the test with a good percentile.

Of course, patterned boxes displaying dance moves on your paper should be the least of your worries when you are practicing non-verbal reasoning. What you should worry about instead is that you must make through the entire set of 38 confusing questions within such a short span of time, and that too get most of them, if not all, correct.

There is only one thing that can see you through this predicament, and that is practice. Loads of it. The best part about this section is that you can, indeed, get a lot of help for this section. For one, there are loads of books on non verbal reasoning available. In fact, if you look closely enough, you will understand that even books on puzzles and brain-teasers contain these questions.

Section 3 of the UMAT paper is divided into three sections: Next in the Series, Fifth in Series and Missing Segment. In each of these sections, you would have to either complete the series, find out the sequence that the patterns follow or determine what the missing part of a whole would be.

The biggest problem that you might face in this section is that there is absolutely no verbal clue given along with the questions. Unlike the other sections, there is just no direction, no explanation of the patterns, which might seem, at first glance, to follow just a random path. For this reason, this section of the papers puts your reasoning skills like no other. In order to ensure that you pass this section with flying colours, you must make sure that your observation and logical senses are at their keenest.

Remember that the patterns that make up the sequences can be very confusing. At first glance, they are likely to all look very similar, so it is necessary that you look long and hard before you come to any conclusion.

However, if scores are that big a worry for you, you can do some detective work on your own. If you know anyone who has cracked the UMAT or has at least sat for the UMAT, contact him or her. Better still if that person went to the university you plan to go to. That way, you can get an idea as to what the cut off score will be at the school. Do keep it in mind that none of these universities will have a fixed cut-off score; they are bound to change every year. What’s more, each of the universities will change the cut-offs for their individual courses every year. Of course, none of these are mandatory, so the information you get might turn out to be accurate.

Remember that if you truly wish to undertake an investigation regarding the cut-off criteria for the medical universities, you are taking upon yourself a mammoth task. They are different for each university, and they are not likely to remain the same for two years in a row. So, you must be prepared to do a lot of research that might as well eat into the time you have set aside for study.

So it would be best to work instead during that time. Just keep in mind that the UMAT scores will not be the only thing that the university will look into while considering your application; they will also take into account your academic qualification so far and, of course, your interview performance.

Interview scores are extremely important, and it is mandatory that you do your best not only in the written test, but also when you come face to face with the interviewers in the universities. So, the only way that you can ensure that you meet up to the criteria of not only some specific university, but to each one in the Consortium, is to keep your nose to the grindstone.

It is only with more and more of practice that your skills will get sharpened, making your aptitude level strong enough, something that is acutely tested through this exam. Therefore, neglecting the practise questions is certainly going to mar your dreams of becoming a doctor. It is solely through the practice method that your fears will start disappearing.

To ensure that you get the best set of practise questions, it is advisable that you first go through the Internet carefully, where you will get ample information. Infact, experts always advise that before buying the practice booklets, it is wise to try out the sample questions. This will give you an idea on how the practice booklets will be. Practise questions are available both in sectional as well as in comprehensive forms. The basic essence of the UMAT preparation material lies in these questions which are designed in a unique way keeping in mind the criteria of the examination.  In order to score high students should undertake the laborious task of practising all the three sections of the test equally. Candidates must never commit the serious mistake of taking those sections lightly in which they are not so weak. Scores will only reach high when the overall performance will be satisfactory.