so real talk, the most important thing to do is to actually know your content. Know your film, know your director, know it like the back of your palm/like it’s your best friend. There’s nothing more embarrassing than telling the marker that you will be exploring ‘V for Vendetta’ by ‘some director’. So in the next month or so, try and devote some time to ‘get to know’ your film; understand its themes, main messages, settings, visual features + anything/everything you can think of!! 2016 was such a shock set of questions for me so you never know what NCEA will pull out of their butts this year. (if you’re seriously strapped for time, try to find the director’s commentary for your film - it’s worth it - kudos to @literate--trash for this tip) 

Secondly, understand what in the world the question wants you to do/is asking you. If it asks you how ‘the relationship between characters helped to illustrate one or more important themes. ‘, don’t try and brain dump by completely transforming a memorised symbolism essay to match the question. 10/10 times it does not work so follow step one and make sure you are prepared for anything NCEA may throw at you~~

ok - game time; but before any writing is to be done; plan plan plan. MAKE A PLAN. I know I know; ‘but I know how to plan! I do it in my head / I don’t need to do it’ but believe me the driving force behind all successful essays is a good plan bc if you don’t have one, you end up ‘waffling’ and rambling and your markers will not only be very unhappy, they will most likely shift down criterias as they read your essay; so learn how to plan! ‘unpack’ your question - find out what they want, decide your main points that you want to argue and list down how you will structure that argument - which means brain dumping all important quotes, film techniques, camera shots, sounds, symbols basically ANYTHING that will strengthen your argument!! I know this seems like a big ‘waste of time’ but like they say; a little goes a long way. It only takes about 5-10 minutes, the only regret is I wish it didn’t take me almost 3 years to realise that........ Your plan defines the quality of your writing (like 90% of the time, but hey if I did okay w/o one then so can you - DO NOT RECOMMEND THO) 

a strong intro is key!! so make sure you start off with your film, director, year and ‘seamlessly’ include the three points you will be arguing to answer your question. this will help the marker so much and you as well as all the info is laid out in the intro 

When you’re writing, make sure you have a ‘framework’/’structure’ that you know you will use to make sure you’re enroute to actually finishing the paragraph. Structures like ‘PEDAL’ / ‘TEXAS’ / ‘TAKO’ / ‘SERQUEL’ will definitely ensure you get your analysis and quotes in there properly, which at this level is crucial for those e’s. For those extra brownie points, ALWAYS refer back to: 

the question - okay, you wrote a paragraph about how this relationship affects the theme of identity; so what? make sure your paragraph answers the question and do this by summarising at the end!! make sure to constantly use keywords from the question as to show that you are going back to the question and that you are ‘answering’ it :-) 

the director’s purpose - ok kwl this dialogue was used and lighting was set specifically for this scene, but why? what was the director trying to achieve? What were they trying to show you? Did it link back to the theme? Did they want the audience to feel something? WHAT WERE THEY DOING??????? (this is where your interpretations come in!!) 

society - I’m sure since Level 1 you’ve been hearing about this ‘real world context’ and let me tell you now, if you know how to utilise this strategically, you will get ultimate brownie points (aka the golden 8). So for example, if you were talking about how a relationship showed the theme of identity, you can link it to a discussion on how relationships are important in our teenage years to ‘discovering’ who we really are bc people can bring out different things in us and what not. 'insightful’ comments are highly praised so do try and think outside of the box! markers love ‘originality’ but in saying this do make your conclusions/connections plausible!  if not, go with your gut :-) 

p.s - make this convincing!! if you half-ass your arguments, your markers will know, and they will not hesitate to hand out bad brownie points (trust) consistency is key so make sure you’re doing these in every piece of evidence you’re introducing! 

okay! so you’ve done everything above, you’ve successfully analysed, provided examples, made links to director’s purpose, themes, to the real world/commenting on society (or whatever the question needed you to do), now what? 

Now you get to walk out of that exam room and give it the finger. You never have to write on that stupid piece of paper ever again.......

But that’s after you finish your conclusion, of course ;)

The conclusion is basically the cherry on top and literally the .1% you need to get yourself across the finish line. Make it impactful. Summarise your points that you argued and more importantly; show them what the film taught you/taught society by referring back to the real life links you made in your paragraphs. Show them what the director showed you and how this may apply in your life. No fluff. No extras. Just summarising what you discussed and most importantly; answer your question. How did the relationships illustrate your themes? Base your conclusion around your question. No more new points pls, the marker will be very tired at this point (as will you I’m sure). As it is a conclusion, keep it short, sweet and simple (unlike what I’ve done just now lol sorry). 

So before I begin actually answering questions, you need to know what the UMAT is. Since you’re asking, I presume you have a well understanding but I’ll lay down the basics anyway. 

UMAT = Undergraduate Medical and Health Science Admissions Test. 

As the name suggests, it is an apitude test which basically is a factor that can determine whether you get an interview and more importantly, into med school (in AU and NZ - weighting is a little different in NZ though). The UMAT consists of 134 questions, and is a 3 hour test, which basically tests your ability to use evidence to logically reason and draw conclusions. 

The test is split into three sections, with:

S1 being logical reasoning and problem-solving

S2 being emotional reasoning

S3 being pattern recognition/non-verbal reasoning

The questions are completely different to those you will have encountered at school or university, so it will not require prior knowledge in science or astrophysics or anything. But one thing I can tell you is that it will be difficult, and that you should treat it as if it was an extra subject. (personal opinion)

The good thing is though, you can prepare and do well for UMAT! there is massive debate about whether one should really prepare or if you should just be tested on ‘natural ability’ but I personally believe it pays to prep and understand the patterns of the questions. Thats just me though, how you take it is completely up to you! :)

UMAT is a purely multichoice test but given the unique nature of this test, trust me when I say 3 hours is not enough for you to finish this test. Last year, I had 30 MCQs remaining with 5 minutes to spare. Sometimes you don’t have time to fully work through all your questions. So basically:

Section 1 = Logical Reasoning and Problem Solving: these questions typically require you to interpret text as well as graphs and other data, and then draw conclusions based upon them. 

Section 2 =Understanding People: these questions usually involve interpreting an emotionally-charged interaction between two or more people, and then making inferences about the characters’ thoughts, feelings, behaviour and intentions.

Section 3 = Non-Verbal Reasoning: these questions require you to reason in the abstract by identifying and extrapolating patterns within a sequence or matrix of objects. 

Q: When should I start studying for UMAT?

First of all, I think it’s awesome that you’re being proactive about your future and that you’re starting to ask questions so early! Most people wait until it’s too late to do so, but awesome going! Keep it up :D 

I suppose since you have a year (or 2 if you’re in NZ), I’d say it’s best to start now? That doesn’t mean jump straight into practice drills or papers or anything, but when I mean by begin ‘studying’ , I mean to get yourself familiarised with the three sections, what they’re about and what kind of questions you would expect in the UMAT. To start off, iCanMed is a wonderful website which pretty much gives you the most elaborate run down on questions ranging from which questions would typically appear in section 1/2/3 quesions - and it’s all for free too! Had I discovered this website earlier, then I would’ve definitely struggled less.

So in short; the answer is as soon as possible. But it’s more of starting to learn what the UMAT really is, rather than to ‘study’. Once you nail down what to expect in the UMAT, is only the real time you’d be able to properly study for the UMAT.

Q: What am I supposed to study?

The reason as to why I have the word ‘study’ in quotation marks is because of two reasons: 

UMAT is unlike any other test you’ve taken at school. You do not need any prior knowledge to take this test (eg no knowledge about science or anything needed)

Because of Reason 1, there is no official way to ‘study’ for UMAT. This is because of the kind of things they test are your skills to successfully identify and draw conclusions across all three sections. So in short, there is no way to study for UMAT, only to prepare for it. The matter of HOW much prep you need is really a personal preference. 

Like I said previously, UMAT is a test consisting of three sections, which you may find above. Across all 3 sections, you will need to use evidence from the questions to find the ‘correct’ answer. Because questions change every year, the only thing you can really do is familiarise yourself with the KIND of questions that may pop up and to train your mind to recognise and subsequently draw conclusions / choose the correct answer. For an insight on what UMAT questions look like, here is a sample paper. 

Q: How to study for UMAT? 

By the time you’ve read to this question, you would’ve realised that if I say what I’m about to say, it’ll be redundant. (I’m going to say it anyway) but there is no real way to ‘study’ for UMAT, moreover, it’s finding the appropriate way to ‘prepare’. Anywho, here’s how you can PREPARE for UMAT. (short couple of steps!) Think of it like preparing for a math test!

1. Familiarise yourself with all the kinds of questions that you can expect in UMAT

 There are different question types that fall under different sections (for example Section 1 can be tested by questions using diagrams/logic games, where as Section 2 can be tested by questions using long passages of text). Make sure you know what kind of questions to expect. You wouldn’t walk into an algebra exam without knowing how to solve quadratics / what the quadratic formula is. 

2. Apply new found knowledge / techniques on how to tackle such questions onto questions of similar type

What gets better with practice? You do! So put your newfound knowledge to the test and start testing the waters by answering questions of similar type (eg. If you learnt how to figure out how to determine next object in the pattern, then test it by attemptin a question which requires you to determine the next object in the pattern!). 

One thing to remember (trust me, this is CRUCIAL) is that it is completely okay to get them wrong. 100%. You can take as long as you like with a question (now, at least) bc you’re only learning. Aim for accuracy, and not for speed. Got an answer wrong? That’s okay, you’re still learning. The most important thing to remember is that, and to also follow up; why were you wrong? What was the correct answer, and why? Your ability to justify your answer is important in this too (you don’t have to justify to UMAT, but think of it this way; you didn’t just FIND x, how did you get there?) 

3. Identify your weak points

Once you have done a reasonable amount of practice, you’d slowly begin to realise what your weak spots were and believe me, it will come around much easier as opposed to trying to identify difficulties 10 questions in to your practice. You wouldn’t immediately say using the quadratic formula is your weakness after doing one question, so the same principle applies for UMAT.

4. Practice, practice, practice! 

Once you are able to identify your weaknesses, it becomes much easier to work on them, refine them/your technique, and try again! After fixing is complete (aka when you are 100% confident about solving questions belonging to the particular question type), you should move on and do a high-volume of questions of the same type. 

Only start high-volume question practice when you know that you have gained and mastered the skills you need to solve a particular question type. 

When doing high-volume of questions, you can focus on gaining experience by attempting a wider range of questions, rather than worrying about how to even a question correctly. Many students who jump into high-volume question practice, such as doing practice exams, end up limiting their growth very quickly. Gaining experience by solving a variety of similar questions with the same basic technique is very helpful to gain speed, accuracy and consistency. Also if a similar question pops up in the real UMAT, you will know exactly how to tackle it.

As for Section-based tips, I will hold off on that until someone asks as the most important thing is to know what UMAT is, and how to generally approach it. It is important that you try to fit in some practice when you can (once you’ve mastered the skills ofc) but since you’re only year 11, I’d give you the same advice I gave to a previous anon; live your life!! You have an entire year (unless you want to do UMAT18 AND UMAT19) until you sit the test, so don’t let it confine you or strip you off a social life bc family and friends are so so important, especially when you are entering an environment like medicine (in Australia too!). 

If you need anymore assistance, iCanMed is a wonderful place to start, Matrix Education has an awesome beginners guide to UMAT and is a super elaborate guide on getting started, and MedEntry has a helpful questions guide + some good UMAT papers should you want to attempt the questions. 

In both medical schools in New Zealand, you are required to study a year of BHSc (health science in auckland OR otago) or BSc in Biomedical Science (at auckland) before you are eligible to apply. How you are selected is based on your first year GPA, UMAT, and the interview should you be successful (otago has no interview, so there is more weighting on GPA and UMAT especially!). If you are unable to enter via first year, you are always able to apply via postgraduate pathways (regardless of the university you came from) dependent on a second UMAT exam and your GPA from university. (GPA from last 2 years at Auckland, unsure about Otago). You can only apply twice for Auckland’s med school, once you hit the second admission and you are unsuccesful, it is advised to apply either to Otago, or overseas. 

This is different with Australian universities (more or less). Unlike NZ, you can either enter medicine straight out of Year 12 or you can do a degree and apply postgrad (like NZ). However, you are also able to apply as a ‘non-leaver’ at some specific universities given you meet their requirements (let me know if you want the names of these universities too!). I personally only applied for 4 universities in Australia so I would only have my head wrapped around admission requirements for those but generally, they consider the following things (if you are applying for undergrad aka direct-entry med); your ATAR/OP/IB, UMAT, and an INTERVIEW (this is also dependent on which universities you apply for.. some don’t even consider UMAT?), if you are applying postgrad, they take into consideration your test (different test known as GAMSAT) score and your GPA (unsure about this - but I can point you to some post-grad AU medblrs if you need!). Keep in mind that some universities (undergrad) are specific with how UMAT should be scored (eg. UNSW wants a min of 150 raw, or JMP would like a 50/50/50 in all 3 sections - realistically, you’d have to score much higher to be ‘competitive’). Undoubtedly compared to NZ, you have a lot more different ways to apply in AUS, and different ways to be admitted! (e.g guaranteed seats in postgrad med provided you meet undergrad entry requirements). 

In terms of getting ahead, I would probably say (aside from keeping up with schoolwork and trying to achieve the best marks possible if you’re going for undergrad), start looking into the UMAT! It’s never too late to start learning about what the UMAT is, how it works, and to get used to the questions that they may ask you! Don’t go straight into practice resources like I did, as there is a (HIGHLY) likely chance that you will get confused and extremely frustrated with the test. Other than that, live your best life!!! Enjoy your last 2/final year/s in high school as it can go by so fast! (presuming you’re still in HS).