After working tremendously hard for a whole year in school, summer holidays are the official time to ‘cool off’ and take that justified vacation with your family and friends.
In Australia, summer break lasts from mid-December to late January, which, although is a time of leisure for many, is also a crucial time of preparation for students eyeing to enrol into an Undergraduate medical, dentistry or a clinical science degree.
Naturally, this period also presents a critical window to begin preparing for the UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test). While spending your break studying may not be your first choice, finding the right balance between relaxation and focused preparation can help set the stage for a successful and stress-free academic year ahead.
The UCAT is a key requirement for entry into many undergraduate medical schools, open to Year 12 students who are foreseeing a future in the healthcare profession.
How is your summer break relevant to your UCAT preparation, you may ask? To put it mildly, you can choose a testing window for UCAT within July - August and the ideal time to begin your UCAT preparation is 6 months prior to your UCAT test date.
You either get a head start on your UCAT study by rightly utilising your summer holidays or procrastinate until you begin Year 12, which can be very tricky considering the lack of motivation you will have after a long school day in your final year.
For this reason, starting your studies during the summer holidays is highly recommended, and our UCAT Mentors view the UCAT Summer Course as the ideal way to begin. This December course serves as a structured and engaging starting point for your UCAT preparation, allowing you to build foundational skills and familiarise yourself with the exam formal well ahead of the testing window.
Year 12 is a challenging year.
Between maintaining strong grades, completing assignments, and preparing for exams, adding UCAT preparation into an already packed schedule can feel overwhelming. By starting during the summer break, you can dedicate 4–5 hours per week to UCAT study without the competing demands of schoolwork.
Once school commences, considering the fact that you have already invested up to 5 hours on a weekly basis, you will be accustomed to the grips of the UCAT concepts and section timings. Now, you need to re-build a new schedule for UCAT that keeps the interests of your school as a priority.
With a certain degree of prerequisite understanding of what the UCAT entails, you can reduce your UCAT study to 2- 3 hours in a week and drill 10 or 20 UCAT practice questions with subsequent revision.
The summer break can often lead to a false sense of security. With months ahead before the UCAT, it’s tempting to delay preparation.
However, this procrastination can snowball, leaving you unprepared and stressed as the test date approaches. Beginning your preparation during the summer instills discipline and creates a routine that carries into the school year.
It is important to have a disciplined study routine for your UCAT prep before and after school begins. This is because, once you are actively involved in your school curriculum, your timetable will become busier, leaving little to no room for extra-curriculars. This will only make you mentally and physically exhausted.
Hence, UCAT summer study gives you that assurance and helps you progress in the UCAT before your school timetable picks up.
The UCAT is unlike traditional school exams. Its new format in 2025 includes four sections - Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning, and Situational Judgement. Each question-type has more than one approach to deduce the solution. Hence the start of your summer break, 6 months out from the UCAT, should be focused on strengthening your foundational skills.
Summer is the perfect time to familiarise yourself with the exam structure, practice different question types, and develop effective strategies for each section. Test your problem-solving skills, logic, and time management rather than knowledge of specific subject content. Strengthening these foundational skills early ensures you make meaningful progress throughout the year.
As a high school student, you are bound to feel under the pump considering how busy your timetable will be with assignments, exams, and regular self-studying. In saying so, we would like to reiterate the importance of your UCAT study timetable during summer, which will be necessary to ensure that your learning is meaningful, rather than a sporadic haphazard process.
It can be difficult to give up on your summer break to study for another exam, which is undoubtedly an intellectual challenge. However, this is a great opportunity to get familiar with the ropes of the UCAT, such as section timings and applicable strategies for question-styles.
To sum it up, focusing on your UCAT study during the early days of summer vacation will pay dividends the following year when you come to study under a lot more pressure.
A head-start in your UCAT study is more advantageous than you can imagine, and a little reading wouldn’t disrupt the entirety of your vacation. If you put little thought into this, studying for the UCAT whilst juggling high school commitments is actually tougher, and calls for higher mental endurance. Instead, if you start preparing for the UCAT in your holidays, devoting 5 hours per week, you can relieve some stress when you are fully fledged at high school.
Most students that we have mentored feel confident when their UCAT study begins during the early summer break. Moreover, once high school starts, you will have to focus on achieving a high enough ATAR to be eligible for undergraduate medicine. Compromising on the quality of your high school performance for a good UCAT score is not a good move as it will prevent you from attending other key university courses that you may also have your sights set on.
Furthermore, you can always re-sit the UCAT in the next academic cycle, but you only get one shot at your high school exams, so it is important to make it count!
This is precisely why the Fraser’s UCAT courses have blended problem-based learning sessions into the courses to ensure you are underpinned by a constructive approach and are tailored to become active learners in your UCAT study as well at high school.
Besides, if you wish to start off by purely understanding the challenges you could face in the UCAT, you can book a private consultation with one of our expert UCAT tutors. They will be able to guide you on how to utilise your summer break for UCAT study and to strike the balance with your year 12 workload at high school.
How can you efficiently prepare for the UCAT while still in high school? Download the full infographic to create the perfect UCAT study schedule!
A UCAT course provides a structured approach to preparation, breaking down the test into manageable sections. At Fraser’s, our three-day Strategy Weekend is the perfect way to test the waters and kick-start your UCAT preparation during the December-January summer break. Our tutors will take an active interest in your UCAT performance throughout the three-day program to provide a personalised report that highlights your areas of weaknesses, giving better insights into your competency in the UCAT.
As someone noteworthy once said, “Quality is never coincidental, instead it is the result of an intelligent effort.”
Our Fraser’s UCAT courses take major inspiration from this quote and the team at Fraser’s continues to be at the forefront of research to provide a wholesome UCAT learning experience. In saying that, to answer the question, ‘Are UCAT courses worth it?’ Well, it solely depends on the course inclusions and the teaching philosophy. Our courses have a long standing tradition of utilising problem-based learning as the foundation of teaching, and it has been an effective method over the last 10 years.
Once you get a head-start into the basics of UCAT concepts, and are aware of our commitment towards teaching, you can take the big step to enroll into one of our detailed comprehensive or concentrated course packages that includes,’Weekly skill workshops’, access to ‘2000+’ practice questions’ and up to ‘20 mini-mocks’, each contributing to an optimal study experience.
If you prefer more individual, personalised support for the UCAT, it is imperative you know about our Personal Mentorship program - available in both our Concentrated and Comprehensive UCAT Programs.
This is a Fraser’s UCAT exclusive product that assigns a mentor to each student from the start to the very end of their course, and this mentor provides special attention and care towards your UCAT summer study and the subsequent phase of entering a medical school, stress-free.
Preparing for the UCAT during your summer break may feel like a challenge, but with the right guidance and resources, it can be a rewarding experience that sets you up for success. While it may require some sacrifices, the benefits far outweigh the temporary loss of leisure time. At Fraser’s Medical, we understand the demands of balancing UCAT preparation with Year 12 commitments, which is why we provide a range of tailored programs to help you excel.
Take the first step towards your dream of entering the healthcare profession by exploring our in-depth UCAT preparation courses. With expert guidance, personalised mentoring, and access to our FREE LMS system, you can build the skills and confidence needed to master questions from all four sections of the UCAT.
Turn your summer into the beginning of your UCAT success story with Fraser’s Medical’s expert support. We wish you all the best for your UCAT summer study! Let’s make it count!
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I register for the UCAT?
Registration for the UCAT usually opens in May. Be sure to register early to avoid missing out!
Can I choose my UCAT test date?
Yes, when booking your UCAT, you can select a test date and time that suits you within the official testing window.
Is there an ideal time to sit the UCAT?
Many students prefer to schedule their UCAT early in the testing window to focus on Year 12 studies afterward. However, the best timing depends on your individual preparation level.
What happens if I miss the UCAT testing window?
If you miss the testing window, you’ll need to wait until the next year to sit the UCAT, as it is only offered once annually. Early planning is crucial to avoid delays in your university application process.
