A BMAT score good enough for one university might not necessarily be good enough for another. BMAT universities place different emphasis on the exam, whilst some rely heavily on it to shortlist candidates to interviews others don’t. There is also the question of at what stage is the exam assessed? With many universities using the results to determine which candidates to interview, there are some universities that look at BMAT results at later stages in making their final decision. Nonetheless, the test is a key part of your application and we recommend to look into how each university assess the exam so you can make an informed decision before picking your medical school (or dental school) choices.
BMAT Universities in the United Kingdom
Brighton and Sussex Medical School –
A100 Medicine
Imperial College –
A100 Medicine
Lancaster University –
A100 Medicine & Surgery,A900 Foundation Year for Medicine & Surgery
University College London (UCL) –
A100 Medicine
University of Cambridge –
A100 Medicine
University of Leeds – A100 Medicine
,A200 Dentistry
University of Oxford – A100 Medicine
,BC98 Biomedical Sciences,A101 Graduate Medicine
Keele University – A100 Medicine
, A104 Health Foundation year for Medicine
BMAT Universities in the Rest of Europe
Indhoven University of Technology, Netherlands – Biomedical Engineering
Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Netherlands – Medicine, Biomedical Sciences
University of Twente, Netherlands – Technical Medicine
Wageningen University, Netherlands – Nutrition and Health
Universidad de Navarra, Spain – Medicine
CEU Cardenal Herrera University, Spain – Medicine
University of Pécs, Hungary – Medicine, Dentistry
University of Rijeka, Croatia – Medicine
University of Zagreb, Croatia – Doctor of Medicine (in English)
Medical University of Warsaw, Poland – MD program in English for High School graduates
Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Poland – 6-year MD English program
Vasile Goldiș Western University of Arad, Romania – Medicine in English
BMAT Universities in Asia
Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Singapore – Medicine
Chiang Mai University, Thailand – Medicine
Chulalongkorn University, Thailand – Medicine
Khon Kaen University, Thailand – MD02 Medicine
King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Thailand
–
Medicine
Mahidol University, Thailand – Medicine, Dentistry
Nazarbayev University School of Medicine – Postgraduate Medicine
Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand – A10S Doctor of Medicine
Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand – Medicine
Thammasat University: CICM and Dentistry, Thailand – 642901 Doctor of Medicine (English language), 642902 Doctor of Dental Surgery (bilingual English/Thai)
University of Malaya, Malaysia – Medicine
Approaches Used by BMAT Universities
All BMAT scores are communicated to the relevant universities individually for each section. Each institution has their own weighting to each sections in order to benchmark candidates. The most common approaches are as follows:
Approach #1 – Cut-Off Approach
This is where a university employs a BMAT threshold to shortlist candidates for interview. The cut-off usually changes every year based on the performance of the year group. At the time of writing this article universities such as Imperial College and employed an absolute BMAT cut-off when shortlisting candidates to interview. Some may look at individual sections, overall score or both. These universities are a worth considering if you achieve a high BMAT score, especially if you are in a position where you’re borderline with the minimum academic requirements.
Approach #2 – Point-based Approach (or Percentage Approach)
This is where the BMAT accounts for a given percentage of a candidates overall application. It is one of many factors that are awarded points. Most scoring systems take into account other parts of an application such as academics, personal statement and reference, which are awarded point to create a total score which is ranked against other competing applicants. At the time of writing this article the University of Oxford and University of Leeds used this approach when picking candidates. However, if you can get an indication of how much emphasis is placed on the BMAT, these may be a good choice if you do not score high in the exam. At the time of writing this article universities such as Leeds, UCL and Brighton employed this approach.
Approach #3 – Ranking Approach
This approach ties in with the point-based method. However, some universities use different techniques and algorithms – where the BMAT may be the sole factor in ranking candidates. Most institutions tend to take all components of the application into consideration without disclosing much information on the weighting of the BMAT during the ranking process. If you can get an indication of the process involved in ranking candidates you can make a more informed decision on picking your choices. If the respective university website doesn’t give much information, I encourage you to call the admissions team to get more information on how the BMAT was used in the previous year (if they are not forthcoming with how they assess the exam the year you are applying).
Please note that universities can combine one or more approaches when assessing the BMAT so I strongly advise you check the respective websites for more information.
Time Frames Used by BMAT Universities
It is also important to also note the timeframes when the BMAT is assessed. There are two stages, they include:
1. Early Stage
This is the most common where universities assess BMAT performance to shortlist who to invite for interview. It is also common for universities to re-visit scores when deciding who to progress after interview performance.
2. Late Stage
This is when the BMAT is used in later stages to help make a final decision. This is commonly used with borderline cases – this is when a university has two candidates who achieve the same performance score (in interviews and other parts of an application), and they can only make one an offer, then they will look at BMAT score as a final tool in making their decision. At the time of writing this article the University of Cambridge adopted this approach.
今天我们就聊到这里，下次我们聊一聊如何备考BMAT和UKCAT，非常欢迎备考小伙伴跟老师聊聊（WX：ukcat-bmat）