Helpful Keyboard Shortcuts to Master for Your UCAT Exam

Written By Team MedView
Reviewed By Thomas Nicolson (Currently studying Doctor of Medicine - MD at the University of Queensland)

Mastering keyboard shortcuts for the UCAT can make a significant difference in your speed and performance (and in turn, help maximise your score for medical school admission).

As such, keyboard shortcuts should be a focus of your UCAT preparation. Here, we've compiled all of the essential UCAT keyboard shortcuts you need to know. These shortcuts will help you navigate through the test swiftly and efficiently, helping you save precious seconds.

Ready? Let's dive in.

What keyboard is used in UCAT?

The UCAT exam keyboard found in test centres has a number pad on the right side — becoming familiar with this layout is essential for successful time management during the assessment.

We recommend getting an external keyboard to practice using the number pad in the lead up to the exam, rather than relying on your laptop. It's also worth noting that the exam is conducted on a Windows computer, should you want to prioritise your practice on a Windows versus Mac computer.

What are the most important keyboard shortcuts to know?

Using keyboard shortcuts when taking the UCAT exam can lead to great time savings, and may even benefit your score. Here are the shortcuts to memorise!

Navigating questions

You don't need to use the mouse to navigate through the questions — instead, there is a keyboard shortcut to go back forth.

Alt + N advances you to the next question, while Alt + P takes you back to the previous question.

Flagging and reviewing questions

UCAT tutors often advise candidates to employ the guess and flag approach in order to save time. By using Alt + F on a difficult question, one can indicate that it should be reviewed later before moving onto the next item.

Alt + V allows you to see only the questions you've previously flagged, while Alt + I lets you see only the questions you haven't yet answered. Alt + S allows you to go to the review screen so you can see all of the questions in this section.

Selecting answers

In the UCAT exam, you can use your keyboard’s letter keys to pick answers quickly. Pressing ‘C’, for example, will select answer C in no time, an effective way of saving precious time while taking the test.

Be sure to use A, B, C, D on the keyboard to select your answers. Using this can save a second a question, which is massive over the entirety of the UCAT — especially in the Abstract Reasoning section, where timing is particularly difficult.

It's important to note that drag and drop questions may require a mouse for selection, so you'll need to be nimble swapping from keyboard to mouse for these questions.

Mastering the on-screen calculator

For the UCAT, you're also able to access a simple on-screen calculator during the Decision Making and Quantitive Reasoning subtests.

The keyboard shortcut to bring up the UCAT calculator is Alt + C and this will open the calculator in any part of the test, including your testing screen. You'll need to activate Num Lock to use the number keypad, so don't forget to do this.

There are a number of UCAT calculator shortcuts that are helpful during the exam, including:

• P is memory plus (M+): Each time this is pressed, it will add whatever is in the answer to memory
• M is memory minus (M-): This subtracts the answer from memory total
• C is MRC (memory recall): This instantly recalls what is in memory but be careful when using as it wipes whatever is on the screen

Check out our UCAT calculator shortcuts guide for a more in-depth look at these helpful calculator-specific shortcuts.

Tips for using the keyboard in the UCAT

Your skill at using keyboard shortcuts during the UCAT can make a big difference. With this in mind, here are a helpful preparation tips.

Practice

The UCAT requires a lot of practice in the lead-up and becoming familiar with UCAT keyboard shortcuts should be something you dedicate time to.

Make sure to use these shortcuts all the time during your UCAT prep as muscle memory is key — you'll want to be able to move through these without having to think about it.

Be sure to include calculator practice too. While the calculator given to complete the test is limited compared to others of its kind, it does include practical functions, such as an internal memory that stores answers from previous calculations and can be applied elsewhere within any computation needed.

MedView Spark is a great resource for your preparation — our learning platform has over 4,500 practice questions as well as practice exams you can work through to become exam-ready.

Plus, our interface is designed to mimic the UCAT experience, right down to the keyboard shortcuts and calculator, so there are no surprises and it'll help you feel comfortable for the real deal.

Use these resources to help you both prepare for the content of the exam and become familiar with using the simple on-screen calculator that is used during the UCAT.

Use a keyboard

While you might only use a laptop in your day to day, we recommend getting a keyboard with a number pad for UCAT preparation.

Not only does it make using the calculator much faster (especially for multiplying) but using keyboard shortcuts means you don't have to use a mouse very often, allowing you to press keyboard shortcuts with one hand and writing with the other. This can help you save a large chunk of time in the QR subtest.

Frequently asked questions

What is the keyboard shortcut for next question?

Alt + N moves you onto the next question, while Alt + P returns you to the previous one. You can also flag a question to return to later by selecting Alt + F.

What is the shortcut to open the calculator on the UCAT?

Alt + C opens the UCAT calculator. You can use the calculator during the Decision Making and Quantitive Reasoning sections.

What is the official UCAT exam keyboard configuration?

All UCAT test centres provide a keyboard that has a number pad situated on the right hand side.

What's the best way to approach UCAT preparation?

When it comes to UCAT prep, what works for one student may not work for another.

If you're after more personalised support on your UCAT journey, here at MedView Education, we take med school admission to a new level through application review, entrance exam and interview tutoring, and extracurricular mentoring for students in Australasia.

If you'd like guidance from industry professionals with years of experience, we can help — simply book a free consultation with our MedView advisors.