The BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT) is an admissions test for applicants to Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Biomedical Science and Dentistry courses at certain universities (full list of schools requiring the BMAT here).
The BMAT is a good indicator of a student’s potential to succeed in a demanding science-based university course. Like other standardized tests, it is designed to be challenging in order to differentiate between competitive applicants who usually achieve similarly high grades in school examinations.
The BMAT is a multiple choice test lasting two hours, and is usually done at designated test centres around the world. The test is typically a pen-and-paper based test unless mentioned otherwise.
Your first consideration when deciding when to take the BMAT will be based on whether you plan to apply to these schools (How to choose a BMAT session).
Majority of the medical schools, mainly UK medical schools, only accept the October BMAT session – October 18th. UK medical applications are also typically due in October, plan your time well and try to avoid clashes with any school exams. Remember, you may also be busy in August/September with your UCAT preparation.
Do note, similar to the UCAT, you are only allowed to take the test once in an admissions cycle, with the results being valid for only the admissions cycle in which the test was taken.
The test is divided into 3 sections: Thinking skills, Scientific Knowledge and Application, and Writing. Calculators are not permitted for all sections.
Thinking Skills
This section tests generic aptitude based skills often required for undergraduate study. This section has a total of 32 questions and is 60 minutes long. The questions are split equally between problem-solving or critical thinking based questions. Previous versions of the BMAT (prior to September 2020) also included data analysis and inference questions which have since been discontinued.
For the problem-solving questions, you will need to perform simple numeric operations, select relevant information, and identify similarity. Whereas for the critical thinking questions, you will be presented with a series of logical arguments and asked to evaluate these arguments by drawing conclusions, identifying assumptions, assessing the impact of additional evidence and detecting reasoning errors.
Scientific Knowledge and Application
The purpose of this section is to test whether candidates have an appropriate level of core scientific knowledge and the ability to apply it. The content covered includes GCSE/IGCSE/O Level Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
Usually, many candidates will be rusty in at least one of these subjects and it’d be helpful to revise general science concepts (upto age 16). This section has 27 questions and is 30 minutes long. There are 7 questions each for Biology, Chemistry and Physics, and 6 questions on Mathematics.
Writing
In this section, students are required to write an essay on a topic chosen from 3 options. The questions always have the same format: a proposition (a statement or quote) followed by some instructions on how to respond. You will be asked to explain the argument and its implication, generate a counter-argument, or reconcile two opposing views. The topics could be scientific or medicine-related but often aren’t. Your essay needs to be limited to one A4 page. You are assessed both for content, and your ability to communicate effectively in writing. You will have 30 minutes for this section.
Quick Summary
Section | Total Time | Number of Questions | Time/Question | Content/Skills Covered |
Thinking Skills | 60 minutes | 32 | 112.5 seconds | Critical reasoning, problem-solving |
Scientific Knowledge and Application | 30 minutes | 27 | 66.7 seconds | Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics knowledge and application, data interpretation |
Writing | 30 minutes | 1 | 30 minutes for 1 essay | Writing skills, argument analysis |
Each section will be scored differently from each other. Check out our BMAT score guide for more information.
As announced by Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing, this year represents the final year for candidates to take the BMAT as it will no longer be administered starting next year. Before…
The BioMedical Admissions Test – BMAT for short – is an admissions test that applicants to medicine, biomedical science, and dentistry must read to qualify for some programmes in universities…
Register via RELC or British Council
Your BMAT registration would be completed based on the school you are currently attending/graduated from. Students currently enrolled in, and those who have graduated from the local schooling system (JCs, Polys, NUS High School and ACS Independent) would need to register via RELC, while those attending/graduated from other schools would need to register via British Council.
To be registered for the test, you will be asked to provide the following:
- your name and date of birth
- UCAS number (those applying to UK universities only)
- names of the courses/universities you are applying to (those applying to UK universities only)
- medical evidence if you require modified question papers or any access arrangements such as extra time
Singapore BMAT Test Centres
Do take note that test centres might set an earlier deadline (before the official registration deadline). Always check with the test centre(s) as early as possible.
SG002 – British Council (Singapore) Limited
SG300 – SEAMEO Regional Language Centre
30 Orange Grove Road
Level 3 RELC Building
Singapore 258352