The BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT) is an admissions test taken by medical school applicants to the following universities

The purpose of the BMAT is to provide an assessment of the candidates’ potential in an academically demanding undergraduate biomedical degree, and not their fitness to practice medicine. The BMAT was developed in response to requests by academics from some of the top medical schools in the UK, for an assessment that would: enable them to differentiate between applicants who appear to be equally well qualified and suited to the course, and; provide a way of assessing the potential of students who have a range of qualifications

The BMAT is a two-hour pen and paper test which covers

 Aptitude and skills - 60 minutes

 35multiple choice or short answer questions
This section tests generic skills in problem solving, understanding argument and data analysis and inference

 Scientific knowledge and applications - 30 minutes

 27multiple choice or short answer questions
This section tests a candadate’s ability to apply scientific knowledge normally encountered in non-specialist school science and maths courses, up to an including National Curriculum Key Stage 4 higher double science (including Biology, Chemistry and Physics) and Maths

 Writing task- 30 minutes

 1question from a choice of 3 essay questions
This section tests ability to select, develop and organise ideas and communicate them in writing in a concise and effective way

Scoring

7.0Each question, in sections 1 and 2, is worth one mark. Total raw marks for each section are converted to the BMAT scale, which runs from 1 (low) to 9 (high). Scores are reported to one decimal place. Typical BMAT candidates will score around 5.0 which equates to approximately half marks. The best candidates will score around 6.0 and a few exceptional candidates will score higher than

Essays from Section 3 are marked holistically and give a score from 0-15. Each essay is double marked. If the two markets are the same, or occupy adjacent positions in the scale, the average of the two marks is reported. If there is a larger discrepancy in the marks, the essays are marked for a third time and the final mark awarded is checked by a senior member of Cambridge Assessment staff

Registration and test date

The BMAT is owned and administered by Cambridge Assessment, who is also responsible for producing and marking the test. Most candidates will sit the BMAT at their own school or college, other candidates can sit the BMAT at assessment centres nationwide

Registration for the BMAT usually opens on 1 September and close mid-October, and the exam takes place once a year and in 2009, this was 4 November, with results issued on 1 December. These dates will be updated early in 2010 for candidates applying in the 2010/11 admissions round