BMAT Biomedical Admission Test

BMAT

Prepared by : http://kmktcs.blogspot.com/2019/03/biomedical-admissions-test-bmat.html?m=1 Edited by : Janice Ko

BMAT (Biomedical Admission Test) is a test you should take if you are interested to take MBBS course at UM. (Note that only MBBS course at UM requires a BMAT result. Other medical courses at other local public universities DO NOT require BMAT).

Unlike MUET, our college will not handle BMAT for us. You will need to handle all things by yourself, from registration to transportation and accommodation. Do remember to get permission from HEP/Felo for BMAT since you’re going out of college for the test. Moving on to a few things you must take note:

1.       REGISTRATION

a.        The registration will usually start one or two months before the test and the registration period is around one month. The test will be held in Semester 2 (most likely February) so please take initiative to take note of all the important dates.

b.      To know about the registration dates, simply google search ‘BMAT registration’, and it should lead you to this link https://bmat.um.edu.my. The pictures below show the online registration site before and after the registration is opened.

c.       You will be required to make a payment of RM200 upon registration through the online application portal (UM E-Payment). After successful payment, you should receive an email as shown below:

If you don’t, please contact the person-in-charge to make sure a successful transaction. At the same time, you will be lead to a page stating the date that you will receive your EXAMINATION SLIP. An example of the page is shown below:

d.    The examination slip will be sent to your email from the date stated in the page onwards. (If you DO NOT receive the slip, kindly check your SPAM/JUNK mail. If there is still no sign of the slip there, please contact the university.)

e.       It is essential for you to PRINT this Hall Ticket and produce for verification purposes on the test date. In an event that you forget or mislay the Hall Ticket, reprinting at the test venue, will incur an additional cost of RM10.00. Candidates are advised to arrive at the test center TWO HOURS prior to the test as there will be congestion due to the high volume of traffic.

2.       PREPARATION FOR BMAT

a.    Preparation is essential for BMAT. Although your entry to UM is not fully based on your BMAT results, however, it still represents certain percentage during the candidate selection.

b.    For your information, all communications will be conducted strictly via e-mail before and after the exam. Do check your email from time to time so that you do not miss out any important information and updates. If you are facing any problems or need more information, feel free to e-mail the administrator at bmat@um.edu.my.

c.    All you need to know about BMAT questions, formats and scores are clearly stated in this link http://www.admissionstestingservice.org/for-test-takers/bmat-umalaya/

d.     It is also encouraged for you to do past year papers during preparation for the exams. Past year papers can be found at https://www.admissionstesting.org/for-test-takers/bmat/preparing-for-bmat/practice-papers/

e.     Take note of every details required for each section so that no silly mistakes occur. The details will be written on the front cover of each section. For example:

                i.        For Section A and B (MCQ), calculators are NOT allowed.

               ii.         For Section C (Writing), only BLACK PENS are allowed and candidates are NOT allowed to request for extra papers.

3.       TRANSPORTATION  AND ACCOMODATION

a.       Since there is only one exam hall in West Malaysia, which is at University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, you will need to travel there either by ETS or by flight.

b.      For accommodation, it is suggested to find a place near UM.

c.       For example, for our batch, we only had two candidates. Our BMAT was on Saturday 3pm , we took an ETS on Saturday morning. After the exam at around 6pm Saturday, we took an ETS at about 8pm at KL Sentral. Remember to plan early and wisely in case of any emergencies. Don’t forget to get permission from HEP/Felo since you are leaving the college

4.       ON EXAM DAY

a.        Bring all important documents especially your EXAMINATION SLIP and IC.

b.        Wear formal attire. Bring a jacket because the hall is quite cold.

c.        Arrive there at least 2 hours earlier to find your exam hall and place. It is best to locate the exact location of examination in UM (which block) before the exam day.

d.        You will be quarantined before directly entering the exam hall so make sure to arrive early, be noted that the invigilators are the professors from UM itself, it is not good to leave a bad impression to them.

e.        Go to the toilet before entering the quarantine room or before starting Section A. The examination consists of 3 sections that will be carried out one section at a time back to back with around 5-10 minutes break in between. However, the 5-10 minutes break is not a ‘toilet break’, the invigilators will want you to check the paper and fill up your details. They will continue the exam immediately once the details are filled up. This indicates that the invigilators will not care whether if you are already seated or not before continuing another section of the exam. If you are in the toilet when the exam is continued, no extra time will be given to you.

f.         If you really forgot to bring any stationary, you may borrow them from the secretary.

5.      BMAT RESULTS

a.    When you enter the exam hall, you will be given a ‘Candidate Day Sheet’ and a ‘Candidate Results Sheet’ as shown below.

             i.        ‘Candidate Day Sheet’ is to acknowledge you about your candidate number.

            ii.         ‘Candidate Results Sheet’ is to let you know where and how to get your results, so KEEP this sheet carefully. If you are unable to access your BMAT result, contact the university via email.

b.    The results will be released around 1 month after the exam and it will be around the time when you are filling up your UPU choices.

c.      After obtaining your results, you may use that as a guideline to make your first choice for UPU. If you are below average when comparing your BMAT results to your friends, you may consider choosing other universities as your first choice if you are not really determined to take MBBS in UM. HOWEVER, in my opinion, if you really want to enter MBBS in UM, just put UM as your first choice regardless the result PROVIDED you obtained CGPA 4.0 in Semester 1. Although BMAT results have its portion in candidate selection, but most importantly is to get CGPA 4.0 and perform well in the interview session after matriculation. If comparing CGPA, BMAT and interview, BMAT plays a relatively low percentage in the selection.

d.      Here is a flowchart of getting into MBBS course in UM. The procedure is basically the same for every year, only a slight difference in the dates. No harm done to look through it.

e.       Lastly, I hope that juniors who are interested in BMAT will benefit from the info given above. Note that these are based on my personal experience and for any more enquiries, feel free to explore https://bmat.um.edu.my/page/faq . Always keep yourself updated on the latest information at UM Faculty of Medicine. Last but not least, I hope you guys will achieve your dreams in the future, regardless you are taking MBBS UM or not. May the force be with you!

( A shoutout thank you to http://kmktcs.blogspot.com/2019/03/biomedical-admissions-test-bmat.html?m=1 as I really referred a lot to the author! Thank you so much and I hope you don’t mind. Kindly message the blog author if you feel uncomfortable and we will take it down. )