BMAT faqs

Cataga asserts with confidence that the BMAT will not be impervious to preparation. The experience of university aptitude testing in the United States provides extremely strong evidence in favour of the benefits of test preparation.

In the United States , where admissions tests are a crucial part of the university entrance process, it is accepted that test preparation improves students’ scores. However, this was not always the case. The US College Board (1) initially portrayed their Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) as impervious to preparation and made explicit claims that coaching was ineffective; this was before the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched a study into the effectiveness of test preparation. As a result of the initial FTC study, test preparation schools were not cited with fraudulent advertising, but it was the College Board itself who got into trouble for their ‘impervious to coaching’ claims. At the time, the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection said that contrary to the explicit claims of the College Board, coaching can be effective.(2)

US students themselves have found that test preparation works and over the years they have passed on this concept. The current attitude of the College Board towards test preparation is shown by the fact that they are now selling test preparation books and videos teaching test taking strategies. The College board markets these as “test prep from the test makers”. British universities responsible for the LNAT have not provided the same, but Cataga is providing test preparation books, practice tests and prep courses to help highly motivated students achieve their goals.

Cataga aims to provide students with the logical-thinking tools and techniques for the ‘Aptitude and Skills’ section of the BMAT, together with advice on various strategies and a framework for tackling the ‘Writing Task’ section. Familiarisation with the common question types will enhance confidence, speed and performance on the day.

(1) The US College Board is a not-for-profit membership association of more than 4,500 US colleges. Through its subsidiary the Educational Testing Service (ETS) it is responsible for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), an exam with similar aims as the LNAT and BMAT.

(2) Levine, Arthur E. Effects of Coaching on Standardized Admission Examinations: Revised Statistical Analyses of Data Gathered by Boston Regional Office of the Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of Consumer Protection . Washington , DC : US Government Printing Office, 1979.

No, we believe that a motivated student with suitable preparation material, including our low cost BMAT preparation eBook, can be just as effective in their preparation as those attending courses.