Feedback Loops are Killing your UCAT
Hi everyone,
Before we get into today’s idea, a quick note on where we are in the UCAT timeline.
UCAT bookings opened on 3 March.
If you have not yet booked your test, you should be looking at available dates soon so you are not forced into a late sitting. Early booking gives you more control over when you test.
If you’re unsure how to book, or are confused about the process, please reply to this email and I’m happy to help you through it.
There are also a few other important milestones coming up over the next few months:
Key UCAT Dates
UCAT bookings open: 3 March
Access arrangements / concession applications: 15 May
Final UCAT booking deadline: 15 May
UCAT testing period: 01 July - 05 August
We’ll talk more about preparation timelines in later newsletters, but the most important thing right now is simply that you know your testing window and begin structuring your preparation around it.
Systems, Feedback Loops, and Why Some Students Accelerate
Now zooming out from logistics and into psychology, this week’s idea is really about systems — specifically the systems you are building every day without realising it.
If you are currently feeling productive and noticing progress in your UCAT preparation, it’s important to understand something subtle.
What you’re experiencing right now is probably not a habit yet.
It’s a trend.
And trends are fragile.
They disappear the moment motivation dips, a busy school week hits, or you sit a practice set that doesn’t go the way you expected.
To turn a trend into something reliable, consistency alone isn’t enough. You need to understand why the behaviour reinforces itself.
That’s where feedback loops come in.
The Positive Feedback Loop
A positive feedback loop looks something like this:
Effort → improvement → confidence → easier effort → more effort.
↓ You do a set of questions.
↓ Your accuracy improves slightly.
↓ That improvement gives you confidence.
↓ Confidence makes the next session feel less intimidating.
↓ So you practise again.
And the cycle reinforces itself.
Some Asian parents jokingly call this the “Whiskus Circle” — correctly a “Viscious Cycle” good marks lead to praise, praise leads to confidence, confidence leads to more work, and the cycle strengthens itself.
Psychologically, what’s happening here is something called reinforcement learning. Your brain begins to associate the behaviour — UCAT practice — with reward rather than punishment.
Over time, the behaviour becomes self-sustaining.
Two quotes capture this idea very well:
“We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.”
— Archilochus
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
— James Clear
The Negative Feedback Loop
The problem is that the opposite also exists.
A negative feedback loop.
It looks like this:
Poor preparation → weak performance → reduced confidence → avoidance → even less preparation.
Over time, the brain begins to associate UCAT practice with frustration or anxiety rather than progress.
And here’s the important part:
These cycles do not form because someone is lazy or unintelligent.
They form simply through repeated negative reinforcement.
At that point, the issue isn’t the student anymore.
It’s the system.
The Real Nature of the UCAT
The UCAT is often described as a cognitive test.
But in many ways, it is actually a behavioural test.
The students who perform best are rarely the ones who feel motivated every day.
They are the ones who have engineered systems that keep pulling them forward — even when motivation fades.
Next week, we’ll talk about applying the above realisation practically:
How to break negative study habits and replace them with systems that actually sustain progress.
Because once you recognise the feedback loop you’re in, the next step is learning how to change it deliberately.
See you then.
Lavya
Head of UCAT
