UCAT Requirements for Medical and Dental Schools
UCAT scores are used in different ways depending on the university:
- Some say it contributes generally to the application, while others provide more detailed information.
- Some use the UCAT only for interview selection, while others also use it for final selection.
- Some have strict minimum cut-off scores that vary from year to year, while others consider all UCAT scores.
- Some don't look at the SJT, while others have a minimum SJT band requirement or include it as part of the interview score.
Take a look at each programme's specific requirements below.
Think tactically.
- If your score is not great, look for the medical or dental schools that don't use the UCAT as the sole criterion for interview selection.
- If you have a high score, maximise your chance of success by applying to medical schools that value it highly.
Learn more
UCAT results: what is the average score and what is a good score?
How to get into med school with a low UCAT score
Medical schools List
Dental schools list
Medical schools
Aberdeen
Your UCAT score only makes up 20% of your overall score. 30% comes from your academics and 50% from your interview assessment. They use the SJT to decide on offers when candidates have similar scores.
Anglia Ruskin
You’ll be ranked on your UCAT score. Students with band 4 in their SJT are automatically rejected. The average score for students receiving an offer in 2018 was 2646 and in 2019 it was 2563.
Aston
Aston has no cut off for your UCAT score, they use it in conjunction with your academics. The lowest UCAT score to get an offer in 2020 was 2120 for non-widening participation students.
Birmingham
Your UCAT score is scaled to give you a score out of 4. Your GCSEs are also scored, this score is then scaled to give a score out of 4 as well. You will get 2 extra points if you meet the eligibility criteria. The University of Birmingham has a handy calculator tool to assess your likelihood of receiving an interview.
Bristol
You’ll be ranked based on your UCAT score. Students with the highest UCAT scores are invited for an interview. There is no fixed cut-off score and the threshold for inviting to interview will change every year. Your UCAT score could also be used to differentiate between two candidates with identical MMI scores. In 2020, students with a score above 2690 were invited for interviews.
Cardiff
The UCAT is just one of the aspects of your application that is considered. There’s no cut-off score for the UCAT.
Dundee
Your UCAT score has a 40% weighting, whereas your academics form 60% of your score.
East Anglia
For the 2019 entry, the average UCAT score was 2553 for students who got interviews. The lowest UCAT score to get an interview was 1980. Of those who got an offer, the average score for 2019 was 2644 and the lowest was 2260.
Edge Hill
You’ll be ranked based on your UCAT score. Candidates with the highest scores will be invited to interview. The threshold is subject to change year to year, depending on the scores of those who apply. Students with a band 4 in SJT will automatically be rejected.
Edinburgh
Your SJT and UCAT score is weighted and your academics are also scored. You’ll be ranked accordingly and the top 700 applicants will be invited to interview. Students with a band 4 in SJT will automatically be rejected. The average UCAT score to receive an offer for 2018 and 2019 was 2860. The lowest score to receive an offer in 2018 was 2350 and in 2019 it was 2330.
Exeter
Your UCAT will have a 25% weighting, while your academic achievement will have a 75% weighting. Your UCAT score may be used to differentiate if there are a lot of people eligible for offers.
Glasgow
Once you’ve met the other academic requirements, interviews are given based on your UCAT score. The threshold varies from year to year and your SJT score is not used. The minimum score for 2018 to receive an interview was 2680 and in 2019 it was 2600.
Hull York
You’re scored 15 points for your SJT score and 40 points for your total UCAT score. You’re also scored 30 points for your GCSEs and 15 points if you meet their eligibility criteria for contextual data. The highest scoring applicants will be invited for an interview. After interviews, you’re scored on your SJT band and contextual data. Applicants with the highest score will be given offers. Although your UCAT score accounts for a large part of your overall score, if you have Band 1 in SJT, it’s definitely worth considering. The average UCAT score to be invited for an interview in 2020 was 2557.
Keele
Applicants in the bottom 2 deciles are rejected. You will be asked to fill in a Roles and Responsibilities Form. You’ll be scored on your form and applicants with the highest score will be invited to interview. Your UCAT score is only used in borderline cases.
Kent and Medway
Kent and Medway Medical School has ‘generous’ UCAT thresholds. For 2021 entry, candidates needed a minimum threshold score of 2470. Band 4 applicants are not accepted.
King's College London
King’s takes a holistic approach to your application and they consider your academic, references, personal statement and the UCAT. However, your exam results and UCAT are the most important factors. The average UCAT score for offer holders for 2018 was 2833 and for 2019 was 2799.
Leicester
Your GCSEs will be scored out of 32 and your UCAT will also be scored out of 32. Applicants are then ranked according to their score and applicants with the highest score are offered interviews. See the application scoring system. Applicants with a band 4 in SJT will automatically be rejected. The average UCAT score for successful applicants for 2019 was 2658.
Liverpool
Your UCAT score and your GCSEs are combined to select for interview. For 2018, a competitive score was 2460 and for 2019 it was 2420.
Manchester
Candidates with band 4 SJT are automatically rejected. Candidates with band 1 and 2 will be given higher priority than candidates with band 3. A threshold is applied based on scores of the candidates that have applied that year. The threshold for 2021 was 2640 and for 2020 it was 2610.
Newcastle
Students are ranked according to their UCAT. Students with a score above the threshold will be invited to interview. For 2020, the threshold was 2730 and for 2019 the threshold was 2720. Students with a band 4 in SJT won’t be considered.
Nottingham
You’ll be given a score out of 32 for your GCSEs and a score out of 120 for your UCAT. You’ll be scored on each section of the UCAT. Your score for verbal reasoning is doubled. The scoring for the first four sections of the UCAT is as follows:
801 to 900 - 12 points
701 to 800 - 10 points
601 to 700 - 8 points
501 to 600 - 6 points
401 to 500 - 2 points
Students with band 4 in the SJT are not considered.
The SJT bands are scored as follows:
Band 1 - 60
Band 2 - 45
Band 3 - 20
You’ll be ranked according to your overall score, with the highest scoring applicants invited to interview. The lowest UCAT score to receive an offer in 2021 was 2530.
Plymouth
The university has a cut-off UCAT score. This varies year on year, but for 2018 it was 2400, for 2019 it was 2330 and for 2020 it was 2390.
Queen Mary (Barts)
UCAT scores below the third decile are not considered. Your UCAT score and UCAS tariff are looked at to decide whether or not to offer an interview. Your UCAS tariff and UCAT score are given 50:50 weighting so a low UCAT score could be made up for with a high UCAT tariff. The mean UCAT score to receive an interview in 2019 was 2701.
Queen's Belfast
You’ll be given a total score out of 42, with 6 points for your UCAT and 36 for your GCSEs. These scores will be used to rank students.
Sheffield
The minimum UCAT requirement to be considered for an interview is 2430. Applicants are then ranked based on their UCAT score. The cut off point for 2021 was 2740 and for 2019 it was 2660. After interview, your SJT band will be scored out of 5 as follows and added to your interview score:
Band 1 - 5 points
Band 2 - 4 points
Band 3 - 3 points
Band 4 - 2 points
Southampton
You’ll be ranked according to your UCAT score to select for interviews. Your UCAT score will be used again after the interview when deciding on who to give offers to. The lowest UCAT score to receive an interview in 2018 was 2830, in 2019 it was 2740 and in 2020 it was 2680.
St Andrews
Applicants are ranked based on the UCAT score and the top 400 applicants are invited for an interview. Your SJT score will form part of your interview score. In the case of identical interview scores, the UCAT score may be used to differentiate.
St George's
You’ll need a minimum of 500 in each section of the UCAT to be considered. Your UCAT score is used to select for interview. The cut off for 2021 was 2620 for home students and 2710 for international students.
Sunderland
Your UCAT score needs to be in the top 8 deciles (i.e. above the 20th percentile). Selection for the interview is based on academic requirements, the Roles and Responsibilities Form, and your UCAT score.
Warwick
In the first stage of selection, you’ll need to achieve a verbal reasoning score above the national average. Candidates with verbal reasoning scores below the national average will automatically be rejected. Your UCAT score will then be scored and ranked accordingly. Your SJT band will also be scored. The average UCAT score to receive an interview in 2020 was 2780.
Dental schools
Aberdeen
Academic attainment and UCAT score are used in a 60:40 split to give you an overall score. Highest scoring candidates are invited to interview.
Birmingham
Applicants are ranked on their UCAT score and then split into quartiles. Applicants in the bottom quartile are rejected. The higher the quartile you’re in, the more credit you’ll get towards your application. The UCAT is only one aspect that they look at.
Bristol
Your application is weighted as follows: GCSEs - 15%, A-Levels - 15%, Personal statement - 35%, UCAT - 35% The highest-ranking students are given an interview.
Cardiff
You’re scored on your academics and the UCAT. The highest-ranking students are invited to interview.
Dundee
Selection for interview is based on your academic achievement to date, your predicted grades and your UCAT score. The average UCAT score for 2020 was 2529 for those invited to interview. In 2016, the minimum UCAT score to receive an interview was 2230.
Glasgow
The UCAT is an extremely important part of the selection process. If your UCAT score is too low, you won’t get an interview regardless of your qualifications. SJT is not used.
The cut-off scores vary from year to year:
2018 - 2540
2019 - 2470
2020 - 2530
Liverpool
There’s no cut-off score for the UCAT but they’re unlikely to accept applicants with Band 4 in their SJT. The average UCAT score for those who received offers in 2016 was 2574.
King's College London
The total cognitive UCAT score is given more consideration than individual subtest scores. Your GCSEs, A-Levels, personal statement, reference and UCAT all form part of the decision-making process.
Manchester
You’re first ranked according to your total cognitive UCAT score and then other information is taken into account. Applicants with Band 4 in the SJT are rejected. Band 3 applicants are welcome to apply, but Band 1 and 2 applicants will be given higher priority.
Plymouth
Your UCAT result is used along with other qualifications. You need to meet a minimum overall target score, which is set and reviewed annually by the admissions advisory panel. The SJT is not used.
The target scores for previous years are as follows:
2015 - 2280
2016 - 2280
2017 - 1790 (Decision making scores weren’t used in 2017)
2018 - 2230
2019 - 2280
2020 - 2290
Queen Mary (Barts)
If your UCAT score is below the third decile then you won’t be offered an interview. Your academics and UCAT are used in a 50:50 split. The SJT may form part of the assessment at the interview.
Queen's Belfast
You’re scored on your GCSEs and your UCAT.
Your best 9 GCSEs are scored as follows:
A*/9 - 4 points
A/8/7 - 3 points
Your UCAT is scored as follows:
1200 to 1899 - 0
1900 to 2099 - 1
2100 to 2299 - 2
2300 to 2499 - 3
2500 to 2699 - 4
2700 to 2899 - 5
2900 to 3600 - 6
You’ll then be ranked on your total score and the highest-scoring applicants will be invited to interview. The thresholds for previous years are as follows:
2017 - 28
2018 - 30
2019 - 32
2020 - 32
Sheffield
Normally applicants need to achieve a score that is average or above-average to receive an interview. Applicants with Band 4 in the SJT are not accepted.
The cut-off scores for previous years are as follows:
2018 - 2540
2019 - 2520
2020 - 2570
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