UK Medical School Applications — Data Dashboard

Data accuracy & currency: This dashboard draws on official sources (Office for Students, UCAT Consortium, UCAS, NHS England) wherever possible, supplemented by university admissions pages and third-party analysis where official data isn't published. It has been reviewed and fact-checked across multiple rounds. However, admissions policies, UCAT thresholds, SJT requirements, and place numbers change annually and can be updated by universities at short notice. This dashboard should inform strategic guidance, not replace direct verification — always check current requirements with each university's admissions office before advising a student on a specific application.

Important: From 2025, Abstract Reasoning was removed from UCAT. The maximum score dropped from 3,600 to 2,700. Pre- and post-2025 totals are not directly comparable on face value — see Chart 3 below for a like-for-like comparison across all years.

2025 mean total

1,891

out of 2,700 (3 subtests)

2024 mean total

2,523

out of 3,600 (4 subtests, incl. AR)

2025 candidates

41,354

highest on record

Historic AR mean

~650

approx. conversion offset

Chart 1 — Subtest mean scores 2019–2025 (each out of 900)

Best for year-on-year subtest comparison. AR shown dashed and ends in 2024.

Verbal Reasoning Decision Making Quantitative Reasoning Abstract Reasoning (removed 2025)

Chart 2 — Actual total mean scores by year

Shows real scores students received. Orange bar (2025) signals the scale change to /2,700 — not a drop in performance.

Chart 3 — Like-for-like comparison: total scores with AR removed from all years

The UCAT Consortium publishes what previous years' totals would have been without AR. This is the fairest year-on-year view of performance trends.

Total excl. AR — out of 2,700 (pre-2025 retrospectively adjusted) 2025 actual (AR already absent)

Gentle upward drift from 1,841 (2022) to 1,891 (2025) suggests genuine, modest improvement in candidate performance — likely driven by growing use of preparation resources. The 2022 dip coincided with post-COVID grade normalisation.

The Situational Judgement Test (SJT) — 2025 data

The SJT is scored separately from the cognitive total. It is NOT added to the /2,700 score. Band 1 is highest; Band 4 is lowest. A Band 4 result is automatically disqualifying at many medical schools regardless of cognitive score. Source: UCAT Consortium 2025 Annual Statistics.

Critical point for students: A Band 4 SJT will result in automatic rejection at Manchester, Newcastle, Imperial, Sheffield, Edinburgh, QUB and others — even with a cognitive score above 2,200. The SJT cannot be ignored as an afterthought. Band 3 triggers additional scrutiny at several schools including KMMS.

2025 Band 1

21%

of all candidates — highest performance

2025 Band 2

39%

of all candidates

2025 Band 3

29%

of all candidates — caution at some schools

2025 Band 4

10%

of all candidates — rejected at many schools

Band	2025 % of candidates	What it means	Schools that auto-reject	Advice for students
Band 1	21%	Excellent professional judgement. Strongly positive signal at all schools.	None	No action needed — this is the target. Difficult to achieve without genuine reflection on professional scenarios.
Band 2	39%	Good professional judgement. Treated equivalently to Band 1 at most schools — the practical target for most applicants.	None	Band 2 is a safe, competitive result. Most successful applicants sit in Band 1–2. Focus cognitive preparation time accordingly.
Band 3	29%	Some professional judgement shown but below expected standard. Raises flags at a minority of schools.	None (but see notes)	KMMS requires Band 3 or above as a minimum. Some schools flag Band 3 for additional scrutiny. Not immediately fatal but should prompt reflection — re-sit SJT practice questions before submitting applications.
Band 4	10%	Poor professional judgement. Automatic rejection at the majority of UK medical schools regardless of cognitive score.	Manchester, Newcastle, Imperial, Sheffield, Edinburgh, QUB, St George's, Aberdeen, Dundee, St Andrews and others	This is a critical result. Students with Band 4 must seriously consider whether to reapply next year. Check each school's published SJT policy carefully — a small number of schools (e.g. UEA) incorporate SJT differently and may not auto-reject Band 4.

SJT band distribution 2019–2025

Band distributions vary year to year with scenario difficulty. Verified figures: 2023 Band 1 = 25%, 2024 = 13% (a sharp dip), 2025 = 21%. Band 4 has ranged 9–13% in recent years. Earlier years (2019–2022) are approximate. Source: UCAT Consortium.

Band 1 Band 2 Band 3 Band 4

Source: UCAT Consortium Annual Statistics 2019–2025. SJT comprises 69 questions across multiple scenarios in 26 minutes.

Scale note: From 2025, UCAT scores are out of 2,700. Thresholds marked † are from the old /3,600 scale. Subtracting ~650 gives only a rough orientation — do not treat old /3,600 cutoffs as mechanically convertible to new /2,700 thresholds. Thresholds marked * are from 2024/2025 entry. Always verify directly with each medical school as policies change annually.

Filter:

Showing all 39 universities

University	Approach	UCAT use / threshold	SJT policy
Bristol	UCAT rank	100% ranked by UCAT; no other factors at shortlisting	Not used for shortlisting
Newcastle	UCAT rank	~60 pts UCAT + 40 pts GCSEs; effectively UCAT-dominant	Band 4 rejected
Southampton	UCAT rank	Ranked solely by UCAT; reviewed again alongside Selection Day performance	Not specified
Sheffield	UCAT threshold	Min. 1,800 (new /2,700 scale) for 2026; ranked above that	Used at interview stage
Glasgow	UCAT rank	Ranked by UCAT once academic screen passed; 2025 entry lowest ~2,500†*	Not specified
Manchester	UCAT threshold	2026 entry (new /2,700 scale): A106 (5yr): Standard 2,060 · WP+ 1,960 · Overseas 2,250 A101 (4yr grad): Standard 2,080 · Overseas 2,310 WP+ = Widening Participation Plus contextual pathway. 2025 entry (old /3,600 scale): Standard 2,710 · WP+ 2,520. Source: Manchester admissions website.	Band 3–4 rejected
St Andrews	UCAT rank	Ranked; top ~500 invited; 2024 lowest ~2,400†* (~1,750 new)	Band 4 rejected
St George's	UCAT rank	Ranked by score; min. 500 per section (old scale)†; threshold varies annually	Band 4 rejected
Aberdeen	UCAT + academic	UCAT alongside academic; 2024 cutoff ~2,690†* (~2,040 new)	Band 4 rejected
Edge Hill	UCAT rank	Ranked by UCAT once academic criteria met; 2023 avg interviewee ~2,748†*	Not specified
Imperial	UCAT rank	Top ~⅓ ranked by UCAT invited; 2026 effective threshold ~2,330	Band 4 auto-rejected
Brighton & Sussex (BSMS)	UCAT rank	2026 entry: 2,410 home with contextual data · 2,560 home without · 2,730 overseas	Band 1–3 required
Dundee	UCAT + academic	UCAT used alongside academic; 2024 lowest ~1,900†, avg ~2,675†	Band 4 rejected
Birmingham	Combined	40% UCAT, 45% academic, 15% contextual in scoring	Used post-interview
QM Barts	Combined	Weighted UCAT + degree score (graduates) ranks shortlisting; below 4th decile UCAT not considered further. Score above 4th decile does not guarantee interview.	Considered post-interview alongside academic score
Hull York	Points system	35 pts UCAT + 35 GCSEs + 15 SJT + 15 contextual	Yes — 15 pts in scoring
Edinburgh	Combined	Min. cut-off 1,850 for 2027 entry (below this not considered, except PLUS Flag applicants); deciles + SJT band scored and added to academic score for ranking	Band 4 rejected
Leeds	Combined	Medicine & Surgery MBChB: 2025: UK 2,570 · WP* UK 2,450 · Intl 2,750 2024: UK 2,610 · WP* UK 2,470 · Intl 2,740 Gateway Year to Medicine (WP* UK only): 2,310 (2025) / 2,370 (2024). WP* = Widening Participation. Source: Leeds admissions data.	No
Liverpool	UCAT rank	2026 cut-off: Home 1,960 · International/EU 2,080 (cut-offs vary annually; historic scores removed following 2026 format change)	Home: Band 1–3 required · Intl/EU: any band accepted
Oxford	Combined	UCAT + GCSE combined ranking; ~41.4% shortlisted (2026 entry — second year using UCAT; first year 2025 entry had 42.2% shortlisted)	No
Cambridge	Holistic	UCAT used holistically with GCSEs; no published cutoff (new to UCAT 2025)	Not specified
Nottingham	Points system	GCSEs + UCAT scored separately; Verbal Reasoning score doubled; no fixed cutoff	Band 4 rejected
Leicester	Combined	Detailed scoring; ~50% UCAT weighting; no minimum cutoff	Band 4 not considered
UCL	UCAT rank	Academic minimum checked first (not scored), then ranked purely by UCAT total. 2026 entry min. invited to interview: Access UCL 2,080 · Home 2,190 · Overseas 2,300	Tiebreaker only when UCAT scores tie
King's	Holistic	No threshold; UCAT heavy weighting vs GCSEs; no set cutoff	Considered
Lancaster	UCAT rank	Minimum academic requirements checked first, then ranked purely by UCAT score	Not specified
UEA (Norwich)	Combined	No cutoff; post-interview UCAT weighted equally with interview score	Included in interview score
QUB Belfast	Combined	UCAT used with academic; no fixed numeric cutoff; 2026 policy updated	Considered
UCLan	UCAT rank	UK applicants ranked by UCAT; 2024 avg interviewee ~2,597†* (~1,947 new)	Not specified
Sunderland	Decile filter	Bottom 20% (deciles 1–2) rejected; ranked within remaining cohort. 2024 minimum score: 1,670	Band 3+ required
Exeter	Low weighting	25% UCAT, 75% academic; threshold Exeter score set annually	No
Keele	Low threshold	Min. 1,700 home; 1,950 international (new /2,700 scale, 2026)	Band 4 excluded
KMMS	Contextualised	Threshold ~47th centile; contextualised by school; Casper test also used	Band 3+ required
Cardiff	Academic-first	UCAT only used if too many top academic applicants; no fixed cutoff	No
Anglia Ruskin	Low threshold	No minimum cutoff; ranked by UCAT once academic criteria met. 2026 entry non-graduate main cut-off: 2,010 (no uplifts applied)	Not specified
Aston	Holistic	No minimum UCAT; academics and UCAT assessed together; no cutoff	Not specified
Surrey	Stage 2	UCAT used in stage 2 to decide interview invitation; no published cutoff	Not specified
Warwick	Grad entry only	Graduate entry (A101) only; UCAT ranked alongside academic. Lowest score invited to Selection Centre for 2025 entry: 2,450	Not specified
Swansea	Grad entry only	Graduate entry only; UCAT used in selection. Minimum score considered: 1,900	Not specified

† Old /3,600 scale — subtracting ~650 gives a rough orientation only. Do not treat old /3,600 cutoffs as mechanically convertible to new /2,700 thresholds. * 2024 or 2025 entry data — 2026 figures not yet published for all schools. Newer schools including Bangor, Brunel, Chester, Cumbria, Lincoln and Plymouth have limited published threshold data — check their websites directly. Ulster uses GAMSAT, not UCAT. Key fact: Oxford adopted UCAT for 2025 entry after BMAT was discontinued in 2023 — virtually all UK undergraduate medicine now uses one test.

2026 entry applicants

25,770

+10.4% on 2025 entry

England medical places

8,126

OfS MFL, 2025–26 cohort (applies 2026–27 onward)

NHS target 2031/32

15,000

medical places — near-doubling of England total

Competition ratio

~3:1

applicants per available place

Medicine applicants vs available England places 2019–2026

Total UK applicants England home places (approx.)

The 2020–21 pandemic surge coincided with a temporary lifting of the places cap. When reimposed in 2022, places dropped sharply — a bigger driver of rising competition than applicant numbers alone. The 2026 rebound (+10.4% to 25,770) shows demand recovering after three years of post-pandemic decline. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (2023) targets 15,000 places by 2031/32.

How England's medical place numbers actually grew: OfS sets a Maximum Fundable Limit (MFL) per provider — the cap on students counted for funding. Government periodically funds expansion exercises: +205 home places were allocated for 2024–25 entry (letter received October 2023), and a further +350 home places for 2025–26 entry (confirmed September 2024). The current 2025–26 MFLs apply for 2026–27 and beyond unless government asks OfS to make further changes. All recent place increases are home-student-only — they cannot be used to recruit additional overseas students.

⚠ Two important nuances direct from OfS: (1) Established medical schools may recruit overseas students beyond their anticipated overseas figure shown below — but receive no OfS funding for those extra international places, so the "overseas" column is a funding allocation, not a hard ceiling. (2) OfS monitors recruitment against MFL using a rolling five-year average — providers that over-recruit face a funding reduction the following year.

Official Maximum Fundable Limits — every English medical & dental provider, 2025–26 cohort

Complete table from the Office for Students. Medical and dental are funded and capped separately — a provider can have one, both, or neither. Sorted alphabetically to match the official source. "–" means no provision for that course. Source: OfS Medical and Dental Maximum Fundable Limits.

Institution	Medical			Dental
Institution	MFL	Home	Overseas	MFL	Home	Overseas
Total (England)	8,126	7,670	456	809 (859 from 2027–28)	766 (816 from 2027–28)	43

Dental expansion, 2027–28: Government confirmed funding (10 March 2026) for 50 additional dental training places from 2027–28, focused on wider NHS dentistry reform. After engagement with new and established dental schools, the places were allocated to two new dental schools: University of East Anglia and University of Portsmouth, each receiving up to 25 places. Neither currently has a dental MFL — both appear in the table above only because of this future allocation.

All figures: Office for Students, Medical and Dental Maximum Fundable Limits, 2025–26 cohort (official). MFL = Maximum Fundable Limit, the OfS funding cap per provider. Figures roll over each year unless government funds a further expansion exercise. This is England-only — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own arrangements and are not included in this table.

COVID distortion: IB cancelled all exams globally for the May 2020 session — that is the year where no exams were sat and all grades were teacher-assessed. For May 2021, IB ran a dual-track approach: written exams where schools could safely do so, and teacher-assessed grades elsewhere, with generous IBO guidelines — leading to continued score inflation. Both years produced inflated results for different reasons. The 2022–23 return to full exam-based grading caused the sharp visible drop. UK students consistently score 4–5 points above the global mean.

UK mean 2025

35.0

out of 45 points

Global mean 2025

30.58

out of 45 points

UK pass rate 2025

95.5%

vs 81.3% globally

Typical med school offer

36–39

points, HL sciences 6+

IB Diploma mean total scores (May session) — global vs UK

UK mean Global mean

University	IB points required	HL requirements
Cambridge	41–42	776 at HL (incl. Chemistry & Biology)
Oxford	39	≥19 HL points, 6–7 in Biology & Chemistry
UCL	39	≥19 HL points incl. Biology & Chemistry
Imperial	38–39	6 in Biology & Chemistry at HL
King's	38	6 in Biology & Chemistry at HL
Most Russell Group	36–38	6 in HL sciences typically
Edinburgh	~37	HL sciences required
Keele / lower threshold	~36	6 in Biology & Chemistry at HL

Now sourced directly from OfS: The Office for Students publishes official medical and dental maximum fundable limits (MFLs) for every English medical school, including the anticipated home/overseas split used for funding purposes. This is the most authoritative published source for English medical place numbers and is used throughout this tab. Source: OfS Medical and Dental Maximum Fundable Limits, 2025–26 cohort.

⚠ Important nuance from OfS itself: "Some providers may choose to use a portion of their expected MFL to recruit overseas students, but will not receive any OfS funding for these international students." This means the overseas figures below are OfS's anticipated funded allocation, not a hard ceiling — established schools may recruit more fee-paying overseas students outside this funded total. Recent place increases (2024–25 and 2025–26 expansions) can only be used for home students, not overseas. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not regulated by OfS and have no equivalent published breakdown — those schools below retain third-party estimates, clearly flagged.

England medical MFL total

8,126

OfS 2025–26 cohort, all English providers

Anticipated home

7,670

94.4% of total MFL

Anticipated overseas

456

5.6% of total MFL — ranges 0–8.1% by school

Intl medicine applicants

5,040

UCAS Oct 2026 deadline — 920 EU, 4,120 non-EU. All UK schools, not English only.

Official anticipated overseas medical places by English provider — 2025–26 MFL

Every English medical school regulated by OfS, sorted by anticipated overseas allocation. Several schools (mostly newer or smaller providers) show 0 — meaning OfS does not anticipate funded overseas recruitment there, not necessarily that no international students attend. Source: OfS, 2025–26 cohort (applies 2026–27 onward unless revised).

Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland — not OfS-regulated: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee (Scotland) and QUB Belfast (Northern Ireland) set their own international quotas and are not subject to the OfS framework above. No equivalent official home/overseas breakdown is centrally published for these nations. Figures for these schools below remain third-party estimates and are clearly flagged as such — treat with appropriately lower confidence than the official English figures.

Indicative international offer/admit-rate estimates — verify before advising

These are indicative estimates only. OfS publishes funded place allocations (above) but not offer or admit rates by nationality — no UK medical school systematically publishes international acceptance rates. Figures below derive from published admissions data, FOI requests, and third-party analysis (Blue Peanut 2024–25). Rates vary by cycle, UCAT score, academic profile and applicant volume in any given year.

Medical school	Anticipated overseas places	% of MFL	Int. admit rate (est.)	Place data source	Notes

Place figures for English providers are official OfS data from the 2025–26 maximum fundable limits exercise (applies 2026–27 onward unless revised by government). International admit rates are NOT published by OfS or any UK medical school systematically — these remain third-party estimates, FOI-derived or modelled, and should be treated as indicative only. Scotland/Wales/NI schools are not OfS-regulated; their place figures remain estimates. Always verify directly with each school's admissions office before advising a student. Fees are approximate and vary by year of study; clinical years are typically more expensive.

Places target 2031/32

15,000

NHS England target for England (from ~8,126 England places today — a near-doubling)

2026 applicant rebound

+10.4%

to 25,770 applicants

UCAT trend

Rising

VR up most since 2019 (+37)

BMAT

Defunct

discontinued after 2023

Massive place expansion underway

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (2023) commits to doubling medical places to 15,000/year by 2031/32. England went from ~7,500 to ~8,126 by 2025–26. New medical schools (Brunel, Worcester, Chester, Cumbria) opened 2021–25. Further expansion is planned toward 15,000 medical school places by 2031/32 under the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, subject to funding and training capacity.

Competition likely to stay fierce

With 25,770 applicants for 2026 and ~8,126 places, competition remains roughly 3:1. The 2026 applicant rebound shows demand is recovering. Even if places reach 15,000 by 2031, applicant numbers will likely rise in parallel — easing but not eliminating competition.

UCAT scores slowly drifting upward

Subtest means have risen since 2019, with Verbal Reasoning showing the clearest improvement over that window (565 → 602). In the most recent year, Quantitative Reasoning rose most (+12). With AR removed permanently, universities are recalibrating thresholds. Score inflation driven by a growing preparation industry is likely to continue.

Contextualisation increasing

Schools including KMMS, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham now build contextual adjustments into shortlisting. New place allocations target under-doctored areas — shifting admissions further from pure score-based ranking toward holistic assessment.

4-year degrees & apprenticeships

Accelerated 4-year undergraduate programmes are being developed (planned 2026 starts). Medical degree apprenticeships were piloted from 2024/25, targeting 2,000 students via this route by 2031. These structural changes will alter who can access medicine.

IB growing — UK well above average

IB candidate numbers rose 4.8% globally to 202,103 in May 2025. UK students (avg. 35 pts) consistently score ~4–5 points above the global mean. Post-COVID grade normalisation is complete; scores appear to be stabilising around 30.5–31 globally.

Note: The BMA's medical students committee voted in 2025 to pause expansion until quality of training can be guaranteed — a significant voice of caution alongside the workforce plan ambitions.

⚠ Important disclaimer: Admissions policies, UCAT thresholds, interview formats, international fee levels and place numbers change annually. Use this dashboard for strategic guidance only; verify every recommendation against the current medical school admissions policy before advising a student.