Applying to Dental School Strategically Part 1: Where to Apply With a High UCAT Score

With the UCAS October 15^th deadline soon approaching, narrowing down the 16 dental schools into 4 is a difficult decision. To improve your chances of securing a place in dental school, it is important to use your UCAT scores, predicted or achieved A-Level grades and GCSEs strategically to ensure you apply to dental schools where you are most likely to be offered an interview.

In this blog, we will be focusing on how your UCAT score, achieved before the September 26^th UCAT deadline, should help you decide which dental schools to apply to. Using your UCAT score strategically will give you the best chance of obtaining an interview and then a place at dental school.

The 16 dental schools in the UK are: Queen’s University Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Dundee, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, King’s College London, Barts (Queen Mary), Manchester, Newcastle, Plymouth, Sheffield and the 2 graduate entry schools, Aberdeen and UCLAN. The schools that only accept postgraduate entry are UCL and Edinburgh. 

In this article, we will detail which universities you should consider with a high UCAT score (2040+). Please bear in mind this overview only takes into account your UCAT score. Any additional details are listed in the article below.

Where should I apply?

University of Birmingham

At Birmingham, applicants are first checked to ensure that the minimum academic requirements are met:

• AAA at A-Level including Biology and Chemistry obtained in one sitting
• 7 GCSE passes including Grade 8/A* in Biology and Chemistry and 7/A in English Language or Literature and Mathematics

Applicants who meet these requirements will have their personal statements reviewed for evidence of motivation to study dentistry. Following this, the UCAT cognitive score will be used to select students for interview. The Situational Judgement subtest will not be used at any stage of the shortlisting process.

University of Bristol

At Bristol, applicants are first checked to ensure that the minimum academic requirements are met:

• AAA at A-Level including Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics, Mathematics and Further Mathematics
• GCSE Grade 7/A in Mathematics and Grade 4/C in English

Beyond this, the UCAT alone is used to select students for interview. For 2025 entry, the UCAT cut-off score is 3070 (2303) for home students and 3040 (2280) for international students. The Situational Judgement subtest is not used.

University of Leeds

At Leeds, applicants are first checked to ensure that the minimum academic requirements are met:

• AAA at A-Level including Chemistry and Biology and a third subject excluding General Studies and Critical Thinking
• Six GCSE subjects at Grade 6/B including Chemistry, Biology or Double Award Science, English and Maths

University of Manchester

At Manchester, applicants are first checked to ensure that the minimum academic requirements are met:

• AAA at A-Level including Chemistry and Biology/Human Biology
• Seven GCSE passes at Grade 7/A or above including English Language, Mathematics and two science subjects at minimum Grade 6/C

Provided that all minimum entry requirements are met, applicants will be ranked on overall UCAT score. Other information, including GCSEs, predicted A Levels, Situational Judgement band and contextual data may then be taken into account as part of the holistic assessment. Applicants with Band 3 or 4 in SJT will not be considered.

King’s College London

At King's, applicants are first checked to ensure that the minimum academic requirements are met:

• A*AA at A-Level including Chemistry or Biology and one of Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Mathematics or Psychology. General Studies, Critical Thinking, Thinking Skills and Global Perspectives are not accepted
• English Language and Mathematics GCSEs at Grade 6/B

Candidates are ranked based on GCSEs, UCAT score and contextual information. Personal statements, references and achieved/predicted grades are less important, but are still screened after ranking to select for interviews.

Newcastle University

At Newcastle, applicants are first checked to ensure that the minimum academic requirements are met:

• AAA at A-Level including Chemistry and Biology and any third subject except for General Studies and Critical Thinking
• GCSE grade 4/C in Maths and English

Applicants' UCAT scores are used to select candidates for interview. Newcastle also expects students to have completed at least ten days of relevant work experience.

For 2025 entry, the UCAT cut-off was 2800 (2100) for non-contextual applicants and 2770 (2078) for contextual students. As the UCAT is heavily considered at Newcastle, it would be an ideal choice for students with a high UCAT score.

Note: UCAT score thresholds do change year-to-year and are impossible to predict with certainty until after the UCAS October 15^th deadline.

Achieving a high UCAT score can open the doors to some excellent dental schools. If you have achieved a medium or low UCAT score, please see the other blogs in our series:

• Applying to Dental School Strategically Part 2: Where to Apply with a Medium UCAT Score

• Applying to Dental School Strategically Part 3: Where to Apply with a Low UCAT Score

Interested in medicine? Check out our blog on applying to medical school strategically.

Last updated: August 2025

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