Applying to Dental School Strategically Part 2: Where to Apply With a Medium UCAT Score
1 week ago by Chris
With the UCAS October 15th 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 26th 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 medium UCAT score (1960-2040). Please bear in mind this overview only takes into account your UCAT score. Any additional details are listed in the article below.
In this blog, we will be referencing previous cut-off scores in the old format with the 2025 equivalent out of 2700 in brackets.
Where should I apply?
Here are some dental schools where a medium UCAT score is needed, and where you should consider applying:
University of Glasgow
At Glasgow, applicants are first checked to ensure that the minimum academic requirements are met:
- AAA at A-Level including Chemistry and Biology/Human Biology
- Six GCSE subjects at Grade 7/A including Maths or Physics and English Language or Literature
Beyond the minimum requirements, the UCAT alone will be used. Candidates above the cut-off will be invited to interview.
For 2024 entry, the minimum UCAT invited to interview was 2600 (1950) for Scottish residents and 2660 (1995) for RUK students.
University of Liverpool
At Liverpool, applicants are first checked to ensure that the minimum academic requirements are met:
- AAA at A-Level including Chemistry and Biology at first sitting after two years of study
- Eight GCSE passes with at least five subjects at Grade 7/A. English Language, Maths and Double Award Science or Biology must be offered at Grade 6/B or above
A UCAT cut-off is not used; however, students with Band 4 will be automatically rejected. Instead, the personal statement, UCAT and GCSEs are considered holistically.
In 2024, the average UCAT score interviewed was 2542 (1907), with the highest being 3260 (2445) and the lowest 1680 (1260). Bearing in mind that the lower scores likely had widening participation flags, Liverpool would be a good choice for students who may have lower GCSEs but a higher UCAT (and vice versa).
University of Plymouth
At Plymouth, applicants are first checked to ensure that the minimum academic requirements are met:
- A*AA-AAB at A-Level including an A in Biology and one of Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics or Psychology. Please note that the AAB offer is available only for contextual students.
- Seven GCSE passes at Grade 4/C or above including English Language, Mathematics and two science subjects or Double Award Science
Beyond the minimum requirements, UCAT alone is used to shortlist candidates for interview. For 2025 entry, the UCAT cut-off was 2690 (2018) for domestic students and 2640 (1980) for international candidates.
University of Sheffield
At Sheffield, applicants are first checked to ensure that the minimum academic requirements are met:
- AAA at A-Level including Chemistry and Biology or AAB + B in a dentistry or health-related EPQ taken in the same exam sitting
- Six GCSEs at Grade 7/A including English, Maths and Science
For 2023 entry, Sheffield had a UCAT cut-off of 2680. They have not released UCAT thresholds for the two cycles since then, but state on their website that all applicants will need to achieve at least a 75th percentile UCAT (top 25 per cent). Students with Band 4 in Situational Judgement are automatically rejected. Students with a high verbal reasoning score or Bands 1 and 2 in Situational Judgement are prioritised when equal in other respects.
Note: UCAT score thresholds do change year-to-year and are impossible to predict with certainty until after the UCAS October 15th deadline.
Achieving a medium UCAT score allows you to apply to many dental schools. If you have achieved a high or low UCAT score, check out the other blogs in our series:
Interested in medicine? Check out our blog on applying to medical school strategically.
We wish you all the best for your UCAS applications!
Last updated: September 2025
