Applying to Medical School Strategically: Part 2 - Where to Apply with a High UCAT Score

In this blog series we are exploring how you should use your UCAT scores when applying for medical school, in order to maximise your chances of securing a place. This blog details which universities to consider applying to with a high UCAT score (2170+ or 2900 in the old system).

In this blog, we will be referencing previous cut-off scores in the old format with the 2025 equivalent out of 2700 in brackets.

What does my UCAT score mean?

First of all, congratulations on achieving such a fantastic UCAT score! Less than 10% of UCAT candidates obtain a score of over 2170.

It is important to note that a UCAT score of 2170 will not necessarily guarantee you an interview at every medical school. However, applying to universities that place a large emphasis on UCAT will greatly improve your chances.

A UCAT score of 2170+ alongside high predicted A-Level grades and GCSE results almost guarantees an interview invitation at universities which require the UCAT.

Here are some medical schools where a high UCAT score is needed, and where you should consider applying:

University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine

At Cambridge, candidates are first checked to ensure that they meet the minimum academic entry requirements:

• A*A*A with Chemistry and at least one of Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Biology/Human Biology or Physics. Cambridge asks applicants to note that 93% of their medicine applicants study at least three science subjects. Less than 3% of applicants with two science subjects received an offer. They also caution against taking Chemistry, Mathematics and Further Mathematics alone and advise candidates taking these three A-Levels together to contact a college before applying.
• No specific GCSE requirements
• Please note that colleges have varying subject and grade requirements, so if you are interested in applying to Cambridge, we recommend visiting their website for more details.

Cambridge will not be looking at the Situational Judgement subtest for 2026 entry. However, they will use the cognitive UCAT score as part of their selection criteria both pre- and post-interview. They also state that they will not be using a fixed UCAT cut-off, instead assessing applicants through a combination of academic record, UCAT and interviews. Based on the likely calibre of their applicants, it is likely that their threshold will be quite high.

University of Oxford School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences

At Oxford, candidates are first checked to ensure that they meet the minimum academic entry requirements:

• A*AA with Chemistry and at least one of Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Biology or Physics
• No specific GCSE requirements, but Oxford uses GCSE results and UCAT scores to form a "numerical ranking" which they use to select candidates for interview. A competitive application would have mostly 8s and 9s.

Oxford will not be looking at the Situational Judgement subtest prior to interview for 2026 entry. However, they will use the cognitive UCAT score as part of their selection criteria in conjunction with GCSEs. Applicants will be ranked with the strongest invited to interview. Of those shortlisted, the average UCAT score for 2024 entry was 3093 (2320). Oxford states that all non-selected applicants are reviewed by tutors to identify candidates close to interview selection. As a result of this process, 81 extra candidates were interviewed for 2024 entry.

Imperial College School of Medicine

At Imperial, candidates are first checked to ensure that they meet the minimum academic entry requirements:

• AAA with offers being A*AA. Chemistry and Biology are both required at grade A.
• GCSE grade B/6 in English

At Imperial, applicants who meet the minimum academic requirements are ranked according to their UCAT score. They anticipate inviting approximately the top third of applicants to interview. Imperial states that they automatically reject candidates with Band 4 in the Situational Judgement subtest. Their cut-off score was 3020 (2265) for non-contextual applicants and 2830 (2122.5) for contextual students.

University of Bristol Medical School

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

• AAA including Chemistry and either Biology, Physics, Mathematics or Further Mathematics
• GCSE grade A/7 in Mathematics and C/4 in English

Students who meet these requirements are then ranked based entirely upon UCAT scores, with the highest-scoring individuals invited to interview.

For 2025 entry, a score of 3010 (2257.5) for non-contextual A100 home applicants and 3080 (2310) for international students was required for an invitation to interview. This is an increase from 2024 entry's cut-off scores of 2940 (2205) for home applicants and 2960 (2220) for international applicants.

There is no specific information on how UCAT Situational Judgement Score is used in the selection process.

King's College London GKT School of Medical Education

At King's, candidates are first checked to ensure that they meet the minimum academic entry requirements:

• A*AA including Chemistry and Biology
• GCSE grade B/6 in English Language and Mathematics

Candidates are then ranked using UCAT, academic performance and widening participation criteria, with the strongest candidates invited to interview.

Unfortunately, there is limited information available regarding the exact weighting of GCSEs and UCAT. Freedom of Information (FOI) requests suggest that King's uses a points system with 100 points available for UCAT, 40 points for GCSEs and 10 points for Situational Judgement. King's states that a student's overall UCAT score is given more consideration than their individual subtest scores.

While King's does not have a set UCAT threshold, for 2023 entry, the average UCAT score of interviewed domestic students was 2997 (2248), indicating that they place a lot of weighting on the test. UCAT Situational Judgement Band 4 does not lead to automatic rejection at King's.

University of Edinburgh Medical School

At Edinburgh, students are first checked to ensure that the minimum academic requirements are met:

• A*AA with an A* in Chemistry and one from Biology/Human Biology, Mathematics or Physics at A. Only one of Mathematics or Further Mathematics will be considered.
• GCSEs: Biology, Chemistry, English and Mathematics at A/7. Double Award combined sciences, or equivalent, at AA/77 may replace GCSE grades in sciences. Additional Applied Science and Applied Science are not accepted.
• A minimum UCAT score of 1650 for 2026 entry.

Edinburgh's current guidance states that students will then be ranked via a points system. They will divide their cohort into deciles for the UCAT and allocate a score for Situational Judgement. Note that Edinburgh's applicant deciles may differ from the ones published by UCAS at the end of testing season. The total will then be combined with the academic score to rank candidates for an assessment day.

Last year, the weighted criteria was as follows:

• 50% academic score
• 35% UCAT cognitive subtest score
• 15% UCAT Situational Judgement Score

The assessment day score, academic score, UCAT cognitive subtest score and UCAT Situational Judgement score are then summed together to determine offers. For 2024 entry, Edinburgh stated that the average UCAT score for entry onto their course was 2777 (2083) for Scottish students and 3093 (2320) for the rest of the United Kingdom. It is important to note that Edinburgh, along with the other four Scottish universities, treats applicants who reside in other parts of the UK & the Republic of Ireland in a separate category to Scottish students. As there are far stricter limits on place numbers for RUK applicants, the score thresholds tend to be higher for those who live outside Scotland. Therefore, A*AA predictions and lower Situational Judgement bands are often not sufficient for an interview invitation. At Edinburgh, students who achieve Band 4 in the UCAT Situational Judgement subtest face automatic rejection.

University of Birmingham Medical School

At Birmingham, candidates are first checked to ensure that they meet the minimum academic entry requirements:

• While the standard offer is A*AA in Chemistry and Human Biology/Biology for non-contextual applicants, they accept applications from students with AAA predictions. Contextual offers are typically AAA, but applications with AAB predictions are considered.
• GCSEs: English Language, Mathematics and Biology & Chemistry or Dual Award Science at 6/B

Birmingham then uses a points system to select candidates for interview. They updated this points system for 2022 entry, with applicants being given a score out of 10, with 4.5 points available for a total of seven GCSEs, 4 for UCAT and 1.5 contextual points by POLAR4 quintile. Details of the grades required for full marks are available here.

The GCSE points are based on seven subjects to include "English (both English Language and English Literature), Mathematics (or one, but not both, of Methods in Mathematics and Applications of Mathematics), Biology and Chemistry (or dual award science)" as well as two other subjects. Each A* (8 or 9) is worth 4 points with 7/A given 2 points and 6/B 1 point. A candidate's total GCSE points will be adjusted to a score out of 4.5.

UCAT scores are ranked into deciles with each decile being awarded a score out of 4.0. Contextual points are allocated based on POLAR4 quintile out of a possible 1.5.

For 2024 entry, non-contextual applicants were required to achieve an overall score of 7.236 with a minimum of 2700 (2025) in the UCAT. Contextual students needed the same overall score with 2450 (1838) in the UCAT.

UCAT Situational Judgement subtest is used at interview.

St. Andrews University Medical School

At St. Andrews, candidates are first checked to ensure that they meet the minimum academic entry requirements:

• AAA in Chemistry and one of Biology, Mathematics or Physics
• If not taken at A-Level, applicants must have achieved at least Grade 5 in Biology, Mathematics and either English Language or English Literature
• Five A/7 grades at GCSE

St. Andrews states that they screen candidates initially to ensure that they have a strong academic record, a positive reference and relevant, medically related work experience. Therefore, they review academic grades, the personal statement and reference prior to ranking students for interview. St. Andrews has 650 interview places and ranks eligible students solely by UCAT score, with the top students invited to interview. Contextual applicants will receive a UCAT score uplift of 10 percent.

As a Scottish university, there are two separate UCAT thresholds for English and Scottish applicants. For 2025 entry, the lowest score for Scottish applicants was 2390 (1793) with an average interviewee score of 2698 (2024). The comparable figures for RUK applicants are 2770 (2078) and 2981 (2236).

Please note that St. Andrews assesses Scottish residents separately from other UK applicants and there are fewer places available for RUK candidates, so higher UCAT scores are required.

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

Check out other blogs in this series:

• Applying to Medical School Strategically: Part 1 - Using Your UCAT Score
• Applying to Medical School Strategically: Part 3 - Where to Apply with a Good UCAT Score
• Applying to Medical School Strategically: Part 4 - Where to Apply with an Average UCAT Score
• Applying to Medical School Strategically: Part 5 - Where to apply with a Low UCAT Score