UCAT 1,340 to 1,630: where can you apply for Medicine?
Every total here is below 1,640, the lowest line any UK medical school publishes for a standard rest-of-UK applicant, and it misses the confirmed line at all 16 schools that publish one. It is in the bottom 20% on the final 2026 boundaries. Contextual and home-nation routes are the exception, and the ones that have reached this far down are listed below. Medicine is still your decision to attempt, but read the alternatives first. Every verdict is about getting an interview, not an offer, and comes from the same rules as the school finder, which adds your grades, GCSEs, SJT band and contextual indicators.
This band, across all 42 schools that use the UCAT
Read at 1,340, the bottom of the band, for a standard rest-of-UK applicant
- competitive
- 0
- possible
- 0
- unlikely or ruled out
- 42
22 of the 42 publish no UCAT line, so they are read against what they did release. Buckingham and Greater Manchester (formerly Bolton) do not use the UCAT for 2027 entry, so they are not counted here. Hertfordshire and St Mary's, Twickenham are counted but marked international only: they take only international students for 2027 entry, so a UK applicant cannot apply there this cycle.
The counts include 2 international-only schools, read for the international applicants they take: Hertfordshire (unlikely) and St Mary's, Twickenham (unlikely).
If Medicine this cycle does not work out
A score in this band is below every UCAT line published for a standard rest-of-UK applicant, which means the schools that use a threshold would not reach your application at all, and the schools that rank would place it near the bottom. Contextual and home-nation routes are the exception and are set out below. Applying anyway is your decision and people do get in from unlikely positions, but going in with a plan for the other outcome is the sensible thing to do.
A gap year and reapply
The UCAT is sat fresh every year and is the part of the application most open to improvement, so a second attempt with a year of preparation behind it is the most direct route back to Medicine.
The catch. Only worth it if the year is productive: paid work in a caring role, sustained volunteering, or something that strengthens the application. If you are resitting A-levels as well, check each school's resit policy first, because several will only consider a resit applicant who met a minimum at the first sitting, and others will not consider resits at all.
Study Medicine abroad
European and other international medical schools admit on different criteria, often without the UCAT, and a primary medical qualification from a recognised school can be registered with the GMC after the licensing assessment.
The catch. Check GMC recognition and the licensing route before you commit, along with fees, language of teaching and how clinical placements work. Coming back to the UK to practise is a process, not a formality.
An allied health course, then graduate-entry Medicine
Biomedical science, pharmacology, nursing, physiotherapy, paramedic science and similar degrees give a strong scientific and clinical foundation, and graduate entry is a real route in with that behind you.
The catch. Two catches, both real. Allied courses generally have lower job prospects and earning potential than Medicine if you stop there, so you have to be willing to do the degree for its own sake. And graduate-entry Medicine is more competitive than standard entry, with far fewer places.
A different degree entirely
If Medicine is not the only thing that interests you, a degree you actually want to do, at a university you want to be at, is a better three years than a holding pattern.
The catch. Graduate entry to Medicine from a non-science degree is possible but harder, and the decision is effectively final in a way the other three are not.
Ranked as we would rank them, not as a rule. Which one fits depends on why the score came out where it did and on what you want from the next three years. The schools that rank rather than screen are listed further down this page: read those too before you decide.
If you have a contextual flag, this is not the whole picture
Every verdict on this page is read for a standard, non-contextual rest-of-UK applicant. Some schools invite very low scores through their contextual and widening-access routes, so a low UCAT is not the end of it if you qualify. BSMS set no contextual threshold at all for 2026 entry and interviewed a contextual applicant on 1,340; Cardiff, Dundee and St Andrews all interviewed below 1,640 on one route or another. These are the figures the schools themselves published on the current scale, at or below the top of this band. Each school confirms eligibility itself, and the finder checks your indicators against each school’s own criteria.
Brighton and Sussex (BSMS)Home, contextual
1,340 · the lowest it invited, 2026 entry
For 2026 entry BSMS set no contextual threshold at all: every contextual applicant who met the requirements was interviewed.
DundeeScottish
1,500 · the lowest it invited, 2026 entry
Scottish-domiciled applicants are a separate pool; 829 of 918 were interviewed.
St AndrewsHome funded and Scottish
1,500 · the line it published, 2026 entry
Widening-participation applicants also get a 10% uplift before the ranking, so a raw 1,490 reaches the 1,640 rest-of-UK line.
CardiffWelsh
1,520 · the lowest it invited, 2026 entry
CardiffHome, contextual
1,530 · the lowest it invited, 2026 entry
Cardiff ranks on eight GCSEs out of 24 plus 1 to 3 points for the UCAT decile, so a low score can be carried by GCSEs.
Brighton and Sussex (BSMS)Home, guaranteed interview
1,560 · the lowest it invited, 2026 entry
Sussex sixth-formers with SJT Band 1 to 3, and care leavers, are interviewed without entering the UCAT ranking.
DundeeRest of UK, contextual
1,620 · the lowest it invited, 2026 entry
Unlikely36
Under the line, or so far under a decile rule that only a shift in the final deciles would help.
Shortlisted applicants averaged 2,377 and offer holders 2,407 for 2026 entry · our reading: possible from 2,320, competitive from 2,400
1,340 to 1,630 is below anything this school's own figures show reaching an interview (nothing under 2,000). That is not a published rule, but it is a very long shot.
Competition (2026 entry, eligible applicants): 41% interviewed · 41% of those offered
Confirmed line 2,320 · the band sits 690 to 980 under it
1,340 to 1,630 is below the 2,320 cutoff for 2026 entry.
Competition (2025 entry, Home applicants): interviews not published · 37% of applicants offered
Our reading: possible from 2,200, competitive from 2,250
1,340 to 1,630 is under 2,200, where on our rough baseline only 9 or more grade 9s make an interview possible at Cambridge. Nobody knows which profiles it will interview, so this is a guide, not a promise.
Competition (2026 entry, all applicants): 75–85% interviewed · about 21–24% of those interviewed
Confirmed line 2,240 · the band sits 610 to 900 under it
1,340 to 1,630 is below the 2,240 cutoff for 2026 entry.
Competition (2025 entry, Home applicants): 59% interviewed · 90% of those offered
Confirmed line 2,190 · the band sits 560 to 850 under it
1,340 to 1,630 is below the 2,190 cutoff for 2026 entry.
Competition (2025 entry, Home applicants): 66% interviewed · 67% of those offered
Confirmed line 2,060 · the band sits 430 to 720 under it
1,340 to 1,630 is below the 2,060 cutoff for 2026 entry.
Competition (2026 entry, Home applicants): 64% interviewed · 59% of those offered
Our reading: possible from 1,900, competitive from 2,060
1,340 to 1,630 is under 1,900, where even eight grade 9s fall short of the 50 points Newcastle interviewed from for 2025 entry. Newcastle puts its lowest interviewee's UCAT at about 1,900, and the lowest it recorded before any waiver at about 1,870, so it is a long shot rather than impossible.
Competition (2025 entry, Home non-contextual applicants): 70% interviewed · 74% of those offered
Top 30% usually competitive
Birmingham scores the UCAT decile out of 4.0 against GCSEs out of 4.5 and a contextual score, then ranks the total. For 2025 entry its standard interviewees ranged from 2,680 to 3,460 out of 3,600 with a median of 2,940; contextual interviewees went down to 2,430.
1,340 to 1,630 is below even the 2,050 the lowest interviewee works out at on our conversion of those figures to the current scale, so our reading is that chances here are slim.
Competition (2025 entry, Home applicants): 71% interviewed · 80% of those offered
Top 30% usually competitive
Queen's scores the UCAT centile band out of 9 against nine GCSEs out of 36, so the GCSEs carry four times the weight. It has never published applicants' UCAT scores, only the points threshold, which ran from 30 to 38 out of the old 42 between 2015 and 2025.
A score in the bottom 10% is near the bottom of the ranking, so chances here are slim whatever the rest of the application looks like.
Competition (2023 entry, all applicants): interviews not published · 43% of those offered
Confirmed line 2,010 · the band sits 380 to 670 under it
1,340 to 1,630 is below the 2,010 cutoff for 2026 entry.
Confirmed line 1,990 · the band sits 360 to 650 under it
1,340 to 1,630 is below the 1,990 cutoff for 2026 entry.
Competition (2026 entry, Home applicants): 54% interviewed · 84% of those offered
Confirmed line 1,990 · the band sits 360 to 650 under it
1,340 to 1,630 is below the 1,990 cutoff for 2026 entry.
Competition (2025 entry, rest-of-UK applicants): 71% interviewed · 35% of those offered
Top 40% usually competitive
Cardiff scores eight GCSEs out of 24 and adds only 1 to 3 points for the UCAT decile, so GCSEs decide and the 7th decile already earns full marks. For 2026 entry, already on the current scale, its Home interviewees ranged from 1,880 to 2,630 and averaged 2,017.
1,340 to 1,630 is below even the 1,880 the lowest interviewee works out at, so our reading is that chances here are slim.
Competition (2026 entry, all applicants): 41% interviewed · 76% of those offered
Confirmed line 1,960 · the band sits 330 to 620 under it
1,340 to 1,630 is below the 1,960 cutoff for 2026 entry.
Competition (2025 entry, Home applicants): 95% interviewed · 37% of those offered
Confirmed line 1,920 · the band sits 290 to 580 under it
1,340 to 1,630 is below the 1,920 cutoff for 2026 entry.
Competition (2025 entry, UK applicants): 63% interviewed · 56% of those offered
Confirmed line 1,900 · the band sits 270 to 560 under it
1,340 to 1,630 is below 1,900, the lowest score invited for 2026 entry.
Competition (2024 entry, Home applicants): 35% interviewed · 40% of those offered
Competitive from 1,900 to 2,000 · the band sits 270 to 560 under the low end
Below the 1,900 low end of the typical range.
Competition (2024 entry, all applicants): 64% interviewed · 69% of those offered
City St George's, University of London
Confirmed line 1,880 · the band sits 250 to 540 under it
1,340 to 1,630 is below the 1,880 cutoff for 2026 entry.
Competition (2025 entry, Home applicants): 60% interviewed · 74% of those offered
Top 60% usually competitive
KMMS uses the UCAT as a threshold only (last cycle the 47th centile, with SJT Band 3 or better) and then shortlists on your grades against your school's average. Its page quotes that threshold as 2,490 on the old 3,600 scale, and for 2025 entry its lowest Home interviewee had 2,500; on the final 2026 deciles the 47th centile is about 1,900, and that conversion is ours.
1,340 to 1,630 is at or below the 1,900 those conversions give, so the threshold itself is the risk. A score in the bottom 10% is near the bottom of the ranking, so chances here are slim whatever the rest of the application looks like.
Competition (2025 entry, Home applicants): 29% interviewed · 73% of those offered
Confirmed line 1,720 · the band sits 90 to 380 under it
1,340 to 1,630 is below 1,720, the lowest score invited for 2026 entry.
Competition (2026 entry, rest-of-UK school leavers): 74% interviewed · 83% of those offered
Confirmed line 1,640 · the band sits 10 to 300 under it
1,340 to 1,630 is below 1,640, the lowest score invited for 2026 entry.
Competition (2025 entry, rest-of-UK applicants): 36% interviewed
No published figure
Aston scores the UCAT out of 12 against six GCSEs out of 24, so the GCSEs decide and the UCAT cannot make up for them. For 2025 entry its Home interviewees ranged from 2,460 to 3,500 out of 3,600 and averaged 2,743, but none of them scored under 22 of 24 on GCSEs.
1,340 to 1,630 is below even the 1,870 the lowest interviewee works out at on our conversion of those figures to the current scale, so our reading is that chances here are slim.
Bangor (North Wales Medical School)
No published figure
Bangor ranks everyone who meets its academic requirements on the UCAT total and interviews from the top until its slots are filled. It has published no scores, and says the scores it considers change from year to year with the applicants.
A score in the bottom 10% is near the bottom of the ranking, so chances here are slim whatever the rest of the application looks like.
No published figure
Brunel ranks its Home applicants on the UCAT, with a 5% uplift for widening access applicants, and interviews from the top down until it has made enough offers. It withheld the scores that reached interview under FOI; it interviewed 460 of 1,052 Home applicants for 2026 entry, for 53 Home places.
A score in the bottom 10% is near the bottom of the ranking, so chances here are slim whatever the rest of the application looks like.
Competition (2026 entry, Home applicants): 44% interviewed
Ranked by decile
Dundee weighs academics 60% and the UCAT decile 40%, with no minimum. For 2026 entry, already on the current scale, its lowest rest-of-UK applicant interviewed had 1,610 and they averaged 1,963.
1,340 to 1,630 is below even the 1,610 the lowest interviewee works out at, so our reading is that chances here are slim.
From 1,610 in this band: 1,610 is above the 1,610 the lowest interviewee works out at, but below the 1,963 of the typical one, so we would call this an element of risk rather than safe.
Competition (2026 entry, rest-of-UK applicants): 38% interviewed · 69% of those offered
No published figure
Edge Hill ranks everyone who meets its academic minimums on the UCAT total and sets the threshold by how many interviews it holds. It refused an FOI request for its applications, interviews, offers and places as commercially sensitive.
A score in the bottom 10% is near the bottom of the ranking, so chances here are slim whatever the rest of the application looks like.
Ranked by decile
Exeter's score moves 4 points per UCAT decile against 10 points per A-level grade, out of 90. It has released no applications, interviews, offers or cut-off score at all, so there is nothing to compare a score against.
A score in the bottom 10% is near the bottom of the ranking, so chances here are slim whatever the rest of the application looks like.
HertfordshireInternational only
No published figure
International only: it takes only international students for 2027 entry, so a UK applicant cannot apply this cycle. The reading below is for the international applicants it takes.
Hertfordshire ranks its applicants, international only for now, on the UCAT for interview once they meet its academic requirements, with no cut-off and no use of the SJT. Its first students started in September 2026, so it has no admissions figures yet.
A score in the bottom 10% is near the bottom of the ranking, so chances here are slim whatever the rest of the application looks like.
Ranked by decile
HYMS awards 35 of its 100 selection points for the UCAT decile, with 35 for GCSEs, 15 for the SJT band and 15 contextual. It records only your decile, never your score, and says historical scores are of no relevance; the score that reached interview for 2025 entry was 62.67 of 100.
A score in the bottom 10% is near the bottom of the ranking, so chances here are slim whatever the rest of the application looks like.
Competition (2025 entry, Home applicants): 57% interviewed · 87% of those offered
Ranked by decile
King's scores the UCAT as a percentile among its own applicants, worth 100 of its 150 points, so the score does most of the work but there is no line. In the 2024 cycle its UK interviewees ranged from 2,340 to 3,510 out of 3,600 and averaged 3,007, against 2,759 for all UK applicants.
1,340 to 1,630 is below even the 1,760 the lowest interviewee works out at on our conversion of those figures to the current scale, so our reading is that chances here are slim.
Competition (2024 entry, Home applicants): 40% interviewed · 77% of those offered
No published figure
Lancashire chooses Home applicants who meet its academic minimums for interview on the UCAT, with a 10% uplift for widening participation applicants and no weighting of grades. For 2025 entry its lowest non-contextual Home interviewee had 2,400 out of 3,600 and they averaged 2,545, with only 56 Home places.
1,340 to 1,630 is below even the 1,810 the lowest interviewee works out at on our conversion of those figures to the current scale, so our reading is that chances here are slim.
Competition (2025 entry, Home applicants): 36% interviewed · 39% of those offered
Ranked by decile
Lincoln turns the UCAT total into up to 15 points, in bands set to the deciles, and the SJT band into up to 15, against 30 for six GCSEs. It publishes its points table but not the scores that reached interview; 2,300 or more earns the full 15.
A score in the bottom 10% is near the bottom of the ranking, so chances here are slim whatever the rest of the application looks like.
No published figure
Nottingham bands each UCAT subtest into points (Verbal doubled) for 50 points against 32 for GCSEs, and says it cannot predict where the line will fall. For 2025 entry its Home applicants ranged from 2,200 to 3,460 out of 3,600 with a median of 2,740, and 844 of 1,216 were interviewed.
1,340 to 1,630 is below even the 1,640 the lowest interviewee works out at on our conversion of those figures to the current scale, so our reading is that chances here are slim.
Competition (2025 entry, Home applicants): 69% interviewed · 75% of those offered
No published figure
Peninsula sets a threshold once applications are in and will not confirm it in advance. Its published Home cut-offs were 2,680, 2,210 and 2,600 out of 3,600 for 2023, 2024 and 2025 entry, a swing of 470 in three years.
1,340 to 1,630 is below even the 1,650 the lowest interviewee works out at on our conversion of those figures to the current scale, so our reading is that chances here are slim.
Competition (2025 entry, Home applicants): 76% interviewed · 67% of those offered
St Mary's, TwickenhamInternational only
No published figure
International only: it takes only international students for 2027 entry, so a UK applicant cannot apply this cycle. The reading below is for the international applicants it takes.
St Mary's, international only for now, scores applications on academics and the UCAT and ranks them for interview, considering only SJT Band 1 to 3 with every subtest at 500 or above. It is a new school and has released no admissions figures.
A score in the bottom 10% is near the bottom of the ranking, so chances here are slim whatever the rest of the application looks like.
University of East Anglia (UEA)
No published figure
UEA has no cut-off and ranks on the total twice: once for the interview, then again with the interview score for the offer. For 2025 entry the lowest non-contextual Home applicant interviewed had 2,080 out of 3,600 and interviewees averaged 2,743.
1,340 to 1,630 is below even the 1,540 the lowest interviewee works out at on our conversion of those figures to the current scale, so our reading is that chances here are slim.
From 1,540 in this band: 1,540 is above the 1,540 the lowest interviewee works out at on our conversion of those figures to the current scale, but below the 2,110 of the typical one, so we would call this an element of risk rather than safe.
Competition (2025 entry, Home applicants): 69% interviewed · 86% of those offered
Impossible6
Far enough under a published line that the school would not consider the application.
Barts and The London (Queen Mary)
Top 20% usually competitive
Queen Mary rejects anything below the fourth national decile, then adds the UCAT to the UCAS tariff for your predicted grades and ranks the sum 50/50, so a strong prediction can carry a lower score. Its 2023-cycle Home line was 2,720 out of 3,600, and its example pairs show a tariff of 260 getting an interview on 2,410 while a tariff of 166 needed 3,050.
Scores in the bottom 30% (below the 3rd decile boundary) are not considered here, and 1,340 to 1,630 is 441 under the lowest score it considers (1,781).
Competition (2023 entry, Home applicants): 53% interviewed · 57% of those offered
Confirmed line 2,120 · the band sits 490 to 780 under it
1,340 to 1,630 is below the 1,800 minimum published for 2027 entry. Applications under it are not considered.
Competition (2025 entry, all applicants): 55% interviewed · 65% of those offered
Minimum 1,850 (confirmed), competitive from 2,100 · the band sits 470 to 760 under the competitive figure
1,340 to 1,630 is below the 1,850 minimum published for 2027 entry. Applications under it are not considered.
Competition (2024 entry, rest-of-UK applicants): 45% interviewed · 68% of those offered
Top 50% usually competitive
Leicester rejects the bottom two deciles, then scores the UCAT out of 48 against eight GCSEs out of 48. For 2026 entry, already on the current scale, its lowest Home interviewee had 1,820 and they averaged 2,051; the score that guaranteed an interview was 79 of 96.
Scores in the bottom 20% (below the 2nd decile boundary) are not considered here, and 1,340 to 1,630 is 361 under the lowest score it considers (1,701).
Competition (2026 entry, Home school leavers with predicted grades): 77% interviewed · 53% of those offered
Top 80% usually competitive
Sunderland uses the UCAT as a threshold only — the top eight deciles, with SJT Band 1 to 3 — and does not rank on it at all; a 14-point work-experience tool decides who is interviewed. Its own conversions of its past minimums to the current scale were 1,650 to 1,690.
Scores in the bottom 20% (below the 2nd decile boundary) are not considered here, and 1,340 to 1,630 is 361 under the lowest score it considers (1,701).
Competition (2026 entry, Home applicants): 66% interviewed · 63% of those offered
Confirmed line 1,700 · the band sits 70 to 360 under it
1,340 to 1,630 is below the 1,700 minimum published for 2027 entry. Applications under it are not considered.
Competition (2025 entry, Home applicants): 42% interviewed · 53% of those offered
Last updated 2 October 2026, from the universities’ published statistics and Freedom of Information responses; each school’s page says when its figures were last confirmed. Check the school’s own admissions page before you apply. If a figure here is out of date, tell me and I will fix it.