UCAT 900 to 1,630: where can you apply for Medicine as an international student?
Every total here is below 1,640, the lowest line any UK medical school has published that an international applicant is read against, and it misses the international line at all 14 schools that publish one. It is in the bottom 20% on the final 2026 boundaries. Contextual schemes, which reach lower, are for Home applicants. 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 and SJT band.
This band, across all 38 schools that use the UCAT and take international students
Read at 900, the bottom of the band, for an international applicant
- competitive
- 0
- possible
- 0
- unlikely or ruled out
- 38
19 of the 38 publish no UCAT line at all, so they are read against what they did release, and 3 more gave no separate line for international applicants, so their general figures are read instead. Buckingham and Greater Manchester (formerly Bolton) do not use the UCAT for 2027 entry. Anglia Ruskin, Bangor (North Wales Medical School), Edge Hill and Lincoln take Home applicants only, so they are not counted here.
If Medicine this cycle does not work out
A score in this band is below every UCAT line an international applicant is read against, 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 routes, the usual way in from a score like this, are for Home applicants, so they do not open a door here. Applying anyway is your decision, but going in with a plan for the other outcome is the sensible thing to do. Abroad, below, means outside the UK, which can include your own country.
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.
Unlikely32
Under the line, or so far under a decile rule that only a shift in the final deciles would help.
International applicants shortlisted averaged 2,537 for 2026 entry (2,377 for everyone shortlisted) · our reading for you: possible from 2,480, competitive from 2,560
900 to 1,630 is under 2,480, where we read Oxford as possible for an international applicant: the 32 international applicants Oxford shortlisted for 2026 entry averaged 2,537. Shortlisting is 50% UCAT and 50% GCSEs, so a lower UCAT must come with an exceptional academic profile to stay competitive, and even then it is a long shot.
Competition (2026 entry, international applicants): 15% interviewed · 25% of those offered
International line 2,310, 2026 entry · the band sits 680 to 1,410 under it
900 to 1,630 is below last cycle's 2,310 international line.
Competition (2025 entry, overseas applicants): interviews not published · 22% of applicants offered
International line 2,300, 2026 entry · the band sits 670 to 1,400 under it
900 to 1,630 is below last cycle's 2,300 international line.
Competition (2025 entry, international applicants): 20% interviewed · 44% of those offered
International line 2,270, 2026 entry · the band sits 640 to 1,370 under it
900 to 1,630 is below last cycle's 2,270 international line.
Competition (2025 entry, overseas applicants): 32% interviewed · 64% of those offered
No separate international line · Our reading: possible from 2,150, competitive from 2,250
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
Below 2,150, well under the 2,250 competitive figure.
Competition (international applicants): not published
International line 2,250, 2026 entry · the band sits 620 to 1,350 under it
900 to 1,630 is below last cycle's 2,250 international line.
Competition (2026 entry, overseas applicants): 18% interviewed · 21% of those offered
International line 2,980 on the old scale, 2025 entry: about 2,120 to 2,240 on today's · ranked on the UCAT alone
900 to 1,630 is under about 2,120, the bottom of where Newcastle's international line falls on today's scale: it interviewed international applicants from 2,980 for 2025 entry, on the old scale out of 3,600, and ranks them on the UCAT alone.
Competition (2025 entry, international applicants): 26% interviewed · 87% of those offered
International line 2,150, 2026 entry · the band sits 520 to 1,250 under it
900 to 1,630 is below last cycle's 2,150 international line.
Competition (2025 entry, international applicants): 21% interviewed · 82% of those offered
International line 2,080, 2026 entry · the band sits 450 to 1,180 under it
900 to 1,630 is below last cycle's 2,080 international line.
Competition (2025 entry, international applicants): 33% interviewed · 41% of those offered
No separate international line · Top 30% usually competitive
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
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.
900 to 1,630 is below even the 1,900 to 2,010 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, international applicants): 27% interviewed · 68% of those offered
No separate international line · Top 30% usually competitive
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
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 (international applicants): not published
Lowest international score invited 2,020, 2026 entry · the band sits 390 to 1,120 under it
900 to 1,630 is below 2,020, the lowest international score invited last cycle.
Competition (2024 entry, international applicants): 9% interviewed · 38% of those offered
International line 1,990, 2026 entry · the band sits 360 to 1,090 under it
900 to 1,630 is below last cycle's 1,990 international line.
Competition (2026 entry, international applicants): 28% interviewed · 61% of those offered
No separate international line · Top 40% usually competitive
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
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.
900 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, international applicants): 24% interviewed · 50% of those offered
International line 1,900, 2026 entry · the band sits 270 to 1,000 under it
900 to 1,630 is below last cycle's 1,900 international line.
Competition (international applicants): not published
No separate international line · Competitive from 1,900 to 2,000 · the band sits 270 to 1,000 under the low end
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
Below the 1,900 low end of the typical range.
Competition (2024 entry, international applicants): 24% interviewed · 32% of those offered
No separate international line · Top 60% usually competitive
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
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.
900 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, international applicants): 23% interviewed · 50% of those offered
Lowest international score invited 1,730, 2026 entry · the band sits 100 to 830 under it
900 to 1,630 is below 1,730, the lowest international score invited last cycle.
Competition (2026 entry, international school leavers): 32% interviewed · 59% of those offered
Lowest international score invited 1,710, 2026 entry · the band sits 80 to 810 under it
900 to 1,630 is below 1,710, the lowest international score invited last cycle.
Competition (international applicants): not published
City St George's, University of London
International line 1,640, 2026 entry · the band sits 10 to 740 under it
900 to 1,630 is below last cycle's 1,640 international line.
Competition (2025 entry, overseas applicants): 39% interviewed · 48% of those offered
No separate international line · No published figure
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
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.
900 to 1,630 is below even the 1,750 to 1,850 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 (international applicants): not published
No separate international line · No published figure
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
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, international applicants): interviews not published
No separate international line · Ranked by decile
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
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.
900 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, overseas applicants): 40% interviewed · 48% of those offered
No separate international line · Ranked by decile
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
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.
Competition (international applicants): not published
HertfordshireInternational only
No published figure
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.
Competition (international applicants): not published
No separate international line · Ranked by decile
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
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, international applicants): interviews not published · 56% of those offered
No separate international line · Ranked by decile
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
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.
900 to 1,630 is below even the 1,660 to 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, non-UK applicants): 22% interviewed · 82% of those offered
No separate international line · No published figure
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
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.
900 to 1,630 is below even the 1,700 to 1,800 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, international applicants): 41% interviewed · 51% of those offered
No separate international line · No published figure
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
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.
900 to 1,630 is below even the 1,560 to 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.
From 1,560 in this band: 1,560 is above the 1,560 to 1,650 the lowest interviewee works out at on our conversion of those figures to the current scale, but below the 1,950 to 2,060 of the typical one, so we would call this an element of risk rather than safe.
Competition (2025 entry, international applicants): 30% interviewed · 48% of those offered
No separate international line · No published figure
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
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.
900 to 1,630 is below even the 1,570 to 1,660 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 1,570 in this band: 1,570 is above the 1,570 to 1,660 the lowest interviewee works out at on our conversion of those figures to the current scale, but below the 1,850 to 1,950 of the typical one, so we would call this an element of risk rather than safe.
Competition (international applicants): not published
St Mary's, TwickenhamInternational only
No published figure
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.
Competition (international applicants): not published
University of East Anglia (UEA)
No separate international line · No published figure
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
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.
900 to 1,630 is below even the 1,480 to 1,560 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 1,480 in this band: 1,480 is above the 1,480 to 1,560 the lowest interviewee works out at on our conversion of those figures to the current scale, but below the 1,950 to 2,060 of the typical one, so we would call this an element of risk rather than safe.
Competition (international applicants): not published
Impossible6
Far enough under a published line that the school would not consider the application.
Barts and The London (Queen Mary)
No separate international line · Top 20% usually competitive
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
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 900 to 1,630 is 881 under the lowest score it considers (1,781).
Competition (2023 entry, overseas applicants): 23% interviewed · 24% of those offered
No separate international line · Minimum 1,850 (confirmed), competitive from 2,100 · the band sits 470 to 1,200 under the competitive figure
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
900 to 1,630 is below the 1,850 minimum published for 2027 entry. Applications under it are not considered.
Competition (international applicants): not published
International line 2,070, 2026 entry · the band sits 440 to 1,170 under it
900 to 1,630 is below the 1,800 minimum published for 2027 entry. Applications under it are not considered.
Competition (international applicants): not published
International minimum 1,950, 2027 entry · the band sits 320 to 1,050 under it
900 to 1,630 is below the 1,950 international minimum published for 2027 entry. Applications under it are not considered.
Competition (2025 entry, international applicants): 24% interviewed · 25% of those offered
No separate international line · Top 50% usually competitive
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
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 900 to 1,630 is 801 under the lowest score it considers (1,701).
Competition (2026 entry, overseas school leavers with predicted grades): 20% interviewed · 53% of those offered
No separate international line · Top 80% usually competitive
Read on the school’s general figures: it gave no separate line for international applicants. International places are capped and few, so the bar for you may be higher.
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 900 to 1,630 is 801 under the lowest score it considers (1,701).
Competition (international applicants): not published
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.