A guide to undergraduate entry medicine requirements
There are many requirements to studying medicine and a lot of medical schools differ in their requirements – but there are some which are a MUST. Keep reading for an overview of medicine entry requirements for undergraduate medicine programmes. A separate article is also available for graduate entry medicine.
Essential Requirements:
GCSE requirements will differ across medical schools, although most require GCSE Maths, English and Science. The grades required will also differ – some accept grade 5 as a minimum, although most schools want grade 7s, 8s and 9s. When applying it is important to make sure you meet the minimum requirements or you can choose which medical schools to apply to depending on the grades they require. The Medic Portal has a useful tool for comparing GCSE requirements of different medical schools.
Most medical schools will require a minimum of a grade 6 in one subject, usually Sciences and/or Maths. Certain universities will place more of an emphasis on GCSE grades, so if you have high GCSE grades you may want to consider applying to these. For example, Birmingham University scores all applicants on GCSEs and UCAT score to select for applicants to interview. On the other hand, St. George’s University only require a minimum of 5 GCSEs (including English Language, Maths and Science) at grade 6 or above to be considered, placing more emphasis on UCAT score for invitation to interview. In any case though, it is worth checking out the entry crtieria for medical schools you wish to apply to first.
The majority of medical schools will require A-level biology and chemistry, plus one other. The third A-level can often be any other academic subject, so you can do a humanities or arts A-level and still have just as good a chance at getting into medicine. Choosing a third non-science subject can often be beneficial as it will broaden your horizons academically. It is common to study either physics or maths as the third A-level, although note that some subjects do not count together because of overlap, such as maths and further maths, biology and human biology.
General studies and critical thinking are not accepted by most medical schools. The actual offers from medical schools will vary but are often in the range of A*A*A-AAA. UCLan and Kent and Medway medical school will give offers of AAB for entry into medicine. It can be wise to consider applying to medical schools where you are more likely to get in based off your predicted/achieved A-level grades.
In terms of Scottish Highers, included subjects are chemistry and often biology, with advanced higher offers from BB-AAA, although this varies more between medical schools than with A-levels. Similarly, with International Baccalaureate, most medical schools will require at least a grade 6 in chemistry and biology, with anywhere between 36 and 42 points required overall. As with A-level requirements, it is better to check with the individual medical school as well for both IB and Scottish Highers. Medical Schools Council has a useful page for checking the entry requirements of each medical school.
If you don’t quite reach the grades the first time around it’s not the end of the world - there are other options available to you, including resits and graduate entry medicine. Whilst the number of medical schools have increased in the UK over the last few years, so have the number of applicants. Competition for places at medical school has been at its highest ever, with 28,690 applicants for 2021 entry. This represents a 21% increase in applicants compared with 2020. Getting good A-levels simply aren’t enough anymore and it is incredibly important to do well in the UCAT/BMAT, write a strong personal statement and have completed a wide range of work experience and volunteering.
The University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) is an aptitude test used by medical school admissions to shortlist candidates for interview. Currently there are 31 medical schools which require you to sit the UCAT before applying.
The UCAT tests a wide range of skills which are important for anyone studying medicine and is divided into five sections, lasting 2 hours in total. Each section comprises a series of multiple-choice questions designed to test a different ability – these are:
Skills ranging from communication, numeracy, problem-solving and interpersonal skills are tested. There are two parts to your UCAT score – verbal reasoning, decision making, quantitative reasoning and abstract reasoning are all scored between 300 and 900. The total of these four sections gives your UCAT result, which will be out of 3600. Your score may also be averaged to show overall performance. The second part of your score comes from situational judgement, which is given a band between 1 and 4, with band 1 being the highest. More on UCAT scores can be found here.
Some universities will just use the UCAT to score applicants for interview, having a cut-off point depending on the performance of applicants that cycle. Others will take into account other aspects of your application for a more holistic approach. Regardless, the higher you score in your UCAT the stronger your application will be and the more medical schools you will be able to apply to. More information about the UCAT, including registration, costs and preparation can be found in the dedicated UCAT section.
Similarly, the BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT) is an admissons test used by only a few medical, dental and veterinary schools. Currently, only Brighton & Sussex, Cambridge, Oxford, Lancaster, Leeds, Imperial College London and University College London use the BMAT. It is just another way of differentiating between candidates. The test itself is also 2 hours long but only has three sections:
The BMAT tests a wide range of skills including problem-solving, data analysis, application of scientific knowledge and your ability to organise ideas effectively into a concise piece of writing. The test is scored between 1.0 to 9.0, with 9.0 being highest. Section 1 and 2 questions are each worth one mark and this is then adjusted using the BMAT scale to give a score between 1.0 and 9.0. For section 3, the essay is given a numerical score for content, but a letter from A-E for quality of written English (e.g. 3A). The essay is marked by two examiners and an average mark awarded. Universities use the BMAT score in different ways, but generally you are ranked against other candidates and there is no specific cut-off score. As with the UCAT, the higher you score the stronger your application will be.
Work experience forms a valuable part of your medical school application, providing you with insight into the medical profession and forming part of your personal statement and interview. Universities expect you to have done some form of work experience and this could be working with others in a caring role, or directly observing healthcare. Each medical school will have their own specific work experience requirements, although generally they want you to have gained some hands-on experience in a caring role and understand the realities of working in healthcare.
Whilst it can be desirable to have experience shadowing healthcare professionals, medical schools understand this is not always possible and therefore recognise the value volunteering in a caring role holds. During the COVID-19 pandemic, obtaining any form of work experience has proved difficult - many medical schools have changed their requirements for this year. Instead, medical schools encourage you to seek out virtual forms of work experience and research online about the NHS and healthcare in the UK. For more information about work experience, please see my work experience articles!
Medical Schools Council Entry Requirements
The Medic Portal Medical School Comparison Tool
Posted by Nathan