The Fifth UCAS ChoiceWhat medicine and dentistry applicants can do with it
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UCAS lets you apply to a maximum of four medicine courses out of five choices in total, so a medicine applicant for 2027 entry has one choice left for something else. UCAS applies the four-course cap separately to medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine and veterinary science — and you can leave the fifth slot empty and add a choice later, before 30 June.
Plymouth's medicine page suggests considering an alternative such as Biomedical Science or Medical Sciences as the fifth choice. Four universities publish internal routes from related degrees into medicine, each limited to their own students and competitive.
What are the UCAS rules for medicine choices?
UCAS: "For these subjects you can only apply to a maximum of four courses in any one of medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or veterinary science." It adds that you "can add choices with a different deadline later, but don’t forget you can only have five choices in total."
| Option for choice five | What UCAS or the university says | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| A non-medical course (any subject) | Allowed — five choices in total, maximum four in medicine. | Its own UCAS deadline (most courses: January equal consideration date) |
| A dentistry course | Allowed under UCAS’s per-subject cap; Plymouth: “four medical courses and one dental course would be permitted”. | 15 October for most dentistry courses |
| Leave it empty for now | You can add a choice later before 30 June, if you have not accepted or declined any offers. | Before 30 June |
Does the fifth choice affect my personal statement?
You write one personal statement for every choice "in most cases", UCAS says. Where one choice is completely different from the others, "it quite often happens that admissions staff will agree to accept a separate personal statement for that specific course, sent directly to them" — contact that university first. Where courses overlap, UCAS suggests focusing on the subject areas the choices share.
Which related degrees have a published route into medicine?
These are the only internal routes from a non-medical degree into medicine that we could confirm on official university pages. None is guaranteed; each has its own academic thresholds, and all are open only to students on the university's own feeder courses.
| University | Feeder course(s) | Headline condition |
|---|---|---|
| University of Birmingham | BSc/MSci Biomedical Sciences (year 1) | At least 70.0% overall with no module below 65% by end of year 1; interview; no UCAT |
| University of Plymouth | BSc Biomedical Science or Medical Sciences (stage one) | AAB at A level and at least 70% average in year 1; interview; up to 10 offers across medicine and dentistry |
| Anglia Ruskin University | Medical Science, Biomedical Science, Optometry (year 1) | At least 75% average with no module below 65%; UCAT score; MMI — from 2028 entry |
| University of Leicester | BSc Clinical Sciences (end of year 1) | Apply to transfer to Year 2 of the MBChB if places are available; competitive |
Full details and the schools that say they do not accept transfers: transferring into medicine.
The fifth UCAS choice — FAQs
Sources (accessed 19 September 2026)
Every fact on this page comes from one of these documents, each opened on the date above. Where a source did not state something, this page does not state it either. Admissions rules change between cycles — check the source before you act on it.