UK Medical Schools - Entry Requirements & Interview Formats

There are around 40 UK medical schools running undergraduate (A100) programmes for 2026/2027 entry, plus a further set of graduate-entry (A101 / GEM) routes. The number changes slowly as new schools open - Worcester, Brunel, Pears Cumbria and others have opened in recent years.

No UK medical school is "easy". Some are less oversubscribed than others - newer schools, schools with smaller graduate cohorts, and Scottish schools for Scottish-domiciled applicants tend to have a meaningfully different competition ratio. Use each school's post-interview chance row and the NGMP TrueScore prediction to compare realistically.

It depends heavily on the school and the tier you apply under. A safe rule of thumb for 2027 entry: 2400+ /2700 is competitive UK-wide; some London schools (Imperial, KCL) push to 2500+. Scottish-domiciled applicants typically face 1750-1900 cut-offs at Scottish schools. The NGMP TrueScore card on each school detail page shows our predicted threshold for the current cycle.

Start with three factors: your UCAT score (rules out / rules in schools), your GCSE profile (some schools weight GCSEs heavily), and your interview style preference (MMI vs panel vs traditional). Then layer on location, curriculum type and post-graduation aspirations. The compare tool lets you put two or three schools side by side.

Most UK medical schools interview between mid-November and early March, with offers issued in waves through to late March. Oxford and Cambridge interview in mid-December. Decision dates vary - some schools issue rolling offers, others batch decisions in March or April.

No. UCAT is required for every UK medical school that takes school-leaver applicants for 2027 entry (BMAT has been phased out). Graduate-entry routes vary - some accept UCAT, some use the GAMSAT (Swansea, Nottingham GEM), and a small number accept both.