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UK Medicine · 2027 Entry
Edinburgh Medical School2027 Entry Requirements & Interview Format
Location Edinburgh, UKEstablished 1583Interviews (2027 entry) December 2026 - February 2027Decisions (2027 entry) March 2027 onwards
Photo: AlasdairW / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped
Photo: Stinglehammer · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo: First1132 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo: ClareB · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Walk through the interview with a current student
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Full guide
How to get into Edinburgh medicine
Step-by-step: entry requirements, UCAT prep, personal statement, interview format and the key deadlines.
Open the guide →Interview guide
Prepare for the Edinburgh interview
Format breakdown, school-specific sample questions, FAQs and prep tips from tutors who interviewed here.
Read the guide →The course
What the Edinburgh medicine course is like
Integrated, 6 years, placements across Lothian and the south of Scotland.
See the course →Overview
About Edinburgh
Edinburgh combines a research-heavy curriculum with one of the UK's most distinctive interview formats - multi-panel sessions that probe depth rather than breadth.
What makes Edinburgh different
Shortlisting is dominated by the academic score: the UCAT total contributes 17.5% and the SJT band 7.5%, with the academic assessment carrying the rest. Every application is read independently by two admissions staff, and only your FIRST attempt at a required subject counts - retaking it in a different qualification does not help.
An SJT of Band 4 ends the application outright, with no widening-access exemption. Strong research focus and international reputation.
Edinburgh course & teaching
Integrated curriculum. Six-year MBChB — the only six-year MBChB in Scotland — with a compulsory intercalated honours year in Year 3 (one of the largest intercalated cohorts in the UK). Graduates leave with TWO qualifications: a BMedSci (Hons) as well as the MBChB.
Clinical placements run across Edinburgh's teaching hospitals, regional sites in the south of Scotland, and south-east Scotland general practices.
Edinburgh research strengths
Edinburgh is strong in these research areas:
- Regenerative medicine
- Genomic medicine
- Veterinary & comparative biology
- Global health
Intercalation at Edinburgh
Compulsory intercalated honours degree in Year 3 (BMedSci or other).
How the Edinburgh interview runs
Format: Half-day assessment day, held at Edinburgh Medical School or online (Edinburgh describes it as 'not a typical MMI format')
Edinburgh invites roughly the top 800 ranked applicants to a half-day assessment day, which it runs as a series of short interviews rather than a standard MMI circuit, and which includes a collaborative group task. Offers follow soon after the final assessment day. Expect questions on NHS policy, wider reading and personal experiences.
Edinburgh does not publish the station count or timings, so treat any specific numbers you see elsewhere as unofficial.
Edinburgh intake
~210 Scottish + RUK + ~22 international places per year.
Edinburgh at a glance
Founded in 1583. Based in Edinburgh.
Programmes offered:
- Medicine
- Veterinary Medicine
- Biomedical Sciences
TrueScore
Predicted UCAT for Edinburgh
TrueScore
What is TrueScore?
A data-driven estimate of the UCAT score you'll likely need to be invited to interview at Edinburgh for 2027 entry entry — based on its published cut-offs and recent admissions data. Treat it as a target to aim past, not a guarantee.
- Home1850
Edinburgh's TrueScore is 1850. Build a week-by-week UCAT plan that works back from your test date — free for the first two weeks.
Entry requirements
What you need to apply to Edinburgh
A-Level requirements
AAA at A-level (theoretically minimum, but A*A*A* predictions ideal for RUK/English applicants to maximise post-interview chances) including Chemistry plus one of Biology, Mathematics or Physics
Required A-Level subjects
Chemistry plus one of Biology / Mathematics / Physics
GCSE requirements
Minimum grade 7/A in Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and English. Edinburgh then scores your best 8 GCSEs as part of the academic component, applying proportional scoring where school policy meant fewer than 8 were sat. It does not publish a target grade profile beyond the minimum.
Scottish Highers
National 5s, Highers and Advanced Highers are all considered, and the standard offer requires strong Higher and Advanced Higher performance. Edinburgh does not publish a separate Scottish UCAT minimum - the published cut-off of 1,850 for 2027 entry applies to all applicants except those carrying a Plus Flag.
Scottish Advanced Highers
Strong Advanced Higher performance expected for full academic points
International Baccalaureate
38 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including HL Chemistry plus one of Biology / Mathematics / Physics
Graduate-entry degree requirement
2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above. UCAT still required - graduate applicants ranked alongside undergraduate by total academic + UCAT score.
UCAT Selection at Edinburgh
Weighting
Pre-assessment-day scoring: the UCAT total is worth 17.5% and the SJT band 7.5%, with the academic assessment (best 8 GCSEs plus A-level/Higher performance) carrying the rest. A hard UCAT minimum of 1,850 /2700 applies for 2027 entry - necessary but nowhere near sufficient - and Plus Flag applicants are exempt from it. A Band 4 SJT removes the application entirely, with no widening-access exemption.
SJT band
The SJT band is worth 7.5% of the application score. Band 4 means you will not be considered for entry - Edinburgh applies this to everyone, including applicants eligible for widening-access concessions.
Contextual / WP eligibility
Plus Flag applicants receive a 10% uplift on their UCAT total and are considered with any UCAT score, bypassing the 1,850 cut-off. No flag exempts an applicant from the Band 4 SJT rejection.
Home - lowest invited
18502027 entry
The 1,850 cut-off is necessary but nowhere near sufficient - clearing it only keeps you in the ranking. The UCAT total is worth 17.5% of the application score and the SJT band a further 7.5%; the academic assessment carries the rest. A Band 4 SJT removes you from selection regardless of any other flag. Edinburgh publishes this threshold per cycle, and earlier cycles were scored out of 3,600, so older cut-offs are not comparable.
SJT Band
The SJT band is worth 7.5% of the application score. Band 4 means you will not be considered for entry - Edinburgh applies this to everyone, including applicants eligible for widening-access concessions.
Specialities offered
Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Biomedical Sciences
Interview
How Edinburgh interviews applicants
Format
Half-day assessment day, held at Edinburgh Medical School or online (Edinburgh describes it as 'not a typical MMI format')
Interview window (2027 entry)
December 2026 - February 2027
Decision date (2027 entry)
March 2027 onwards
Post-interview chances
Around 800 applicants reach the assessment day each cycle, competing for an intake in the low hundreds across the Scottish, RUK and international pools, so a substantial share of interviewees are unsuccessful. Edinburgh publishes per-cycle admissions statistics with the current breakdown.
Tutor insight
Edinburgh's deeper follow-ups reward applicants who can defend an opinion under pressure. In the group task, contribute structure as well as content - volunteering to keep time or summarise positions tends to land well. Keep current on NHS hot topics and policy debates.
Practice
Practise for your Edinburgh interview
PrometheusQuestion Bank621 medicine questions inside
Interview questions matched to Edinburgh
Two questions our tutors flagged as a strong fit for Edinburgh’s interview style. Try answering them out loud, then open Prometheus for the model answers and follow-up tips.
Breaking Bad News (Personal)
Describe a situation where you had to deliver difficult news to someone close to you.
Likely follow-up · How did you prepare?
3 expert tips in Prometheus
Get support
Apply to Edinburgh with confidence
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UCAT Tutoring
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Learn moreInterview preparation
Practise the Assessment day format with students who interviewed at Edinburgh.
Learn morePersonal statement help
Get your personal statement reviewed by successful applicants.
Learn moreSources
Where Edinburgh's figures come from
Checked field-by-field against University of Edinburgh's official course page on 11 September 2026.
FAQ
Edinburgh — frequently asked questions
Home applicants: 1850+ /2700 - a hard floor for 2027 entry. Edinburgh states that an applicant scoring below the cut-off will not be considered at all.. Contextual applicants: Plus Flag applicants are exempt from the cut-off entirely and are considered with any UCAT total, and they receive a 10% uplift on their UCAT score.. The 1,850 cut-off is necessary but nowhere near sufficient - clearing it only keeps you in the ranking. The UCAT total is worth 17.5% of the application score and the SJT band a further 7.5%; the academic assessment carries the rest. A Band 4 SJT removes you from selection regardless of any other flag. Edinburgh publishes this threshold per cycle, and earlier cycles were scored out of 3,600, so older cut-offs are not comparable.
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