What Is a Good UCAT Score?Official UCAT 2026 deciles, means and SJT bands
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In UCAT 2026, the test sat for 2027 entry, the mean total score was 1918, the median (5th decile) was 1920 and the 90th percentile was 2250 out of 2700, across 42,359 tests. A score above 1920 therefore beat at least half of that year's candidates; above 2250, nine in ten.
"Good" is ultimately set by the schools you apply to: some use a fixed threshold, some rank and weight scores, and some also screen on the Situational Judgement band.
What were the UCAT 2026 score deciles?
Each decile is the score at a 10-percentile step: the UCAT Consortium defines the 1st decile as the score at the 10th percentile, the 2nd at the 20th, and so on. Subtests are each scored 300–900; the total of the three cognitive subtests runs 900–2700. The data cover 42,359 tests taken up to 24 September 2026.
| Decile (percentile) | Total (900–2700) | Verbal Reasoning | Decision Making | Quantitative Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st (10th) | 1590 | 500 | 520 | 530 |
| 2nd (20th) | 1700 | 540 | 560 | 580 |
| 3rd (30th) | 1780 | 560 | 590 | 600 |
| 4th (40th) | 1850 | 580 | 620 | 640 |
| 5th (50th) | 1920 | 600 | 640 | 670 |
| 6th (60th) | 1980 | 620 | 670 | 700 |
| 7th (70th) | 2050 | 640 | 690 | 730 |
| 8th (80th) | 2140 | 670 | 710 | 780 |
| 9th (90th) | 2250 | 710 | 760 | 820 |
| Measure | UCAT 2026 mean |
|---|---|
| Total (three cognitive subtests) | 1918 |
| Verbal Reasoning | 602 |
| Decision Making | 640 |
| Quantitative Reasoning | 675 |
Want to see where a raw practice mark lands on this scale? Use the UCAT score converter.
How did UCAT 2026 compare with UCAT 2025?
Both years use the same three cognitive subtests and the same 900–2700 scale. Every decile was higher in 2026: the median moved from 1880 to 1920 and the 90th percentile from 2220 to 2250. The UCAT Consortium notes that "mean scores can shift between testing years and so direct comparison is not always possible", so judge your score against the year you sat and the cut-offs your schools publish.
The interim figures published in mid-September have run high in both recent years. The UCAT 2026 interim mean was 1970 on 20,794 tests to 13 September 2026; the final mean was 1918. In 2025 the interim mean of 1939 ended at 1891.
| Decile (percentile) | UCAT 2026 | UCAT 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 1st (10th) | 1590 | 1580 |
| 2nd (20th) | 1700 | 1680 |
| 3rd (30th) | 1780 | 1760 |
| 4th (40th) | 1850 | 1820 |
| 5th (50th) | 1920 | 1880 |
| 6th (60th) | 1980 | 1950 |
| 7th (70th) | 2050 | 2010 |
| 8th (80th) | 2140 | 2100 |
| 9th (90th) | 2250 | 2220 |
| Measure | UCAT 2026 mean | UCAT 2025 mean |
|---|---|---|
| Total (three cognitive subtests) | 1918 | 1891 |
| Verbal Reasoning | 602 | 602 |
| Decision Making | 640 | 628 |
| Quantitative Reasoning | 675 | 661 |
How are candidates spread across the SJT bands?
The Situational Judgement Test is reported as a band from 1 (highest) to 4, not a scaled score. The UCAT Consortium describes Band 1 as "an excellent level of performance" and Band 4 as performance where judgement tended "to differ substantially from ideal responses in many cases". The share of candidates in each band moves from year to year.
| SJT band | UCAT 2026 (42,359 candidates) | UCAT 2025 (41,354 candidates) | UCAT 2024 (37,913 candidates) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band 1 | 15% | 21% | 13% |
| Band 2 | 40% | 39% | 36% |
| Band 3 | 34% | 29% | 38% |
| Band 4 | 11% | 10% | 13% |
For what each band means and how to prepare, see the UCAT Situational Judgement guide.
Can UCAT 2025 scores be compared with UCAT 2024?
No — not directly. Abstract Reasoning was removed from the UCAT in 2025, so the 2024 total included four cognitive subtests and the 2025 total three. The UCAT Consortium states that 2024 scores "are not directly comparable with those from 2025 onwards". The 2024 totals are shown only so that older school cut-offs quoted on the four-subtest scale can be read in context.
| Decile (percentile) | UCAT 2024 total (four subtests) |
|---|---|
| 1st (10th) | 2140 |
| 2nd (20th) | 2260 |
| 3rd (30th) | 2360 |
| 4th (40th) | 2440 |
| 5th (50th) | 2520 |
| 6th (60th) | 2590 |
| 7th (70th) | 2680 |
| 8th (80th) | 2780 |
| 9th (90th) | 2920 |
UCAT 2024: 37,913 tests; final mean total 2523 across Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning.
How do medical schools use UCAT scores?
The UCAT Consortium is explicit that there is no single approach. In its words, "for some universities the UCAT score is a significant factor… For others it may be a less important factor or only used in marginal situations." What it does describe:
- Total score. Most universities consider the total of the cognitive subtests; some also look at individual subtests and "may even have a cut-off score for a particular subtest".
- Thresholds. Some set a threshold candidates must reach; where it is fixed it is published, and where it is set each year they usually indicate the scores used previously.
- Weighting. Others weight UCAT alongside academic achievement such as GCSEs.
- SJT. "An increasing number of universities use the SJT in selection with some excluding lower performing candidates."
| School | What the school publishes |
|---|---|
| Newcastle University (medicine) | Up to 60 points for UCAT in shortlisting, combined with an academic score; applicants with a Band 4 in the Situational Judgement element are not considered further; only current-cycle UCAT results count. |
| Pears Cumbria School of Medicine (graduate entry) | For 2026 entry, a minimum UCAT total of 1960 for home applicants and 1910 for contextual applicants (or a GAMSAT threshold instead). |
What is a good UCAT score? — FAQs
Sources (accessed 19 October 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.