Admission to Medicine and Dentistry in the UK

Training doctors and dentists is costly for universities so the number of places on courses are limited. Couple that with the perennial popularity of these career paths, these degree courses are amongst the most competitive and oversubscribed. For this reason, and to ensure that each candidate is seriously committed and has the correct aptitude for what is ultimately a highly stressful training course and career, medical degree programmes have more stringent application requirements than other degree courses. These include top predicted or achieved A-level grades, interviews, aptitude tests and the completion of appropriate work experience.

Admission Tests

Schools of Medicine and Dentistry typically require UCAT, and cut offs (if used) are around 2400-2600 with some not interviewing those with situational judgement scores of 4. The few universities not requiring UCAT require BMAT (Only Leeds for Dentistry – see pages 6-7 for full BMAT usage). At present only the University of Central Lancashire and the University of Buckingham (private) require neither UCAT nor BMAT for admission for medicine.

Qualifications

Many medical and dentistry schools have a GCSE requirement; typically requiring 6-7 in English and/or Maths. Offers to A-level students from most universities typically stipulate a minimum AAA, with some of the most prestigious requiring an A* in one or more subjects. For medical degrees, a growing number of universities have initiatives to promote wider participation by offering places to students attaining lower A-level grades that come from disadvantaged backgrounds. This is typically referred to as Gateway to Medicine and usually involves an additional initial year of study equivalent to a foundation year. University of Central Lancashire offers a similar 6 year course with a foundation year, but this is only open to international students.

Interviews

All medical and dentistry schools conduct interviews. These are used mainly to assess students’ non-academic skills, often with a focus on communication skills and exploring candidates’ facility for empathy and their ability to correctly apply the principles of medical ethics. Most universities have moved away from the traditional panel interview, favouring a format where students move between stations to undertake a broader range of tasks and are assessed by more interviewers. This is commonly referred to as Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). It is seen as fairer and less stressful for students and an ever-increasing number of universities are adopting it.

Work Experience

Medical and dentistry schools expect to see evidence in personal statements that students have used their initiative to seek out appropriate work experience opportunities. This does not necessarily have to be in a clinical setting, but the student should demonstrate an appreciation for skills they may acquire that would be relevant and useful, such as teamwork or leadership. When writing about work experience it can often be a good opportunity to demonstrate reflectiveness – thinking about what you have learned and how the experience may have contributed to your personal development.