UCAT Scores – Guide for 2026 Entry

UCAT scores are one of the foundational elements for many medical and dental school applications. The UCAT is scored out of 2700, combining the total marks from Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning, each scored out of 900.

The Situational Judgement Test (SJT) uses a separate banding system to assess candidates:

• Band 1 is the highest, and Band 4 is the lowest.
• In UCAT ANZ, examiners score the SJT out of 900 instead of using a banding system.

After completing the UCAT, you’ll immediately get your score and will receive a breakdown out of 900 for each subsection, a total score out of 2700, and a band for the SJT out of 4 (or score out of 900 for UCAT ANZ).

What is a High UCAT Score?

A high UCAT score generally falls within the top decile or top 10% of candidates. Decile rankings are based on performance each year. In 2024, a top decile UCAT score was 2920 or above. In 2025, this would be 2170 or above. Aiming for a top 10% UCAT score can, in most cases, guarantee you interviews for medicine or dentistry. Some universities will have a higher emphasis on UCAT scores even above this value. For example, the average UCAT score that students who were invited to interview at Kings College London for Medicine 2023 entry was 2985. In general, having a top 10% UCAT score is very advantageous, but for certain universities, you may need to aim higher than this.

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What is a Good UCAT Score?

A good UCAT score as of 2025 will generally be above 2100, with 700 as the average, but this does not mean that you will be guaranteed interviews with such a score. Medicine and dentistry are extremely competitive, and it’s important that you apply strategically. You should be aware of UCAT cut-off scores for each university that you apply to and ensure that you’re applying only to universities that will accept your UCAT score alongside other qualifications.

What is a Low UCAT Score?

A low UCAT score as of 2025 will generally be 1860 or an average of 620 in each section. Having such a score will make the application for medicine or dentistry extremely difficult. If you attain a low UCAT score, you should look into contextual offers for universities as these can lower the UCAT requirement needed. For example, in 2020, the lowest UCAT score obtained for those invited to interview at Cardiff was 1980, when the UCAT scored out of 3600. So it’s definitely still possible to progress with your medicine or dentistry application if you have a low UCAT score, but you’ll need to be very wise with where you apply and make use of any widening participation criteria that you may meet.

When will I get my UCAT Score?

You will get your UCAT score immediately after you finish the test. The results will be handed to you via paper as you are leaving the test centre. This means you will get your UCAT score before the deadline for medical school application, which will allow you to decide which universities to apply to.  The results will automatically be sent to the universities you apply to in early November. You do not need to pass your test result to the universities you apply to or include it in your UCAS application.

What UCAT Score is Needed for Medicine?

Most universities require scores ranging from 1950 to 2200. Each medical school has its own scoring system and requirements for the UCAT, including cut-off scores. Have a read of our other blog post for the most up-to-date UCAT scores needed for medicine for each university in 2025.

What are UCAT Deciles?

UCAT Deciles are a way of ranking your test performance compared to other candidates who have taken the same test. The UCAT exam is divided into deciles, with each decile representing 10% of the total number of test-takers. For example, if your UCAT score falls within the 7th decile, it means your score is in the top 30% (i.e higher than 70% of all test takers). It is important to note that schools use deciles as one method to interpret UCAT scores, considering them alongside other factors when assessing an applicant’s suitability for a medicine or dentistry program.

UCAT Deciles for Previous Years

Decile Rank	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018
1st	2140	2150	2120	2150	2170	2170	2160
2nd	2260	2270	2250	2270	2290	2280	2280
3rd	2360	2360	2340	2360	2370	2360	2360
4th	2440	2440	2420	2430	2450	2420	2420
5th	2520	2510	2500	2500	2510	2480	2490
6th	2590	2580	2570	2570	2580	2540	2550
7th	2680	2660	2660	2640	2650	2610	2610
8th	2780	2760	2750	2730	2730	2730	2690
9th	2920	2890	2880	2850	2850	2800	2810

In 2025, there’ll be no Abstract Reasoning section for the UCAT. The information below shows how candidates would have performed in past test cycles if Abstract Reasoning scores were not included.

To assist you in making informed university choices, it may be helpful to understand how your test results compare to the overall performance of candidates. Additionally, you might find it useful to see how your score aligns with those used by universities in previous years.

Decile Rank	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
1st	1580	1590	1560	1580	1600	1600
2nd	1670	1680	1650	1670	1690	1690
3rd	1740	1740	1720	1740	1750	1740
4th	1810	1800	1780	1790	1810	1800
5th	1860	1860	1840	1840	1860	1840
6th	1920	1910	1890	1900	1910	1890
7th	1980	1970	1950	1950	1960	1940
8th	2060	2050	2030	2020	2030	2000
9th	2170	2150	2130	2120	2120	2090

SJT Deciles for Previous Years

	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018
Band 1	13%	25%	20%	14%	30%	17%	21%
Band 2	36%	39%	36%	36%	36%	40%	34%
Band 3	38%	26%	31%	33%	24%	33%	32%
Band 4	13%	9%	14%	16%	9%	10%	12%

What are UCAT Percentiles?

UCAT percentiles represent your relative performance compared to other candidates who have taken the same test. The UCAT exam score is on a scale from 300 to 900, with each score corresponding to a percentile rank. For example, if you score in the 80th percentile, it means your score is higher than 80% of all test-takers.

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Which Universities Accept Low UCAT Scores?

The UCAT is becoming increasingly competitive, and universities that accept lower scores one year may not accept them the following year. Further, sometimes a university has a low cut off score, but the actual lowest score they’ll invite to interview may be much higher depending on their interview invite criteria. If you happen to get a low UCAT score, it’s worth looking into universities that place lower emphasis on the UCAT. For example, Exeter puts a 25% weighting towards an applicant’s UCAT score and 75% towards academic qualifications, so if you satisfy their academic points criteria, you can get away with a much lower UCAT score. For 2022 entry, the average UCAT score for applicants invited to interview at Keele University was 2453, so this is also a university to look into with a lower UCAT score.

Where Should I Apply With a Bad UCAT Score?

If you score lower than 1800 in the UCAT, you may be very limited in the universities that you can apply to for medicine or dentistry. Firstly, you should consider any widening participation criteria you may have to qualify for contextual offers, which can lower the UCAT score needed for certain universities. Secondly, you should ensure you have the most up-to-date information about UCAT scores needed for medicine and apply it to your strengths.

UCAT Scores Scaling

When sitting the UCAT, you may wonder how your final score is determined. Since different candidates take the test on different days and may receive slightly different sets of questions, the UCAT uses scaling to ensure fairness.

Section	Questions	Scale Score Range
Verbal Reasoning	44	300 – 900
Decision Making	35	300 – 900
Quantitative Reasoning	36	300 – 900

What is UCAT Scaling?

UCAT scaling is a process that converts raw scores (the number of correct answers) into a standardized range of 300-900 per section. This adjustment accounts for differences in question difficulty across various test versions, ensuring that all candidates are assessed fairly. The total scaled score is calculated by adding the individual scaled scores from Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, and Quantitative Reasoning. This final score falls within a range of 900 to 2700.

Why are UCAT Scores Scaled?

UCAT scores are scaled to ensure fairness and comparability across different cohorts of test-takers. Scaling allows for adjustments to be made to raw scores based on the difficulty of the questions and the performance of the test-takers. Scaling helps to ensure that there is a fair and accurate measure of candidates’ abilities and allows for meaningful comparisons. This means that even if you and another candidate answered the same number of questions correctly, your final scaled scores might differ if your tests had varying levels of difficulty.