To judge whether you have a good UCAT score, compare it with both the national deciles and the selection rules for your chosen courses. A score near the top of the national distribution may help at a university that ranks by UCAT, but an SJT exclusion or an unmet academic requirement can still rule out an application.
This guide covers the UK UCAT for medicine and dentistry. It uses only figures published by the UCAT Consortium and by universities, and gives the cycle each figure comes from.
Last checked: 19 September 2026. The 2026 statistics below are preliminary. They cover tests taken up to 13 September 2026, and testing continues until 24 September. The consortium says it will publish final 2026 figures shortly after testing ends.
How the UCAT Is Scored
| Component | Reported as |
|---|---|
| Verbal Reasoning | Scaled score 300–900 |
| Decision Making | Scaled score 300–900 |
| Quantitative Reasoning | Scaled score 300–900 |
| Total | 900–2700, the sum of the three cognitive scores |
| Situational Judgement | Band 1–4, where Band 1 is the highest |
The official Test Format and Scoring page explains that the three subtests have different numbers of questions. Raw marks are therefore converted to scaled scores on a common 300–900 range. The Situational Judgement Test (SJT) is not added to the total. It is reported as a band, with a description:
| SJT band | Official description (summarised) |
|---|---|
| Band 1 | Excellent performance; judgement similar to the expert panel in most cases |
| Band 2 | Good, solid performance; appropriate judgement shown frequently |
| Band 3 | Modest performance; appropriate judgement on some questions, big differences on others |
| Band 4 | Low performance; judgement often differs substantially from ideal responses |
There is no negative marking. Candidates get randomly selected test forms, which the consortium equates so that scaled scores mean the same across forms.
The total is now out of 2700, not 3600. Abstract Reasoning was removed in 2025. The 2025 statistics page says scores from 2025 onwards "are not directly comparable with those from before 2025". Ignore any threshold or "good score" quoted out of 3600, or from a cycle before 2025.
Official UCAT Score Statistics
The consortium publishes mean scores and deciles of the total score. A decile tells you roughly what share of candidates scored below a given total. The 5th decile is the median.
2025 final figures (for 2026 entry)
The official 2025 statistics cover 41,354 tests:
| Measure | 2025 final |
|---|---|
| Mean total score | 1891 |
| Mean Verbal Reasoning | 602 |
| Mean Decision Making | 628 |
| Mean Quantitative Reasoning | 661 |
| Decile | Total | VR | DM | QR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st (10th percentile) | 1580 | 500 | 520 | 520 |
| 2nd | 1680 | 540 | 560 | 570 |
| 3rd | 1760 | 560 | 590 | 590 |
| 4th | 1820 | 580 | 610 | 630 |
| 5th (median) | 1880 | 600 | 630 | 650 |
| 6th | 1950 | 620 | 650 | 680 |
| 7th | 2010 | 640 | 670 | 710 |
| 8th | 2100 | 670 | 700 | 750 |
| 9th (90th percentile) | 2220 | 700 | 740 | 820 |
SJT bands in 2025: Band 1: 21%, Band 2: 39%, Band 3: 29%, Band 4: 10%.
2026 preliminary figures (for 2027 entry)
The current Test Statistics page gives preliminary figures from 20,794 tests up to 13 September 2026. The consortium expects about 22,000 more candidates and says these numbers "should be treated with significant caution". For comparison, the 2025 preliminary mean was 1939 and the final mean was 1891.
| Measure | 2026 preliminary (to 13 Sept) |
|---|---|
| Mean total score | 1970 |
| Mean VR / DM / QR | 614 / 657 / 699 |
| Deciles 1st to 9th | 1630, 1750, 1840, 1910, 1980, 2040, 2110, 2190, 2300 |
| SJT Band 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 | 16% / 42% / 32% / 10% |
Check the official statistics page after testing ends for the final 2026 figures. The figures above are the preliminary snapshot, not the final distribution. No statistics exist yet for the 2027 test.
What Is a Good UCAT Score?
Using only the official statistics, a careful reading is:
- Around the median (about 1880 in the final 2025 figures) is a typical result, not a weak one.
- Around the 7th decile and above (2010 or more in 2025) is clearly above average.
- Around the 9th decile (2220 or more in 2025) places you in roughly the top tenth of candidates.
- SJT Band 1 or 2 keeps the most options open. Band 3 rules you out at some schools, such as Manchester's current policy. Band 4 excludes you at several schools (see below).
These are descriptions of how candidates performed, not admissions rules. Whether a result is good enough depends on each school's method and on the applicant pool that year.
How Universities Use the UCAT
The official page on how universities use the UCAT sets out the main approaches:
- Threshold: some schools only consider applicants above a set score. A fixed threshold is published in advance. Others set a threshold each year and publish the scores they used before.
- Weighting: the UCAT is combined with other factors, such as GCSE results, to rank applicants.
- Total or subtests: most schools use the total, but some look at subtest scores and may set a cut-off for one of them.
- SJT: "An increasing number of universities use the SJT in selection with some excluding lower performing candidates."
The consortium adds that for some schools the score is a major factor, and for others it matters less or is only used in close cases.
Examples from University Admissions Pages
These examples come from each school's own page as checked on 19 September 2026. Each names its cycle where the page states one. Confirm the current version before you apply.
| University | What its page says |
|---|---|
| Edinburgh (Medicine, 2027 entry) | Minimum total of 1850. SJT Band 4 not considered. Scores are ranked into deciles and turned into points alongside academic scores. Eligible non-graduate widening-access "Plus Flag" applicants, and UCAT bursary holders, are considered at any total and get a 10% uplift. Graduate rules differ. |
| Glasgow (MBChB) | 2026-entry interview thresholds: 1870 for Scottish-domiciled, 1990 for rest of UK, 2150 for international and EU applicants. Glasgow does not consider the SJT. It says its 2027-entry thresholds will be known in November 2026 and published after the cycle ends. |
| Nottingham (published selection policy; the page still includes 2026-entry information) | No fixed interview threshold, and past thresholds are not shared. UCAT and GCSE points are combined, with Verbal Reasoning counted double and points awarded for the SJT band. Band 4 not considered. |
| Newcastle (Medicine) | Up to 60 points for the UCAT and 40 for academic grades, with the top combined scores invited to interview. Band 4 not considered further. For international and A101 applicants, only the UCAT is scored. |
| Manchester (Medicine) | Its threshold is set each year after November results. Its page says it does not currently consider SJT Band 3 or 4, and that the policy may be updated. |
| Keele (Medicine) | Its entry-requirements page gives a minimum total of 1,700 for home applicants and 1,950 for international applicants, and automatically rejects Band 4. The page's worked example still refers to the 2026-entry cycle. |
The table shows the range of methods. Two schools can treat the same result very differently. A total just above the median could fall short of one school's published threshold and still be ranked by another. A strong total with Band 4 is ruled out at several schools whatever the cognitive score.
Using Your Score to Choose Where to Apply
You get your score at the test centre and can see it in your UCAT Account about 24 hours later, well before the 15 October UCAS deadline. The consortium advises using it to choose where to apply, so you do not waste an application.
A practical approach:
- Compare your total with the official deciles for your cycle, not with forum claims.
- List each school's method: fixed threshold, variable threshold, weighted ranking, or subtest and SJT rules.
- Look for SJT exclusions that match your band.
- Check whether contextual or widening-access rules apply to you. Bursary status is shown to universities with your result.
- Treat any threshold from a past year as history, not a promise.
When Results Reach Universities
UCAT sends results directly to your UK university choices in early November, after matching your UCAS application. You do not put your score on the UCAS form. The official results page says a UCAT 2026 result is valid only for the 2027 UCAS cycle, including deferred 2028 entry. The consortium has no special-consideration process and cannot adjust scores after testing.
Setting a Practice Target
The official practice tests show which answers you got right or wrong, but they do not give a scaled score. So:
- track raw accuracy and timing for each subtest across comparable practice tests
- use raw accuracy and recurring mistakes to choose which subtest to work on next; official deciles apply to live scaled scores, not practice marks
- review SJT answers against the official rationale, because partial credit rewards close judgements
- save at least one full official practice test for a final rehearsal
For dates, fees and the university list, see the UCAT 2027 guide. For question types and timings, read the UCAT syllabus and format guide. For a study timetable, see how to prepare for the UCAT.
ExamPrepIQ's UCAT practice provides free timed subtests, mocks and a record of your accuracy by skill. Those results can guide your revision, but they are not official UCAT scores or admissions predictions. ExamPrepIQ is independent of the UCAT Consortium, Pearson VUE and the universities.