By Grey Joyner, Associate Director

At Elite Admission, we regularly speak with students who are interested in medicine. Often, they ask us what the process is for applying to study medicine in the UK or the US.

For the US, the answer is simple – there is no option to study medicine as an undergraduate (regardless of whether you are American or international). Students in the US often take “pre-med” classes at the undergraduate level (biology, chemistry, etc.) and then apply to graduate medical school.

In the UK, it is possible to study medicine as an undergraduate, although it can be difficult for international applicants. For those who are interested in studying medicine in the UK, there are six key things to know when deciding if and where to apply.

1. Classification as “international”

Some of the students we work with have UK passports, and frequently we get asked if this is enough for them to qualify as a local student for the purpose of admission and fees. The short answer is no – in itself, a UK passport does not guarantee that a student will be considered local. In general, schools look at where that student and their family have been living in the three years leading up to the student beginning university, and if they have been out of the UK voluntarily, then likely that student will be classified as international. This will impact their chances of admission (see below) as well as the fees they pay (which are significantly higher for international students – for example £9,250 per year for UK students compared to £53,700 per year for international students at Imperial College London).

Students can determine their fee status here: https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/student-advice/find-your-fee-status/

2. Admission caps for international students

Due to government restrictions, some universities are required to limit the number of international applicants that they accept. For example at Oxford, they are limited to at most 14 incoming students who are classified as international, and for the most recent year they only had an incoming international cohort of 8. Cambridge’s limit is 22 international students per year.

Other universities have a bit more flexibility with accepting international students. For example, Imperial College London aims for an incoming class of 74 international students, 21% of its total target incoming class of 345.

3. ATAR and IB

UK universities publish their minimum required A-Level results, which can be translated into minimum ATAR requirements. For example, Oxford requires A*AA, which translates to a 98.50 ATAR, while Cambridge requires A*A*A, which translates to a 99.00 ATAR.

Universities also publish required minimum IB results. For Cambridge, the minimum is 41-42 points, with 776 in the student’s Higher Level courses. For Oxford, the minimum is 39 with 766 at HL.

Keep in mind that these are minimum requirements and do not guarantee entry. For example, Cambridge states that most of their admitted IB students achieved a 44+ with 777 at HL.

ATAR and IB requirements at other universities will generally be lower than these requirements from Cambridge and Oxford, which are the most selective universities. Students should research the schools they are interested in to understand academic expectations.

4. Required courses

UK universities will generally have required high school courses for medicine. At Oxford, applicants must take Chemistry in high school, plus at least one (generally 2+) of Biology, Physics, Maths and Higher Maths.

Students are expected to excel in these courses as well, achieving 7s/As if they want to get accepted to top universities.

Different schools may have slightly different requirements, so students should research the specific schools they are interested in.

5. UCAT

The University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) is the standardised test for applying for medicine in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK. Australian students take the UCAT ANZ, which can be used to apply to universities across Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

The test runs for 2 hours and consists of four sections: Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning and Situational Judgement. Each section has a maximum score of 900. The format recently changed, and now the Situational Judgement score is reported separately, and in some cases not considered for admission.

Universities do not have required minimum UCAT scores. Last year, the mean UCAT score for someone accepted to Oxford medicine (local or international) was 3130. (Note: this is out of 3600 and prior to the Situational Judgement score being separated out; now scores are reported out of 2700.)

Some relevant admission statistics for Oxford can be found here: https://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/statistics

6. Developing their interest in medicine

In addition to the above admission criteria, universities will want to understand how the applicant developed their interest and experience in medicine outside of the classroom. This could include paid or unpaid work, research, personal learning, relevant extracurricular activities, and more.

This is not specific to medicine; applicants to any course of study in the UK will need to demonstrate how they have developed their interest and experience in their chosen course of study.

Conclusion

Students who want to study medicine at a top university often choose between studying in Australia and the UK. The above six factors can help students determine whether the UK is right for them. However, the decision should be based on additional factors, like whether they want to practice in the UK or Australia after medical school.

If you are considering studying medicine in the UK (or any other subject) and want to understand more about the process, feel free to reach out to us at Elite Admission. We have helped countless students get accepted to top UK universities and can help you navigate the sometimes confusing application process.