One of the most common questions I get from students is: "What UCAT score do I need?" It's a reasonable question — but the honest answer is that it depends on where you're applying and what the competition looks like each year. What I can do is give you a clear, data-backed picture of what the 2025 score distribution actually looked like, so you can set a realistic and ambitious target.
First: A Note on the New Scoring Scale
From 2025, the UCAT changed. Abstract Reasoning was removed, and the total score now runs from 900 to 2700 (previously 1200–3600 across four cognitive sections). Scores from 2024 and earlier are not directly comparable to 2025+ scores. If you've seen cut-off tables or "good score" guides that mention figures like 2600 or 2800, those are based on the old format — please disregard them for your 2025/2026 application.
All data in this post is from the official 2025 UCAT test statistics, based on 41,354 test-takers.
The 2025 Cohort: How Did Candidates Score?
Mean total score: 1891
| Section | Mean Score | |---|---| | Verbal Reasoning (VR) | 602 | | Decision Making (DM) | 628 | | Quantitative Reasoning (QR) | 661 | | Total | 1891 |
The mean gives you the midpoint. To understand where you sit relative to all applicants, the decile table is far more useful.
The Full 2025 UCAT Decile Table
| Decile | Total Score | VR | DM | QR | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1st (10th percentile) | 1580 | 500 | 520 | 520 | | 2nd (20th percentile) | 1680 | 540 | 560 | 570 | | 3rd (30th percentile) | 1760 | 560 | 590 | 590 | | 4th (40th percentile) | 1820 | 580 | 610 | 630 | | 5th (50th percentile / median) | 1880 | 600 | 630 | 650 | | 6th (60th percentile) | 1950 | 620 | 650 | 680 | | 7th (70th percentile) | 2010 | 640 | 670 | 710 | | 8th (80th percentile) | 2100 | 670 | 700 | 750 | | 9th (90th percentile) | 2220 | 700 | 740 | 820 |
Source: UCAT Consortium Test Statistics 2025
How to read this table: if your total score is 2010, you scored higher than approximately 70% of all 2025 test-takers. If your score is 1880, you scored at the median — right in the middle of the cohort.
Defining Score Ranges: Below Average to Excellent
Here's how I'd categorise 2025 UCAT scores based on the percentile data:
Below Average: Under 1880 (below 50th percentile)
Scoring below 1880 means you performed in the bottom half of all candidates. This doesn't mean medicine is off the table — some universities weight UCAT less heavily, and a strong personal statement, excellent GCSEs, and a compelling interview can compensate in some contexts. But you'll need to be strategic about where you apply, and ideally resit if possible.
Average: ~1880–1950 (50th–60th percentile)
This is the median range — you're performing around where the average applicant lands. Average for UCAT applicants is not the same as average for all students; these are people who've chosen to apply to medicine. At this range, you can still access a range of medical schools, but you'll want to target universities that weight UCAT alongside other factors rather than ranking purely by score.
Good: ~1950–2100 (60th–80th percentile)
A score in this range means you're comfortably above the majority of applicants. Most medical schools will view this positively. It opens doors at universities that use UCAT as one factor among many, and you'll be competitive at schools with moderate UCAT weighting.
Very Good: ~2100–2220 (80th–90th percentile)
A very good score. At this level, your UCAT is a genuine asset to your application. You're outperforming 80–90% of all candidates and will be competitive at most UK medical schools, including more selective ones.
Excellent: 2220+ (90th percentile and above)
Top 10% of all candidates. At this level, your UCAT score is a major strength. It will make you competitive even at the most selective schools, such as Oxford, Cambridge, and Imperial.
What About the SJT?
The Situational Judgement Test (SJT) is scored separately as a Band (1–4), with Band 1 being the highest. Here's how the 2025 cohort performed:
| Band | % of Candidates | |---|---| | Band 1 | 21% | | Band 2 | 39% | | Band 3 | 29% | | Band 4 | 10% |
A Band 1 or Band 2 is a solid outcome and will satisfy the SJT requirements at virtually all UK medical schools. Band 3 is acceptable at many schools, though some will flag it. Band 4 is a serious concern — a significant number of medical schools will automatically screen out Band 4 applicants, regardless of their cognitive score.
If you're aiming for medicine, Band 1 or 2 should be your target. The good news is that the SJT is learnable — it tests your understanding of the values and ethics that underpin good medical practice, and preparation makes a real difference.
How Different Universities Weight UCAT
Not every medical school treats UCAT the same way. Understanding this is critical for choosing where to apply.
Schools That Rank Heavily by UCAT Score
Some schools rank applicants primarily by UCAT score and interview only those in the top percentiles. At these schools, every point matters, and even a difference of 30–50 points can affect whether you get an interview.
Schools That Use UCAT as a Threshold
Others set a minimum UCAT threshold or decile requirement — for example, requiring applicants to be in the top 7 deciles. Once you clear the threshold, other factors (GCSEs, personal statement, interview) become more important.
Lancaster University, for example, shortlists candidates from the top ~7 UCAT deciles who also have an SJT of Band 1–3. Once you meet that bar, UCAT doesn't determine your rank further.
Schools That Use UCAT Alongside Other Factors
Some schools score UCAT alongside personal statement, GCSEs, and other criteria. Keele University is a good example — they score UCAT and personal statement out of 25 combined, so a strong personal statement can offset a lower UCAT.
Schools That Are Less UCAT-Focused
A small number of schools use UCAT as just one of several factors with relatively low weighting. Some, like Birmingham, do not apply a strict minimum cut-off. These schools may be better choices if your UCAT is below average but your other application components are strong.
Oxford uses UCAT alongside GCSEs, weighting them equally for shortlisting, before moving to interviews. Cambridge uses the cognitive UCAT score (not SJT) with no hard cut-off, reviewing it in context with academic record.
Historical Context: How 2025 Compares to Previous Years
Here are the mean cognitive scores for recent years, expressed on the 3-section (900–2700) scale for comparability:
| Year | Candidates | VR | DM | QR | Total | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 2025 | 41,354 | 602 | 628 | 661 | 1891 | | 2024 | 37,913 | 601 | 620 | 649 | 1870 | | 2023 | 35,625 | 591 | 623 | 649 | 1864 | | 2022 | 36,374 | 567 | 616 | 658 | 1841 | | 2021 | 37,230 | 572 | 610 | 665 | 1848 | | 2020 | 34,153 | 570 | 625 | 664 | 1859 | | 2019 | 29,375 | 565 | 618 | 662 | 1845 |
Note: 2024 and earlier figures are the 3-section equivalent (VR + DM + QR only, recalculated for comparison). The 2025 figure reflects the new format directly.
The average score has risen modestly over time. This reflects both growing competition and increased access to UCAT preparation resources. It's one of the reasons that preparation matters so much — the bar keeps rising slightly.
What Score Should You Be Aiming For?
My honest recommendation: aim for 2100+ (80th percentile and above). At that level, your UCAT score becomes a competitive advantage rather than something you need to explain or work around.
If you're consistently scoring in the 1950–2100 range during practice, you're in reasonable shape but should keep pushing — the difference between 2000 and 2100 is significant in terms of the schools open to you.
If you're below 1880 in practice, consider whether you have enough time to improve before test day, and plan your school choices carefully alongside your preparation.
How theMSAG Can Help You Hit Your Target
Knowing the numbers is one thing — getting there is another. theMSAG offers:
- Our UCAT Question Bank — thousands of questions across VR, DM, QR, and SJT with full explanations, calibrated to the current format - Our Live UCAT Course — structured preparation with Dr Dibah Jiva covering every section in depth, including DM strategies and SJT frameworks - Score analysis and target-setting — we help you understand where your marks are going and what changes will have the biggest impact
If you want to talk through your score targets and application strategy, our team is here to help.
Last verified by Dr Dibah Jiva — March 2026
Sources: UCAT Test Statistics 2025 | UCAT Test Format and Scoring