Overview of UCAT Scoring

As soon as you’ve sat your UCAT test, you will receive your results in the format that you can see below. Note, however, that Abstract Reasoning has now been removed from the UCAT test, so this row will not appear on your score report.

If you acquaint yourself with the format of the score report, then, on the day of the actual test, you will know exactly how you have done, and what it all means, without having to go away to try and figure it out.

Introduction to the UCAT scoring system

The UCAT is made up of 115 separately marked questions (not including Situational Judgement, which is marked separately, as described later in this guide). The overall mark equates to the number of questions answered correctly. While there is no negative marking, it is not the case that one correct answer equals one mark. Instead, a conversion is used which takes the raw marks from each of the sections and converts them into a score (300-900) that allows the sections to be compared and collated. This is because each section has a different number of questions, and each section needs to be weighted, or scaled, evenly in order to give a balanced overall score.
The situational judgement section of the UCAT is scored separately. Full marks are awarded for fully correct answers, and partial marks may be awarded for responses that are almost correct. The overall score, furthermore, is not summed into a numerical result, but instead into a band, ranging from 1-4, Band 1 being the highest, and Band 4 being the lowest.

Individual sections and their scoring

Verbal Reasoning

• The verbal reasoning section will ask you to read passages of text roughly 250 words long and then you will answer 4 questions relating to what you just read.
• In total, there are 11 passages of text, so 44 questions overall.
• This is a very time pressured section, with only 2 minutes to read each passage and answer the 4 questions.
• Each of the 4 questions equates to 1 mark, 4 per text, which is then processed via the UCAT algorithm to give you a score between 300 and 900.

According to the UCAT official test statistics for 2025, the average adjusted score for verbal reasoning was 602. This is always the lowest average score of all the sections of the UCAT. This pattern is seen every year in the UCAT results, with verbal reasoning proving to be the hardest section in which to achieve the highest marks.

These are the average scores in recent years:

 Decision making

• This section comprises a series of logic questions, mainly testing your ability to extrapolate information from statistics and evaluate arguments.
• There are 35 questions in this section of the UCAT, and they need to be answered in 37 minutes.
• There are two types of questions: multiple-choice questions and ‘yes’ or ‘no’ statements.
• The single answer, yes/no, questions will each earn you 1 mark if answered correctly. However, the multiple-choice questions are different: here 2 marks will be awarded for a fully correct answer and 1 mark for a partially correct response. Your raw mark will be translated into a score between 300 and 900.

The average scores in recent years are listed below:

Quantitative reasoning

• The quantitative reasoning section is the closest to a maths test that the UCAT has. In this part of the UCAT, you are required to use basic GCSE maths skills and problem-solving capabilities.
• This section consists of 36 questions, to be completed in 26 minutes. The answers are given in multiple-choice format, and you will be awarded 1 mark for selecting the correct option. At the end, again, these marks will be converted into the UCAT score, between 300-900.

This is the section where candidates tend to score highest on average. Here are the average scores for recent years:

Total Score

The scaled scores for each section are then added together to give a total out of 2700.

The total and average section scores for recent years (calculated without the inclusion of Abstract Reasoning) are as follows:

 Situational judgement
As mentioned in the introduction, the Situational Judgement section is scored separately.

• There are 69 questions that need to be answered in just 26 minutes.
• You will be given scenarios and actions/considerations which you need to rank in order of appropriateness/importance.
• There are two types of questions:

1. Questions where you are asked to judge how appropriate/important in your opinion a given action appears to be.

2. Most appropriate / least appropriate questions: where you have three possible responses and from them you choose the most and the least appropriate response for the scenario with which you are presented.

• In the scoring of these questions, you are given a gradation of scores based on how correctly you answer the question, with full marks being given for completely correct answers and partial marks for those ranking the answers mostly, but not completely, correct.
• The overall score is not summed into a numerical result, but instead a band (ranging from 1-4). 1 being the lowest, and 4 the highest.

Each band comes with a little contextual explanation, and you will receive one of the following descriptors:

In 2025, 39% of people achieved a band 2, which was the highest band proportion. The next highest was band 3 (29%), while band 1 was awarded to 21% of candidates, and band 4 to 10%.

Here are the situational judgment scores from recent years:

How will my score be used?

As explained more in-depth in our free UCAT Universities Guide, your UCAT score will be used differently depending on the medical/dental school you are applying to. Some will use it to rank you against your fellow applicants, with only those achieving the top x% being given an interview. Other universities, however, apply an arbitrary cut-off mark, where, if you score below the cut-off mark, your application will not be progressed. Generally, however, most universities use your UCAT score as only one element of their selection process, considering all aspects of your application. With these universities, if you do not score as well as you had hoped for in your UCAT, it might be that your academics can help bolster your application and vice versa. See our free UCAT Universities Guide for more helpful information in this respect.

More in-depth detail on scoring:

1. Three cognitive subtests are scored

Since 2025, when Abstract Reasoning was removed from UCAT, the cognitive score comes from:

Your total cognitive score is:

VR + DM + QR = Total UCAT score

Range:

• Minimum: 900

• Maximum: 2700

________________________________________

2. Raw marks are converted to scaled scores

You are initially marked on the number of questions answered correctly.

• No negative marking.

• Wrong answers score 0.

• In Decision Making, some multi-statement questions allow partial credit.

Because each section has a different number of questions, raw scores are converted to a scaled score between 300 and 900. Universities only see the scaled scores, not your raw marks.

For example (illustrative only):

The exact raw-to-scaled conversion varies between test forms and is not published. Statistical equating is used to ensure fairness across different versions of the test.

________________________________________

3. What is a "good" UCAT score?

Using recent UCAT data:

These figures vary slightly each year.

As a rough guide for UK medicine:

• 1900–2050 = competitive at some schools.

• 2050–2200 = strong.

• 2200+ = very strong and often above many UCAT cut-offs. (Cut-offs vary by university and widening participation status.)

________________________________________

Example score report

A candidate might receive:

For UK medicine, success is often less about your absolute UCAT score and more about applying to universities that use the UCAT in a way that matches your strengths.

________________________________________

What score should you aim for under the new 2700-point UCAT?

A practical target:

Because the new UCAT is out of 2700 rather than 3600, historic cut-offs need careful interpretation. The most useful strategy is to compare yourself with annual UCAT percentile data once released.

________________________________________

Advising applicants - examples of strategic applications

Score around 1950–2050

Focus on:

• Liverpool

• Queen's Belfast

• Other schools where academics contribute significantly

Score around 2100–2200

You can consider:

• King's College London

• Leicester

• Nottingham

• Birmingham

• Manchester

• Liverpool

Score 2250+

Most UCAT-focused schools become realistic:

• Bristol

• Sheffield

• Southampton

• King's

• Many other UCAT-heavy programmes

________________________________________

Strategic application advice

The biggest mistake applicants make is applying to four prestigious schools rather than four schools that fit their score profile.

A student with:

• UCAT 2150

• Excellent GCSEs (mostly 8s and 9s)

may receive more interviews than a student with:

• UCAT 2250

• Weaker GCSEs

if they choose schools strategically.

Depends on:

1. Your UCAT score (or practice scores if you haven't sat it yet),

2. GCSE profile,

3. Whether you're a home or international applicant

________________________________________

Broad categories of UCAT medical schools

1. UCAT-heavy schools

These schools largely rank applicants by UCAT score for interview selection.

Examples:

• University of Bristol Medical School

• University of Sheffield Medical School

• University of Southampton Medical School

For Bristol, interview invitations are largely based on UCAT ranking once minimum academic requirements are met.

Who should apply?

• Very strong UCAT

• Average GCSEs

• Less emphasis on school-leaving exam profile

2. UCAT + GCSE scoring schools

These combine academic achievement with UCAT.

Examples:

• University of Leicester Medical School

• University of Nottingham Medical School

• Queen's University Belfast School of Medicine

Leicester currently uses approximately 50% UCAT and 50% academic scoring before interview selection.

Nottingham scores both GCSEs and UCAT and has historically given additional emphasis to Verbal Reasoning; SJT Band 4 applicants are normally not considered.

Who should apply?

• Strong GCSE profile

• Good but not necessarily exceptional UCAT

3. Holistic schools

These use UCAT but do not rely solely on a numerical cut-off.

Example:

• King's College London School of Medicine

King's states that it does not operate a fixed UCAT threshold and considers overall UCAT performance together with SJT and academic achievement when shortlisting.