The UCAS System for Medicine

UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) is the central online system used to apply for all undergraduate courses in the UK, including medicine. All medical school applications must be submitted through UCAS, and the process follows a strict timetable.

Key Deadlines for Medicine

Medicine, dentistry, and veterinary courses have an earlier deadline than most other university subjects:

  • Mid-October (usually 15th October at 18:00 UK time) — final deadline to submit your application, including personal statement, references, and all course choices.

  • January deadline — for non-medicine courses, but irrelevant for standard medical school applications.

  • Interviews typically take place between late autumn and spring.

  • UCAS Track updates with offers/rejections as decisions are made by universities.

Key Parts of the UCAS Application

  1. Personal Details — your contact and background information.

  2. Education — your qualifications and predicted grades.

  3. Work Experience — relevant placements, volunteering, and employment.

  4. Personal Statement — up to 4,000 characters (about 47 lines). This is extremely important for medicine — far more so than for many other university courses — as it’s your opportunity to demonstrate your motivation, suitability, and commitment to the profession. Medical schools use it alongside your grades and admissions test results to decide who to interview.

  5. References — usually from a teacher or tutor who can comment on your suitability.

  6. Course Choices — up to five in total.

The 4-Choice Rule for Medicine

When applying to medicine, you can only put four medical school courses on your UCAS application. This leaves a fifth choice for another subject, which you can use strategically.

Some applicants choose a related course such as Applied Medical Sciences, Biomedical Science, or Pharmacology as an insurance option. If you do not get a place for medicine, you can still complete this three-year degree, then apply for Graduate Entry Medicine (often a four-year course).

In some cases — for example, if you intercalate or take an accelerated pathway — you could still become a doctor in around six years total from starting university. However, graduate entry is very competitive and not guaranteed, so it’s important to be realistic about this route.

Tip: Think carefully about your fifth choice — choose something you would genuinely enjoy studying and that could lead to a fulfilling career in its own right.