UCAT Scores - Decile Rankings & Average Scores

How Is The UCAT Scored?

The UCAT is scored out of 3600. Marks are spread across four sections: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning and Decision Making. Your performance on each of these sections is scaled to a score between 300 and 900 and then added together, to get your overall UCAT score.

The Situational Judgement section is scored differently in the UCAT and the UCAT ANZ. In the UK, you’ll be put into one of four bands, depending on your performance. SJT band 1 is the highest, and band 4 is the lowest. Certain Medical Schools will automatically reject candidates with band 4 in Situational Judgement.

In the UCAT ANZ, the SJT score is a number between 300 and 900 and follows the scoring of the other subtests.

This is how UCAT scores are broken down:

• Verbal Reasoning: Score between 300 and 900
• Quantitative Reasoning: Score between 300 and 900
• Abstract Reasoning: Score between 300 and 900
• Decision Making: Score between 300 and 900
• Situational Judgement: Score between Band 1 and Band 4 in the UK, or between 300 and 900 in UCAT ANZ

UCAT Percentiles

Your UCAT percentile tells you how you performed in the test compared to other candidates. The higher your percentile is, the better you performed.

For example, if you’re in the 90th percentile, this means that you scored higher than 90% of test-takers. A top 1% UCAT score would put you in the 99th percentile.

Percentiles are converted into deciles, so the 90th percentile becomes the 9th UCAT decile, the 80th percentile becomes the 8th UCAT decile, and so on.

UCAT Deciles

Every year, UCAT scores are sorted into deciles, with each one representing 10% of candidates. The higher your UCAT score is, the higher your decile will be – so the 9th decile is the highest and the 1st decile is the lowest.

A score in the 9th decile means that you are in the top 10% of test-takers. At the other end of the scale, a score in the 1st decile means that you have scored in the bottom 10%.

When Do I Get My UCAT Test Results?

You’ll get your UCAT test results immediately after you finish the test. Your results will be handed to you as you leave the test centre.

Your UCAT score will also be available online via your Pearson VUE account, but you should allow up to 24 hours for them to be uploaded.

Your results will be shared with the universities you’ve applied to on the application deadline, after which UCAT universities will then be able to see your scores.

What Is A Good UCAT Score?

A UCAT score above 650 is usually considered a good UCAT score. However, this can vary each year depending on other candidates’ performance.

Technically, a ‘good’ UCAT score is whatever score gets you above the threshold of your chosen UCAT universities. That’s why understanding how to use your UCAT score when you shortlist Medical Schools is so important. We can guide you on this via application advice.

What Is A High UCAT Score?

Scoring in the top 20% would be considered a high UCAT score, so the 8th decile (the 80th percentile) or higher. In 2022 a score of 2750+ would have been a high UCAT score in the UK – or 2830 in Australia and New Zealand.

Find out more: Where To Apply With A High UCAT Score

What Is An Average UCAT Score?

The average UCAT score changes each year – but is generally between 620 and 630. In 2022 the average UCAT score was 625, or a total of 2500 in the UK. This was a score in the 5th decile, or the 50th percentile.

The average hasn’t changed much in the last few years: it was 625 in 2021 and 628 in 2020.

For Australia and New Zealand, the average score in 2022 was 636, or a total of 2543.

Find out more: Where To Apply With An Average UCAT Score

What Is A Low UCAT Score?

A low UCAT score is generally below 610. You can still get into Medicine with a low UCAT score – but you will need to be very strategic about where you apply.

If you have a low UCAT score, you should identify universities which have low UCAT cut-offs and avoid applying to universities that will rank you by UCAT score alone.

In terms of the lowest UCAT score accepted, Sunderland says that your score must be within the top 8 deciles and Keele has stated a cut-off score of 2280 before.

Find out more: Where To Apply With A Low UCAT Score

What UCAT Score Is Needed For Medicine?

There is no single minimum UCAT score that you need in order to get into Medical School – it depends on how each UCAT university uses scores.

Some will rank applicants by score, which means you need to score as high as possible to stand a chance of being shortlisted. Some need you to beat a low cut-off score to be considered.

Some will assess your application based on things like A-Level grades instead, which means you have a chance of being shortlisted even with a lower UCAT score.

Final 2022 UCAT Scores

In 2022, there were 36,374 UCAT test-takers. The mean UCAT score was 2500.

The mean scores for each subtest were:

• Verbal Reasoning – 567
• Decision Making – 616
• Quantitative Reasoning – 658
• Abstract Reasoning – 659

The final deciles for the 2022 UCAT were:

• 1st decile – 2120
• 2nd decile – 2250
• 3rd decile – 2340
• 4th decile – 2420
• 5th decile – 2500
• 6th decile – 2570
• 7th decile – 2660
• 8th decile – 2750
• 9th decile – 2880

Among the 2022 test-takers, 20% achieved a Band 1 in Situational Judgement. 36% scored in Band 2, 31% in Band 3 and 14% in Band 4.

Find out more via our 2022 UCAT Scores Analysis.

Previous UK UCAT Scores

Based on past UCAT scores, students usually struggle the most with Verbal Reasoning, with the average score at 567 in 2022. In comparison, students tend to be most comfortable with Quantitative Reasoning, getting an average score of 658 last year.

Abstract Reasoning scores have increased in recent years, with the average reaching 659 last year. Decision Making scores tend to vary and and the average was 616 last year.

The easiest way to compare previous year scores is by reviewing the scores for each decile or percentile – but please remember that these don’t include the Situational Judgement results because that’s scored differently.

UK UCAT deciles for previous years:

Previous average scores for UK:

Scoring is different for Situational Judgement,  but as you can see below, most students scored Band 2 in this section.

UK Situational Judgement scores:

Previous UCAT ANZ Scores

How Is My UCAT Score Used?

When it comes to shortlisting candidates, Medical Schools will use your UCAT score in three different ways:

• Candidates will be ranked by score, and only the top-scorers will be shortlisted
• A cut-off score will be defined, and you’ll only be shortlisted if you meet this
• Scores will be viewed holistically alongside everything else that makes up your application

Discover how each university will use your UCAT score.