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The number of UCAT test-takers in 2023 was 35,625. This is around 700 fewer than in 2022 (when it was 36,374).
This suggests a slightly lower overall number of applicants for Medicine in 2023. The number of places should remain roughly consistent with the number of places available in 2022, as there has been no change in the cap on places (as there was last year).
So your chances of getting a place for Medicine are probably slightly better than last year.
The mean 2022 UCAT score was 2,500 and this year it has increased to 2,516. So your score needs to be a bit higher to remain competitive.
However, one change we can see is that a higher proportion of applicants achieved a Band 1 in Situational Judgement this year. Specifically, 25% of test-takers achieved Band 1 this year, which is up from 20% last year.
There’s also a slight increase in the average score for verbal reasoning: 591 compared to 567 last year. This is important for universities like Nottingham, which double-weight the VR section of the UCAT when deciding who to call for an interview.
Just as there was an increase in the average UCAT score, so there was an increase in the percentile thresholds. Last year, to be among the top-scoring applicants (top 20%) you would have needed to score above 2750; this year you would require a score of 2760.
This applies throughout the decile rankings, with the bottom 20% in 2022 scoring below 2,250. In 2023, the bottom 20% scored below 2,270.
All in all, this means that to be considered a top performer in the UCAT, you would need to have a slightly higher score this year than last year. You can see all of this year’s deciles in our UCAT Scores guide.
Now that the final UCAT results have been released, it’s important to understand how your UCAT score compares and which decile you are in.
You then need to use this information to select your UCAS choices and make sure you’re applying to Medical Schools where you stand a chance of being shortlisted for interview.
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