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3rd October 2024
Simon Pedley, our Head of Academia, has analysed the final 2024 UCAT scores for trends and differences compared to previous years. Here’s what you need to know:

1. More people took the UCAT this year

The number of UCAT test-takers in 2024 was 37,913. This is over 2,000 more than in 2023 (when it was 35,625) and more than 2022 as well. This suggests a higher overall number of applicants for Medicine in 2024.

The number of places should remain roughly consistent with the number of places available in 2023, as there has been no change in the cap on places (as there was last year).

And remember, don’t be fooled into thinking this is because there is no BMAT this year. The overwhelming majority of those who sat BMAT also sat the UCAT.

Therefore, you will be facing a more competitive landscape in 2024.

2. The mean score is slightly higher than last year

The mean 2023 UCAT score was 2,516 and this year it has increased to 2,523. So your score needs to be a bit higher to remain competitive, but not massively so.

However, one change we can see is that a smaller proportion of applicants achieved a Band 1 in Situational Judgement this year. Specifically, 13% of test-takers achieved Band 1 this year, which is much lower than the 25% last year.

There’s also an increase in the average score for verbal reasoning: 601 compared to 591 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.

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3. The decile thresholds are different

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 2,760; this year you would require a score of 2,780.

This applies throughout the decile rankings, with the median 50% in 2023 scoring 2,510. In 2024, the median score was 2,520.

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.

What Can You Do With This Information?

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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