What Is the Average UCAT Score for UK Medical Schools?

The average UCAT score for the most recent full testing cycle was 1,891 out of a maximum 2,700, based on the official final results published by the UCAT Consortium from 41,354 candidates who sat the test up to 26 September 2025. This figure reflects the cognitive total across the test’s three scored subtests — Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, and Quantitative Reasoning — following the removal of the Abstract Reasoning section from the UCAT in 2025, which reduced the maximum possible score from 3,600 to 2,700. A score at or near this average places a candidate roughly in the middle of the national field, but whether that’s “good enough” depends entirely on which medical schools you’re applying to, since no single average or cut-off score works the same way across all of them.

This distinction matters because the UCAT isn’t marked with a pass or fail threshold — it’s a ranking test, and each UK medical school decides independently how heavily to weight it and what score it will accept for interview shortlisting. Below is a breakdown of the official average, what it means in percentile terms, how it compares to what competitive schools actually require, and how to use this information to build a realistic UCAS strategy.

The Official 2025 UCAT Average, Explained

According to the UCAT Consortium’s own published Test Statistics for 2025, the final total cognitive mean scaled score across all 41,354 UK candidates who sat the test was 1,891. The average scores for each individual subtest were:

• Verbal Reasoning: approximately 602
• Decision Making: approximately 628
• Quantitative Reasoning: approximately 661

Each subtest is scaled from 300 to 900, and your total score is the sum of all three. There is no separate “pass mark” — your total score, plus a separately-banded Situational Judgement Test (SJT) result from Band 1 (best) to Band 4 (worst), together form the complete UCAT result that medical schools receive.

It’s worth being precise about why this figure differs so much from averages quoted for earlier years. Until 2024, the UCAT included a fourth cognitive subtest, Abstract Reasoning, and was scored out of a maximum of 3,600. The 2024 average under that four-subtest format was 2,523. Abstract Reasoning was withdrawn from the test starting in 2025, which is why the maximum score dropped to 2,700 and the average dropped accordingly to 1,891. If you see an “average UCAT score” cited anywhere above roughly 2,000, it’s likely referencing the old four-subtest scoring system and is not directly comparable to scores from 2025 onwards. Always check which scoring system a source is using before comparing your own result to it.

What Does an Average Score Actually Mean for Your Application?

An average score of 1,891 corresponds to roughly the middle of the field — around the 5th decile, according to the UCAT Consortium’s own decile breakdown for 2025. To put the wider distribution in context using the same official 2025 dataset:

• A score around 1,880–1,891 sits at approximately the median (50th percentile)
• A score of roughly 2,010 placed a candidate around the 7th decile (top 30%)
• A score of 2,100 marked the 8th decile (top 20%) in 2025
• Scores in the 2,200s and above have historically placed candidates in the top decile nationally
• The highest scores observed in 2025 reached into the 2,600–2,680 range

These figures are useful for orienting yourself nationally, but they don’t tell you whether you’re competitive at any specific medical school — and this is the single most important thing to understand about UCAT averages.

Why the National Average Doesn’t Tell You Whether You’re “Good Enough”

Unlike a standardized exam with fixed grade boundaries, the UCAT has no universal pass mark, and no UK medical school is obligated to use the national average as its own benchmark. Each of the roughly three dozen UK medical schools that require the UCAT sets its own approach to using the score, and these approaches vary enormously:

Some schools rank almost entirely by UCAT score. At UCAT-heavy institutions, applicants are shortlisted for interview primarily or exclusively based on their cognitive score relative to that year’s applicant pool, meaning even a score comfortably above the national average may not be competitive if the specific school’s applicant pool that year skewed unusually high.

Some schools use a combined or weighted score. A number of medical schools combine UCAT performance with academic results (GCSEs, predicted or achieved A-Levels) into a single ranking score, meaning a UCAT score below average can be partially offset by strong academic performance, and vice versa.

Some schools set no fixed cut-off at all. A handful of medical schools consider the UCAT alongside a wider set of criteria without publishing or applying a strict numerical threshold, meaning your GCSEs, personal statement, and reference can carry comparatively more weight.

Cut-offs are set after applications close, not in advance. A common misconception is that medical schools publish their required UCAT score before the application cycle opens. In reality, most set their effective threshold only once they can see the full spread of that year’s applicant scores — which is why the same numerical score can be sufficient at one school in one year and insufficient at the same school the next.

Because of this, the honest answer to “is my UCAT score good enough?” is always “it depends which medical schools you’re applying to” — the national average is a useful reference point, not a target.

How the Average Compares to What Competitive Medical Schools Actually Require

To illustrate how much the effective threshold can vary above the national average, recent reported cut-offs and thresholds at individual medical schools have included:

• The University of Edinburgh set a minimum total cut-off score of 1,650 for 2026 entry — below the national average, since Edinburgh weighs UCAT alongside other criteria rather than using it as the dominant filter.
• Keele University has used a total UCAT threshold around 1,700, making it accessible to candidates scoring below the national average.
• King’s College London has reported interview cut-offs in the 2,700s under the previous scoring system, historically placing it among the more UCAT-demanding schools — applicants should check KCL’s current published threshold under the new 2,700-point scale.
• Bristol published a final 2026-entry interview threshold of 2,240 for home applicants and 2,270 for overseas applicants, both comfortably above the national average.

This spread — from roughly 1,650 at one end to well over 2,200 at the other — illustrates why “the average UCAT score” is a starting reference point rather than something to aim for. A score at the national average may be highly competitive at some schools and insufficient at others in the same application cycle.

Verified UCAT Score Benchmarks (2025 Official Data)

The table below reproduces the UCAT Consortium’s own published decile data exactly, from ucat.ac.uk/results/test-statistics-2025, verified 25 July 2026.

A score of 2,220 or above placed a candidate in the top 10% nationally in 2025. Because cut-offs are reset by each medical school every cycle based on that year’s applicant pool, treat these bands as historical guidance rather than a guarantee for the current admissions year.

What the Average Score Means for the Situational Judgement Test

Your cognitive score is only part of the picture. The Situational Judgement Test is scored separately and reported as a band from 1 to 4, and several medical schools apply a hard cut-off based on SJT band regardless of a strong cognitive score — a Band 4 result, in particular, can lead to automatic rejection at some institutions even where the cognitive score is well above the national average. According to the UCAT Consortium’s official 2025 figures, the SJT band distribution across all 41,354 candidates was: Band 1 — 21%, Band 2 — 39%, Band 3 — 29%, Band 4 — 10%. If your cognitive score is at or above average but your SJT band is weak, it’s worth checking each target school’s specific SJT policy, since this is a separate filter from the total score discussed above.

How to Use the National Average to Build Your UCAS Strategy

Treat the average as a midpoint, not a target. Scoring at the national average of 1,891 doesn’t mean you’re “average” in terms of medical school competitiveness — it means you’re at the midpoint of everyone who sat the test, a broader and less selective population than the pool of applicants who go on to secure medicine offers.

Map your actual score against each target school’s recent threshold, not against the national average. A score comfortably above the national mean can still fall short at a UCAT-dominant school with a historically high threshold, while the same score may be more than sufficient at a school with a lower or no fixed cut-off.

Remember that thresholds shift year to year. Because most medical schools set their effective cut-off after seeing the full applicant pool for that cycle, a threshold quoted for a previous year is a guide, not a guarantee, for the current one.

Don’t rely on the score alone. At schools where UCAT is only one component of a combined or holistic score, strong GCSEs, a well-reflected personal statement, and solid references can meaningfully offset a UCAT score below the national average.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 1,891 a good UCAT score? It’s the national average for 2025, placing a candidate at roughly the 5th decile. Whether it counts as “good” depends entirely on which medical schools you’re applying to — it may be more than sufficient at schools with a lower or no fixed threshold, and insufficient at UCAT-heavy schools with historically higher cut-offs.

Why does my UCAT score look so much lower than scores I’ve seen quoted from previous years? The UCAT changed its scoring system in 2025, removing the Abstract Reasoning subtest and reducing the maximum possible score from 3,600 to 2,700. Scores from 2025 onwards are not directly comparable to scores from 2024 or earlier under the old four-subtest system.

Does a below-average UCAT score mean I can’t get into medical school? No. A number of UK medical schools set UCAT thresholds below the national average, or weight the UCAT alongside academic performance and other criteria rather than using it as the dominant filter. A below-average cognitive score can often be offset by a strong academic profile, targeted school choices, and solid interview performance.

How is the UCAT average calculated, and who publishes it? The UCAT Consortium — the group of UK universities that administers the test — publishes official final test statistics each year at ucat.ac.uk/results. This article’s figures were fetched directly from that page (Test Statistics 2025), not copied from a third-party summary. This is the authoritative source for average scores, subtest breakdowns, and decile rankings, and should be checked directly for the most current data each admissions cycle.

Will the average UCAT score be different for 2026 entry? Averages can shift slightly year to year based on that cycle’s candidate pool, though the underlying three-subtest, 2,700-point scoring format introduced in 2025 is expected to remain consistent. Always check the UCAT Consortium’s current-year test statistics directly rather than relying on a previous year’s average once new results are published.

Final Thoughts

The verified national average UCAT score for 2025 was 1,891 out of 2,700, based on the UCAT Consortium’s own official final statistics from over 41,000 candidates. That figure is a useful orientation point, but it isn’t a target to aim for or a threshold that guarantees anything at any specific medical school. Because each UK medical school sets its own approach to the UCAT — some ranking almost entirely by score, others weighting it alongside academics, and a few setting no fixed cut-off at all — the more useful question for your own application isn’t “am I above the national average?” but “how does my score compare to the recent, published threshold at each school on my UCAS list?”

For more on UCAT strategy, entry requirements, and building a realistic UCAS shortlist as an international applicant, see our related guides on UK medical schools without UCAT and entry requirements for international students applying to UK medical schools on International Student Admissions.