UKCAT

An overall score then determines which candidates are then selected for interview. Each year we plan to interview about 600 applicants. Interviews take place between October and March and achieve the fourth objective score (Contributes up to 45% of total score). Ultimately, offers will be made to candidates who achieve an overall score that is greater than the designated threshold. Although some offers are made on a rolling basis, the majority are made in late March each year."

no threshold. We only use the UKCAT once you have been interviewed, either if you are on borderline with other candidates to being offered a place here, or if you are already on our waiting list and a space has become available . A low UKCAT score does not mean that your application will automatically be made unsuccessful if you meet our other entry requirements."

and non-academic assessments in the selection process. No absolute UKCAT threshold is used."

weight of 20% but this may be higher in certain circumstances. There is no specific cut off applied but obviously a high score is advantageous. Our analysis of 2010 applicants revealed that we interviewed few applicants with a UKCAT score below 2300 and the average for those gaining offers was over 2600. Applications without UKCAT will be rejected."

the entry requirements for medicine. For the A100 programme Newcastle and Durham use the same UKCAT threshold to identify applicants for interview. The UKCAT scores will be used to identify those we wish to interview. The UKCAT threshold may differ in each admissions cycle as it is dependent on the scores achieved by those applicants who apply to our Medical School in the current cycle."

advantageous a low score will not automatically disqualify a candidate from consideration, if the rest of the application is strong then the applicant could still be short-listed for interview with a lower test score."

decision about your application. Once all the scores are received we rank them into four quartiles. Those applicants whose UKCAT scores come in the top quartile are allocated three points, second quartile are allocated two points, third quartile are allocated one point and the fourth quartile are not allocated any points. The points are then added to your total score to contribute towards your final ranking. Test results are worth 8% of the overall score of an application. The score an applicant actually achieved is looked at when final decisions are being made and there is a number of applicants with the same ranked score and limited places left to offer."

academic entry requirements and who also possess a minimum overall UKCAT total score consistent with the national average. Applicants that meet/are predicted to achieve minimum entry requirements but are below the national average UKCAT total score are unlikely to be considered further. Previous results have shown that the national average UKCAT total score will be in the range of 2400-2500, however this varies year on year. Interviewees who meet/are predicted to achieve the minimum academic entry requirements will be ranked by UKCAT total score. Depending on the number of applications the Medical School receives and the standard of scores achieved in the UKCAT, the Medical School may need to increase the UKCAT total score requirement. Around 800 candidates for Medicine and 200 for Dentistry will be selected for interview from the top UKCAT total scorers."

for A100 (6 year MBBS/BSc) will take the BMAT instead of the UKCAT. The UKCAT is deemed an invaluable tool in comparing suitability between candidates from disparate academic backgrounds and candidates will not be called to interview if they perform badly in this test. Candidates meeting our minimum requirements will be ranked according to their UKCAT scores and the highest scorers will be selected for interview however no single factor is looked at in isolation when determining which candidates will be interviewed and a high UKCAT score will not guarantee an interview. Whilst it is likely that there will be a cut-off point below which candidates are not considered, it is likely to vary year on year."

candidates are selected from those with scores within the top 25% of the applicant pool. Within this group, all indicators are then considered for the final selection of interviewees.Your UKCAT scores will not be the sole indicator for selection. They will be balanced against achievement in other areas, in particular your academic performance to date. All indicators will be considered together in deciding who will be selected for interview. It is therefore important to understand that there is no universal 'cut off' score for the UKCAT. For example, if an applicant has an excellent academic background then the test scores will play a less significant part in selection. For those with weaker academic backgrounds (relative to our overall applicant pool)the scores will become more important. An applicant who may not normally be considered on academic grounds could be invited to interview on the strength of strong UKCAT scores that may indicate potential. Also, if applicants are very similar in all other ways, the score may be the determining factor in selection for interview."

alongside the personal statement, academic background and referee’s statement. There is no cut-off point."

classed as 'exempt' by obtaining an official exemption certificate number from UKCAT."

the entry requirements for medicine. For the A100 programme Newcastle and Durham use the same UKCAT threshold to identify applicants for interview. The UKCAT scores will be used to identify those we wish to interview. The UKCAT threshold may differ in each admissions cycle as it is dependent on the scores achieved by those applicants who apply to our Medical School in the current cycle."

application, we will mark each of the scores you received for the four cognitive components of the UKCAT test, together with your personal statement, highest 8 GCSE's and answers to our on-line questionnaire. The total score an individual gains is compared with all other applications and the 800 highest scoring applicants are invited for interview."

UKCAT score is one of several factors that we take into account when selecting candidates for interview, and there is no score that will guarantee you an interview. However, we would normally expect to interview candidates who perform particularly well in the test (by which we mean scoring in the top quarter of the applicants); and we would normally expect not to interview those whose scores fall below the top 40 per cent of the range of our candidates. The UKCAT guidance on interpreting UKCAT scores used to list a range of 500–700 for each subtest as representing the “average” band. This range is no longer explicitly stated in the UKCAT documentation, but as a general guide if you score below this range you will probably not be among our stronger candidates. In practice in 2006 (when there were four sub-tests) we did not interview any candidates who scored below 2600 in total – i.e., an average of 650 per subtest. In 2007 (when there were three sub-tests), we did not interview any candidates who scored below 1950 in total (again, by chance, an average of 650); and we interviewed everyone with a total score above 2280 (760 per section). The figures for 2008 were broadly similar. However, we include these figures only for guidance: the UKCAT score will be taken into account alongside other factors that we use when deciding which candidates to interview. It is not yet possible to know whether the distribution of scores will be the same every year. But, purely as a best guess based on previous year’s scores, it is likely that candidates who score below an average of 600 per section (2400, based on four sub-tests) in the UKCAT would have a fairly low chance of success on this course."

Total UKCAT Banding Scores for Applicants Applying for Medicine at Queen's University Belfast in 2012

Final decisions about whether or not to make an offer will be made on the basis of interview ranking alone (i.e. Stage 2 results) and not in combination with other factors."

when deciding who will be invited for interview, applicants will be ranked in order of their UCKAT score and on this basis, may be invited for interview. As we do not receive the UKCAT results prior to application, we cannot predict the score needed to obtain an interview. We can however inform you that for entry to the A100 MBChB in 2011, candidates with a UKCAT score of 2870 and above were invited for interview."

and BM4 programmes whose UKCAT results fall in the bottom quartile (25%) of the overall national UKCAT results will not have their application considered any further. We are unable to predict the actual cut-off score for 2012 entry until the scores are made available to us in November 2011. The cut-off score for 2011 entry for BM4 & BM5 was 2310. The cut-off score does not apply to the BM6 (A102) programme, but the UKCAT score will continue to be used alongside all other information as part of the BM6 selection process for 2011 entry."

UKCAT will also be used for borderline cases after interview and to rank our post-offer waiting list."