What UCAT Score, UCAT percentile, ATAR / OP / GPA will get me an interview offer?

When will UCAT percentile results report come out?

What does my UCAT Score and UCAT Percentile mean?

What is a good UCAT result? 

While UCAT 2019 results were provided to candidates immediately after the exam, the actual UCAT percentile (UCAT statistics report) release date is not yet known. Pearson VUE promises to have the UCAT Percentile results to be made available to students soon after the end of testing. So, lets hope we don't have to wait for much longer.

Do not hesitate to contact if you are unsure how to interpret your UCAT results.

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Which universities do no require a UCAT score?

Preparing for the UCAT and and how to interpret your own UCAT NIE practice test scores:

Attempting UCAT-style questions under the same conditions as the real UCAT is very important for anyone who is thinking of sitting the UCAT anytime in the near future. The main purpose of the trial paper is to identify weaker and stronger areas of the applicant’s performance. This can be achieved easily by simply analysing the raw percentage of questions that were marked correctly during the trial test. While this information is important in order to plan ones preparation strategy, it is also very important to understand ‘how ready’ the applicant is for the real test compared to others who will sit the UCAT.

The exact methodology used by Pearson VUE to calculate UCAT scores (UKCAT Scores) has never been disclosed to neither the public nor any other organisation including universities, colleges and any UCAT preparation organisations. And even if Pearson VUE was to share the information about the method of calculating the actual raw UCAT scores and UCAT percentile, this information would be deemed unusable, unless Pearson VUE would also share performance reports of the entire UCAT cohort for that particular year. Therefore, any advice or mark forecasts provided in this guide, are merely estimates based on NIE’s past experiences and analysis of NIE’s past student performance and how the results compared to the students’ UCAT performance.

Is there a pass or fail for UCAT?

There is no 'pass' or 'fail' for UCAT. The universities use UCAT Scores differently and set their own UCAT cut-off scores each year. These are the minimum UCAT scores acceptable for consideration by the university and vary from one university to another. Note, Pearson VUE cannot give information regarding UCAT or ATAR / OP cut-off scores.

What UCAT Score, UCAT percentile, ATAR / OP / GPA will get me an interview offer?

The range of UCAT and ATAR cut off scores (minimum to maximum scores) will only be known after everyone has been interviewed and once students have accepted their offers to study medicine or dentistry. Hence, the range of scores for that particular year will only be available after the academic year has started. That is, for example if you are a 2019 UCAT cohort student, the lowest accepted UCAT score / UCAT percentile, and ATAR / OP / GPA will be known only the following year after the first 4 weeks of the actual medical / dental degree has passed. Why after the first 4 weeks? That is because (hard to believe but does happen) some students will drop out from the degree in the first month, meaning that the university suddenly has available spot/s to accept short-listed students into their degree again.  Hence, the lowest accepted UCAT and ATAR scores only finalised after the academic year has started, and that is why if you are to call the university and ask about the cut off scores, they will usually tell you that they simply don’t know. You will also be surprised how low the final scores might be. For example, historically universities have accepted students in the final round offers into their medical and dental programs with ATARs in very low 90s, and lower UCAT scores.  So, the moral is, that there is no way of knowing or predicting which UCAT score or UCAT percentile, and ATAR / OP will be the lowest for any given year, therefore, to increase your chances of getting into your chosen degree, we highly encourage each and every student to apply to every university, select Bonded Placement (which allows for even lower UCAT and ATAR results) and just see what happens at the end. If you don’t apply, then you will never know if you were going to make it into your dream career that year.

Do UCAT Scores show the number of questions correctly answered?

No. The number of questions you had right has been scaled to obtain your UCAT Section Scores.

What does the UCAT percentile rank mean?

A UCAT percentile rank indicates how a candidate performed in relation to all other candidates who sat UCAT in the same year. Percentiles do not allow comparison between candidates who sat the test in different years.

IMPORTANT: Candidates will not be provided with any additional information on the scoring process. All such information remains the property of Pearson VUE and the UCAT Consortium. A candidate has no right to examination of Pearson VUE's scoring processes and methodologies.

Some important points to consider.

Before you get into analysing your own UCAT scores and in turn overly criticising your own performance, you need to understand a couple of very important points:

1. UCAT is a heavily scaled test and hardly anyone ever gets all questions right. Those that do, are far and few. Therefore, your expectation of what a good mark is, needs to be more realistic and in tune with the marking criteria.

2. If you find any UCAT Section/Subtest difficult, chances are that others do too. So, do not be too harsh on yourself.

3. If you are a beginner and only starting UCAT prepation now, chances are that you will score low in each UCAT subtest. This will more than likely put you in the bottom percentile. This is not because you are incapable in doing well in the UCAT, it is simply because UCAT is a culling test, and so the largest number of applicants with most common scores end up in the bottom to mid range-percentile. Things will get better with consistent practice. Pearson VUE encourages students to practcie and prepare for the test if they want to do well. 

Suggested  further reading:

UCAT 2019 - So, what does your UCAT Score / UCAT Percentile mean?  Recently published article