The principles described here apply to standard, home applicants. The following categories of applicant each have amended processes, which are described elsewhere:
- Graduate
- International
- Contextual (identified according to school attended)
- Widening Participation
Once you have submitted an application we will apply the following selection process to each application.
- Applications will receive an overall score, which is the sum of weighted scores for each of the academic and UCAT components.
- The weightings will be: 60% academic and 40% UCAT
- The academic score is calculated from GCSE results, not predicted or achieved A level grades. The UCAT score component is based on the total score from the four subtests
- We will not score your personal statement, but you must offer evidence of commitment to medicine (see 'Preparing to Apply')
Applications from graduates and those classified as international for fees will not be scored. Further information can be found below in the relevant sections.
Scoring an application
An application score is generated as follows:
GCSE
Each application will receive a score for academic achievement based on GCSE (or equivalent) results. The subjects that will be scored are: English (both English Language and English Literature), Mathematics (or one, but not both, of Methods in Mathematics and Applications of Mathematics), Biology and Chemistry (or dual award science), plus two additional GCSEs in any subject.
For the subjects specified above a minimum of grade B/6 must be offered and the scores allocated to the different grades are as follows:
A*/8 or 9 = 4
A/7 = 2
B/6 = 1
For each of the two unspecified subjects, a score of 2 will be allocated when an A*/8 grade has been obtained. Lower grades will not receive a score.
The total GCSE score will be scaled to a maximum of 6.0.
Because we rank applicants according to a total score, we cannot define a GCSE grade profile that will be acceptable.
UCAT
There is no minimum UCAT cut-off score. Your UCAT results, excluding the band result for the Situational Judgment Test (SJT) component, will be separated into deciles and scored. For example the top 10% of applicants’ scores will be in the top decile and will receive a maximum score of 4.0 in our process. For guidance, the score conversion we used in 2018-19 is as follows (converted to a 0 – 4 scale):
|
Total UCAT score
|
Decile
|
Converted score
|
|
2950
|
and above
|
10th
|
4.000
|
|
2840
|
"
|
9th
|
3.556
|
|
2770
|
"
|
8th
|
3.111
|
|
2710
|
"
|
7th
|
2.667
|
|
2650
|
"
|
6th
|
2.222
|
|
2590
|
"
|
5th
|
1.778
|
|
2520
|
"
|
4th
|
1.333
|
|
2430
|
"
|
3rd
|
0.889
|
|
2330
|
"
|
2nd
|
0.444
|
|
2320
|
and below
|
1st
|
0.000
|
It is important to note that the thresholds for each decile will be different for a new set of applicants. Therefore, the UCAT score applied to your application may differ from the above table but the difference is expected to be marginal. The decile boundaries for 2017-18 were very similar therefore your UCAT score is unlikely to move by more than one decile.
The band score for the Situational Judgment Test (SJT) component of UCAT will be used at the interview stage.
How we select interview candidates
Selection for interview is based on the total application score (combination of GCSE and UCAT scores, with a maximum of 10). We have amended the scoring formula from previous years, though only slightly. We expect to interview about 1100 home/EU applicants who will be identified by ranking applicants according to their score.
Please note that it is not possible to advise on the threshold score because this will vary each year according to the number and quality of applications we receive. To find out if you are likely or unlikely to be offered an interview, please use our offer calculator tool. The guidance you receive is based on data from previous admissions cycles and also the projected impact of changes to the process. It is important to note that this tool is a guide only and does not guarantee either an invitation to interview or an offer to study at the University of Birmingham but is accurate in the majority of instances. To find out more, please visit your personal undergraduate page.