FOI_26-191 A101 Medicine admissions criteria and scoring
Date of response: 16 September 2026
We have now considered your request of 24 August 2026 for the following information:
I am requesting recorded information held by the University about how applications to the MBBS Medicine (Graduate Entry) (A101) programme are scored, shortlisted, ranked and converted into offers, together with the corresponding figures for each cycle. The request covers 2024, 2025 and 2026 entry, "entry year" meaning applicants who took up their place in the September or October of that year. Where a policy or formula changed between those cycles, please answer for each cycle rather than giving only the current position.
Part One - How the selection process operates
These questions concern the mechanics applied at each stage, for each of the three cycles.
Question 1. Shortlisting method. Please confirm which of the following selection at shortlisting is based on, or which combination:
(a) a fixed UCAT threshold - if so, what is this?
(b) UCAT ranking alone - if so, how is this done?
(c) composite scoring.
Our response:
a) No fixed UCAT Threshold
b) UCAT ranking alone – highest to lowest overall score excluding SJT.
c) Please note that A101 did not exist at UEA in 2024. There have been two intakes to date, 2025 and 2026.
Question 2. Exact scoring formula. If composite scoring is used, please provide the weighting of each of the following, and the further detail listed at (i) to (l):
(a) UCAT total and/or sections - total
(b) SJT
(c) GAMSAT overall score and/or sections
(d) GCSEs
(e) achieved A-level grades
(f) postgraduate qualifications
(g) contextual adjustments
(h) personal statement (if applicable)
(i) how each individual component is scored
(j) maximum total application score
(k) minimum total application score
(l) lowest score invited to interview (Home and International separately).
Our response:
a) Total
b) Not used
c) Total
d) No score – see https://www.uea.ac.uk/course/undergraduate/mbbs-medicine-graduate-entry
e) N/A
f) Check they meet minimum entry requirement – no score
g) None
h) Not used
i) Not used
j) Not used
k) Not used
l) A101 does not recruit international students.
2025 = 2307
2026 = 1850
Question 3. Admissions test processing. Please state:
(a) whether the UCAT enters the process as an unadjusted score, a decile, a z-score, or under some scaling system
(b) whether the GAMSAT enters the process as an unadjusted score, a percentile rank, a z-score, or under some scaling system
(c) whether scores are adjusted or standardised differently for Home and International applicants.
Our response:
a) Unadjusted
b) Unadjusted
c) Not applicable – no overseas students.
Question 4. Structure of the ranking. Please state how applicants are placed in order, and give the cut-offs that went with it:
(a) in a single list
(b) separately by Home and International status
(c) separately for contextual applicants
(d) whether fixed interview quotas exist per category
(e) lowest UCAT score invited to interview (Home and International)
(f) lowest GAMSAT score invited to interview (Home and International, if applicable).
Our response:
a) Single list
b) N/A
c) N/A
d) N/A
e) 2025 was 2307 and 2026 was 1850
f) 2025 was 51 and 2026 was 54
Question 5. Offer determination. Please provide:
(a) if a weighted combination is used, how this is done
Our response:
50% UCAT and 50% interview score - see website:
https://www.uea.ac.uk/course/undergraduate/mbbs-medicine-graduate-entry
Part Two - The components fed into that process
For each component, I am asking how it is used operationally, not what the published entry requirements state.
Question 6. UCAT usage. Please provide:
(a) the minimum total UCAT score to be invited for interview
(b) minimum UCAT section scores (if applicable)
(c) whether UCAT thresholds are pre-determined or dynamically set based on the applicant pool.
Our response:
a) There is no minimum or no UCAT Threshold to be invited to interview
b) N/A
c) N/A
Question 7. GAMSAT usage. Please provide:
(a) whether the GAMSAT is required, accepted as an alternative to the UCAT, or not used
(b) whether the GAMSAT is used as a threshold, ranking tool, or composite score component
(c) whether minimum GAMSAT thresholds are pre-determined or dynamically set based on the applicant pool
(d) which GAMSAT sittings are accepted for each entry cycle
(e) the period of validity for GAMSAT results for each admissions cycle
(f) the lowest GAMSAT score invited to interview (Home and International separately, if applicable)
(g) the lowest GAMSAT score receiving an offer (Home and International separately, if applicable).
Our response:
a) Accepted as an alternative
b) Ranking tool
c) Dynamically
d) Within two years of the UCAS 15 October deadline for each cycle
e) Two years
f) 2025 was 51 and 2026 was 54.
g) 2025 was 55 and 2026 was 55.
Question 8. A-level requirements. Please provide:
(a) A-level subject requirements
(b) A-level grade requirements.
Our response:
a) N/A - see https://www.uea.ac.uk/course/undergraduate/mbbs-medicine-graduate-entry
b) N/A - see https://www.uea.ac.uk/course/undergraduate/mbbs-medicine-graduate-entry
Question 9. Resit policy. Please provide:
(a) whether A-level, GCSE or degree resits are permitted
(b) how many resits are allowed
(c) whether resit grades are capped.
Our response:
a) N/A.
b) N/A.
c) N/A.
Question 10. Personal statement (pre-interview). Please state whether the personal statement is scored numerically, used holistically, or not used, and if scored:
(a) the scoring rubric
(b) the maximum score
(c) its weighting in the total ranking
(d) whether it can result in automatic rejection.
Our response:
a) None.
b) None.
c) None.
d) No.
Question 11. UCAS academic reference. Please state:
(a) whether references are scored
(b) whether they are used as a threshold or for red-flag screening
(c) whether concerns raised in a reference can result in rejection or in a ranking adjustment
Our response:
a) No.
b) No.
c) No.
Question 12. Work experience and relevant experience. Please state:
(a) whether it is scored numerically, assessed holistically, or used only as a minimum expectation
(b) whether work experience is considered as part of the personal statement, the interview assessment, or as a separate admissions criterion.
Our response:
a) No.
b) No.
Question 13. Contextual and widening participation adjustments. Please provide the criteria defining a contextual applicant, and whether contextual applicants receive:
(a) additional scoring points (please specify the number)
(b) a reduced UCAT threshold (please specify the amount)
(c) a guaranteed interview where minimum criteria are met
(d) a separate ranking pool
(e) and whether contextual adjustments apply post-interview.
Our response:
a) No
b) No
c) No
d) No
e) No
Part Three - Eligibility gates applied before scoring
Question 14. Previous degree and graduate eligibility. Please provide:
(a) whether applicants with a 2:2 plus a postgraduate qualification are eligible
(b) whether a Master's degree, PhD, or other postgraduate qualification can compensate for a lower undergraduate degree classification
(c) whether applicants with overseas degrees are eligible, and if so how equivalence is assessed
(d) whether Open University, distance-learning, part-time, or non-traditional degrees are accepted
(e) whether there are any recency requirements for previous study.
Our response:
a) No.
b) No.
c) Will be assessed on a case by case basis.
d) Will be assessed on a case by case basis.
e) No.
Question 15. How degrees and postgraduate qualifications are treated in scoring. Please state:
(a) whether an intercalated degree is considered separately in admissions scoring or eligibility
Our response:
No.
(b) whether achieved degree results are used for eligibility only or also for ranking
Our response:
N/A.
(c) whether applicants with postgraduate qualifications are ranked differently or advantaged.
Our response:
No.
Question 16. Other rejection criteria and prior study. Please provide:
(a) whether applicants who have previously studied dentistry, veterinary medicine, nursing, pharmacy, physician associate studies, or other healthcare courses are eligible
Our response:
No - see MBBS Medicine (Graduate Entry) 2026/27 | Undergraduate Degree | UEA
(b) whether fitness to practise screening is carried out at application stage.
Our response:
Offer stage.
Part Four - International applicants
Question 17. International student limits. Please provide:
(a) the formal maximum number of international students permitted for the graduate course
Our response:
N/A. We do not accept international students
(b) whether there is a minimum required number of international students.
Our response:
N/A.
Question 18. Offer-to-place and yield strategy. Please state:
(a) whether offer numbers are calculated separately for Home and International categories
Our response:
N/A.
(b) whether international applicants are ranked in a separate final offer pool.
Our response:
N/A.
Question 19. International assessment mechanics. Please confirm:
(a) whether the scoring applied to international applicants is in every respect the one applied to Home applicants - the same UCAT figure, the same GAMSAT figure where relevant, the same academic requirements, and the same contextual adjustments.
Our response:
N/A.
Part Five - Figures for each cycle
For 2024, 2025 and 2026 entry separately. Where these figures are held in spreadsheet form, I would be grateful to receive them in Excel or CSV.
Question 20. Applications received.
(a) total applications (Home)
(b) total applications (Home - contextual)
(c) total applications (International).
Our response:
a)
2024 – N/A
2025 – 326
2026 - 465
b)
2024 – N/A
2025 – N/A
2026 – N/A
c)
2024 – N/A
2025 – N/A
2026 – N/A
Question 21. Interviews.
(a) total number invited for interview (Home)
(b) total number invited for interview (Home - contextual)
(c) total number invited for interview (International).
Our response:
a)
2024 – N/A
2025 – 197
2026 – 201
b)
2024 – N/A
2025 – N/A
2026 – N/A
c)
2024 – N/A
2025 – N/A
2026 – N/A
Question 22. Offers.
(a) total offers made (Home)
(b) total offers made (Home - contextual)
(c) total offers made (International).
Our response:
a)
2024 – N/A
2025 – 49
2026 – 70
b)
2024 – N/A
2025 - N/A
2026 – N/A
c)
2024 – N/A
2025 – N/A
2026 – N/A