FOI_26-224 A100 Medicine admissions criteria
Date of response: 29 September 2026
We have now considered your request of 10 September 2026 for the following information:
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding admissions to Norwich Medical School's standard Medicine programme (A100).
My request concerns the use of the UCAT cognitive score, UCAT Situational Judgement Test (SJT) and interview performance when selecting applicants for interview and subsequently making offers. To keep the scope of the request proportionate, I am requesting historical admissions data only for the 2025 and 2026 entry cycles, while also requesting the 2027 entry methodology where this has already been determined and recorded.
I would be grateful for the following information.
Question 1. Selection for interview
For each of the 2025 and 2026 entry cycles, and for 2027 entry where the relevant methodology has already been determined and recorded, please provide:
• the method used to rank eligible A100 applicants for interview;
Our response:
Please see our website: MBBS Medicine 2026/27 | Undergraduate Degree | UEA
• whether the raw UCAT cognitive score, applicant rank, percentile, decile or another transformed UCAT score was used;
Our response:
Only the UCAT cognitive score.
• any UCAT threshold or ranking cut-off which resulted in an interview for standard Home A100 applicants;
Our response:
No.
• the lowest cognitive UCAT score invited through the standard selection route, where this differs from the formal cut-off;
Our response:
There is no formal cut off, the lowest UCAT score for 2025 was 2080 and in 2026 1680.
• whether SJT band contributed in any way to selection for interview;
Our response:
Yes, please see our website for further information: MBBS Medicine 2026/27 | Undergraduate Degree | UEA
• any tie-break criteria used.
Our response:
No.
Question 2. Exact operation of the UCAT/interview weighting
I understand that UCAT cognitive performance and interview performance are used together when ranking interviewed applicants.
For the 2025 and 2026 entry cycles, and for 2027 entry where the relevant methodology has already been determined and recorded, please provide the exact recorded method used to combine these scores.
In particular, please clarify:
• whether the applicant's raw cognitive UCAT total is used directly;
Our response:
Yes.
• whether the UCAT score is converted onto another scale before being given its weighting;
Our response:
No.
• whether UCAT is converted according to percentile, decile, applicant rank, z-score, minimum/maximum scaling or another method;
Our response:
No.
• the maximum and minimum possible points available from the UCAT component;
Our response:
No points.
• how the interview score is converted to its weighted component;
Our response:
Out of 84 points.
• the maximum and minimum possible points available from the interview component;
Our response:
0- 84.
For example, I am seeking to understand how a cognitive UCAT score of 2000 would be converted into the UCAT component of the final weighted score, rather than whether 2000 would itself simply be treated as 2000 points.
Our response:
2000 points would be used as 2000 points.
Question 3. Interview scoring
For each of the 2025 and 2026 entry cycles, and for 2027 entry where the relevant methodology has already been determined and recorded, please provide:
• the number of scored interview components or stations;
Our response:
6 stations + SJT ‘station’
• the scoring scale used for each component;
Our response:
0 - 12 points.
• the maximum possible MMI/interview score;
Our response:
84.
• whether all scored components are equally weighted;
Our response:
Yes.
• whether any minimum score must be achieved overall or in individual components;
Our response:
No.
• whether interview scores are standardised, moderated, ranked or otherwise transformed following interview.
Our response:
No
Question 4. Exact incorporation of UCAT SJT
For each of the 2025 and 2026 entry cycles, and for 2027 entry where the relevant methodology has already been determined and recorded, please provide:
Our response:
• the numerical score or points assigned to SJT Band 1; 12
• the numerical score or points assigned to SJT Band 2; 8
• the numerical score or points assigned to SJT Band 3; 4
• the numerical score or points assigned to SJT Band 4; 0
• the maximum proportion of the interview or post-interview selection score which could therefore be attributable to SJT;
Our response:
12.
• whether SJT points are added to the MMI/interview score before the UCAT/interview weighting is applied, or incorporated at another stage;
Our response:
Yes.
• whether SJT is additionally used as a threshold or tie-breaker.
Our response:
No.
If the SJT scoring method differed between the 2025 and 2026 entry cycles, or differs for 2027 entry where already determined, please identify the methodology applicable to each.
Our response:
No.
Question 5. Anonymised admissions data
For the 2025 and 2026 entry cycles, if the University holds an existing applicant-level spreadsheet or dataset covering all A100 applicants from which the following fields can be readily exported, I would ideally be grateful for an anonymised copy containing:
• cognitive UCAT score;
• SJT band;
• whether the applicant was invited to interview;
• whether the applicant received an offer.
If a dataset covering all applicants is not held or cannot readily be provided, but the University instead holds an existing spreadsheet or dataset covering applicants who were invited to or completed interview, I would be very grateful for an anonymised copy of that dataset instead, including where readily available:
• cognitive UCAT score;
• SJT band;
• whether the interviewed applicant received an offer.
If either existing dataset or export also contains other non-identifying fields relating to admissions scoring, I would be grateful if these could also be included where readily available, particularly:
• entry year;
• fee-status category;
• interview/MMI score;
• any separately recorded SJT points or score;
• final combined/ranking score.
My preference would be for a dataset covering all applicants, where one is already held and readily exportable, as this would allow interview outcomes as well as post-interview offer outcomes to be considered. However, an existing dataset covering interviewed applicants only would also be very useful if this is what the University holds.
For the avoidance of doubt, I am not requesting that the University manually examine individual applicant records, combine information from separate systems, create a new applicant-level dataset, or undertake new statistical analysis in order to answer this part of the request.
If neither form of applicant-level dataset or readily obtainable export is available, I would instead be grateful for any existing aggregate tables or reports showing UCAT score, SJT band and/or interview or offer outcomes for the relevant cohorts.
If these are not already available in an existing table or report, I would be grateful, where readily obtainable, for the following simple counts for each of SJT Bands 1, 2, 3 and 4 separately in each entry cycle:
• total number of A100 applicants;
• number invited to interview;
• number receiving an offer.
Question 6. Offer thresholds
For each of the 2025 and 2026 entry cycles, please provide:
• the final combined/ranking score required to receive an offer, where a threshold was used;
• the lowest final combined score receiving an offer through the standard route;
• any minimum interview-only score required before the UCAT/interview combination was considered;
Our response:
Please see accompanying document, our ref: FOI_26-224 Appendix A.
There are no thresholds or cut offs.
On this occasion it is not possible to provide all of the requested information. In line with your rights under section 1(1)(a) of the Act to be informed whether information is held, we confirm that the University does not hold any recorded information for all applicant interview scores in 2025 and 2026.
• any tie-break criteria used around the offer threshold.
Our response:
No.
For 2027 entry, where any relevant offer threshold, minimum-score requirement, ranking rule or tie-break procedure has already been determined and recorded, please provide that information. I am not requesting any prediction of the eventual 2027 offer cut-off or lowest successful score.
Our response:
No, please see our website: MBBS Medicine 2026/27 | Undergraduate Degree | UEA