The UCAT

The UCAT is the admissions test used by many UK universities for medicine and dentistry. This guide explains the four subtests, the timings, how scoring works, the key dates and how to prepare.

What is the UCAT?

The UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test) is a computer-based admissions test, set up in 2006 by a group of UK universities. The UCAT website says it is used by the current consortium of UK and partner universities to select applicants for their medical and dental courses. Around 37,000 candidates sit it each year.

Applying to universities in Australia or New Zealand? They use a separate test, UCAT ANZ, with its own website.

The four subtests

The subtests are listed below in the order you sit them. Each one is multiple choice and separately timed.

The time per question is my own working, rounded to the nearest second. Each subtest also has a short timed instruction section beforehand (6 minutes 30 seconds in total), so the whole test lasts 117 minutes 30 seconds. Once started, it cannot be paused.

What each subtest assesses

• Verbal Reasoning: critically evaluating written information. The UCAT website says there are eleven passages with four questions each.
• Decision Making: making sound decisions and judgements using complex information.
• Quantitative Reasoning: critically evaluating information presented in numerical form.
• Situational Judgement: your capacity to understand real-world situations.

Decision Making has a simple on-screen calculator and Quantitative Reasoning has a basic on-screen calculator.

How the UCAT is scored

• Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning each get a scaled score from 300 to 900, giving a total score from 900 to 2700.
• Situational Judgement is reported as a Band from 1 to 4. Band 1 is the highest.
• There is no negative marking, so you should never leave a question blank.
• In Decision Making, questions with several statements are worth 2 marks and a partly correct answer earns 1 mark. Situational Judgement also gives partial marks when your answer is close to the correct one.

Key dates

For the UCAT 2026 cycle, the official dates were:

The UCAT website says the dates for the 2027 cycle will be published by February 2027 and instructions on how to register and book will be published in March 2027. I will update this guide when they appear.

How to apply

1. Check which universities you want need the UCAT. The UCAT website lists the universities that use it. Each university explains how it uses the result.
2. Register and book. Registration and booking open in the spring and early summer. Book early so you get a date that suits you.
3. Sit the test in the testing window. In 2026 this ran from July to September.
4. Apply through UCAS by the October deadline. Universities receive UCAT results directly.

If you may need access arrangements, such as an extended version of the test, the UCAT website explains who is eligible and how to apply. Extended tests need approval from the UCAT Office before you book.

How to prepare for the UCAT

1. Learn the format first. Use the official practice tests on the UCAT website so the screens and the calculator feel familiar.
2. Verbal Reasoning: find, then judge. At 30 seconds a question, you rarely have time to read every passage in full. Find the line the question needs, then decide.
3. Decision Making: learn a method for each question type. Logic puzzles, syllogisms, Venn diagrams and probability each need their own routine.
4. Quantitative Reasoning: use the calculator less. Mental shortcuts for percentages and ratios save time on every question.
5. Situational Judgement: think like a professional. Judge each response by professional values such as patient safety, honesty and teamwork, not by what feels kind.
6. Answer every question. There is no negative marking, so flag hard questions, guess and move on.
7. Practise full timed mocks. The whole test lasts nearly 2 hours, so you need to build stamina as well as speed.

Frequently asked questions