From Admissions Cycle 2025–2026

Imperial will utilise University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) for Admissions Cycle entry 2025-2026 onwards, as part of our selection process for entry to Medicine (MBBS – A100). Those who have deferred their entry from 2024-2025 to start in the A100 programme in academic year 2025-2026 will not need to resit UCAT. Registration for the UCAT is now closed.

The UCAT

You will need to take the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) to study this course. 

You must book the test yourself and must only take it once in an admissions cycle. It must be taken in the year that you apply.  

Registration for the UCAT is now closed. See the University Clinical Aptitude Test website for registration and test dates. We encourage you to book your test slot at local centre as soon as registration opens. 

How we use the UCAT

The School of Medicine will initially review applications to ensure they meet our minimum academic entry requirements as outlined in our Study pages. Following receipt of UCAT scores in November, we then begin inviting candidates to attend our Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs).  

Each year, we normally interview the top 1/3 of applicants and will send invitations on a rolling basis from December. Invitations are sent via our MMIs partner 'Shortlister'. Please make sure that emails from Imperial are on your/your School’s safe senders list or that you check your spam folder so that you don’t miss any notifications. Invitations will explain in detail how the interview will work.  

UCAT cut-off scores are calculated each year, as a result of ranked candidate UCAT scores versus number of expected interview sessions. Therefore, the UCAT cut-offs change each year. For the 2025 cycle, the minimum requirements for interview included a minimum score in the Situational Judgement Test (SJT) section, as well as a minimum score in the total score.

For 2025 entry, all candidates who submitted special circumstances via UCAT were examined carefully on a case-by-case basis.  

For those students identified as Widening Participation, who have declared carer status by 31st October 2024 as illustrated on this page, or are involved in the Imperial Outreach programme, a contextualised cut off was applied.

For 2025 entry, the number of Home places is 271 and Overseas places is 74. The following UCAT thresholds were applied.  

UCAT threshold is:  

• SJT: Band 3 minimum (Band 4 discounted)
• Minimum threshold Total Score: 3020  

UCAT thresholds for contextual applicants:  

• SJT: Band 3 minimum (Band 4 discounted)
• Minimum threshold Total Score: 2830  

All candidates who attend the test are declaring that they are fit to sit the test. If circumstances occur which might affect performance, candidates must refer to the UCAT Fitness to Test Policy before sitting their test. On occasion the UCAT Office may communicate significant personal/medical circumstances to the Medical School.  We were not able to consider special circumstances for anyone who did not communicate them to the UCAT Office.  

Assessing your application

Admission to medicine at Imperial is highly competitive. 

We use a range of criteria to assess candidates. You must meet the minimum academic requirements and have taken the UCAT admissions test.

No offers are made without applicants attending a competitive interview.

Selection panel

The selection panel is comprised of teachers in undergraduate education with experience in the admissions process, who will ratify overall interview numbers. The following criteria may be considered when assessing your application:

• A-level or equivalent predicted (or achieved) grades
• UCAT scores
• Evidence of commitment to the values of the NHS Constitution
• Motivation and understanding of medicine as a career
• Community activities
• Leadership and teamwork
• Extracurricular interests
• Referee’s report

Fitness to Practise policy

All UK medical schools have a duty to ensure that no member of the public is harmed as a consequence of training medical students.
The School of Medicine’s Fitness to Practise policy (PDF) may be activated in cases where significant concerns have been raised about the behaviour of students, including prior to their admission to the School.

If you are shortlisted, you will be invited to take part in multiple mini interviews. The following criteria may be considered when we assess you:

• evidence of commitment to the values of the NHS Constitution motivation and understanding of medicine as a career
• empathy and resilience
• community activities
• leadership and teamwork
• extracurricular interests

Your UCAS application is unlikely to be referred to during the interview stage.

Find out more about our interview process.

Special arrangements for interviews

If you are invited to interview, you can request special arrangements to help make sure you can attend. For example, you may have existing exam arrangements, have unique personal circumstances, or are undertaking military service.

Please contact us, providing details on what arrangements you need and evidence you would like us to consider: feo-admissions-interviews@imperial.ac.uk 

If you are offered a place on this course, the College’s Occupational Health Service will send you a confidential health questionnaire to complete.

We want to learn about any health problems or disabilities you have which may require special support, so that we can plan for this before you begin your course.

We are also required by the General Medical Council (GMC) to ensure that you are not affected by a condition that would make it impossible for you to acquire the skills to qualify and work safely as a doctor.

We welcome applications from candidates with disabilities and, wherever possible, seeks to provide any extra support that may be necessary. Most disabilities or health problems, even if substantial, can be accommodated.

If you have a disability or health problem that may affect your fitness to practise or may be difficult to accommodate, contact the College Occupational Health Physician for confidential advice, before applying.

Age restriction

You must be 18 years of age by the time you would start this course.

Vaccinations for medical school

If you are offered a place, you must be immunised against a range of infections to meet health and safety standards necessary for working with patients. You will be sent details of the vaccinations you need with your offer.

You should arrange with your doctor or a health clinic to begin this programme as soon as you receive this information, as it can take eight months to complete. Medical students are also required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Blood-borne infections

Chronic viral infections that are carried in the blood can be transmitted during surgery to patients from an infected healthcare worker.

When you come to Imperial, to comply with NHS requirements, you will be offered blood tests to check you are not infected with hepatitis B, hepatitis C, or HIV, before you are cleared for hands-on surgical experience.

If you test positive for any of these infections, you can continue your course but you will not be allowed to assist with or undertake surgery or other ‘exposure-prone’ procedures on patients. This will not prevent you from qualifying or practising as a doctor, except for the restriction on these procedures.

If you want us to consider Mitigating Circumstances during the admissions cycle, please refer to the forms below:

• Mitigating Circumstances Form for MMIs (Deadline 5 working days before your interview): use this form if you feel you have mitigating circumstances that should be taken into consideration during your Multiple Mini Interviews.
• Mitigating Circumstances Form for Results Day (Deadline 18 July 2025): use this form if you feel you have mitigating circumstances that should be taken into consideration on results day.

Resit policy

We will not accept resit qualifications unless you have applied for mitigating circumstances.

If you reapply for the next admissions cycle following unsuccessful examination results, you will need to apply for mitigating circumstances.

The resits deadline for mitigating circumstances is 30 September 2024.

Please see the mitigating circumstances section for more information on what evidence you must provide and who to send this information to.

Deferred entry

We welcome applications from school leavers who wish to take a gap year.

You must state in your UCAS personal statement how you propose to spend your time.

Deferred entry applications from overseas applicants are considered on a case-by-case basis.

If you wish to make a deferral request in cycle, it is essential that you apply as soon as possible to FEO Admissions Interviews feo-admissions-interviews@imperial.ac.uk.

Transferring from another school

We do not accept students who have previously started at or are already studying at another medical school.

We also do not accept students for transfer from other Imperial courses.