Application Guides

Applying to medical school in the UK has several moving parts: the UCAT, work experience, your personal statement, and the interview. Each carries weight at a different stage, and the cycle starts earlier than most people expect, with UCAS applications for medicine closing in mid October, almost a year before the course begins.

The process has changed in the last few years. The BMAT is gone, so the UCAT is now the admissions test for every UK medical school that uses one. The personal statement is still there, but since 2026 entry it takes the form of three structured questions rather than one free piece of writing. Interviews run as panels at some schools and as multiple mini interviews at most.

These guides walk through every stage: deciding whether medicine is right for you, choosing schools that fit your strengths, preparing for the UCAT, getting work experience that teaches you something, writing answers that sound like you, and the interview itself.

Start with our free route guide to the current cycle: what has changed, the dates that matter, and what to do this week.