Medicine
Medical school admissions tutoring by Oxford medics
Our medicine tutors are Oxford Medicine graduates, several now NHS doctors, who coach the UCAT, personal statements and mock interviews for Oxford, Cambridge and the other UK medical schools. One-to-one and online, from £90 an hour or £480 for the interview package.
The facts
- Oxford
- A*AA with Chemistry. The shortlist ranks your UCAT and GCSEs equally, and about 425 get an interview.
- Cambridge
- A*A*A with Chemistry, usually the A*. They look at the UCAT cognitive score only. Six applicants per place.
- UCAT
- Sat between 13 July and 24 September, booked by 16 September. You get the score the same day.
- Work experience
- Both universities want it. What you learned matters more than where you were.
The numbers that decide the shortlist
At Oxford the shortlist is arithmetic. Your UCAT cognitive score, out of 2,700, and your GCSEs, counted as the share of 8s and 9s and compared with your own school, with equal weight. About 425 people get an interview out of roughly 2,000. Cambridge uses the UCAT cognitive score too, ignores situational judgement, and doesn't have a fixed threshold.
That makes the UCAT the biggest lever you've still got in Year 12. You see your score before you leave the test centre, and applications go in on 15 October, so you choose your four medical schools knowing your number. Our medics coach it section by section from the spring, then run full timed tests.
What our doctors tell applicants
Emily and Charlotte read Medicine at Magdalen and now work in the NHS. Bhargava and Sai read it at New College and Green Templeton. Their advice is always the same. Work experience is about what you noticed, not where you were. The A* needs to be in Chemistry. And the interview is a science interview with ethics in it, not a chat about wanting to help people.
Oxford interviews are online, with two colleges, and lean on data and unfamiliar biology. Cambridge's are often in person and lean on chemistry and physiology taken a step further. For the other medical schools on your form we prepare the station-based mini interviews most of them use.
The numbers that decide the shortlist
At Oxford the shortlist is arithmetic. Your UCAT cognitive score, out of 2,700, and your GCSEs, counted as the share of 8s and 9s and compared with your own school, with equal weight. About 425 people get an interview out of roughly 2,000. Cambridge uses the UCAT cognitive score too, ignores situational judgement, and doesn't have a fixed threshold.
That makes the UCAT the biggest lever you've still got in Year 12. You see your score before you leave the test centre, and applications go in on 15 October, so you choose your four medical schools knowing your number. Our medics coach it section by section from the spring, then run full timed tests.
What our doctors tell applicants
Emily and Charlotte read Medicine at Magdalen and now work in the NHS. Bhargava and Sai read it at New College and Green Templeton. Their advice is always the same. Work experience is about what you noticed, not where you were. The A* needs to be in Chemistry. And the interview is a science interview with ethics in it, not a chat about wanting to help people.
Oxford interviews are online, with two colleges, and lean on data and unfamiliar biology. Cambridge's are often in person and lean on chemistry and physiology taken a step further. For the other medical schools on your form we prepare the station-based mini interviews most of them use.
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Questions
- When should I sit the UCAT?
- July or early August, booked from 23 June. You only get one go a year. Start preparing in the spring of Year 12. Cramming in the last two weeks raises your stress more than your score.
- Does situational judgement matter?
- Not for Cambridge this year, and Oxford ranks on the cognitive score. Other schools do use the band, and some won't consider a band 4, so it still matters for the other choices on your form.
- What UCAT score does Oxford want?
- There's no cut-off. Oxford publishes its shortlisting statistics every year, and the people they interview sit well above the national average. GCSEs carry the other half, so a strong set of 8s and 9s can carry a middling UCAT, and vice versa.
- My GCSEs were mixed. Is Oxford realistic?
- Oxford measures your GCSEs against your own school, so strong results from a school with modest results count for more than they look. Cambridge weighs GCSEs less formally. We'll be honest on the call. Sometimes the right answer is Cambridge plus three other strong schools.
- Do you do graduate entry?
- Yes. Oxford's and Cambridge's graduate-entry courses both use the UCAT, and Cambridge has used an online mini interview with a recorded video stage. Our medics coach the test and our postgraduate tutors handle the statement.
When should I sit the UCAT?
July or early August, booked from 23 June. You only get one go a year. Start preparing in the spring of Year 12. Cramming in the last two weeks raises your stress more than your score.
Does situational judgement matter?
Not for Cambridge this year, and Oxford ranks on the cognitive score. Other schools do use the band, and some won't consider a band 4, so it still matters for the other choices on your form.
What UCAT score does Oxford want?
There's no cut-off. Oxford publishes its shortlisting statistics every year, and the people they interview sit well above the national average. GCSEs carry the other half, so a strong set of 8s and 9s can carry a middling UCAT, and vice versa.
My GCSEs were mixed. Is Oxford realistic?
Oxford measures your GCSEs against your own school, so strong results from a school with modest results count for more than they look. Cambridge weighs GCSEs less formally. We'll be honest on the call. Sometimes the right answer is Cambridge plus three other strong schools.
Do you do graduate entry?
Yes. Oxford's and Cambridge's graduate-entry courses both use the UCAT, and Cambridge has used an online mini interview with a recorded video stage. Our medics coach the test and our postgraduate tutors handle the statement.
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