How Will Medical Schools Use UCAT? Here's a Summary

1 month ago by Rob
A common question asked by medicine hopefuls is how UCAT will be used to select applicants into medical school.
Most universities use a combination of three factors when selecting students into medicine or dentistry. These include:
-
UCAT ANZ scores (either cognitive subtests* only, or all UCAT subtests)
-
Medical interview performance
-
Secondary school performance (ATAR / IB) or GPA
*UCAT cognitive subtests include UCAT Verbal Reasoning, UCAT Decision Making, UCAT Quantitative Reasoning and UCAT Abstract Reasoning
Each university is different, and some universities change their medical entry requirements at short notice. Further, they are often not transparent about the weightings of various subtests of UCAT, UCAT/ATAR weighting for interview selection, and UCAT/ATAR/Interview score weighting for final offers.
Here’s a summary:
Course |
How is UCAT used? |
How is UCAT weighted? |
How are students selected for interview? |
How are students selected for a place? |
---|---|---|---|---|
Adelaide University |
Cognitive subtests only |
20% UCAT |
Based on UCAT |
20% UCAT 40% interview 40% ATAR |
Auckland University |
All five subtests combined |
15% UCAT |
Based on GPA/CST |
15% UCAT 25% interview 60% GPA/CST |
Charles Darwin University |
Cognitive subtests only |
10% UCAT |
No interview |
10% UCAT 90% ATAR |
Curtin University |
Approx 90th+ percentile for standard applicants |
40% UCAT 60% ATAR (To select for interview) |
Based on UCAT + ATAR |
20% UCAT |
Flinders University |
Cognitive subtests only, |
10% UCAT |
No interview |
10% UCAT 90% ATAR |
Griffith University Dental Science |
Approx 90th+ percentile for standard applicants | 20% UCAT | Based on UCAT |
20% UCAT |
Monash University |
Approx 90th+ percentile for standard applicants |
33% UCAT |
December round: Based on UCAT only |
33% UCAT 33% Interview 33% ATAR |
Newcastle University |
Cognitive subtests only |
100% UCAT (to select for interview) |
100% UCAT |
Interview + PQA |
University of New South Wales |
Overall cognitive subtest score; |
33% UCAT |
Based on UCAT + ATAR |
33% UCAT 33% Interview 33% ATAR |
Otago University |
Minimum score in each |
Threshold only |
No interview |
GPA |
University of Queensland |
Cognitive subtest score, |
25% UCAT |
UCAT (2990 in 2021) |
ATAR/UCAT: 25% each Interview: 50% |
University of Tasmania |
Cognitive subtests only (cut off 50th percentile) |
Threshold only |
No interview |
ATAR |
University of Western Australia |
Approx 90th+ percentile for standard applicants |
33% UCAT |
UCAT and predicted/actual ATAR |
33% UCAT 33% Interview 33% ATAR |
Western Sydney University / |
Approx 90th+ percentile (lower for rural and GWS students) |
100% UCAT (to select for interview) |
100% UCAT (once academic threshold met) |
UCAT + Interview (greater emphasis on interview) |
Note: Please ensure you check the relevant university website for the latest information, as changes can occur frequently and without notice.
Comprehensive admissions information relating to all courses (including dentistry and postgraduate medicine) can be found at https://www.medentry.edu.au/universities/university-admissions-guide
The Medical Entry Handbook has additional information.