Admissions information for studying Medicine at Cardiff
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What must I put on my UCAS application?
All applicants must complete all sections of the UCAS application.
In addition, you must complete a personal statement in the new format which includes information supporting suitability for a medical course.
You must also provide an academic reference.
What do I include in a personal statement?
You should use the UCAS headings provided.
For all applicants, the personal statement should include:
- insight into a career in medicine
- evidence of experience and reflection in a caring environment
- evidence and reflection of personal responsibility
- evidence of a balanced approach to life
- evidence of self-directed learning
Experience and reflection in a caring environment can be demonstrated by reflecting on any work experience carried out (examples include care homes, helping younger pupils in school, helping with clubs, etc).
The Personal Statement is screened, but not formally scored.
What does the School of Medicine think of a gap year?
We welcome a constructive gap year as it allows you to travel, gain work experience or carry out charity work etc. We recognise that a gap year can broaden your skills and experience. With the cost of living, earning money before university may also be helpful.
You should inform us on your UCAS form that you will be taking a gap year by choosing your year of entry to match your intention. We cannot guarantee that you could have a gap year if you decide you would like to after submitting your application.
How competitive is it to get into Medicine in Cardiff?
The competition has become even more fierce over the past few years. As well as the number of applications going up, the proportion of these applicants with excellent academic results has also increased. Unfortunately, many excellently qualified applicants are rejected because of this competition for a set number of places.
We have had around 3000 applications each year over the last 2 years. We interview 1000 applicants. We have given offers of a place to c600 applicants following the interviews this year.
There are around 300 medical school places for Year 1 (including UK and Overseas).
As part of the Selection Process, you would only receive an offer if you have had an interview.
How many overseas places do you have for Medicine?
Like most traditional Medical Schools across the UK, we have a 7.5% cap on overseas places. This means we have around 25 places in year 1.
Are Welsh applicants treated differently to English (rest of UK) applicants?
All Medical Schools across the UK have contextualisation criteria, and the majority include their local areas within this. Given the geography and population of Wales and the under-representation of Welsh students studying in Medical Schools across the UK, Cardiff School of Medicine recognises Welsh-domiciled applicants as one of their contextualised groups.
Further information on Cardiff University’s contextual admissions.
Why do you treat contextualised applicants differently?
The School of Medicine has responsibilities regarding widening access to medicine and supporting the diversity of the healthcare workforce, and these are also key considerations in reviewing applications to medical school.
Having a diverse medical student population promotes a holistic empathetic approach to patients, ensures we are selecting doctors representative of the population they will be serving, and are more likely to work in communities similar to those they are from and in specialties that are struggling.
Groups of students who are under-represented at medical school are encouraged to apply.
How are applications scored?
Applicants are regarded as Welsh-domiciled, Rest of UK-non-contextualised, contextualised Rest of UK, Widening Participation (WP) and overseas.
WP applicants who have taken part in the Step-Up programme, Doctoriaid Yfory (DY) or the Sutton Trust programme are given a guaranteed interview. Find out more about our WP strategy.
Points are awarded for eight GCSE subjects which must include Biology, Chemistry (or double science), English (First) Language and Mathematics.
Points are given for achieved grades only:
9/8/A* = 3 points
7/A = 2 points
6/B = 1 point
Scores within UCAT deciles are awarded points as follows:
9th-7th deciles = 3 points
6th – 4th deciles = 2 points
3rd – 1st deciles = 1 point
Test Statistics 2025 | UCAT Consortium
GCSE and UCAT decile scores are combined.
An additional point is awarded as recognition of academic achievement at further or higher education. This includes acceptance on to the High Performance Programme (HPP).
A UCAT cut‑off may be applied to shortlist further.
Having a fourth A Level is not a requirement and will not enhance your application.
If the number of applicants achieving the highest academic scores is more than we can interview (around 1000) we will introduce a UCAT cut-off score.
What is the cut-off score for Medicine in Cardiff?
Cut-off scores for interviews (academic and UCAT) are determined by the competitiveness (i.e. calibre) of the number and quality of the applications we receive each year.
The academic and/or UCAT cut-off score will vary year to year and may vary between the different groups to ensure there is representation from each group.
What is your UCAT cut-off score?
A UCAT cut-off score is only used if we have too many applicants sitting on excellent academic scores.
The UCAT cut-off score is not predetermined and is unrelated to the previous year’s cut-off. It cannot be predicted and if used, is solely used to identify the 1000 to interview.
The cut-off score may be different for the different groups to ensure that there is representation from each group.
What subjects must I have?
All applicants must have achieved eight GCSEs (or equivalent level 2) including the following subjects and minimum grades:
- 7/A 7/A Biology and Chemistry, or 7/A 7/A Double Science
- 6/B in Mathematics
- 6/B in English Language
- 4 more GCSEs at 6/B or above
(Two scores must be entered onto your application if you have taken Double Science at GCSE).
A-levels:
All applicants must have achieved or be working towards three A levels (or equivalent):
- Core subject: Biology or Chemistry
- Additional science subject: Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Physics or Psychology
- Third subject: Any academic subject (excluding vocational or non-academic options). (The third A level can be Welsh Baccalaureate).
Graduate entry:
If you are applying as a graduate, you must either already hold a 2:1 (Hons) degree or be in your final year working towards one, and you must also have achieved BBB or ABC at A level (or equivalent), including the required subjects listed above. You must have also met the GCSE requirements listed above.
If you have completed a PhD, the minimum A level requirement is BBC.
Do you look at predicted grades?
Predicted grades are not considered at any stage of the Selection Process
Do you look at AS-level grades?
AS level grades are not considered at any stage of the Selection Process
Do you have a Graduate Entry programme?
The only Graduate Entry applicants we would consider for a 4-year course are those doing one of our agreed Feeder Stream routes (applicants must be on the specific Feeder Stream route from Cardiff Bioscience, Cardiff Medical Pharmacology, Bangor Biomedical Sciences or USW Biomedical Sciences). Only students who have been selected for the Feeder Stream route and also have our minimum entry requirements are eligible. All other graduates would have to apply for the 5-year A100.
Do you accept BTECs and T levels?
No. BTECs and T levels are not accepted.
Do you accept Access courses?
We only accept the Access to Higher Education Diploma – Medicine delivered by Agored Cymru Access to Higher Education Diploma – Medicine (agored.cymru)
Do you accept re-sits?
We accept re-sits at GCSE level (level 2) within a year after they were originally taken (except for English Language which can be taken at any time).
We do not accept A-level (level 3) re-sits. (Welsh applicants can re-sit AS-level subjects).
We will only consider A-level resits for those holding offers to study medicine at Cardiff University in exceptional extenuating circumstances when these have not been considered by the Exam Board. All extenuating circumstances should be presented to the Exam Board awarding your qualification for consideration and we cannot consider these in retrospect.
Please refer to the section below ‘What about extenuating circumstances’.
I cannot complete my A levels in 2 years, what should I do?
Please contact us on medadmissions@cardiff.ac.uk as soon as possible and by 1st October of the year of application to discuss your individual circumstances. You will be asked to provide evidence to support these and your case will be discussed at an Admission Group meeting which occurs quarterly.
The only exceptional circumstances in which A levels can be taken over 3 years are:
- Applicants have experienced significant (at least 30%) disruption to their studies in either Year 12 or Year 13 or both due to health or similar reasons which has led to them postponing sitting their examinations by a year;
- Applicants have experienced significant (at least 30%) disruption to their studies in either Year 12 or Year 13 or both due to factors outside of their control e.g. no specialist subject teacher in one or both of the required A level subjects (Chemistry or Biology);
- Applicants whose first language is not English and have not previously been taught through the medium of English whose Level 2 examinations are overseas but are studying A levels through the medium of English.
Do you accept the EPQ?
The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is not considered at any stage of the Selection Process, however, you are more than welcome to include relevant information from your EPQ in your personal statement.
What about extenuating circumstances?
We are not able to adjust academic grades that have been given by any awarding bodies (you should contact the relevant Exam Board).
In exceptional cases (if evidence is provided) we may allow a re-sit for offer holders.
Any queries with regards to extenuating circumstances need to be sent to medadmissions@cardiff.ac.uk by 1st October for a particular entry cycle. You will need to provide information about your circumstances and evidence regarding this. Your case will be discussed at one of the Admission Group meetings which occur quarterly.
I’m unsure what my fee status will be, can you help?
An applicant’s fee status is set by the University, in accordance with the Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations and with the University’s guiding principles of fee assessment.
For further queries please contact admissions@cardiff.ac.uk
Is there any specific information for International Students?
All applicants must offer an English Language qualification. The Cardiff University English Language policy can be accessed here.
For applicants who are studying the IB qualification, you must include your achieved Level 2 qualifications (GCSEs or Middle Years Programme MYP).
We consider international qualifications with reference to UCAS International qualification guidelines and UK ENIC – the UK National Information Centre for the recognition and evaluation of International Qualifications and Skills (Ecctis).
We require some international qualifications to be supplemented with an additional Level 3 qualification of GCE A Levels, International Baccalaureate or an International Foundation Year (IFY). If you provide us with details of your qualification we can inform you of whether these would be eligible to be considered for direct entry or whether they would need to be supplemented by an additional Level 3 qualification.
When will I hear if I have an interview with Cardiff University?
We review all applications thoroughly once the October deadline has passed. This process can take many weeks. Therefore, we cannot give an exact timeframe on when applicants will be informed whether they have been successful in receiving an invitation to interview. We will only contact applicants once all applications have been reviewed.
We aim to communicate with all applicants by mid-December.
Will the interviews be in person or online and what will the format be?
The interviews will be in the format of Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) which involves several individual stations with themed questions.
We generally ask questions relating to the course in Cardiff, ethics, your understanding of a career in medicine, the NHS, working in teams, self-directed learning, motivation, empathy, resilience, and communication.
The interviews for entry 2027 will be in person for home (fee status) applicants and online for overseas (fee status) applicants.
Can I do my interview through the medium of Welsh? How do I apply for this?
Yes. Anyone can sit their MMI through the medium of Welsh or bilingually. There will be a set number of interviews offered through the medium of Welsh/bilingually. You will need to ensure that you choose one of these dates when registering for your interview.
What is a bilingual or Welsh interview at Cardiff University School of Medicine?
Bilingual and Welsh MMIs are essentially the same, in the sense they are conducted as one interview. You can switch from Welsh to English, and vice versa in these interviews. All interviewers will be happy to interview either Welsh or English and you are welcome to switch languages at any time. You will not be granted any additional points for speaking Welsh, nor will they be taken away if you switch languages at any time during the MMIs. You might wish to conduct one station in Welsh and another in English. This will not affect your score in any way.
All questions in the MMI interviews are available in Welsh so you can complete the whole interview through the medium of Welsh if you choose.
I applied to Cardiff for Medicine last year and didn’t get a place. Can I reapply this year?
Yes, you can reapply as long as you meet our minimum entry requirements for the year you are applying. You will need a current UCAT score.
If re-applying from a Step-Up/Doctoriaid Yfory (DY) or Sutton Trust or GEM programme you will need to inform the relevant programme leads so that your details are provided to us. You can only re-apply once from one of these programmes.
Can I transfer to Medicine from another degree?
We do not accept transfers (also known as Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)) onto A100 or A101.
We welcome applications from undergraduate students who are in their final year or have completed their degree. These applications are considered alongside other applicants in the cycle and will go through the same selection process (see “How applications are scored” above).
For students who have left an undergraduate degree programme before completion, we will require a letter from the institution where the degree was being studied confirming they have not withdrawn due to failure to progress academically or for any probity issue. These students can apply for Year 1 of Medicine through the normal UCAS process and will go through the same selection process as those applicants who have achieved their A-level grades (see “How applications are scored” above).
I attended a Step Up/Sutton Trust programme, how will you know?
We receive a list of applicants who have attended within the last year.
If you attended in a previous year and are making a reapplication, we would advise you to contact the programme and let them know you are re-applying so that they can provide us with your details.
Could you provide a checklist?
Medicine is a competitive programme. Mistakes or missing information on your UCAS application could make the difference between an interview and a rejection. Any incomplete applications we receive will be rejected. You might find the following checklist helpful in ensuring your application is complete and accurate.
Your UCAS application should include:
- All qualifications achieved and pending. This includes English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry (or double award science) at GCSE or equivalent
- A personal statement for Medicine
- An academic reference
A spelling and grammatical error check
You should also note that for Cardiff University School of Medicine, you are required to take the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) from July to October of the year of application.