(Data included is valid up to 26 September 2024)
The 2024 UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test) score statistics have been released, providing valuable insights into this year’s candidate performance. Our team at Prep Zone seeks to help you understand the overall performance of the candidate pool, and thus allow you to create an informed decision when applying for university. Additionally, benchmarking your score against previous years’ university requirements can give you important perspective on which schools to go for, and how to focus your interviews and personal pitch.
Increased Number of Test Takers
The number of individuals taking the UCAT in 2024 increased significantly to 37,913, a rise of over 2,000 candidates compared to 2023 and 2022. This upward trend indicates a growing interest in pursuing a career in medicine, with more students seeking to enter this competitive field.
Importantly, this increase in UCAT participation is not attributable to the absence of the BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT) in 2024. In fact, many candidates opted to take both the UCAT and BMAT, demonstrating that aspiring medical students are often preparing for multiple assessments to bolster their admission prospects. This overlap suggests the overall pool of applicants is not only larger but also more determined to gain entry into medical programs. It’s also worth speculating that more and more students are taking a trial attempt before their main attempt — aiming for a more thorough preparation journey.
Higher Scaled Mean Score And Decile Thresholds…
The final total cognitive mean scaled score is 2523. The final mean scaled scores of the cognitive subtests for 2024 and previous years are below:
| Cognitive Subtest | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verbal Reasoning (VR) | 601 | 591 | 567 | 572 |
| Decision Making (DM) | 620 | 623 | 616 | 610 |
| Quantitative Reasoning (QR) | 649 | 649 | 658 | 665 |
| Abstract Reasoning (AR) | 653 | 652 | 659 | 651 |
| Total Cognitive Mean Scaled Score | 2523 | 2516 | 2500 | 2499 |
The scaled score range for each cognitive subtest is 300 – 900. These are derived from your raw marks (the number of correct answers for each section). The better the performance, the greater the score.
There has been a significant and observable increase in both the average UCAT score and the decile thresholds. This trend indicates a growing competitiveness among candidates seeking admission to medical and dental schools. For example, to be classified among the top 20% of applicants in 2023, a score exceeding 2760 was required. However, that benchmark has risen: for 2024, students need a score of at least 2780 to achieve the same ranking. While 20 points may not seem like much: the marginal difficulty of getting a new point can go up significantly as the total score goes up. If this trend continues, it’s worth considering that higher average scores in standardised tests have historically invited difficulty increases from test makers so they can re-standardize scores.
This upward trend in score requirements is not limited to just the top 20% but is evident across all decile rankings. The median score, which serves as a critical indicator of overall applicant performance, has also seen a slight increase. In 2023, the median score stood at 2510, but for 2024, it has risen marginally to 2520.
| Decile Rank | Total score | VR | DM | QR | AR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2140 | 510 | 500 | 530 | 530 |
| 2nd | 2260 | 540 | 550 | 570 | 570 |
| 3rd | 2360 | 560 | 570 | 600 | 600 |
| 4th | 2440 | 580 | 600 | 620 | 620 |
| 5th | 2520 | 590 | 620 | 640 | 640 |
| 6th | 2590 | 620 | 640 | 660 | 660 |
| 7th | 2680 | 640 | 670 | 690 | 700 |
| 8th | 2780 | 660 | 690 | 720 | 730 |
| 9th | 2920 | 700 | 740 | 770 | 810 |
This table provides deciles of candidate subtest and total scores. Each decile rank represents 10% of candidates based on their overall test performance. The 1st decile represents a score at the 10th percentile; the 2nd decile represents a score at the 20th percentile, and so on.
… But Fewer Test Takers Achieved Band 1
The Situational Judgement Test (SJT) is scored on a 4-band scale, with Band 1 representing the top performers and Band 4 the lowest. Candidates receive full marks for answers that precisely match the correct responses and partial marks for responses closer to the right answers.
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of candidates | 37,913 | 35,625 | 36,374 | 37,230 |
| Band 1 | 13% | 25% | 20% | 14% |
| Band 2 | 36% | 39% | 36% | 36% |
| Band 3 | 38% | 26% | 31% | 33% |
| Band 4 | 13% | 9% | 14% | 16% |
The 2024 SJT results revealed a significant shift in participant performance. Only 13% achieved the top Band 1, a notable decline from the 25% who reached this level in 2023. This decrease raises questions about the candidates’ overall preparedness and decision-making skills. It may suggest the SJT scenarios were more challenging or that test-taker preparation has declined.
Conversely, the percentage in the lowest Band 4 increased to 13%, up from 9% the prior year. This rise in poor performance indicates a greater proportion of candidates struggled with the test. This could reflect a broader trend of declining performance or an increase in the test’s difficulty. This potentially opens the door for SJT being a more potent differentiator of applicants for programs: an interesting possibility for a section often underrepresented in preparation hours.
The 2024 UCAT results indicate that achieving a top performance in the UCAT has become increasingly challenging, as candidates are now required to attain higher scores compared to previous years. This shift underscores the intensifying competition in the field and highlights the importance of thorough preparation for applicants aiming to secure a place in their desired medicine programs.
