GAMSAT UK: Dates, Cost, Scoring and Which Universities Accept It

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The GAMSAT (Graduate Medical School Admissions Test) is the admissions test used by roughly fifteen UK universities running graduate-entry medicine (GEM) programmes — four-year, accelerated medical degrees for applicants who already hold a first degree. It is designed and run by ACER (the Australian Council for Educational Research), sat twice a year in March and September, and scored across three sections that are combined using a weighted formula rather than a simple average. This guide covers the 2026 UK test dates, exactly what each section tests, how the scoring weighting works, the current registration cost, and the full list of UK medical schools that accept a GAMSAT score. For the wider landscape of graduate-entry medicine routes and which use GAMSAT versus UCAT, see our Graduate Entry Medicine UK programme guide; for general medicine admissions strategy, see our complete guide to getting into medicine.

What Is the GAMSAT and Who Administers It?

GAMSAT stands for the Graduate Medical School Admissions Test. It was originally developed in the early 1990s for Australian graduate-entry medical programmes and has been administered ever since by ACER, the Australian Council for Educational Research — the same body that sets the test content, runs the sittings worldwide, marks Sections 1 and 3, and issues results directly to both candidates and participating universities. UK universities began adopting the GAMSAT from 2000 onwards as graduate-entry medicine programmes were introduced as a route into medicine for career-changers and second-degree applicants, particularly those with strong science backgrounds who did not apply to medicine as school leavers.

It is important not to confuse the GAMSAT with the UCAT. The UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test) is used for standard school-leaver entry to almost every UK medical school, including Oxford, Cambridge, and Imperial. The GAMSAT is used specifically by the smaller cohort of universities running dedicated graduate-entry medicine courses, and a handful of those universities also accept GAMSAT for graduate-entry dentistry. Some universities that run both a standard A100 course and a graduate-entry A101 course will use the UCAT for the former and the GAMSAT for the latter — so the same university can appear on both lists depending on which course you apply to.

GAMSAT UK 2026 Test Dates

ACER runs the GAMSAT twice a year worldwide: a March sitting and a September sitting. The Written Communication section is now completed remotely under webcam supervision, and is scheduled slightly ahead of the two test-centre sections.

UK graduate-entry medicine applicants overwhelmingly sit the September diet, because that is the sitting UK and Irish medical schools use for the admissions cycle leading to entry the following autumn — results are released in time to support UCAS applications with an October deadline. The March sitting exists mainly for Australian candidates and for UK applicants who want an early practice attempt or a second opportunity before committing to their main September sitting. Always confirm exact dates and registration deadlines on the official ACER GAMSAT registration page, since ACER reviews the calendar each cycle.

The Three GAMSAT Sections Explained

The GAMSAT is built around three sections that test reasoning and communication skills rather than pure recall, though Section 3 does require solid A-level-equivalent science knowledge as its foundation.

Section 1, Reasoning in Humanities and Social Sciences, presents extracts from essays, poetry, social science writing, cartoons, and other stimulus material, then asks 62 questions that test comprehension, inference, and critical reasoning about the passages — not prior subject knowledge. No specific background reading list exists; the skill being tested is your ability to reason accurately and quickly under time pressure (roughly 97 seconds per question).

Section 2, Written Communication, requires two written responses in 65 minutes, typically one task built around argumentative or persuasive themes and one built around more personal or reflective themes. Markers assess structure, clarity of argument, use of evidence, and control of language — not medical knowledge or a "correct" opinion. This section is the one now delivered remotely, sat from home under webcam and screen-share supervision using ACER's Guardian Browser and Test App, while Sections 1 and 3 remain in-person at a physical test centre.

Section 3, Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences, is the largest section: 75 questions in 150 minutes covering biology, chemistry, and physics at approximately UK A-level standard. Unlike a school science exam, GAMSAT Section 3 rarely asks you to simply recall a fact — it presents unfamiliar data, graphs, or experimental scenarios and asks you to apply scientific reasoning to reach a conclusion. Graduates with a life sciences or physical sciences degree generally have a content advantage here, but everyone needs dedicated timed practice, because the pace (roughly two minutes per question) surprises most first-time candidates regardless of degree background.

How Is the GAMSAT Scored?

Each of the three sections receives its own score on a scale of roughly 1 to 100. Crucially, the overall GAMSAT score reported to universities is not a simple average of the three sections — it is a weighted formula published by ACER: (1 × Section 1 + 1 × Section 2 + 2 × Section 3) ÷ 4. Section 3 (Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences) is double-weighted, meaning it effectively contributes half of your final overall score even though it is only one of three sections. This weighting has a real strategic consequence: a strong Section 3 result can substantially lift a weaker Section 1 or Section 2 score, whereas a weak Section 3 result is very difficult to compensate for through the other two sections. Candidates preparing for the GAMSAT should generally allocate the largest share of their study time to Section 3 content and timed practice for exactly this reason.

Individual UK universities then apply their own rules on top of the raw ACER score: some rank all applicants by overall GAMSAT score and interview the top cohort, some also require a minimum score in each individual section before shortlisting (so a very strong overall score cannot fully offset an unusually weak Section 2, for example), and most do not publish a fixed numerical cut-off because the competitive threshold shifts slightly each year with applicant numbers. As a general guide, candidates achieving scores in the mid-60s or above (out of the roughly 1–100 scale) are typically competitive for UK graduate-entry medicine, though this varies by university and by year — always check each university's own published guidance for the specific cycle you are applying to.

GAMSAT Registration Cost 2026

For the 2026 UK cycle, the standard GAMSAT registration fee is £296. Candidates who register, or make changes to their booking, after the standard registration deadline but before the late registration deadline closes pay an additional £71 late fee. ACER sets a separate fee schedule for other regions — for example, the Australian domestic fee for 2026 is AUD $568 — so UK candidates should register through the UK fee schedule and always check the currently published amount on the official ACER registration page, since fees are reviewed each admissions cycle and can change year to year.

You do not need a UCAS application reference number to register for or sit the GAMSAT — account creation and test booking with ACER can, and usually should, happen well before your UCAS application is submitted, since UK GEM applicants sitting the September diet will typically receive their results only shortly before the UCAS deadline for that cycle.

Which UK Universities Accept the GAMSAT?

The following UK universities use the GAMSAT for graduate-entry medicine (and in some cases graduate-entry dentistry or other allied courses). Course codes and the exact combination of routes each university accepts can change between admissions cycles, so treat this as a starting reference and always confirm current requirements directly with the university.

Note that Exeter and Plymouth both state that GAMSAT performance is effectively the only test-based information used in their graduate-entry shortlisting decision, whereas other universities weight the GAMSAT alongside academic record, personal statement, and (at interview stage) MMI or panel performance. For the wider set of graduate-entry medicine routes across the UK — including which programmes are 4-year GEM courses, which require a specific degree classification, and how GAMSAT-using courses compare with UCAT-based graduate routes — see our full Graduate Entry Medicine UK guide.

GAMSAT vs UCAT: How Do They Differ?

Prospective graduate applicants often ask whether they need to sit the GAMSAT, the UCAT, or both. The two tests are genuinely different in structure, content, and purpose, and confusing them is a common and costly planning mistake.

The UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test) is used for standard school-leaver entry to virtually every UK medical school, including Oxford, Cambridge, and Imperial. It is a single computer-based sitting of around two hours, currently made up of four sections — Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning, and Situational Judgement — scored to a maximum of 2,700 across the first three cognitive sections (Situational Judgement is banded separately). It rewards speed and pattern recognition far more than deep subject knowledge, and it is sat once per admissions cycle, typically in the summer before UCAS submission.

The GAMSAT is longer, spread across two separate sittings (the remote Written Communication task, then the test-centre Humanities and Sciences sections a few weeks later), and draws on genuine subject knowledge in biology, chemistry, and physics at A-level standard, alongside extended reading comprehension and two pieces of original writing. It is used specifically by universities running graduate-entry medicine programmes rather than by the full field of UK medical schools.

A small number of universities that offer both a standard-entry A100 course and a graduate-entry A101 course use different tests for each route — UCAT for the school-leaver course, GAMSAT for the graduate-entry course — so it is entirely possible for the same institution to appear on both the UCAT-user list and the GAMSAT-user list. Always check the test requirement against the specific course code you are applying to, not just the university name. For a deeper breakdown of UCAT preparation, see our UCAT tutoring service.

How to Prepare for the GAMSAT

Most successful candidates begin structured GAMSAT preparation four to six months before their target sitting, organised around the three sections and weighted according to how much each one contributes to the final score.

Section 3 (highest priority, given the double weighting): Rebuild A-level-standard content in biology, chemistry, and physics, particularly if your degree was non-science or you graduated some years ago. Then move quickly into timed practice with unfamiliar data sets and experimental scenarios, since content knowledge alone will not prepare you for the reasoning demand or the pace (roughly two minutes per question across 75 questions).

Section 1: Practise timed critical reading using dense, unfamiliar texts — essays, opinion pieces, and social science extracts work well — and build the habit of answering purely from what is stated or reasonably inferred in the passage, rather than from outside knowledge or personal opinion.

Section 2: Draft, time, and redraft essays against real GAMSAT-style prompt themes, covering both argumentative and reflective/narrative styles. Since this section is now sat remotely, also rehearse the remote-proctoring logistics in advance — a quiet, private room, a reliable internet connection, and the required Guardian Browser and ACER Test App installed and tested well before test day.

Full mock sittings: In the final six to eight weeks, sit complete timed mock papers under realistic conditions for each section, review every incorrect answer to identify recurring error patterns, and taper new content learning in favour of pacing and error-review work as the test date approaches.

Frequently Asked Questions