Barts and The London School of Medicine Medicine Entry Requirements

Getting Into Barts and The London School of Medicine — What You're Up Against

Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, part of Queen Mary University of London, is one of the most sought-after medical schools in the country. It receives thousands of applications each year for approximately 270 places on its standard MBBS programme, making the competition fierce even by London standards. What separates successful applicants is rarely grades alone — virtually everyone applying holds or is predicted A*AA or above. The real differentiators are a strong UCAT score, a personal statement that demonstrates genuine clinical insight, and performance in a Multiple Mini Interview that rewards composure, ethical reasoning, and communication under pressure. Understanding how Barts weights each of these elements is the first step to building an application that actually stands a chance.

A-Level and Academic Requirements

The standard offer for Barts and The London School of Medicine is A*AA at A-Level, with Chemistry as a required subject. Biology is strongly recommended and, in practice, the vast majority of successful applicants hold both Chemistry and Biology at A-Level. The third subject is flexible, though it should be a rigorous academic discipline — humanities, mathematics, and the physical sciences are all well regarded.

If you are studying Scottish Highers, the equivalent offer is typically AAAAB or AAAAA at Advanced Higher level. For the International Baccalaureate, Barts generally requires 38 points or above, with 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Chemistry.

Predicted grades matter significantly at the shortlisting stage. Barts uses a combination of academic performance and UCAT score to decide who is invited to interview, so a candidate predicted AAA rather than A*AA may find themselves at a disadvantage even if their UCAT score is competitive. If your school has concerns about your predicted grades, address this early and directly with your teachers — there is rarely room for underestimation at this level of competition.

GCSEs are also considered. While there is no formal minimum, a strong GCSE profile — particularly in science and mathematics — signals academic consistency. Applicants with several grade 9s or A*s at GCSE tend to be better placed, especially when UCAT scores are close between candidates.

UCAT Strategy for Barts and The London School of Medicine

Barts and The London School of Medicine uses the UCAT as a significant shortlisting tool, and it is one of the most competitive London schools in terms of the scores it expects. While the school does not publish a fixed cut-off, applicants who are invited to interview typically score in the upper deciles — a combined score below 2700 or 2750 is unlikely to be competitive, and many successful candidates score considerably higher than this.

The UCAT is sat in the summer before application, usually between July and September. Sitting earlier in the window is generally advisable — you will be fresher from exam season, and you leave time to resit if your score falls short of expectations (though you can only sit the UCAT once per admissions cycle, so preparation before your first attempt is essential).

Barts considers all four UCAT subtests, including the Situational Judgement Test. Do not neglect SJT preparation on the assumption that it is easier to score well in — a Band 4 SJT result can undermine an otherwise strong application. Aim for Band 1 or Band 2 as a minimum target.

Structured, consistent preparation over six to eight weeks tends to produce better results than intensive cramming. Use official UCAT practice materials alongside timed mock tests to build both accuracy and speed across all subtests.

The Barts and The London School of Medicine Interview — Format, Style, and How to Prepare

Barts and The London School of Medicine uses a single online panel interview rather than a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI). You are typically interviewed by a panel of two senior academic or clinical staff, sometimes joined by a medical student or a lay selector, in a session lasting around 15 to 20 minutes conducted over video call.

The panel commonly covers your motivation for medicine, reflections on your work experience, ethical dilemmas, and your understanding of teamwork and communication in a clinical setting. You may also be asked to discuss a short article on an NHS or scientific topic sent to you in advance of the interview. Rather than moving between separate stations, the whole conversation runs with the same panel, so building rapport and sustaining a consistent, thoughtful line of reasoning across the interview matters more than resetting between questions.

Our medicine admissions specialists work with Barts applicants on UCAT preparation and interview coaching, with sessions tailored to the panel format and competency framework Barts and The London School of Medicine uses in its selection process. We're rated 4.8/5 on Trustpilot. Book a free consultation to discuss a preparation plan for the Barts application.

Preparation should focus on the following areas:

• Understanding core medical ethics principles — autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice — and being able to apply them to realistic scenarios
• Practising structured responses under timed conditions, ideally with a partner or tutor who can give honest feedback
• Reflecting on your work experience so you can speak fluently and specifically about what you observed and what it taught you
• Staying current with NHS issues and healthcare policy, particularly as they relate to London and urban healthcare settings
• Developing the ability to listen carefully to the question actually being asked — many candidates talk too much and miss what the panel is asking them to address

Barts interviews are conducted online. Test your camera, microphone, and internet connection well in advance, choose a quiet and well-lit space free from interruptions, and dress professionally as you would for an in-person interview — the panel is assessing your presentation as well as your answers.

Building a Barts and The London School of Medicine-Worthy Application

Your personal statement needs to do more than list what you have done — it needs to show what you understood from your experiences and how those insights have shaped your decision to study medicine. Barts is a research-active institution with strong links to Barts Health NHS Trust, one of the largest NHS trusts in England. Demonstrating awareness of what it means to train in a large urban teaching hospital environment, and showing genuine curiosity about the science underpinning clinical practice, will resonate with the admissions team.

Work experience does not need to be exotic, but it does need to be reflective. Shadowing a GP, volunteering in a care home, or working as a healthcare assistant are all valuable — what matters is that you can articulate what you witnessed and what questions it raised for you. Barts values applicants who have thought seriously about the realities of the profession, not just its appeal.

Extracurricular activities should be mentioned where they demonstrate relevant qualities — leadership, resilience, teamwork — but do not pad your statement with activities that have no connection to your development as a future doctor. Every sentence should serve a purpose.

For full entry requirements and up-to-date admissions information, see the Barts and The London Medicine admissions.

How Competitive Is Barts Medicine? The 2026 Entry Numbers

Queen Mary's Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry describes admission to the five-year MBBS (A100) programme in its own selection criteria as "highly competitive," and the published figures back this up. For September 2026 entry, QMUL expects to make 311 places available to home students and up to 24 to overseas students -- 335 in total. The Medical Schools Council's official course profile for Barts lists current competition ratios of 1.8 home applicants for every place and 5.8 home applicants for every interview slot, against 4.4 international applicants per place and a much steeper 23 international applicants per interview slot -- a reflection of how limited the overseas interview capacity is relative to demand.

Source: Medical Schools Council official course profile for Queen Mary University of London MBBS Medicine A100, and the QMUL Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry Selection Criteria page, which references the Admissions Policy 2026/27. These are the most recently published official figures; unlike some other medical schools, QMUL does not publish a multi-year public breakdown of total applications, interviews, and offers, so a longer historical trend cannot be verified here.

Two mechanics matter more than the headline ratios. First, Barts screens strictly by UCAT decile and SJT band at first shortlisting: an application will not proceed unless it scores within the fourth decile or above and achieves SJT Bands 1-3 in the same sitting -- a Band 4 SJT result rejects an application regardless of how strong the cognitive score is, and QMUL states plainly that no UCAT exemptions or waivers are granted under any circumstances. Second, clearing the fourth decile is no guarantee of an interview: QMUL's own policy warns that "it is not possible to predict what the thresholds will be in any individual year, nor to use data from previous years to predict subsequent years' thresholds," and surviving applicants then face a further weighted-score comparison against that year's entire applicant pool before interview places are allocated. In practice, this means preparing for a strong, balanced UCAT performance across all sections -- including the SJT -- rather than chasing a single target number carried over from a previous cycle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions