UCAT vs GAMSAT: which do you need?
If you are at school, the UCAT. GAMSAT is for graduates, and only 17 UK programmes use it. Some graduate courses take either. Check each course on your list, then sit whichever covers the most of it.
The two tests
| UCAT | GAMSAT | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sits it | School leavers and many graduates | Graduates, for graduate-entry and some graduate routes |
| What it tests | Reading, reasoning, data and judgement under time | Science reasoning, written communication and humanities reasoning |
| When | Once a year, July to September | March and September |
| How long a score lasts | One application cycle | Up to two years: March and September 2025 and 2026 sittings count for 2027 entry |
UK schools that use GAMSAT
Brunel, Chester, City St George's, Exeter, East Anglia, Keele, Liverpool, Pears Cumbria, Plymouth, ScotGEM (St Andrews and Dundee), Sunderland, Surrey, Swansea, Ulster and Worcester.
Several, including Chester and Pears Cumbria, accept UCAT or GAMSAT. Plymouth uses GAMSAT for applicants without suitable A levels.
Choosing
- Your list is all UCAT schools: sit UCAT.
- Your list is GAMSAT-only graduate courses: sit GAMSAT.
- A mix: start with UCAT, which most UK medical schools use, and add GAMSAT if a key course needs it.
Graduate courses that use UCAT: graduate-entry medicine and UCAT