Is the UCAT easier if you sit it early?

What UCAT's own means show about candidates who test early and those who test late, and what that does and does not tell you about booking.

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  • Data checked 26 September 2026
Test year

UCAT publishes a preliminary mean from mid-September and a final mean after testing ends. The gap between them tells us how the later group scored.

UCAT 2025 · early and later testers, UK

Early testers averaged 102 points higher

The 21,882 who sat by 14 September 2025 averaged 1939; the 19,472 who sat later averaged about 1837. Candidates chose their own dates, so this shows who sits early, not that an early date raises a score.

Not a date effect
Mean score, early and later testers
  1. Sat by 14 September193921,882 tests
  2. Sat laterAbout 183719,472 tests
  • Published mean
  • Worked out or estimated

So should you sit early? Book the date that gives you the preparation you need and time to rebook if something goes wrong. The data show early testers score higher, not that the test is easier then.

Worked out from UCAT's published means: 2025 preliminary and final

UCAT · 2027 entry

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How we estimate

Scope, source, method, uncertainty, dates and what the answer can and cannot tell you.

What it covers

UK UCAT totals on the three cognitive sections, for the 2024 test (Abstract Reasoning removed afterwards by UCAT), the 2025 test and the 2026 test so far. Early means everyone who sat by mid-September, not July alone.

Sources

Method

  1. UCAT publishes a preliminary mean in mid-September and a final mean after testing ends, each with the number of tests.
  2. The later group's mean follows from those four numbers: later mean = (final tests x final mean - early tests x early mean) / (final tests - early tests).
  3. For 2025: (41,354 x 1891 - 21,882 x 1939) / 19,472 = about 1837, so early testers averaged about 102 points more. For 2024 the gap was about 91.
  4. For 2026 the final mean is not out yet. We use our forecast of it (about 1918) with UCAT's expected 22,000 later tests, so that row is a scenario.

Uncertainty and limits

  • Candidates choose their test date. Earlier testers may be better prepared or more confident, so the gap describes the groups, not the effect of the date.
  • Two snapshots a year cannot show a July, August or September curve.
  • Published means are rounded to whole points, which moves the later-group mean by a point or so.
  • The 2024 means are UCAT's retrospective three-section figures, quoted by The Medic Portal; the 2025 preliminary mean is confirmed on UCAT's page.

Dates and versions

  • UCAT UK score distributions, 2024 to 2026: data version 2026-09-26.1, checked 26 September 2026 (preliminary).
  • Page last changed 26 September 2026.

What the answer means

The answer shows how much higher early testers scored on average in each year. It cannot show that sitting early would raise your own score; the data do not identify any date effect.

The published means behind the comparison

UCAT’s preliminary and final means on the three cognitive sections. 2024’s are UCAT’s later figures with Abstract Reasoning taken out.

Mean UCAT total and number of tests
Test year and tableTests toTestsMean
2025 final26 September 202541,3541891
2026 preliminary13 September 202620,7941970
2025 preliminary14 September 202521,8821939
2024 preliminary15 September 202420,0661913
2024 final26 September 202437,9131870

Questions people ask

Is it better to sit the UCAT early?

Early testers scored about 90 to 100 points higher on average in 2024 and 2025, but they chose to test early. Book the date that gives you enough preparation and time to rebook if something goes wrong.

Is the UCAT harder in September?

The published figures do not show that. They show a lower average among people who test later, and those candidates differ from early testers in ways the data cannot separate from the date.

Why do the UCAT deciles drop after the preliminary results?

Later testers average lower scores, so adding them pulls the whole table down. In 2025 each decile boundary fell 40 to 60 points between the preliminary and final tables.

Sources

UCAT UK score distributions, 2024 to 2026: version 2026-09-26.1, First published version, transcribed by script from the 26 September 2026 UCAT research snapshot.

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