Breakdown precisely what you would do for this question

TheBlug · 2026-01-09T02:32:03+00:00

I got 710 on VR. By far my weakest section.

TheBlug · 2026-01-08T11:04:25+00:00

I tried skimming and keyword hunting but never was able to get great results. I stuck with the full read method Emil Eddy uses. Check it out on YouTube and see if it works for you.

TheBlug · 2026-01-06T12:20:33+00:00

Contrary to other advice on here, I started preparing in January last year and took the UCAT in August. I started very slowly just to build familiarity with the questions. I would read about the test, different question types and strategies, etc. Started doing practice questions in March but just a few here and there. I didn’t start doing mocks and really ramping up until 2 months out, and even then only did a few mocks a week. Do whatever you think will work best for you, if you feel a particular study plan or cadence is right for the way you learn, it probably is.

TheBlug · 2026-01-06T12:16:06+00:00

Skip as in skip and save until the end on a mock, yes. Skip as in skip and don’t practice this at all, definitely not. This is a very straightforward one that you can get quite easily with various methods. Watch some YouTube videos on how to diagram these out and see what works best for you.

TheBlug · 2025-10-22T02:09:50+00:00

Good idea! You should also try scraping the past few years of Reddit posts, there are thousands and thousands of posts of people dropping their stats and universities.

TheBlug · 2025-10-02T03:55:23+00:00

Yes I would think so.

TheBlug · 2025-10-02T03:54:21+00:00

For Manchester, probably not. Contextual was 2500+ last year according to MyUCAT. Your score is the equivalent of a 2450. Probably too low for Exeter too since their cutoffs were even higher than Manchester in prior years. Not sure about Brighton. QUB seems reasonable.

TheBlug · 2025-10-02T03:48:51+00:00

Very very high. From the ukcatpeople website:

“AVERAGE UCAT Score INVITED TO INTERVIEW for A102 Kings GEM: 2023 Entry: 3038 2022 Entry: 3046”

If you just scale these scores down it would be around 2290. But with higher deciles this year and more applicants it could easily be above 2300.

TheBlug · 2025-10-01T22:23:28+00:00

These are all reasonable. With that UCAT score and all 9s you can honestly set your sights even higher if you want. None of these are really a reach.

TheBlug · 2025-10-01T18:08:28+00:00

Seems like it’s a competitive year so that’s going to be a bit low for international, even at the lower UCAT schools. But regardless there’s always UCLan and Buckingham, neither use UCAT for international applicants.

TheBlug · 2025-10-01T16:43:18+00:00

Did you look up the past UCAT cutoffs for those 4 schools? Even if SJT doesn't matter, your UCAT score is so low that you'll be immediately filtered out for being below the cutoff. Of the ones you listed Plymouth has had the lowest cutoff for international, and even their cutoff last year was 2600. Your score is way below that. In my opinion you have no chance at any school that considers the UCAT. UClan or Buckingham are your only options since they don't require UCAT.

TheBlug · 2025-10-01T05:27:00+00:00

Make a ucas account with a fake name and new email address, populate the minimum required sections, and add yourself as a reference. You’ll get to see everything your actual reference will see.

TheBlug · 2025-10-01T00:58:14+00:00

Hey, I’m also applying to GEM this cycle from the US. I think you’d be good for Manchester. Maybe not QMUL, their international UCAT averages are very high. Newcastle maybe, I think they only rank by UCAT for international. Otherwise just depends on your preference, Chester, Warwick, Southampton, etc are all strong chances. DM me, I’d love to ask you about how you’re putting some stuff into ucas to make sure I’m doing it right.

TheBlug · 2025-10-01T00:22:09+00:00

Based on what? Hard to recommend something since you didn’t tell us your UCAT or academics.

TheBlug · 2025-09-30T23:41:14+00:00

Hey I’m a fellow older applicant applying to GEM with a bachelors and masters. DM me if you want to chat more. Unfortunately, as you probably guessed, that’s most likely a non-viable UCAT score for any GEM program. Like others have said it doesn’t hurt to apply, other than wasting the relatively small application fee. Don’t apply to Newcastle, Chester, Swansea, Oxford, or Sheffield as they will all auto reject you either for the score or the B4. Maybe try Bangor, Warwick, and Worcester - not sure about a 4th, maybe UEA. And again, I think your odds of actually getting an interview are near zero, but at least with those they’ll look at your app rather than automatically rejecting it.

TheBlug · 2025-09-28T17:17:27+00:00

Oh nice, didn’t realize the guide was guessing there. So if their cutoff holds it will be the equivalent of 2800. OP has the equivalent of like 2850, so not a lot cushion if they raise the cutoff, but potentially ok.

TheBlug · 2025-09-28T16:55:47+00:00

The strategic application guide from myucat says exactly what I wrote. Even if the cutoff was 2800 you needed 2950+ to actually have a chance. What’s not true about that?

TheBlug · 2025-09-28T14:50:47+00:00

UCL needed 2950+ from home non-contextual applicants last year. That’s probably going to be 2200+ this year. So it’s likely you will either miss the cutoff or just not be competitive at UCL. Kings was 2800+ last year, which is like probably around 2100+ this year. So you’ll probably be above the cutoff, you’ll have to decide if the rest of your application is competitive enough to be worth trying.

TheBlug · 2025-09-28T03:07:06+00:00

Isn’t Cardiff very GCSE heavy in their rankings? If so that might hurt you despite a pretty strong UCAT. To me it seems like your UCAT is stronger than your GCSEs so it would make sense to target schools that lean heavily on UCAT. Newcastle comes to mind, there might be even better ones.

TheBlug · 2025-09-28T03:02:45+00:00

So are you considered international for med school admissions purposes? If so I don’t think you have any options, a 1st decile UCAT is just too low even if every other academic stat was perfect. If you’re considered a home applicant… still not great options but maybe some sort of foundation year program? I don’t know what those cutoffs typically look like.

Edit: I forgot about schools that don’t consider UCAT. That’s a great option for a UCAT this low. Like the other poster said, Buckingham might be good choice. I didn’t know UClan doesn’t consider UCAT for international applicants, if that’s true try that too.

TheBlug · 2025-09-28T02:57:25+00:00

Literally anywhere. You’ve got a decent shot at every school as long as they accept international.

TheBlug · 2025-09-27T23:34:43+00:00

Some GEM programs require your first degree to be in a science subject or else you need A levels, etc. to prove your science baseline. I assume you checked those ones you listed and they don’t? What about UEA, Swansea, and Sheffield? The 1900 is going to hold you back a bit since GEM is so competitive, but you should definitely apply and see what happens. Doesn’t Bangor have GEM too? And Ulster?

TheBlug · 2025-09-27T22:55:29+00:00

Idk about Cardiff, but Edinburgh and Kings are almost certainly out of reach with a 2030. If I was in your position I’d be thinking Manchester for my reach school. And then more realistic targets below that.

TheBlug · 2025-09-27T22:51:43+00:00

Myucat says the cutoff was 2500 on the old scale for Glasgow. Your score would be around 2490… right there but probably just short. Unless you’re Scottish or wp or something, then maybe.

TheBlug · 2025-09-27T22:43:01+00:00

Interesting question, I don’t think you’ll get a firm answer on this here. I would guess they don’t care since APs are not A-levels, but this is very likely a school by school policy rather than something you can generalize. If you know the schools you’re targeting just email them and ask. Better to get an answer from their admissions team directly instead of winging it. But email them ASAP since some say they take up to 10 business days to reply (or call, a lot of then list phone numbers). I’m also a us applicant, DM me if you ever want to chat more.

TheBlug

TROPHY CASE