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The team at Rostrum has done it again. One of our students recently got into two of the most prestigious medicine programs in the UK, Kings College London and Imperial College London. To put her achievement into perspective, less than 50 seats are available in the medicine program at King’s College London. The odds are hard, even in Imperial College, with very low acceptance rates.
In this blog, we will explore how hard it is to get into these prestigious colleges, what the requirements are, the entrance test, which is the UCAT, how to prepare for UCAT and tips regarding personal statements and overall profiles; we will also examine what Asmi did and how she managed all this.
Imperial College of London: requirements.
Imperial’s medical program is highly competitive, and candidates must have a strong academic record and demonstrate the ability to become exceptional medical practitioners. The prerequisites for admission to medicine are displayed in the table below:
| Category | Details |
| A-levels | Minimum AAA (Chemistry and Biology plus a third subject) |
| International Baccalaureate | A minimum of 38 points overall, with 6 in higher-level chemistry and biology. English proficiency at the standard level, grade 5, is necessary. |
| Personal statement | Evidence of motivation to study medicine, understanding of medicine as a career, community activities, leadership qualities, ability to work in a team and general interests. It may be reviewed at the interview. |
You must understand this is just the minimum requirement; having this does not entail that you will be selected; you must try to achieve higher than the said grade; for example, in 2021, 80% of successful candidates achieved 39 points. So, the point you should understand is that you must aim for at least one grade above the minimum entry requirements to maximise your chances of getting an offer.
King’s College London: Requirements.
| Category | Details |
| A levels | Minimum A*AA (Must include Chemistry and Biology) |
| International Baccalaureate | three Higher Level subjects (766), including biology and chemistry, for a minimum of 35 points. Note that TOK/EE is included in the 35-point total score. |
| Personal statement | Personal statements are used as part of the interview short-listing process. |
| Work experience. | King expects that you will have undertaken some work experience in a caring environment and/or observation in a medical clinical setting. Or you have worked in a medical environment wherein you had to deal with the general public. |
As said, this again is the minimum requirement; you must aim higher, and the better your score, the better it is for you.
Understanding UCAT
In order to be considered for medical school in the UK, including Imperial College and KCL, one is required to take the University Clinical Aptitude Test, which is called the UCAT.
The majority of universities in Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand use the UCAT as one of three primary factors in choosing students for high-demand health-related professions like dentistry and medicine. The other two criteria are performance on final high school examinations and interviews. The nearly two-hour UCAT is a computer-based exam that evaluates a variety of cognitive skills that colleges have determined are critical for careers in medicine and dentistry. It is composed of four independently timed subtests, each with a set of multiple-choice questions.
More about UCAT.
The UCAT consists of 184 questions in total, which are broken down into the following subtests:
- Verbal reasoning: 44 Questions
- Decision Making: 35 Questions
- Quantitative reasoning: 36 questions
- Situational Judgement: 69 questions.
Trial questions will make up about 10% of the questions, and these questions will not affect your score.
Every question will be displayed on a computer platform in a multiple-choice format.
Registration
You can register for the UCAT by going to the Pearson VUE website as soon as registration opens. The Pearson VUE online registration system requires you to register and then schedule a test in two steps.
Now, coming to the elephant in the room, how much score do you require to get into the top universities such as Oxford University, King’s College and Imperial?
Learn more about UCAT scores for all UK universities.
Kings College London – Medical course
One of the biggest student groups in healthcare in Europe is found at King’s College London, a huge university. It is situated in London and is close to a number of research institutes. Guy’s Hospital, King’s College Hospital, and St. Thomas’ Hospital—three of London’s most well-known and busy teaching hospitals—are among its partner hospitals.
There is an optional intercalation year between Stages 2 and 3 of the course, which is broken up into three “Stages.” King’s College London offers an MBBS program that takes five years to finish (six if you choose for an intercalated degree).
While Stage 2 integrates research and clinical practice on the human life cycle and prevalent disease processes, Stage 1 offers a foundation in biomedical and population sciences. It focuses on providing care in a variety of clinical settings for patients with common diseases. Stage 3 offers the chance to participate in elective study abroad and is focused on future practice.
King’s College London – UCAT cutoff score
King’s College does not provide any minimum cutoff scores; therefore one should not expect to have a clear-cut answer to that question. However, keep in mind the average score of shortlisted candidates in the 2021 admissions, which was 2788; generally, a score above 2800 is considered safe for King’s College London.
Asmi scored 3080 in her UCAT, at Rostrum, we helped her with everything related to the UCAT exam, from concepts to mock tests, and Rostrum tutoring really helped her.
Imperial College London: Medical course
The Royal Charter created Imperial College London, a public research university, in 1907. It is the only university in the United Kingdom that solely focuses on business, science, engineering, and medicine.
The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, the Francis Crick Institute, and the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute are just a few of the internationally recognized research institutes that call the South Kensington, London site home. Hospitals including the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, and the Royal Brompton Hospital are located on the site.
Imperial College London offers medical students a six-year undergraduate program. The sciences, including anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, and microbiology, are emphasized strongly throughout the first two years. Additionally, students learn clinical skills such as obtaining medical histories, doing physical examinations, and performing basic procedures. In the third year, they start supervised learning experiences in various clinical settings, where they study specialities like obstetrics, gynaecology, paediatrics, and surgery. Students complete a clinical or science-based research project in their fourth year. In the fifth and sixth years of the program, clinical training and electives are explored in greater detail.
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Imperial College London: UCAT Score.
Similar to Kings College London, Imperial also does not specify a cutoff score, but one could expect that the cutoff would be on the higher side as well because, according to QS world ranking imperial stands at number 7. Competing with the likes of Cambridge and Johns Hopkins, but for a ballpark, you must aim for a score of 2850 plus at the bare minimum.
Join the ranks! Asmi scored 3080 in her UCAT; join us and see your score soar!
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However, the UCAT score is one part of your college application. Along with the UCAT, one needs other things as well, namely- Academic records, English Proficiency test, work experience, personal statement and interviews (of course, you will get to the interview stage only if other things are right.)
Let us break down these things individually!
1. Academic record
In many international professions, academics are essential, especially if you intend to pursue undergraduate medical studies in the UK. As a result, fulfilling the minimal prerequisites for admittance is essential. In order to receive an A*/A grade or its equivalent, students must typically study mathematics, chemistry, or other sciences at the highest level during grades 11 and 12. IB and A Level programs are accepted at UK institutions. While state boards like the HSC might not meet their requirements, the majority of colleges also accept graduates from Indian national boards like the ISC or CBSE.
At Rostrum, we also help prepare for IB and A-level exams.
2. English Proficiency
International students from places where English is not a native language are required to face an English proficiency test. You may go for IELTS, TOEFL, or Duolingo.
3. Personal statement
A free-form essay of up to 4,000 characters or 700-800 words has historically been the format for the UCAS personal statement. It gives prospective doctors a chance to emphasize their strong academic records, dedication to healthcare, and relevant professional experience. However, a structured response format will take the place of the conventional free-form personal statement starting with the 2026 admission cycle.
You will respond to three questions in the new format, each of which has a minimum of 350 characters and a maximum of 4,000 characters (including spaces), in place of a free-form essay. The three questions are as follows.
Question 1: Why do you want to study this course or subject?
Universities require enough proof that you are certain and dedicated to becoming a doctor. As a result, you need to mention particular incidents or experiences that caught their attention and explain how they affected your choice to become a doctor. Your motivation for pursuing medicine, any involvement with the field, and your long-term objectives should all be included in your response.
Question 2: How to have your qualifications and studies prepare you for this course?
Candidates with a solid scientific background, the capacity for critical thought, and the ability to persevere through demanding training are sought after by medical schools. You can illustrate in this area how their educational history has given them the abilities they need to pursue medical studies. Your academic background must be mentioned in your response, emphasising how courses like biology, chemistry, and mathematics helped you prepare for a career in medicine. Skills that enhance the application and noteworthy accomplishments, including lengthy research projects pertinent to admission, should be discussed. Finally, mention any noteworthy academic honours and accomplishments.
Question 3: What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?
In addition to academic credentials, medical programs favour candidates with leadership abilities, real-world experience, and a dedication to helping others. You might highlight your personal experiences, extracurricular interests, and practical professional experience in this part.
In order to make Asmi’s profile stand out, we advised and arranged for her to participate in various debate competitions; we also built on her ability to demonstrate empathy and communication concepts, which are very much part of the medical profession through the activity of role-playing. In order to strive for a balance with the logical side of things, we arranged picture analysis; picture analysis helped her think about the happening more logically. ‘
With all this Asmi excelled in:
1. Picture analysis for logical reasoning.
- Graph interpretation for Data Analysis.
3. Excelled at roleplaying to demonstrate empathy and communication - Mastering ethical debates and healthcare challenges.
All these activities and achievements helped Asmi’s application stand out.
4. Work experience
Medical schools take relevant work experience into consideration. However, different colleges can have different experience requirements. In general, they will assume that you have become conscious of the responsibilities associated with medicine.
Through paid or volunteer employment, you can encounter different healthcare environments and try to get work experience with a general practitioner. These include interacting with young children, working in a care facility, or earning a first aid certification and using it in real-world scenarios. The goal is to ensure that you reflect on the lessons obtained from your experiences when drafting your medicine UCAS personal statement.
Asmi also worked as a volunteer at a local NGO, catering towards elderly health, which also helped her application.
5. Interviews
In the UK, candidates for medical and dental positions are required to attend interviews. Traditional interviews and multiple-mini interviews (MMIs) are the two primary categories.
Conventional interviews take 20–40 minutes and include a panel of staff, students, and medical professionals. Traditional interviews are still used by a number of universities, including Queen Mary University of London, University College London, University of Cambridge, University of Glasgow, and University of Oxford. Usually, they inquire about personal remarks, medical opinions, industrial knowledge, and experiences.
In 2002, McMaster invented a new interviewing method called MMIs. Institutions including King’s College London, the University of Bristol, and the University of Manchester use MMIs. During these interviews, candidates engage in discussions and exercises intended to evaluate their skills at multiple stations. Interviewees typically spend roughly ten minutes at each of the six to twelve stations. The primary benefit of this interview style is that each station is graded separately, allowing you to make amends at a different station if you believe your response to a question was incorrect.
Asmi’s extracurricular activities, along with her top-notch academic performance, helped her perform really well in the interview; what you need to understand is that what you do all the time, the things you study, and the activities you pursue all these are the topic of your interview, along with subject and course-specific questions. Thus, in order to prepare for your interview, you must reflect on your journey.
At rostrum we help you prepare for everything the college application demands, from SoP to UCAT to extracurriculars, and even internships, rostrum is your one-stop solution to everything!
