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Lancaster A104 - Gateway Year — Undergraduate medicine
Figures are on the current UCAT scale of 2700 unless a cell says otherwise.
Lancaster (Gateway Year) - Medicine
MBChB Medicine and Surgery with a Gateway Year (A104)
How this university scores applications, with the figures it publishes.
High level summary
Simple summary. Excruciating detail below.
| Question | Answer |
|---|
| Is there a score to clear? | No. Applicants are put in order by UCAT score and the university works down the list until the interview places run out. The line moves with the field each year. Any contextual adjustment is below. |
| How to read the UCAT figures here | A lowest score and an average are both published. Judge yourself against the average. The lowest is one person. |
| What else counts | GCSEs are a gate. Meeting the minimum is what counts; beating it earns nothing.
The SJT band is a gate. Clear it; a better band earns nothing more. |
What this course is
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| Route | Widening participation only. Applicants must meet at least two of Lancaster's WP criteria |
| Unusual eligibility rule | Applicants must NOT meet the standard A100 grade requirements. Meeting them makes you ineligible for this course |
| Excluded | Anyone studying for or holding a degree, or an Access qualification |
| Places | 15 |
| Structure | A gateway year followed by the standard programme |
Selection
| Stage | What decides it |
|---|
| Shortlisting | Ranked on total UCAT score, invited from the top down |
| SJT | Preference given to bands 1 to 3 |
| Deciles and matrices | Neither used |
| Offers | Ranked on overall MMI score |
UCAT
| Measure | 2025 entry (of 3600) | 2026 entry (of 2700) |
|---|
| Interview cut-off | 2430 | Unknown |
| Mean of all applicants | 2387 | Unknown |
| Mean of those interviewed | 2563 | 1967 |
| Range of applicants | 1910 to 2870 | Unknown |
SJT band counts of applicants interviewed
| Band | 2025 entry | 2026 entry |
|---|
| Band 1 | 5 | 10 |
| Band 2 | 20 | 27 |
| Band 3 | 20 | 20 |
| Band 4 | fewer than 5 | fewer than 5 |
Application volumes
| Entry year | Applications | Eligible | Interviewed | Offers | Enrolled |
|---|
| 2021 | 187 | 110 | 43 | 18 | 15 |
| 2022 | 208 | 109 | 47 | 21 | 15 |
| 2023 | 182 | 88 | 42 | 18 | 14 |
| 2024 | 106 | 53 | 34 | 23 | 14 |
| 2025 | Section 21 | Not given | Section 21 | Section 21 | 21 accepted |
| 2026 | 198 | Not given | 58 | Withheld under section 22 | Withheld under section 22 |
Why this course matters for a lower-grades applicant
| Point | Detail |
|---|
| Eligibility is inverted | Most courses set a grade floor. This one sets a grade ceiling - you must be below the standard A100 requirement to apply |
| Competition is far lighter than A100 | In 2024, 106 applications and 53 eligible for 34 interviews and 23 offers. A100 that year had 1004 UK non-contextual applications |
| But eligibility screening removes about half | Roughly half of applicants were found not to meet the WP criteria in each year shown |
Summary of the selection model
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| Scoring approach | Widening participation route only - applicants must meet at least two of Lancaster's WP criteria AND must not meet the standard A100 requirements. Ranked purely on total UCAT for interview, then purely on MMI score for offers. No GCSE points scheme and no UCAT scoring matrix |
| UCAT - how it is used | Applicants are ranked on overall UCAT score and invited to interview from the top down. Preference is given to SJT bands 1 to 3. Lancaster confirmed under FOI that it does not hold or use UCAT deciles, and uses no scoring matrix. After interview, applicants are ranked on overall MMI score alone and offers go to the highest scorers |
| UCAT threshold | No fixed threshold - ranked on total UCAT score. 2025 entry interview cut-off 2430 (of 3600). Preference given to SJT bands 1 to 3 Approximate current-scale equivalents, out of 2700: 2430 is about 1800. |
| UCAT lowest accepted | 2025 entry (of 3600): range of applicants 1910 to 2870, interview cut-off 2430 Approximate current-scale equivalents, out of 2700: 2430 is about 1800. |
| UCAT average accepted | 2026 entry, mean of those interviewed: 1967 (of 2700). 2025 entry (of 3600): mean of all applicants 2387, mean of those interviewed 2563. FOI-6796 and Lancaster's published admissions data |
| Interview format | MMI, scored across stations by staff, NHS clinicians, GPs, patient representatives and medical students |
| Interview to offer ratio | 2026 entry (FOI-6796): 198 applications, 58 interviewed, 15 places. Offers withheld under section 22 as intended for future publication |
| Contextual offer | The entire course is the contextual route - it is open only to applicants meeting two or more widening participation criteria |
| Resits | GCSE resits considered where the required grade was achieved within two attempts |
| Data status | Complete - FOI response received September 2026 plus published admissions data |
Source
FOI: Lancaster University FOI-6796, 3 September 2026 (direct to requester) | Web: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lms/medicine-and-surgery/admissions-data/ ; https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lms/medicine-and-surgery/how-to-apply/medicine-and-surgery-with-a-gateway-year/
Entry requirements
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| Country | England |
| Course (UCAS code) | MBChB Medicine and Surgery with a Gateway Year (A104) |
| GCSE | GCSE resits considered where the required grade was achieved within two attempts. Lancaster cites its published pages for the detail |
| A level | Applicants must NOT meet the standard A100 grade requirements - the course is designed for applicants below them. Applications are not accepted from anyone studying or holding a degree or an Access qualification |
| Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers | Contact admissions |
| IB | Contact admissions |
| English language | Contact admissions |
| Resits accepted? | Yes, with conditions - GCSE resits where the grade was achieved within two attempts |
Volumes, places and competition
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| Figures cover | A104, 2024 entry |
| Applications | 198 |
| Interviewed | 58 |
| Interviews per place | 3.87 |
| Previous years - application year and UCAT figure | A104, applications / eligible / interviewed / offers / enrolled. 2021: 187 / 110 / 43 / 18 / 15. 2022: 208 / 109 / 47 / 21 / 15. 2023: 182 / 88 / 42 / 18 / 14. 2024: 106 / 53 / 34 / 23 / 14. 2025 entry UCAT (of 3600): cut-off 2430, applicant mean 2387, interviewed mean 2563, range 1910 to 2870. 2026 entry (of 2700): interviewed mean 1967 |
How the UCAT is turned into a score
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| Is a UCAT points conversion published? | No points conversion has been published. What the University does say about the UCAT is in the row below. |
| How the UCAT is used, in the University’s own words | Applicants are ranked on overall UCAT score and invited to interview from the top down. Preference is given to SJT bands 1 to 3. Lancaster confirmed under FOI that it does not hold or use UCAT deciles, and uses no scoring matrix. After interview, applicants are ranked on overall MMI score alone and offers go to the highest scorers Widening participation route only - applicants must meet at least two of Lancaster's WP criteria AND must not meet the standard A100 requirements. Ranked purely on total UCAT for interview, then purely on MMI score for offers. No GCSE points scheme and no UCAT scoring matrix |
Entry requirements and places, as shown on the comparison table
| Item | Detail |
|---|
| SJT - how the band is used | Preference given to bands 1 to 3. |
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