A/AS levels and GCSEs

A typical offer for the 5-year programme is AAA at A level, to include Biology/Human Biology and Chemistry. General Studies and Key Skills are not accepted. Further Maths is only accepted to AS level.

For GCSEs, students must have a minimum of 416 UCAS tariff points in their top 8 subjects (roughly equivalent to 8 As), regardless of schools attended or extenuating circumstances. Subjects should include English Language (minimum grade B), Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, and Physics (or Dual Award Science). GCSE tariff points are calculated using the following points: A*=58, A=52, B = 46, C=40, D=32, E=28. If you took alternative but equivalent qualifications to GCSEs, the university will consider these instead.

For the 6-year international programme, students can apply with the A-level and GCSE grades listed above (or acceptable equivalents), or if they have completed the Foundation Programme in Medical, Biomedical and Health Sciences (via INTO St George’s), they can apply if they have an overall score of 75%, with a minimum of 68% in academic English, and no module scores less than 60%.

IB

Candidates applying to the 5-year and 6-year programme with the International Baccalaureate should have an overall score of 36 (excluding the Theory of Knowledge and Extended Essay), as well as a combined score of 18 at Higher level, including at least two subjects of grade 6 or above (to include Biology and Chemistry). They should offer Mathematics and English to at least grade 5 at standard level, if not taken to higher level. They should also offer Chemistry or Biology to grade 6 at standard level, if not taken to higher level.

Admissions Exam

The UKCAT is required for all applicants to the 5-year programme and the 6-year international programme. The test is only valid for one year. Applicants must achieve a score of at least 500 in each section, in addition to meeting the cut-off threshold for their year of application.

Note that for 2018 entry, St George’s will not be considering any extenuating circumstances.

Access to Medicine courses

Access to Medicine diplomas are accepted. They should involve 60 credits at level 3, including 45 science credits, graded Merit or Distinction (Biology and Chemistry must be graded at Distinction and at least 30 credits overall must be distinction). If a candidate does not offer the required A-level or GCSE grades (or equivalent) they should have completed their Access course prior to applying. However, if GCSE Mathematics and English not taken to minimum grade B previously, these must be completed to at least grade B alongside the Access course. Transcripts should be provided.

The following courses are considered:

• College of West Anglia
• Lambeth College
• Sussex Downs College

Other Diplomas

The Cambridge Pre-U qualification is accepted in lieu of A levels with three grade D3s, to include Biology and Chemistry. A fourth subject should be taken to grade B as AS level, or a Pre-U short course to grade M2 or above.

The Open University modules Level 1 Exploring/Discovering Science (60 units), plus any Level 2 science module (30 units) and a third module in any other subject area (also worth 30 units) may be used to meet the academic entrance criteria. 120 units in total are required.

Widening Participation

If your school’s A-level performance is in the bottom 20% nationally, and your predicted grades are between AAB and ABB (must include an A in Chemistry)), you will be considered for an interview. A list of eligible schools is published on the St George’s website: Entry Criteria 

These entry grades may also apply to students with extenuating circumstances (proof of which much be supplied; see application documents below).

International Students

International students are eligible to apply for the 6-year international programme, of which there are 35 spaces available.

To prove competency in English Language, at least grade B in GCSE English is required, or IELTS with an overall score of 7.0 (7.0 in the written and speaking element, and at least 6.5 in the reading and listening element), or Pearson’s test with an overall score of 67 (at least 67 in the written section and no section scored lower than 61). If either of the last two qualifications are being used as evidence for proficiency in the English Language, they must have been taken within the last two years prior to applying.

If you are applying as an overseas student and taken qualifications other than those listed above, please contact us by email ([email protected]) if you would like more information on the minimum grades needed to be considered for a place in Medicine at St George’s.

Policy on Re-applicants

If an applicant has not previously got to interview stage, they can reapply as many times as they wish. Once a candidate has applied and got to interview stage twice, and has not received an offer, they can no longer re-apply.

Policy on Deferrals

St George’s will consider applicants who wish to defer, provided that they demonstrate that their interim year will be used constructively.

APPLICATION DEADLINES

Applications via UCAS for 2018/19 entry for the 5-year programme are open from 6th September 2017 and close on 15th October 2017.

Applications for the 6-year international programme can be made via UCAS or directly to the university. The deadline for submission is 31st March of the year you would like to commence the degree.

APPLICATION DOCUMENTS

• Completed UCAS application form
• If you have extenuating circumstances which mean that you are eligible for consideration for Medicine at St George’s, despite not meeting the usual academic criteria, you must fill in an additional form: Apply Here, which ought to be with the university admissions department, no later than 1st November in the year that you are applying.
• If invited to interview, you will be required to provide references for any formal work experience you have carried out within the last 2 years. This is not a character reference and should only state dates, hours worked and duties undertaken. International applicants must provide a full syllabus/transcript of the subjects they have completed up to year 12 (or equivalent).

SELECTION PROCESS

To be selected for an interview for the 5-year programme, applicants must initially meet the minimum academic standards required. UKCAT scores are then used to rank applicants and the top 600 applicants are invited for an interview. In 2016 the cut-off UKCAT score was 2600. After the interview, offers are solely based on the interview performance. If two applicants have the same interview score, the UKCAT scores are used as a tie-breaker.

For the 6-year INTO programme, the selection process for the interview takes into account the personal statement and work experience, as well as the UKCAT result. After the interview, offers are mainly based on the interview performance.

INTERVIEW

The interview will take the form of up to 8 MMI stations, lasting 5 minutes each. The following criteria will be assessed:

• Academic ability and intellect
• Empathy
• Initiative and resilience
• Communication skills
• Organisation and problem solving
• Teamwork
• Insight and integrity
• Effective learning style

The following are examples of MMI stations from St George’s website:

• Pack a suitcase for a trip, where the case can only contain half of the items available
• Travelling on the London Underground, one of your friends has become separated from the group – it’s their first time in London – describe your plan of action

During the interview, applicants will also be expected to talk about relevant work experience and to also provide references for each example of work experience they have undertaken. This will also include relevant voluntary experiences. Candidates are expected to have a combination of both health-care and non-healthcare based work experience, for example:

• Paid/unpaid voluntary placements
• School, college or university societies
• Full or part-time employment
• The Guides, Scouts, Red Cross or similar organisations
• Shadowing a healthcare professional
• Gap year experiences
• Caring for a sick relative or first-hand experience of illness

Note that the above list is not exhaustive and other experiences are also valuable. Candidates should reflect on their experiences and be able to demonstrate the following qualities: communication, patience, accuracy, teamwork, leadership, and perseverance.

If applicants are invited to interview, they will be required to provide references for any formal work experience carried out within the last 2 years and should include dates and hours worked as well as any duties undertaken.

For entry to the 5-year programme in 2016, 1300 applicants applied for 160 places, 700 were interviewed and approximately 400 offers were made.

There are 35 spaces available to international students in the 6-year international programme. In 2016 292 applicants applied for this programme. 53 of these have received offers and there are a small number of applicants still going through the selection process.

Medicine at St George’s University London is ranked 30th in the UK by the Guardian University Guide 2018.

It is ranked 33rd in the UK by the Complete University Guide 2018.

It is among the top 151-200 medical schools in the QS World University Rankings in 2017.