Bristol's five-year BDS is a well-regarded dental degree with strong clinical training in the South West. Its selection is the purest UCAT model in dentistry: once you meet the academic minimums, your application is scored entirely on the UCAT to decide interviews.
Bristol applies a 100% UCAT weighting once you meet the academic minimums: your cognitive total alone decides who's invited to interview, with the SJT excluded at this stage. There's no fixed cut-off set in advance — but as a recent, current-scale reference, the 2026-entry interview threshold worked out at a UCAT of 1990, and that number shifts year-on-year with the applicant pool. Once you're at interview, your UCAT isn't looked at again.
Bristol is the school to target if your UCAT is your strength — it's scored 100% on the cognitive total for interview, so a strong score is your way in regardless of the SJT. Use that recent ~1990 threshold as a rough gauge, check your percentile, and then focus on the interview, since your UCAT won't follow you into it.
Check your percentile →AAA including Chemistry and Biology.
A solid GCSE profile including English and Maths; confirm the exact grades on Bristol's page.
Bristol values reflective insight into dentistry and patient care, explored at interview.
Structured interview. A structured interview of 30–45 minutes with four assessors, run remotely via Zoom from December to March.
Bristol runs a Gateway to Dentistry widening-participation route for applicants who don't meet the direct academic criteria.
Paraphrased themes from student discussion: impressions, not facts. Visit and judge for yourself.
Bristol scores eligible applicants 100% on the UCAT cognitive total for interview, with no fixed cut-off set in advance. As a current-scale reference, the 2026-entry interview threshold was a UCAT of 1990, though it changes each year. The SJT is excluded for selection.
Once you meet the academic minimums, your application is scored 100% on the UCAT cognitive total to select for interview. After interview, the UCAT isn't looked at again.
A structured interview of 30–45 minutes with four assessors, run remotely via Zoom between December and March.
See where your UCAT lands in percentiles, then build the score Bristol is looking for, or talk it through with a 98th-percentile tutor, free.