Queen's is Northern Ireland's medical school, with a five-year MBBS and a strong regional intake. Its selection is unusually GCSE-heavy: it turns your GCSEs and UCAT into a single cognitive score out of 45, and your GCSEs can carry up to four times the weight of your UCAT.
Queen's scores your UCAT out of 9 and adds it to a GCSE score worth up to 36, giving a combined cognitive total out of 45 that ranks applicants for interview — the 2025 threshold was around 30 points. Because GCSEs can outweigh the UCAT four-to-one, an exceptional GCSE profile can rescue a merely-average UCAT here, which makes Queen's unusual. The personal statement isn't scored, though it should show clear commitment to medicine.
Queen's is the school where GCSEs matter most. If your GCSE profile is outstanding, an average UCAT is far less of a problem than elsewhere — but if your GCSEs are patchy, a high UCAT can only do so much, since it's capped at 9 of 45. Strong all-rounders from Northern Ireland especially should target it.
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A very strong GCSE profile is key — GCSEs are worth up to 36 of the 45 selection points.
Queen's wants clear, demonstrated commitment to medicine, evidenced through experience and at interview.
MMI. In-person MMIs of 7–9 stations for home applicants (online for international); known for role-play scenarios.
Around 210 places are available for 2026 entry, with strong competition and a regional intake bias.
Paraphrased themes from student discussion: impressions, not facts. Visit and judge for yourself.
Queen's combines your UCAT (scored out of 9) with your GCSEs (up to 36) into a total out of 45, and the 2025 interview threshold was around 30. Because GCSEs dominate, a strong GCSE profile can offset an average UCAT — there's no UCAT cut-off on its own.
It builds a cognitive score out of 45 — up to 36 from GCSEs and up to 9 from the UCAT — and ranks applicants on that for interview. The personal statement isn't scored.
In-person MMIs of 7–9 stations for home applicants, well known for role-play scenarios that test communication and empathy.
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