How to apply for Medicine (MBBS)

• Assessment of initial application against both academic and non-academic set criteria: please make sure your application form is as comprehensive as possible.
• A personal reflective statement is required as part of your application. The personal statement is a key element of the admissions process and guidance from the Admissions Team on how to write this inline with our set criteria is detailed in the Personal Statement and References section of this page.
• You should also ensure that you include all supporting information for your application including copies of your IELTS qualification (or equivalent) if required and academic qualifications (where available), a minimum of one reference which must include an academic reference and a letter confirming any work experience, job shadowing or volunteering you have undertaken. If applying via UCAS, you will need to send these to: ia@uclan.ac.uk clearly stating your UCAS ID number in the email.
• Upon receipt of your application, some applicants will be asked to complete a Transferable Skills Statement. Guidance on how to complete the form is available.

• All applications are first read by our Admissions Team to ensure that you meet the minimum academic requirements. If you meet the academic requirements, your application will be given an academic score and passed to our selection panel. If you do not meet these your application will be rejected at this initial stage.
• The selection panel will pay particular attention to your personal statement and to the reference from your school/college. Please do not send in extra information or portfolios of work unless we contact you directly to request it. In the interests of fairness to all candidates, we will only assess what is included in your direct or UCAS application form.
• If you produce a strong personal statement, using the guidance on this page, you are more likely to be invited to interview. If you have a very low evaluation for any aspect of your application, you are unlikely to be called for interview.
• You should ensure that the person who will complete your reference is given a copy of the criteria by which it will be scored (see the Reference section on this page). Both you and your referee should address each aspect outlined in the guidance. Referees should be aware that we expect to see more than a record of academic achievement. References indicating your strengths in the areas listed in the guidance are much more valuable than simple “school report” style references.

• Applicants who are successful in being invited for interview will be asked to participate in Multiple Mini Interviews.
• No applicant will be made an offer without interview which is normally held at the UCLan Preston campus between December and May
• Applicants who have passed at least 6 out of 8 MMI stations will be ranked according to score and offers made to the top ranking applicants
• After the MMI applicants will receive a decision within 2 to 3 weeks

All applicants successful at interview will need to undergo occupational health screening (including tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C and HIV) as part of the enrolment process. Any student who fails the health screening will not be prevented from studying the MBBS but will limit the manner in which they can study and their ability to practise as a doctor. Further details are available on the General Medical Council’s website.

The School of Medicine values the positive impacts of disabilities and diversity on our MBBS programme. We welcome and encourage applications from all students and provide guidance on diversity and disability to which students should refer before completing their application.

If an applicant fails to achieve a place on the MBBS programme they may only make one further consecutive application to the programme.

We reserve the right to reject applications that are incomplete. Any application submitted without a completed reference will be automatically rejected.

Applicants are reminded that they are required to declare all qualifications that have been completed and certificated, including those that were failed, in their application. Candidates with uncertificated A Levels should make sure this is stated in their personal statement or reference. If you are found to have deliberately withheld information on qualifications, we will cancel your application and inform UCAS.

It may be necessary for us to request additional information if there are gaps in your education and/or employment record. You will be given a deadline for responding to such a request. Failure to reply by the deadline will result in the rejection of your application. Your application will be assessed only on the information provided in the direct or UCAS application. This will be used to select candidates for interview. Offers of places will be made solely on the basis of performance at interview.

This can be demonstrated in many ways. The length of time that you have been committed to a career in medicine is an aspect of this, however it is important that your reference explains any roles you have taken on that confirm your commitment to medicine (eg work or volunteering experience in a caring role).

An understanding of your awareness of the realities, advantages and disadvantages of a medical career would also be useful. Work or volunteering experience in other areas which has convinced you that those areas are not the right careers for you could be documented here. 

Your reference should provide an understanding of your interest and enthusiasm for a career in medicine. Applicants whose interest in a career in medicine has begun later should not be discouraged by this. A reference can support those applicants whose interest and commitment to medicine has flourished relatively late in their school career or as a graduate or other later applicant. 

Effective communication is essential to the practice of medicine. Good communication begins with listening. Therefore, whilst we are interested in contributions to class discussions and extracurricular activities, we would be very pleased to hear in your reference about how you relate to others, in particular the less gifted students or younger students, and how well you accept criticism.

We would like to have information from your referee about your ability to be empathetic and about your suitability to work in a caring profession. Information about how you view yourself in the school and wider community or in the case of later applicants in the workplace or in higher education is also important.

We would be pleased to see your referee provide examples of your readiness to take on responsibility and of your ability to deal with responsibility.

This is not only evidenced by your actual or predicted grades. It is important for your referee to tell us about late academic developers, eg the student who achieved a less than perfect score but is likely to blossom during upcoming examinations. Other evidence of intellectual potential beyond the ability to pass exams is welcomed.

Team-working skills may be exhibited in many different environments. We acknowledge that participating in sport is not the only way in which students can excel in this area. In your reference, social and charity involvement would be relevant here, as would membership of choirs, orchestras etc. The ability to work effectively as a member of a team in fieldtrips, expeditions, treks etc. will also be important. Examples that involve leadership skills are of particular value, although part of successful team-working is the recognition that everyone can't be the leader.

We strongly recommend that in addition to all the above sections, any mitigating circumstances which may affect not only your academic performance, but any aspect of the information contained within your application should be included in your reference. If you experienced any extenuating circumstances at the time of your examinations, your school or college should report this immediately to the relevant examination boards so that any allowances can be made.

If we consider that extenuating circumstances brought up in the reference should be taken into account formally in the assessment of your application, we shall write to your referee to request further details.