How to get into Cambridge Medicine in 2025

Excerpt

Applying for university and vying for a spot in medical school can be a stressful experience, especially when preparing your application to Cambridge which is widely regarded as one of the top universities in the world. Icon Education is here to help you understand what is required for the different components, and guide you throughout the entire process.

What does Cambridge Medicine look for?

The highly competitive 6-year full-time Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB, BChir) course at the University of Cambridge has approximately 273 places, with only 22 places reserved for applicants hailing from overseas. This course is structured in a way where the first 3 years are utilised to expose students to the scientific principles of medicine, and the final 3 years focused on building skills to ensure clinical competency.

The minimum grade profiles of accepted applicants are as follows:

GCE A-Levels	AAA for Chemistry, Biology/ Physics/ Mathematics, and another third subject. While there is no requirement on what the third subject should be, it is noted that most applicants study the subjects mentioned above.
International Baccalaureate (IB)	Minimally 41-42 points total, with minimally 776 for subjects at the Higher Level. To ensure that your application is sufficiently competitive, most of the applicants do HLs in two sciences and in Mathematics.
Singapore and Cambridge General Certificate of Education Advanced Level	Minimally 3 A grades, and applicants have to complete and pass the practical assessment component.
Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT)	Minimally obtain a combined score of 1500, with the Mathematics section scoring a minimum of 750. Applicants have to present the SAT scores alongside their Advanced Placement examination scores or an equivalent qualification. You can take a free SAT diagnostic test here at Icon Education.

UCAS Personal Statement

Besides evaluating your academic strength, a competitive application also requires a strong personal statement to more holistically assess your suitability for the medicine programme. The format of the personal statement has been changed from a 4000-character essay to 3 questions, which still touch on similar topics related to understanding your motivations to study medicine.

University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT)

The UCAT is a test that is specifically designed to evaluate your aptitude to study medicine. It covers sections on verbal reasoning, decision making, quantitative reasoning and situational judgement. While the cut-off score for Cambridge has not been made public, several sources have mentioned that applicants who score in the 2800-range tend to be invited for interviews.

You can take a free UCAT diagnostic test here at Icon Education.

Interviews

Applicants who have been successfully shortlisted will be later invited to attend an interview, which takes up a considerable percentage of the overall assessment process. The interview is structured similarly to that of a small-group session, with questions aimed at understanding your motivation to pursue a career in medicine, the alignment of your personal qualities to those valued by the school, your teamwork skills et cetera.

Tips to enhance your application

Given how popular the Cambridge MB, BChir course is and considering the exceptionally strong pool of applicants, here are a few tips that you can take into account to make your application stand out more:

1. Always prepare early and account for buffer time needed in the entire application process. Given that the topics in the UCAT differ greatly from what is traditionally taught in school, do not underestimate the amount of rigour and practice required to familiarise yourself with the question types, and more importantly, do sufficiently well in the test. Do remember to also plan your time properly to ensure that you do not neglect the rest of your schoolwork.

2. While it is not mandatory for you to have a lot of experience in the medical field prior to your application, getting experience and a deeper understanding of the medical field, be it through internships, shadowing opportunities, research attachments or even online courses, will be highly beneficial in helping you understand your alignment with the field.

3. Be aware of the weight that a strong recommendation letter can carry. These letters not only vouch for your academic ability, but serve as character references that assess you in an all-rounded manner. Take care when building a rapport with your potential referees, and also make it a habit to consistently track down the various activities that you have either initiated or participated in. You can also identify key reflective points that you can expand on further to better reflect your fit with medicine.

We sincerely hope that the information provided has helped you with your preparation. For more targeted advice, do reach out to our team here at Icon Education who can guide you through the entire process. We look forward to hearing from you, and wish you the best of luck!