The University of Aberdeen has a long standing commitment to widening access to higher education. Medicine is a demanding subject and the application process is competitive. We understand that not every applicant has the same opportunities available to them when preparing for a medical application. Whilst academic grades can be a good indicator about if an applicant will make a good doctor, they don’t always reflect the barriers which certain groups face.
Pre-entry support
Aberdeen medical school is involved in a number of activities through Reach Scotland. Support is available to widening access school pupils including UCAT and Personal Statement workshops, application support, mock interviews. Visit the Reach Aberdeen website for more information.
Students who are considering a medical application can get in touch with our student lead outreach society (AMOS) for support with all stages of their application. AMOS run timely workshops on personal statements, UCAT, mock MMIs and are happy to provide you with general advice.
Widening Access - 2024 entry
For widening access applicants we will:
- Reduce the minimum requirement from:
- S5 to AAAB - to include Chemistry, plus two from Biology/Human Biology, Physics or Maths.
- GCE A- Levels - AAB - to include Chemistry plus one from Biology/Physics/Maths
- Scottish domcilied applicants are guaranteed an interview if they have achieved the minimum academic requirements meet our minimum requirements and the UCAT score is within the top 75% of scores of all applicants to Aberdeen.
- In addition, we offer 10% uplift to UCAT scores specifically and only for SIMD20 and/or care experienced school leaving applicants.
We consider the following applicants as widening access:
- Home post code - SIMD20 (Quintile 1) postcode areas (Check your postcode here) or Polar 4, Quintile 1(Check your postcode here)
- Care experienced - This refers to anyone who has been or is currently in care or from a looked-after background at any stage in their life, no matter how short, including adopted children who were previously looked-after. This care may have been provided in a one of many different settings such as in residential care, foster care, kinship care, or through being looked-after at home with a supervision requirement. (For more information)
- Young carers - A young carer is a someone 18 years old or younger who cares, unpaid, for a friend or family member who due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction cannot cope without their support, on a long-term basis”. Receiving a young carer’s grant, or a young carer’s package or have a young carer’s statement are considered evidence of young carer status. (For more information)
- Registered for the Reach Program Scotland (Find out more and how to register)
In addition to widening access, we may also able to allocate discretionary points for very serious extenuating circumstances. Please see our Extenuating Circumstances Policy.
Support when you start your studies
For more information about the support that is available when you start your studies including finance support, please visit the university's widening access pages.