The UCAT is one of the cheaper admissions tests to sit and one of the easiest to be locked out of, because the cost is not the constraint — the calendar is. Booking opens and closes on dates the Consortium fixes for each cycle, there is no late window afterwards, and a candidate who has the fee ready but misses the deadline has no route back in that year. This page sets out what is charged, who pays nothing, and the sequence of steps that has to be completed in order, alongside the Myndaq UCAT course.
What the test costs
There are two prices, and the one you pay depends on where you sit the test rather than where you live or where you are applying:
- Testing in the UK — £70
- Testing outside the UK — £115
That £45 difference catches candidates who are studying abroad, on a gap year, or applying to UK universities from overseas. The deciding factor is the location of the test centre you book, so if you have a realistic choice between testing at home over a summer and testing where you are studying, the fee is one input into that decision.
Fees are set per cycle, so confirm the current figures on the Consortium's own pages before you budget around them.
The bursary, which pays the whole fee
The UCAT Bursary Scheme is not a discount. An approved bursary is automatically applied when booking your test to waive the test fee, so an eligible candidate sits the UCAT at no cost.
Who it is for. The scheme is open to UK candidates who meet the UCAT eligibility and bursary criteria. There is one condition worth reading twice: if you are over the age of 21 and no longer in full-time secondary or undergraduate education, you must be personally in receipt of a qualifying award or means-tested benefit. For younger candidates still in education, a parent's or guardian's circumstances can supply the evidence; past that point, they cannot.
How many. One per cycle. "You are only permitted one bursary each test cycle."
What counts as evidence. You upload one of the following:
- an official letter confirming you currently receive free school meals, Local Authority funded;
- a 16 to 19 Bursary or EMA award letter;
- a Learner Support (FE 19+) award letter;
- a full rate undergraduate Student Finance Maintenance Award;
- one of your or your parent's or guardian's Universal Credit statements dated within the last three months;
- an Income Support, JSA or ESA award letter from UK Jobcentre Plus;
- an official Asylum Support award letter.
What does not count, and is refused often enough to be worth naming: scholarships at independent schools, postgraduate loans, council tax benefit, child benefit, and annual accounts or P60 certificates. A P60 shows income; it does not show receipt of a qualifying award, which is what the scheme tests.
If you have already paid and are later approved, you can obtain a refund by submitting a Help Request from your UCAT Account — so an approaching booking deadline is a reason to book and pay, not a reason to wait for a bursary decision.
One hard edge. If you miss a test paid for by a bursary — a no-show, for any reason — you must pay the test fee to book another appointment. The Consortium will have incurred the charge for the missed test and will not issue another bursary to cover it. A bursary candidate therefore has less margin for a missed appointment than a fee-paying one, which is the opposite of what most people assume.
The order the steps have to happen in
Each of these opens at a point in the cycle set by the Consortium, and each depends on the one before it:
- Create your UCAT Account. Nothing else can start until this exists.
- Register. Registration follows account creation.
- Apply for a bursary, if eligible. Do this early enough for a decision, but do not let it delay step 4.
- Book your test. Booking opens later than registration and closes well before the end of the testing window. An approved bursary is applied automatically at this point.
- Sit the test within the published testing window.
The deadline that ends your cycle is the booking deadline, not the last day of the testing window. Those are different dates, and the gap between them is where candidates lose a year — they see that testing runs into late September, assume they have until then, and find booking closed. The Consortium publishes both dates for each cycle; read them together and diary the earlier one.
Who has to sit it, and for which year
The requirement is tied to the admissions cycle you are entering, not to your age or stage: you sit the UCAT in the year you apply, for entry the following year, or for deferred entry the year after that, to a relevant course at a UCAT Consortium university.
Two things follow. First, the test is cycle-bound — a result does not carry forward to a later application cycle. Second, not every medicine or dentistry course at every university requires it; the Consortium's own instruction is to confirm which universities and courses require the UCAT before assuming you need it. Check that before paying £70 or £115, because some applicants sit a test their chosen courses never asked for.
For what the test actually contains and how it is scored, see the UCAT syllabus and subtests. For worked examples, see UCAT practice questions.
Quick answers
How much does the UCAT cost?
£70 to test in the UK and £115 to test outside the UK. The fee follows the location of the test centre you book, and it is set per cycle.
Who can get a UCAT bursary, and what does it cover?
UK candidates meeting the UCAT eligibility and bursary criteria. An approved bursary waives the full test fee automatically at booking. If you are over 21 and no longer in full-time secondary or undergraduate education, you must personally be receiving a qualifying award or means-tested benefit.
Can I get a refund if I am approved for a bursary after paying?
Yes. Submit a Help Request from your UCAT Account. Because of that, an eligible candidate facing a booking deadline should book and pay rather than wait for the bursary decision.
What happens if I miss a test my bursary paid for?
You must pay the test fee to book another appointment. The Consortium will not issue a second bursary to cover a missed test, because it has already incurred the charge.
Which deadline actually matters?
The booking deadline, which falls before the end of the testing window. Missing it closes the cycle, and there is no late booking route.
