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We compile these profiles from each university's own published admissions pages and review them monthly. Entry requirements do change mid-cycle, and universities sometimes publish updates without announcing them.
Use this page to get oriented quickly, build your shortlist, and work out which questions to ask — then confirm the specifics that your application depends on (grades, admissions test, fees, eligibility) directly with the university before you apply. If you spot something that looks out of date, tell us and we will check it.
Last reviewed: October 2026 · Entry year covered: 2027
St Andrews Gateway Medicine offers a widening participation route into medical school. Below you'll find the eligibility criteria, entry requirements, and application details for 2027 entry.
The Gateway to Medicine programme at St Andrews provides a supported route into medicine for Scottish students from underrepresented backgrounds. The programme includes an additional preparatory year (Gateway Year) before students join the standard 6-year medicine programme.
This route recognises that Scottish students from certain backgrounds may not have had access to the same educational opportunities as others. The Gateway year provides intensive academic preparation and support, ensuring students are fully equipped to succeed in the demanding medical curriculum.
You must be resident in Scotland, have just completed S5 or S6 at a Scottish school, and be predicted to miss (or have narrowly missed) the academic requirements to study Medicine — AND meet at least one of the following:
Note: St Andrews states that meeting at least one of these criteria is essential, and that "applicants who do not meet any of the criteria will not be considered". Applicants from elsewhere in the UK and from overseas cannot apply; overseas applicants are directed to the International Foundation Medical Sciences programme. Use St Andrews' entry indicator tool to check whether you qualify.
| Route | UCAS Code | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Gateway to Medicine (this page) | LQV9 | 1 year, then a medical degree |
| BSc/MBChB Medicine (direct entry, St Andrews + partner clinical school) | A100 | 6 years |
| Medicine MBChB (ScotCOM) | 5 years. UCAS code not verified here — check St Andrews' course finder before applying | |
| ScotGEM MBChB (graduate entry, with Dundee) | 4 years, Home/RUK fee status only; Overseas applicants are not eligible. UCAS code not verified here | |
The LQV9 code and the one-year duration are verified from St Andrews' own Gateway to Medicine page, which lists "UCAS code LQV9 · Duration One year · School: Access and Widening Participation". On successful completion, students may progress to the six-year A100 BSc/MBChB or the five-year Medicine MBChB (ScotCOM).
| Qualification | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Higher Grades | BBBB at S5 including Chemistry |
| Required Subjects | Chemistry plus one from Biology, Physics, or Mathematics; Higher Chemistry must be at grade B and achieved at first sitting (retakes not considered) |
| Contextual Adjustment | Offers may be adjusted based on individual circumstances |
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| UCAT Required | Yes |
| When you sit it | A suitable UCAT score must be achieved either before entry to the Gateway or in the summer immediately after the Gateway year — so you have two chances at it |
| Cut-off for progression | Not published in advance. St Andrews states the score required is "to be specified by the School of Medicine" |
| Lower contextual threshold | None published. St Andrews' published 2026 thresholds vary by fee status and domicile, not by widening access status: 1500 for BSc/MBChB Home Funded and Scottish applicants, 1640 for UK domicile, 1710 for A100 Overseas. This is a domicile distinction, not a widening access concession |
| Preparation provided | The Gateway year includes explicit preparation for the UCAT and for the multiple mini-interviews |
"Gateway at St Andrews offers Scottish students a genuine opportunity to study at one of the UK's most prestigious universities. The additional year isn't a disadvantage - it's a chance to build a strong foundation. St Andrews provides exceptional support, and Gateway students consistently go on to excel in their medical careers."
— Dr. Ash, Future Doc
Note: The UCAT format changed in July 2025 with the removal of Abstract Reasoning, reducing the maximum score from 3,600 to 2,700. Cut-off scores and statistics from previous years may not directly apply to the current format.
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Multiple mini-interviews (MMI) |
| When | During the Gateway year, as one of the three progression conditions — not as part of your initial application to LQV9 |
| Number of stations | Not published. St Andrews does not publish a station count for the Gateway progression MMI |
| Preparation | Included in the Gateway year alongside UCAT preparation and practice at communicating with patients |
| Applications per place | Not published. St Andrews does not publish applicant, offer or intake figures for Gateway to Medicine |
Three things must all happen for you to progress from the Gateway year onto a medical degree: you pass all first-year modules at the grades specified at the time of entry, you achieve the UCAT score the School of Medicine specifies, and you pass the MMIs. Missing any one of them means you do not progress, though you may be able to transfer into the second year of Gateway to Arts or Gateway to Science, or onto a BSc in the Faculty of Science.
Intensive preparation covering biology, chemistry, academic skills, and introduction to medicine. Small group teaching and strong pastoral support. Successful completion guarantees progression to Year 1 of Medicine – either the six-year A100 programme or the five-year ScotCOM MBChB.
Standard St Andrews pre-clinical curriculum leading to BSc (Hons) in Medicine.
Transfer to clinical partner school (Manchester, Edinburgh, or Glasgow) for clinical training. Graduate with MBChB/BMBS.
Not Eligible
Gateway to Medicine requires residence in Scotland and completion of S5 or S6 at a Scottish school. Students from England, Wales, Northern Ireland or overseas cannot apply to this programme, and St Andrews directs overseas applicants to its International Foundation Medical Sciences programme instead.
If you are from elsewhere in the UK and have contextual indicators, look at St Andrews' minimum entry requirements for direct A100 entry instead — those are open to applicants across the UK and use IMD or ACORN as well as SIMD.
A contextual offer is an adjustment a university makes for applicants whose circumstances have made their education harder than the grades alone suggest. Universities use them because they recognise that two students with the same predicted grades have not always had the same run at them. They are a formal, published part of the admissions process — not a favour, and not something you have to argue for.
What the adjustment actually is varies by school, and it matters more than most applicants realise. Depending on where you apply, qualifying can mean: a lower grade offer; being ranked against other widening participation applicants rather than the whole field; a guaranteed or prioritised interview; a lower admissions test threshold or extra shortlisting points; relaxed GCSE or subject requirements; or access to a separate gateway or foundation year route.
Gateway to Medicine is the widening participation scheme — this whole page describes one. But St Andrews runs three distinct tiers, and it is worth knowing where Gateway sits among them, because you may qualify for a cheaper and shorter route.
| Tier | Who it is for | What you are assessed against |
|---|---|---|
| Standard entry requirements | Applicants with no contextual indicators | SQA AAAAB in S5 with predicted BBB; A-level AAA; IB 38 |
| Minimum (contextual) entry requirements | Applicants with one or more contextual indicators, from anywhere in the UK | SQA AAABB in S5 with predicted BB; A-level AAB; IB 36 — direct entry to the six-year A100, no extra year |
| Gateway to Medicine (LQV9) | Scotland-resident applicants who are predicted to miss, or have narrowly missed, even the minimum requirements | BBBB at Higher in one sitting — but it adds a year and progression is conditional |
Check the middle tier before you commit to Gateway. If your contextual indicators get you to AAABB in S5, you can apply straight to the six-year A100 on the minimum entry requirements and skip the Gateway year entirely.
St Andrews states it plainly: "Meeting at least one of the above eligibility criteria is essential for applicants to the Gateway to Medicine programme. Applicants who do not meet any of the criteria will not be considered." Its entry indicator tool will tell you whether you qualify.
If you meet a Gateway criterion, St Andrews will consider you against a substantially lower academic bar and give you a supported preparatory year rather than lowering the grades on the medical degree itself. If you meet only a contextual indicator, St Andrews will assess you against its published minimum entry requirements instead of its standard ones.
| How it helps | What that means for you |
|---|---|
| A far lower entry bar | BBBB at Higher in one sitting in S5 (including Chemistry and one of Biology, Maths or Physics), against AAAAB plus predicted BBB for direct A100 entry. S6 applicants need the S5 profile plus CC at Higher or Advanced Higher. |
| Relaxed National 5 requirements | If Biology, Maths or English have not been passed at Higher, each needs only grade B at National 5. |
| A full first-year undergraduate year, not a crammer | You take real first-year Biology and Chemistry modules alongside other undergraduates, plus one further first-year module of your choice from Arts or Science. |
| Built-in preparation for the gates you will face | Mentoring in academic subjects, critical thinking and study skills, practice at communicating with patients, and explicit preparation for both the UCAT and the multiple mini-interviews. |
| Named support | A designated Admissions contact and a designated Adviser of Studies. |
| Lower contextual entry on the direct route | If you qualify contextually but not for Gateway: SQA AAABB in S5 with predicted BB, A-level AAB, or IB 36 — instead of AAAAB with BBB, AAA, or IB 38. |
| A guaranteed-offer pledge (conditional) | Care-experienced applicants, and those in the 20% most deprived areas of Scotland by SIMD2020 who attend a school with lower than average progression to higher education, fall under St Andrews' guaranteed offer scheme — but read the conditions below. |
| Financial support | Gateway to Medicine Scholarships are available, and all applicants are encouraged to apply for the St Andrews Access Award to be considered. Scholarship holders continue to receive funding through the Access Award after the Gateway year, subject to a successful application. |
| A degree that does not say "Gateway" | You graduate with the same awards as every other St Andrews medical student. |
For a side-by-side comparison, see every UK medical and dental school's widening participation scheme.
St Andrews has not published a 2027/28 figure for this programme, and the Scotland fee rate is set by the Scottish Government rather than by the university. The three-row Home / Rest of UK / International table does not fit here, because Gateway to Medicine is open to Scotland-resident Home students only.
| Fee Status | Annual Tuition |
|---|---|
| Scottish students (Home) | 2027/28: TBC. The Gateway to Medicine page states "Home students only: the tuition fee for this year is £1,820" for 2026 entry. St Andrews' Scotland fee page states that the 2025–2026 fee for this status was £1,820 and that the next year's fee "will be published when it is confirmed by the Scottish Government" |
| Rest of UK | Not eligible to apply. Gateway to Medicine requires residence in Scotland and completion of S5 or S6 at a Scottish school |
| International / Overseas | Not eligible to apply. St Andrews states "Applicants from Overseas will not be considered" and directs them to its International Foundation Medical Sciences programme |
Scottish-domiciled students studying their first degree may be eligible to have this fee paid by SAAS — confirm your own entitlement directly with SAAS, because it depends on your residence and study history, not on the course. For context on the years after Gateway, St Andrews published rest-of-UK fees of £9,790 and Faculty of Medicine overseas fees of £39,620 for 2026–2027 entry; no 2027–2028 figures were published at the time of checking (October 2026). Separately, St Andrews states that ScotGEM fees have yet to be set.
Financial support: Gateway to Medicine Scholarships are available, and St Andrews encourages all applicants to apply for the St Andrews Access Award to be considered for this funding.
Applying to medical school requires more than meeting the minimum entry requirements. Here are practical steps to strengthen your application:
For an overview of all UK medical schools and how they compare, see the UK Medical Schools hub page.
No. You graduate with the same BSc (Hons) and MBChB/BMBS as all other St Andrews medical students. The Gateway year is not specified on your final qualifications.
Apply through UCAS. You'll need to indicate your interest in Gateway and provide evidence of your eligibility. St Andrews will assess your circumstances as part of the selection process.
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Last updated: February 2026
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