10 hours
1-1 UCAT tutoring

Pakistan is one of the largest sources of enquiries we receive about studying medicine in the UK, and one of the least well served by accurate information. Families in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad are told that FSc Pre-Medical is enough, that the UCAT can be sat anywhere, or that a UK degree slots straight into practice back home. None of those is quite true.
This guide sets out what UK medical schools actually accept from Pakistani school leavers, where and when you sit the UCAT in Pakistan, what the fees look like once you convert them to rupees, what the PMDC requires if you return to practise, and how the timeline works for 2027 entry.
At TheUKCATPeople we have supported international applicants to UK medical schools since 2012. Our Ultimate Package combines one-to-one mentoring with a UK doctor, UCAT tutoring, personal statement editing and interview coaching, all delivered online and scheduled around Pakistan Standard Time.

This is the question we are asked most often by Pakistani families, and the honest answer is that FSc or HSSC Pre-Medical on its own is not accepted for direct entry to medicine at UK medical schools. The Higher Secondary School Certificate is treated as a school-leaving qualification that sits below A Level standard for competitive courses.
The published positions of individual universities make this clear:
MDCAT and NUMS scores play no part in a UCAS application. UK medical schools use the UCAT, your A Level or IB grades, your personal statement, your reference and an interview. Nothing from the Pakistani medical college admissions system transfers.
What your FSc or Matric results are still useful for is the layer underneath: strong science and English grades at Matric level act as your GCSE-equivalent evidence, and several universities will look at them when assessing your overall profile.
There are three realistic routes, and the first is by far the most common.
Most successful Pakistani applicants hold Cambridge International A Levels, taken at a school in Pakistan or through a British Council centre. Typical medicine offers are AAA including Chemistry and Biology, with the most selective schools asking for A*AA. Verified examples for the current cycle:
Medical school | A Level offer |
|---|---|
Imperial College London | A*AA including Chemistry and Biology |
University of Sheffield | AAA including Chemistry or Biology plus a second science |
University of Liverpool | AAA including Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Maths |
University of Manchester | AAA including Biology or Chemistry plus a second science |
University of Buckingham (private, 4.5 years) | ABB including Chemistry or Biology |
Cambridge International A Levels are the standard route, but one caution: not every medical school publishes an explicit statement that international A Levels are treated identically to UK A Levels, and some ask you to email admissions to confirm. Manchester, for example, asks international applicants to check with its medicine admissions team. Confirm with each of your four choices before you commit a UCAS choice to it.
Some schools in Karachi and Lahore offer the IB. Medical schools typically ask for 36 to 38 points with 6, 6, 6 at Higher Level including Chemistry and Biology. Our IB requirements for medicine guide lists the requirement at every UK medical school.
Be careful here. Most foundation years in the UK do not lead to medicine, and the A104 Gateway Year courses at schools such as Keele are widening-participation routes for UK home students only. The routes that are open to international students and do progress to medicine are few:
Whether any of these foundation routes will admit an FSc holder without A Levels is not stated on their published pages. Treat FSc plus a foundation year as a question to put to each admissions office in writing, not as an assumption.
Our UK foundation medicine courses guide covers every foundation and gateway route in more detail, and our UK medical school entry requirements guide lists standard offers school by school.
The UCAT is the single admissions test for nearly every standard-entry medicine course in the UK, and Pakistani candidates sit exactly the same test as UK candidates. You sit the UCAT, not the UCAT ANZ, and you must not sit both in the same year.
The UCAT is delivered at Pearson VUE test centres in more than 130 countries. Pearson VUE opened a company-owned Pearson Professional Center at The Mall of Lahore in February 2025, and the test centre network in Pakistan is accessed through the Pearson VUE locator inside your UCAT account. UCAT does not publish a city-by-city list, so we do not name specific centres in Karachi or Islamabad as UCAT venues; check the locator as soon as you have registered and book the first suitable slot.
Online proctored delivery (OnVUE) is only offered where travel to a centre is genuinely impractical because of distance, war, civil unrest or disaster, so plan on sitting in person.
Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
Account registration opened | 20 May 2026 |
Booking opened | 23 June 2026 |
Testing window | 13 July to 24 September 2026 |
Booking deadline | 16 September 2026 (15:00 UK time) |
Results sent to universities | early November 2026 |
Fee for tests taken outside the UK | £115 (UK centres £70) |
The UCAT bursary is only open to UK candidates, so budget for the full international fee. If you are reading this after the 2026 window has closed, the 2027 cycle for 2028 entry will follow the same shape: registration in May, booking in June, testing from mid-July to late September.
Since 2025 the UCAT has three scored cognitive subtests, Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning, each scaled from 300 to 900 for a total out of 2700, plus a Situational Judgement Test reported as Band 1 (highest) to Band 4. Abstract Reasoning was withdrawn in 2025. There is no negative marking.
Pakistan Standard Time is four hours ahead of the UK in summer and five in winter, which makes evening lessons in Pakistan mid-afternoon in the UK. All our UCAT tutors are UK doctors or top-decile medical students, and lessons are online. Start with the free UCAT Guides hub, practise under timed conditions on the UCAT online trainer, and see the UCAT registration guide for the booking process step by step.
The 2025 mean total score was 1891 (Verbal Reasoning 602, Decision Making 628, Quantitative Reasoning 661), and the Situational Judgement Test bands were distributed roughly 21 percent Band 1, 39 percent Band 2, 29 percent Band 3 and 10 percent Band 4.
Because international places are a small, fixed fraction of each medical school intake, international applicants are usually competing against each other for a handful of places rather than against the whole cohort, and a strong UCAT matters more, not less. As a rule of thumb, scores above 2500 are highly competitive at the most selective schools and many strong international applicants sit between 2300 and 2500. Several schools also use the SJT as a hard filter, so a Band 4 can rule you out regardless of your total.
Use our UCAT cut-off scores guide to see how each university uses the UCAT, the UCAT score calculator to convert your practice scores, and the UCAT scores and scoring guide for deciles and percentiles.
Be mentored 1-1 by a doctor
Every question answered from abroad, from fee status to interview day, in your time zone.
Pakistan is not on the UK Home Office list of majority English-speaking countries, so you will normally need to prove your English for both the university and the Student visa. The visa requirement is CEFR level B2, and a university that is a licensed Higher Education Provider can assess your English itself rather than requiring a separate Secure English Language Test.
Medical schools set their own, higher, thresholds and they vary, so quote the school, never a single "medicine IELTS":
Medical school | IELTS Academic requirement |
|---|---|
University of Sheffield | 7.5 overall, minimum 7.0 in each component |
University of Birmingham | 7.0 overall, minimum 7.0 in each band |
University of Liverpool | 7.0 overall, no component below 7.0 |
University of Manchester | 7.0 overall, minimum 6.5, or IGCSE English First Language grade B or Second Language grade A |
University of Buckingham | 7.0 overall, minimum 6.5 |
Some universities accept a Cambridge O Level or IGCSE English grade in place of IELTS for general degree courses. Manchester is the only medical school we have verified that publishes an IGCSE equivalent for its MBChB, so unless a medical school states otherwise, plan to sit IELTS Academic. Our IELTS requirements for UK medical schools guide lists every school.
All applications to UK medical schools go through UCAS, exactly as they do for UK students. The key facts for 2027 entry:
For the personal statement, read our ultimate medicine personal statement guide and successful medicine personal statement examples, then have a UK doctor review your draft through our medicine personal statement review service. The UCAS medicine application guide and timeline walks through the whole form.
Work experience is harder to arrange from Pakistan than from the UK, but medical schools are realistic about that. Shadowing at a local hospital or clinic, volunteering, and reflection on what you saw all count. Our medicine work experience guide and Work Experience Finder can help.
Be clear-eyed about the money before you commit. A UK medical degree for an international student is a five or six-year investment, and the rupee has weakened against the pound over the past decade, so a fee quoted in sterling today will cost more in rupees by the clinical years.
Verified international tuition fees for the 2026/27 academic year (2027 figures are published later in the cycle and are usually a little higher):
Medical school | International fee per year |
|---|---|
University of Manchester | £39,900 in years 1 and 2, £60,900 in the clinical years, may rise up to 7 percent a year |
University of Buckingham | From £47,000 (4.5-year course) |
University of Lancashire | £49,950 (foundation year £31,500) |
University of Liverpool | £50,000 |
Imperial College London | £58,600 |
At the exchange rates seen through 2025 and 2026, a £50,000 annual fee is in the region of Rs 19 million a year before living costs. Check the live rate when you plan, and budget with a buffer rather than the spot rate, because the fee is fixed in pounds and the rupee is not.
Other money you must plan for:
See our school-by-school breakdown of UK medical school fees for international students to compare total course cost, not just the first year.
Large international scholarships almost always exclude medicine. Chevening and Commonwealth Scholarships are for postgraduate study only. Imperial publishes a list of medicine scholarships and every one of them is restricted to home students. A few medical schools advertise small awards for international students, typically a few thousand pounds off the first year or two for the strongest interview performers. Treat any scholarship as a bonus, never as the plan.
Boost your UCAT with 1-1 tutoring
Rated 5.0 from 640+ reviews. 1-1 sessions with top-scoring tutors, weekly or more often, built around your weakest subtests.
10 hours
1-1 UCAT tutoring
20 hours
1-1 UCAT tutoring
30 hours
1-1 UCAT tutoring
Medical school intakes in England are capped by the government, and the Office for Students is explicit that the recent increases in intakes can only be used to recruit home students. Each school has a small quota of international places. Sheffield, for example, publishes 273 home places and 18 international places for its five-year course. The often-quoted figure of around 7.5 percent of places for international students comes from older Department of Health guidance and we have not been able to verify it on a current official page, so treat it as indicative rather than a rule.
The practical consequence is that a Pakistani applicant needs every element of the application to be strong: AAA or better predicted, a UCAT well above the mean, a clear personal statement and a confident interview. It also means choosing your four schools carefully around your UCAT score rather than around league tables.
Our UK medical schools ranking hub and medicine application tutor service exist for exactly this decision.
Most UK medical schools now interview international applicants online. Sheffield states that international applicants are invited to an online panel interview in January 2027. Brunel runs all of its interviews as an asynchronous virtual MMI of six seven-minute stations. Birmingham interviews international applicants online via Zoom regardless of where they are based. A few schools still prefer in-person interviews, so check each of your four choices.
Interview formats are covered in our MMI preparation guide and ultimate medicine interview questions guide, and you can practise with a UK doctor through our medicine interview coaching, mock interviews and medicine interview course.
A UK medical degree is respected in Pakistan, but it does not exempt you from the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council process for foreign graduates. The position the PMDC set out in September 2025, under the PMDC Act 2022, is:
UK medical schools registered with the General Medical Council appear in the World Directory of Medical Schools, which is the basis of the ECFMG lists, but we have not been able to verify the PMDC recognised-institutions list itself, and the examination calendar changes each year. Check the PMDC website and the NRE portal directly before you rely on any of this, and expect a written examination with clinical components rather than automatic registration.
Graduates who train in the UK also need to complete the UK Medical Licensing Assessment as part of their degree from the 2024/25 academic year onwards, which every UK medical school now builds into finals.
Yes, and the position for international graduates of UK medical schools improved in 2026. The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 5 March 2026, defines a UK medical graduate as the holder of a UK primary medical qualification, excluding only those who spent all or most of their training outside the British Islands. An international student who completes the whole degree at a UK medical school is therefore in the prioritised group for Foundation Programme places, and NHS England has confirmed that from 2027 the prioritisation applies at both shortlisting and offer.
Immigration rules change frequently. Treat this as the position on 7 September 2026 and confirm on GOV.UK before you rely on it.
Choose your Ultimate Package, mentored from abroad
Rated 5.0 from 640+ reviews. 1-1 mentoring from doctors across UCAT or UCAT ANZ, personal statement, fee-status shortlisting and online interviews, scheduled in your time zone.
Bronze
20 hours
Silver
35 hours
Gold
50 hours
Platinum
75 hours
Work backwards from the UCAS deadline. This is the shape of a well-run application from Pakistan:
Need a shortlist and a plan? Book a free strategy consultation with one of our admissions experts.
We have worked with applicants from Pakistan for years, and the pattern of what makes the difference is consistent: a strong UCAT sat early, a realistic shortlist of four schools that actually take international students on your qualifications, a personal statement that reflects genuine experience, and interview practice with someone who knows the UK system.
Our Ultimate Package for international applicants includes:
Compare the Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers on our Ultimate Packages page, or start with 20 hours of UCAT tutoring if the test is your immediate priority.
If you want support with any part of the process, our team of UK doctors and admissions experts is here to help. Book a free strategy consultation or contact us.
No. UK medical schools do not accept FSc or HSSC Pre-Medical alone for direct entry to medicine. Birmingham lists the Higher Secondary Certificate among the qualifications it does not accept, and Manchester and Queen Mary direct HSSC holders to a foundation programme. You need Cambridge International A Levels (typically AAA including Chemistry and Biology) or the IB Diploma, or one of the small number of international foundation routes that lead to medicine.
No. The MDCAT and NUMS entry tests are for Pakistani medical colleges and play no part in a UCAS application. UK medical schools use the UCAT, your A Level or IB grades, your personal statement, a teacher reference and an interview.
The UCAT is delivered at Pearson VUE test centres, which you find through the locator inside your UCAT account after registering. Pearson VUE opened a Pearson Professional Center at The Mall of Lahore in February 2025. UCAT does not publish a city list, so check the locator for centres near Karachi, Islamabad and other cities and book as soon as booking opens on 23 June, because international slots fill quickly.
The fee for a test taken outside the UK is £115 in 2026, compared with £70 inside the UK. The UCAT bursary is only available to UK candidates, so Pakistani candidates pay the full fee.
Registration opened on 20 May 2026, booking opened on 23 June 2026, the testing window runs from 13 July to 24 September 2026, the booking deadline is 16 September 2026 at 15:00 UK time, and results are sent to universities in early November. The 2027 cycle for 2028 entry is expected to follow the same pattern.
The 2025 mean total was 1891 out of 2700. Because international places are a small fixed quota at each school, a strong score matters more for international applicants: scores above 2500 are highly competitive at the most selective schools and many successful international applicants sit between 2300 and 2500. Several schools also reject Situational Judgement Test Band 4 outright.
Almost always, yes. Pakistan is not on the Home Office list of majority English-speaking countries. Medical schools set their own thresholds: Sheffield asks for IELTS 7.5 with 7.0 in each component, Birmingham and Liverpool for 7.0 in every component, and Manchester for 7.0 overall with 6.5 minimum or an IGCSE English First Language grade B. Only sit an alternative to IELTS if the medical school itself says it accepts it.
Verified 2026/27 international fees range from £39,900 a year in the pre-clinical years at Manchester (rising to £60,900 in the clinical years) to £58,600 a year at Imperial, with Liverpool at £50,000 and the University of Lancashire at £49,950. At the exchange rates seen in 2025 and 2026 a £50,000 fee is in the region of Rs 19 million a year before living costs. Always compare total course cost across all five or six years.
You must show your first-year tuition fees plus living costs of £1,529 a month for courses in London or £1,171 a month elsewhere, for up to nine months, held in the bank for 28 consecutive days ending within 31 days of your application. The Immigration Health Surcharge is £776 a year for students and the visa application fee from outside the UK is £558.
Yes. Pakistan is on the list of countries whose residents must have a tuberculosis test at a Home Office approved clinic before applying for a UK visa of more than six months.
Very few, and you should not build your plan around one. Chevening and Commonwealth Scholarships are for postgraduate study only, and Imperial’s medicine scholarships are all restricted to home students. A handful of medical schools offer small awards to international students who perform strongly at interview. Treat any scholarship as a bonus.
Only a few routes genuinely lead to medicine: the University of Lancashire’s six-year MBBS with an international-only foundation year (A Level ABB entry), Bristol’s International Foundation Programme for Medicine, the Sussex International Study Centre foundation year that progresses to Brighton and Sussex Medical School, and Buckingham’s CertHE Pre-Medical year. Gateway Year (A104) courses are for UK home students only.
Yes, but not automatically. Under the PMDC Act 2022, foreign graduates from PMDC-recognised institutions receive provisional registration and must pass the National Registration Examination for a full licence. Check the PMDC recognised-institutions list and the NRE portal directly, because the lists and examination dates change.
Yes. Under the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026, graduates of UK medical schools, including international students, are in the prioritised group for Foundation Programme places from the 2027 recruitment round. The Graduate visa is 18 months for applications from 1 January 2027, and doctors can then move to the Health and Care Worker visa, which has no Immigration Health Surcharge.
15 October 2026 at 18:00 UK time, which is 22:00 in Pakistan. It is the same early deadline as Oxford and Cambridge, and medical schools rarely consider late applications, so aim to have your UCAT sat, IELTS done and personal statement finished well before then.
Most do. Sheffield invites international applicants to an online panel interview, Brunel runs a fully online virtual MMI, and Birmingham interviews international applicants over Zoom wherever they are based. A few schools still prefer in-person interviews, so check each of your four choices.

Want expert help with your application?
From 1-1 tutoring and personal statement editing to interview coaching and our all-in-one Ultimate Package, we support every stage. Tell us what you are aiming for and we will recommend the right option.
Ultimate Package students from our 2025/26 cycle, with their UCAT scores and offers, who trained with us for the UCAT, personal statements and interviews.
“Harry got my UCAT up to 2,590, working through the sections I kept dropping marks on week by week. Gemma then ran my interview practice so the MMI stations didn't catch me out, and Dr Akash mentored me the whole way through. I'm off to King's for Medicine.”
“The interview prep was the part that actually moved the needle. Proper mock MMIs, not just lists of questions, and feedback that was honest about what I was getting wrong. I ended up with four offers and firmed UCL.”
“The Ultimate Package kept me organised from UCAT through to interviews. They knew what dental schools actually ask and tightened up my personal statement. Four offers in the end, and I'm going to Birmingham.”
“Vet applications come down to the written SAQs as much as the interview. Dr Rebecca went through my SAQs line by line, sharpened my answers and prepped me for the panels. I came away with four offers and chose the RVC.”
Book your FREE consultation today
Click to book your free consultation





