A free essay competition for aspiring medics, dentists and vets: one question for each subject, up to 1,000 words, judged by doctors, dentists and vets. Entries close 11:59pm on Sunday 31 January 2027. Winners get prizes worth over £800, and winning and highly commended essays can be published with your name, so you have something real to write about in your personal statement.
Not ready to write yet? Get free tips by email
Free to enter
For Year 11 and Year 12, from any school in any country.
Up to 1,000 words
One question per subject, sent as a Word document.
Closes 31 January 2027
Winners announced by Friday 12 March 2027.
Prizes worth over £800
Courses and reviews you can use when you apply.
Each subject has its own question, its own judges and its own winners.
medicine
The NHS wants to move from treating sickness to preventing it. Whose job is it to keep people healthy: the patient's, the doctor's or the government's?
Winner's prizes worth over £800
dentistry
Should fluoride be added to drinking water across England? Weigh up the evidence, the ethics of treating a whole population without individual consent, and who stands to gain the most.
Winner's prizes worth over £800
veterinary medicine
Should it be illegal to breed dogs whose body shape gives them lifelong health problems, such as flat-faced breeds that struggle to breathe?
Winner's prizes worth over £700
Free tips by email
Get our tips on how to approach your subject's question: how to plan it, the angles worth thinking about, a trap to avoid and where to start reading. We will also send you a reminder on Sunday 24 January, a week before entries close.
Prizes you use in the year you apply, plus your essay published under your name.
Winner, medicine
2 highly commended
Winning and highly commended essays can be published on our website with your name and school, if you are happy for us to.
Winner, dentistry
2 highly commended
Winning and highly commended essays can be published on our website with your name and school, if you are happy for us to.
Winner, veterinary medicine
2 highly commended
Winning and highly commended essays can be published on our website with your name and school, if you are happy for us to.
Doctors, dentists and vets judge each subject anonymously, against four criteria.
Criterion 1
A clear answer
An argument that answers the question asked and reaches a conclusion.
Criterion 2
Evidence used well
Facts and sources that support the point being made, with references.
Criterion 3
The people involved
Patients, owners, animals and the wider public: who is affected, and the ethics of it.
Criterion 4
Clear writing
Easy to follow, well organised, within the word limit.
It takes two minutes once your essay is written. You will get a confirmation email straight away.
Teacher or careers lead?
Here is a short paragraph you can paste into a bulletin or forward to students:
TheUKCATPeople Essay Competition 2027: a free essay competition for Year 11 and 12 students anywhere in the world heading for medicine, dentistry or veterinary medicine, with one question for each subject, up to 1,000 words, judged by doctors, dentists and vets. Entries close 31 January 2027. The winners get prizes worth over £800, and winners and highly commended students get a title they can cite in their personal statement. Details and entry: https://www.theukcatpeople.co.uk/essay-competition
Or print the two-page flyer for a noticeboard, or forward it:
More for teachers in our guide for teachers and careers leads.
Research with it if you like. Write every word yourself.
The judges are reading for your thinking. An essay written by AI is disqualified, and so is one copied from a source. Shortlisted students may be asked to talk through their essay on a short call before we confirm a prize, so write something you can explain.
You can use AI the way you would use a library: to find sources, to understand a topic, or to check your spelling and grammar. You cannot use it to write your essay, plan your argument for you or rewrite your sentences. If AI wrote it, it is not your work, and it is disqualified.
A simple test: could you explain every point in your essay, and why you made it, without looking at it? If yes, it is yours.
We check shortlisted essays for text copied from published sources. AI detectors are not reliable enough to decide a prize on their own, so we do not rely on them. Instead, before we confirm a prize, we may ask a shortlisted student to talk through their essay with one of our team on a short video call, which is exactly what an interview will ask of you anyway.
Yes, in the way they would help with homework. They can talk the question through with you, suggest reading and tell you what is unclear in a draft. The argument and the writing must be yours.
Any consistent style is fine, for example numbered references with a list at the end. References do not count towards the word limit. Quoting a source briefly, in quotation marks and referenced, is good practice. Copying it without saying so is plagiarism.
Students from any country, at any school or college, who are thinking about medicine, dentistry or veterinary medicine and are one or two years away from applying to university. In the UK that is Year 11 or Year 12 in England and Wales, S4 or S5 in Scotland, or Year 12 or Year 13 in Northern Ireland. Outside the UK, enter if you will apply to university in autumn 2027 or autumn 2028, whichever country you plan to study in.
Between 300 and 1,000 words, not counting the title and your references. We check the document when you upload it, so a blank or unfinished file will not be accepted. Essays over the limit are not judged, so check your word count before you send it.
Upload it on this page as a Word document (.docx), up to 4MB. If you write in Google Docs, choose File, Download, Microsoft Word. Leave your name and school out of the document itself: we judge anonymously, and the form tells us who you are.
The form also asks for the name and school email of a teacher, careers lead or counsellor at your school. We tell them if you win or are highly commended, and we may let them know that you entered.
Enter the one for the subject you plan to apply for. It is one essay per student, so to change your essay before the deadline, use the “Upload a new version” link in your confirmation email. To switch subject, enter that competition with the same email address. We judge only your latest entry, and you do not need to email us.
Yes. As soon as you enter, you can download a certificate of entry with your name, your competition, the question you answered, the date and your entry reference, and we email a copy too. Winners and highly commended entrants also receive a certificate of their placing when the results are announced.
Entries close at 11:59pm on Sunday 31 January 2027. We announce the winners by Friday 12 March 2027 and email every entrant the results.
We cannot give individual feedback on each essay. Every entrant hears the results by email, and the winning and highly commended essays are published (with the writers' permission), so you can see what the strongest entries did.
Doctors, dentists and vets from the team who review our medicine, dentistry and veterinary personal statements. They judge each subject separately, without seeing names or schools.
Each subject has one winner and 2 highly commended entries. Winners get course places, a personal statement review and our interview questions and answers guide for their subject; highly commended entrants get the guide. The full list is on each competition page. Winners use their prizes in the year they apply to university: the course places on one of our scheduled online dates, and the personal statement review when their statement is ready, before their UCAS deadline. Guide access runs until 31 May of that application year. Prizes are not transferable and have no cash alternative.
Only if it wins or is highly commended, and only if you are happy for us to. The entry form asks whether you agree to publication with your name and school; you can say no and still win. Before we publish anything we check again with you, and with a parent or carer if you are under 16.
We use them to run the competition and to tell you the results. We also send occasional free admissions guides for your subject and year, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Your essay is kept privately and read only by our team and the judges.
We use your teacher's details to tell them about your entry and the results. If they use a school email address, we may also send them our occasional email for teachers and careers leads, which they can unsubscribe from at any time. We never add a personal email address you give for a teacher.
Yes. Our medicine essay competition is free and open to Year 11 and Year 12 students thinking about medicine, with separate competitions for dentistry and veterinary medicine. One question, up to 1,000 words, judged by doctors. Entries close 31 January 2027.
Yes. There are three separate competitions, each with its own question, judges and prizes: medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine. Enter the one for the subject you plan to apply for.
Yes. The competition is open to students anywhere in the world, at any school or college, and entry is free. Essays must be written in English. The prizes are all delivered online (live online courses, reviews and guides), so a winner can use them from any country.
TheUKCATPeople, a UK medical, dental and veterinary admissions tutoring company founded in 2012. The essays are judged by doctors, dentists and vets from our team, anonymously and separately for each subject.
Answer the exact question asked, and say where you stand early on. Back each point with evidence from good sources, and reference them. Take the strongest argument against you seriously and explain why you still hold your view. Then edit hard: cut anything that does not move the argument on, and read it aloud to catch unclear sentences.
A short introduction that answers the question in a sentence or two. Then two or three paragraphs, each making one point with evidence. Then a paragraph on the best counter-argument, and a conclusion that returns to the question. Around 100 words for the introduction and conclusion each leaves roughly 800 for the argument.
They help, but they are not what decides an offer. Your grades, your UCAT score, how you do at interview and choosing universities that suit your profile matter more. Get those right first.
What an essay competition adds is super-curricular evidence: proof that you have explored the subject beyond the school syllabus by reading around a real question, weighing up the evidence and reaching your own view. That is useful material for your personal statement and something you can talk about at interview. A placing is a bonus; the value is in what you learnt.
Put it with your other super-curricular activities, the part of your statement about how you have explored the subject beyond school. Keep it short and about your thinking: the question, one thing you read that changed your mind or surprised you, and what it taught you about the career. One or two sentences is plenty. A placing can go in the same sentence, but the reflection is what admissions tutors look for.
A clear answer to the question asked, argued from evidence, that takes the people affected seriously and reaches a conclusion. The best essays pick one line of argument and follow it, deal honestly with the strongest point against them, and are easy to read.
Not this year: the competition is for Year 11 and Year 12, so winners can use their prizes and write about their essay when they apply. If you are applying now, our interview guides and hot topic articles will help you more.
Planning ahead? Read our guides to the medicine personal statement, work experience and the hot topics interviewers ask about.
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.”
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