AlphaMED Resources · https://alphamedicine.uk/Resources/applying/ucat-hong-kong
UCAT for Hong Kong students
The UCAT is the admissions test used by UK medical schools. HKU will also require it for entry in 2028 from non JUPAS applicants, who apply with A levels, the IB or another qualification in place of the HKDSE. In 2026 the test ran from July to September.
Summary
- The UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test) is a computer test that takes just under two hours. Its four parts are Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning and Situational Judgement.
- UK medical and dental schools use it in selection. The UCAT Consortium, the group of universities behind the test, publishes the courses that require it.
- Candidates sit it at a test centre run by Pearson VUE, a testing company. The centres are across the UK and in more than 130 countries, and candidates pick one when they book.
- A candidate may test only once in any year.
Dates and cost
- Registration for 2027 has not opened. The instructions will be published in March 2027.
- A candidate first registers for an account and later books a test date. In 2026 registration opened on 20 May and booking on 23 June.
- Testing ran from 13 July to 24 September 2026. Booking closed on 16 September at 15:00 UK time, which was 22:00 in Hong Kong.
- A test taken outside the UK costs £115, against £70 in the UK. Candidates pay by card when they book.
- The UCAT bursary scheme is open to UK candidates only.
On the day
- A passport is accepted at every test centre. It has to be the original and in date, and the name on it must match the UCAT account exactly.
- Candidates are handed a copy of their score report before they leave the test centre.
HKU and CUHK
- HKU now takes the UCAT from non JUPAS applicants. It is optional for entry in 2027 and required for entry in 2028.
- HKU says applicants for 2027 without a result "will not be disadvantaged". It accepts a result "attempted in any year".
- CUHK says an admissions test such as the UCAT is "not mandatory" for its medical degree. It adds that more applicants now send one.
- A UK university accepts a 2026 result for one application cycle only, which covers a course starting in 2027 or a deferred place for 2028.
- The UCAT Consortium sends results to UK universities itself, in early November, and passes none to universities outside it. At HKU the result goes in with the application as a supporting document.
Sources
- UCAT Consortiumucat.ac.uk/…/test-format
- UCAT Consortiumucat.ac.uk/…/universities
- UCAT Consortiumucat.ac.uk/…/eligibility
- UCAT Consortiumucat.ac.uk/…/faqs
- UCAT Consortiumucat.ac.uk/…/booking-your-test
- UCAT Consortiumucat.ac.uk/…/ucat-test-dates
- UCAT Consortiumucat.ac.uk/…/id-policy
- UCAT Consortiumucat.ac.uk/…/ucat-results
- HKU Medicine admissionshkumed-ugadmissions.hku.hk/…/bachelor-of-medicine-and-bachelor-of-surgery
- CUHK Medicinemed.cuhk.edu.hk/…/faq
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