UCAS Medicine Fifth Choice: One Statement

UCAS Medicine Fifth Choice: One Statement

UCAS lets you apply to at most four medicine courses, so a fifth choice has to be another subject, and one personal statement goes to all five. Write that statement for medicine, then choose a fifth course whose own admissions page accepts a medicine-led statement.

Blending the statement, half medicine and half biomedical science, looks like the safe choice. The published rules point the other way. Queen's University Belfast expects you "to state explicitly that Medicine is their career choice". A statement written to sit halfway between two courses fails that test, and QUB is only one of your four medicine readers. The fifth reader is the one with the most flexible rules, so the statement is built for the four and checked against the one. If your statement is still in draft, the UCAS medicine personal statement guide for 2027 covers the three answers.

Every UCAS and university page quoted below was checked on 7 November 2026. The 2027-entry medicine deadline was 15 October 2026 at 18:00 UK time and has passed, so this page is for applicants planning 2028 entry, or for anyone deciding now what to do with an unused fifth choice. King's College London's medicine FAQ is dated July 2023; we say so where we quote it.

On this page: the rule · how each reader uses your statement · choosing the fifth · writing to the overlap · foundation and gateway years

The rule: four medicine choices, one statement

UCAS sets both halves of the problem:

"For these subjects you can only apply to a maximum of four courses in any one of medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or veterinary science."

That is from Filling in your UCAS application. UCAS's guide to statements for multiple courses adds:

"No, you only write one personal statement that all of your choices see. The same goes if you apply to further universities, or courses in Extra or Clearing."

The same guide names medicine as a case where one different choice "might be unavoidable", and says "some courses at some universities will be happy to be your fifth choice, despite your statement not being directly relevant to them. However, we would advise contacting these universities directly to discuss your application."

One more line from that guide matters for the fifth reader: "universities and colleges won't be able to see what other courses you've applied to (unless you've applied to more than one at the same university or college)." Your fifth choice does not see your four medicine choices. It sees a statement about medicine, and works out the rest.

For the three questions and the 4,000-character limit, see the UCAS three-question format guide.

How each reader uses your one statement

The four medicine schools and the fifth course do not read the statement the same way. Each row quotes the institution's own page.

Keele adds context of its own: "the majority of UK medical schools do not score personal statements and use them only for checking broad compatibility with a medical career." That is Keele's description of other schools, not a count we made.

Our view: write all three answers for medicine, and make Question 2 do double duty for the fifth course. The basis is the table. QUB wants medicine stated "explicitly", Keele scores the statement against a medical-student specification, and KCL says write it for medicine. Bath, the fifth-choice course here, already lists medicine as acceptable enthusiasm and gives the statement 10% weight. Writing to the four costs you little with the fifth; writing to the middle costs you with the four.

The countercase: if you would rather study biomedical science than take a year out and reapply, the fifth course is a real plan, not a backup, and its reader deserves more. Bath "will not usually consider alternative or supplementary personal statements", so you cannot fix it later with a separate document there. In that case, give Question 2 fully to the science both courses share, and keep Questions 1 and 3 on medicine.

Choosing the fifth

Here is how the common options compare, built from the pages above and UCAS's dates and deadlines.

The last row is the cost people miss. UCAS's 2027-entry timeline says Extra opens on 25 February 2027, and "If you've used all five choices and are not holding any offers, you may be able to add another choice in your application." Four choices means no Extra in the normal way. The no medicine offers guide covers what is left after that.

Biomedical science is also a route back. Sheffield's four-year Graduate Entry Medicine (A101) says: "If you're a life science graduate from a background that's underrepresented in higher education, this route into medicine could be for you." The UK graduate-entry medicine personal statement guide covers that later application.

Writing to the overlap

The overlap between medicine and biomedical science is the science: how you handle evidence, mechanism and uncertainty. That is Question 2's job anyway ("How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?"), so it is where the fifth reader finds what it needs without the medicine readers losing anything.

Constructed example: one Question 2 paragraph for two readers

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement. Context (invented): an applicant with A-level Biology and Chemistry and an EPQ on recurring urinary infections.

The blended version (296 characters):

I am fascinated by both medicine and biomedical science, and I would be happy studying either. My A-levels in Biology and Chemistry have prepared me well for both courses, and my EPQ on infections showed me how much I enjoy research. Whichever course I study, I know I will work hard and succeed.

The overlap version (642 characters):

My EPQ asked why some urinary infections come back after treatment. I began by assuming a returning infection meant the antibiotic had failed. The two review papers I read treated a returning infection and a new one as different problems, and I rewrote my second chapter around that distinction. It is what draws me to medicine: the same symptom can need a different decision depending on which explanation is true. Chemistry gave me the language to follow the mechanism, but the EPQ taught me to hold two explanations open until the evidence separated them, a habit I will need in the laboratory and on the ward, and one I am still learning.

What changed:

• The blended version is below UCAS's 350-character minimum for an answer, and it says nothing either reader can assess.
• "Happy studying either" is gone. QUB wants medicine stated explicitly. The overlap version names medicine as the goal.
• The science is specific. A biomedical sciences reader at Bath is looking for "logical and analytical thinking"; the rewritten chapter is that thinking shown, not claimed.
• "in the laboratory and on the ward" serves both readers in five words, without a second motivation paragraph.

Character counts include spaces, as UCAS counts them.

Foundation and gateway years

Gateway and foundation years into medicine are a different kind of backup, with tighter rules than a biomedical science course.

• Leeds runs a "Gateway Year to Medicine MBChB" (UCAS code A101) "specifically designed for students from widening participation backgrounds", and says "Candidates therefore cannot apply to the Gateway to Medicine and Medicine programmes in the same application cycle" (Leeds).
• Keele's Health Foundation Year (A104) says applicants who meet its criteria "but meet the academic criteria for the Medicine A100 course are strongly advised to apply for A100", and ranks A104 applicants on the same UCAT and statement score (Keele).
• Lancaster's Medicine and Surgery with a Gateway Year (A104) "is only available to applicants who meet certain widening participation criteria" (Lancaster).
• Glasgow's Gateway to Medical Studies (A900) is a one-year CertHE for applicants who meet its widening-participation criteria, such as living in Scotland in a postcode in the lowest 20% of the Scottish index of multiple deprivation. Glasgow also says unsuccessful A100 applicants who meet A900's eligibility "may be made a change of course offer", which depends on spaces (Glasgow interviews).

Unknown: none of the UCAS or university pages we read says whether a gateway or foundation year counts as one of your four medicine choices. The Leeds and Lancaster courses are MBChB degrees with their own codes. Ask the school before you build a list around it.

Because these courses are medicine, a medicine statement fits them. The question is eligibility, not writing.

Questions about the UCAS medicine fifth choice

Can my fifth choice see that I applied for medicine?

Not your other choices. UCAS says universities "won't be able to see what other courses you've applied to (unless you've applied to more than one at the same university or college)". They will see a statement about medicine.

Should my personal statement mention my fifth choice?

Not by name. Write for medicine and make Question 2 show the science both courses share. KCL's FAQ (July 2023) says "the general advice is always to tailor your personal statement to Medicine rather than the additional science courses."

Can I send a separate personal statement to my fifth choice?

Sometimes. UCAS says that when one choice is different, "It quite often happens that admissions staff will agree to accept a separate personal statement for that specific course, sent directly to them", and to contact the university first. Bath's Biomedical Sciences page says it will not usually consider one.

Is it better to leave the fifth choice empty?

Usually not. UCAS Extra is for applicants who have used all five choices and hold no offers, so four choices closes that route in the normal way.

Can I apply for medicine and dentistry together?

UCAS limits you to four courses "in any one of" medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or veterinary science. Queen's Belfast says "an applicant cannot be considered for both Medicine and Dentistry" there. One statement also has to argue for one profession, which is the harder limit. Once your decisions are in, see choosing firm and insurance for medicine before you reply.

Get a free review of your personal statement

Get a free Quick Review of your personal statement against GradPilot's UCAS medicine personal statement rubric. It reads your three answers for an informed, affirmative case for medicine, what you understand about a doctor's work, preparation through study and experience, and whether the three answers work as one statement. On the UK personal statement checker, pick the medicine rubric to get the same review.

More UCAS guides for mixed lists:

• Nursing or midwifery: one UCAS statement, five choices: the same one-statement problem across two professions.
• UCAS veterinary personal statement guide: the four-choice rule for vet applicants.
• Reapplying to medicine in the UK: what schools say about a second application.
• Medical school essays hub: every medical application guide.

Sources

Retrieved 7 November 2026, except where noted.

• UCAS, Filling in your UCAS application: four-choice limit.
• UCAS, How to write a personal statement that works for multiple courses: one statement, fifth-choice advice, separate statements, choices not visible.
• UCAS, Dates and deadlines (2027 entry): 15 October 18:00 deadline, Extra opening and eligibility.
• University of Sheffield, Medicine admissions (2027 entry): statements not read or scored; A101 graduate entry.
• Queen's University Belfast, Admission Policy Statement for Medicine for 2027 Entry: statements not scored; medicine stated explicitly; not both medicine and dentistry.
• Keele University, Medicine: how to apply (2027 entry): statement scored 0 to 15.
• Keele University, Health Foundation Year for Medicine (2027 entry): A104 eligibility and ranking.
• University of Glasgow, Medicine MBChB: screening factors.
• University of Glasgow, Gateway to Medical Studies: A900, one-year certificate, Scottish residents, widening access.
• University of Glasgow, MBChB interviews (2027 entry): change of course offers to A900.
• University of Bath, Admissions for A level students for Biomedical Sciences (no year stated): statement weight, scope, no supplementary statements.
• King's College London, Medicine Frequently Asked Questions (dated July 2023): write the statement for medicine.
• University of Leeds, Gateway Year to Medicine MBChB: A101, eligibility, not with Medicine in one cycle.
• Lancaster University, Medicine and Surgery with a Gateway Year (2027 entry): A104, widening participation only.
• Medical Schools Council, making an application page: HTTP 403 on 7 November 2026; not quoted.