Unsuccessful applicants
If your application to study at the University of Edinburgh has been unsuccessful, we hope the following will help you understand the reasons why this decision has been reached.
The most common reasons for an unsuccessful decision are listed below.
If you feel that none of these reasons apply to you, then please feel free to email us and we will provide further detailed feedback.
Information for all programmes
Those candidates who do not meet, or are not predicted to meet, our subject or grade specific entry requirements cannot be considered for a place.
This may be that:
- You have not met or are not predicted to meet our standard or minimum entry requirements which you will find on our degree finder web pages
- The qualifications you are completing or have completed are not accepted for entry. A range of accepted entry requirements can be found on Entry requirements web page
- The subjects that you have studied, or are studying, are not accepted for entry. For applicants studying SQA Highers and GCE A-Levels, please see the list of approved subjects for University entry on the websites below.
- You do not meet the subject specific entry requirements for the degree for which you have applied. Further information can be found under the Entry Requirements section for each programme of study in the online degree finder.
We receive an extremely high number of applications each year, with few places available. Competition for places for all of our programmes is extremely intense. All entry requirements must be met, if not exceeded. Regrettably, this often means that we have to turn away many academically talented students.
All applicants who have met, or are predicted to meet, our entry requirements are considered for entry. For most of our programmes, personal statements are also considered in the selection process and therefore must include detail on an applicant’s motivation for the subject and their knowledge/exploration.
Our decisions are based on the information you have provided in your UCAS application plus any supplementary information that has been requested by us to support your application. It is essential that you provide details of all qualifications you currently hold as well as any predicted grades for all exams that have yet to be taken.
We also cannot consider applications without an academic reference or a personal statement. Without this vital information, we are unable to take your application any further where you have not responded to requests by the final deadlines given.
We may ask you to provide further information or documentation to support your application as we sometimes require this in order to make a final decision. We will have contacted you to request this providing a deadline date. It is essential that any further information requested in this way is provided by the deadline date given in order for us to proceed with your application.
If you do not have any recent academic qualifications, then unfortunately we are unable to consider your application further. To demonstrate that you are prepared for degree-level study, entrance qualifications must have been achieved within the three academic years prior to the proposed programme start date here at the University of Edinburgh.
Due to the extremely high demand for places, it is only in the most exceptional of circumstances that we will consider a late application. We require all applicants to apply by the UCAS equal consideration deadline for most of our programmes by the last Wednesday in January in the year of the programme start date; but for medicine and veterinary medicine, the 15 October the year prior to the programme start date.
MBChB Medicine
It is essential that the UCAT is sat prior to an application being submitted. If this has not been done, an application cannot be considered. Exemptions are only offered on the basis that the UCAT cannot be taken in your country; or on a case-by-case basis under very exceptional circumstances and an exemption must be applied for prior to application.
For further information, please see:
You are required to meet our minimum UCAT score as part of our entry requirements from 2023 entry. Any applicant applying with a score below this will not be considered with the exclusion of FLAG PLUS applicants. We also do not consider applicants who have achieved a Band 4 in the Situational Judgement Test (SJT).
You will find information regarding this here:
The Medical school does not consider resit candidates in any qualification. All examination grades must be obtained at the first attempt of each subject. Those applying with resit qualifications will not be entered into the selection system unless under very exceptional circumstances (for which verified evidence has been provided prior to UCAS application).
You will find information on this here:
You will not be eligible if you have just started or are midway through a degree in the academic year in which you apply. We expect those who undertake degree programmes to complete them and therefore cannot consider applications from those who are not in the final year of their degree.
This information (as well as our graduate entry requirements) is shown here:
Competition for places on the MBChB programme is extremely high, with few places available. All applications that meet our standard academic requirements are assessed on both academics, UCAT total score and SJT banding before shortlisting for Assessment Days, as detailed in our Medicine booklet:
Studying Medicine at the University of Edinburgh (PDF)
Your personal statement must show motivation to study your chosen degree programme but this is not formally assessed. We interview approximately the top scoring 650 applicants where they hold the most competitive scores within their relevant fee status group.
Medicine is known as a “controlled subject”. This means that there is a strict limit on the number of places that are funded by the Scottish Funding Council. Students resident in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland are funded differently from those from Scotland and therefore the places available are allocated separately.
These allocations have been determined by the Scottish Funding Council and are based on historical intake patterns. You will find the places available in previous cycles here:
Furthermore, each October at the end of the admissions cycle, we aim to publish admissions statistics for the last three years here:
We do not accept any transfers into Medicine or candidates who have already studied or been enrolled on another medicine degree programme elsewhere.
Due to the extremely competitive nature of the programme, we are unable to consider any applications for deferred entry with the exception of those undertaking mandatory military service or a similar obligation.
You will find this information here:
For more detailed feedback on your unsuccessful application personal to you, please email us directly at medug@ed.ac.uk with your full name and UCAS personal ID number.
Biomedical Sciences
You applied for more than one of our Biomedical Sciences programmes. You are required to only apply to one of our Biomedical programmes as they all have a common structure in Years 1 and 2 that provides a firm grounding in the knowledge, understanding and skills required for our specialist disciplines of infectious diseases, neuroscience, pharmacology, physiology and reproductive biology. In Years 3 and 4, you will focus on exploring your chosen discipline in depth. There are opportunities to transfer between disciplines at the end of Years 2 and 3.
You will find this information here:
Your application may have been unsuccessful as the main focus of your personal statement is on a professional programme.
This does not preclude you from applying to our Biomedical/Medical Sciences programmes but may mean that your personal statement is not as competitive as those who have Biomedical/Medical Sciences as their main programme of choice.
Your application may have been unsuccessful because you are taking resits.
Resitting exams can put your application at a disadvantage due to the number of applications we receive from students who have achieved or are predicted to achieve our required grades at the first attempt.
Where there is strong competition for places, we are often not able to offer a place to applicants who are taking resits. We will, however, consider resits from applicants who have experienced serious disruption to their studies.
We will not consider an exam taken in 2021 as a resit, if it is the first attempt at a centre-assessed grade.
Oral Health Sciences
Due to funding issues, we do not consider international applicants for this degree programme.
You will find information regarding the programme and applying here:
We receive an extremely high number of applications each year, with few places available. The intake for this programme is 10 places per year so entry is very competitive. All entry requirements must be met, if not exceeded.
All applicants who have met, or are predicted to meet, our entry requirements are considered for entry. Regrettably, this often means that we have to turn away many academically talented students.
Your application may have been unsuccessful because you are taking resits.
Resitting exams can put your application at a disadvantage due to the number of applications we receive from students who have achieved or are predicted to achieve our required grades at the first attempt.
Where there is strong competition for places, we are often not able to offer a place to applicants who are taking resits.
We will, however, consider resits from applicants who have experienced serious disruption to their studies.
We will not consider an exam taken in 2021 as a resit, if it is the first attempt at a centre-assessed grade.
For more detailed feedback on your unsuccessful application personal to you, please email us directly at oralug@ed.ac.uk with your full name and UCAS personal ID number.
BVM&S Veterinary Medicine
We receive an extremely high number of applications each year. The intake for the five year programme is 110 places per year and for the four year graduate entry programme, up to 60 places per year. We receive approximately 2000 applications each year so entry is very competitive. All entry requirements must be met.
All applicants who have met, or are predicted to meet, our entry requirements are considered for interview. Regrettably, this often means that we have to turn away many academically talented students.
The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies - admissions policy
The Veterinary School does not consider resit candidates in any qualification. All examination grades must be obtained at the first attempt of each subject.
Those applying with resit qualifications will not be entered into the selection system unless under very exceptional circumstances (for which verified evidence has been provided prior to UCAS application).
Due to the extremely competitive nature of the programme, we are unable to consider any applications for deferred entry with the exception of those undertaking mandatory military service or a similar obligation.
You will find this information here:
The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies - admissions policy
Due to pressure on places each year, the Veterinary School’s Admissions Committee will only consider two consecutive applications from candidates. Third applications will not normally be considered.
The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies - admissions policy
For more detailed feedback on your unsuccessful application personal to you, please email us directly at vetug@ed.ac.uk with your full name and UCAS personal ID number (or VMCAS ID if you have applied from North America as a graduate applicant).