GAMSAT + UCAS 2027: the UK timeline explained

The UK timeline has one feature that surprises almost everyone: you submit your UCAS application before your GAMSAT results exist. September 2026 sitters get their results in mid-November - a month after the application deadline. Understanding that inversion is most of what this post is for.

The dates that matter

The September 2026 sitting runs in two parts: Written Communication on 22-23 August (remote, online-proctored) and Sections I & III on 11-13 September (in person). Your UCAS application for 2027 entry is due 15 October 2026 at 18:00 UK time. ACER's form asking them to forward your September results to UK universities is due 31 October. Results land in mid-November.

So the order of operations is: sit the exam, apply to universities without knowing your score, tell ACER where to send it, then find out. Uncomfortable — but it's the same for every September sitter, and universities build their processes around it.

Choosing four medicine choices blind

UCAS gives you four medicine choices, and you'll pick them before your score exists. Two honest anchors help. First, if you sat a previous GAMSAT, UK universities accept results up to two years old (Ulster takes four) - a valid earlier score removes the blindness entirely. Second, your practice-mock scores are a rough compass: not a promise, but a sane basis for spreading your four choices across more and less competitive programmes rather than gambling all four on one band.

Remember how the overall is computed - Section III counts double:

Which UK universities use the GAMSAT

Fifteen UK medical schools currently use the GAMSAT for graduate entry:

Two changes worth double-checking against each university's own pages before you finalise choices: Cardiff uses the UCAT, not the GAMSAT - and Nottingham moves to the UCAT from 2027 entry. Requirements move; the university's own admissions page, in the week you apply, is the only source that counts.

What to do, in order

Between now and mid-October: keep preparing (essays until 23 August, then all-in on the reasoning sections), draft your personal statement early - it's due with the application, not after results - shortlist programmes whose non-GAMSAT requirements you actually meet, submit UCAS by 15 October, and file ACER's forwarding form by 31 October. Then the hard part: nothing, until mid-November.

If you want the whole cycle in one place - test days, both October deadlines, results - the free GAMSAT dates page on Aptavia has every date with a one-click calendar download, and clearly labels anything that's still an estimate.

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