Updated September 2026

Which Universities Accept Medicine Resits?

A-Level resits do not automatically end a medicine application. The decisive question is whether each medical school accepts retaken qualifications, under what conditions, and whether your complete profile remains competitive.

Do medical schools accept A-Level resits?

Some do, but policies vary considerably. A school may accept a resit only when the full A-Level requirement is met across two years, ask for a minimum first-sitting grade, limit the number of attempts, or assess a retake applicant individually. A strong UCAT score does not override a qualification policy.

Use this as a starting point, not a promise of eligibility. Admissions policies and interview thresholds can change for each entry cycle. Read the current course page and email admissions if its wording is unclear.

Medical schools to research if you are resitting

Applicants commonly research schools with published routes for applicants who are taking or have taken A-Levels over more than one sitting, including Barts and The London, UEA, Lancaster, Leicester, Liverpool, Plymouth and Sheffield. This is not an exhaustive list and does not mean every resit pattern is eligible.

  • Barts and The London: check the current academic and tariff rules alongside its selection process.
  • UEA, Lancaster and Leicester: compare the number of sittings permitted and the treatment of achieved versus predicted grades.
  • Liverpool, Plymouth and Sheffield: confirm the required subjects, GCSE profile, UCAT use and any resit-specific conditions.

How to choose your four medicine options after a resit

  1. Check the resit policy before looking at reputation or location.
  2. Match your A-Level subjects and predicted or achieved grades to the course minimum.
  3. Use recent UCAT data as a guide, but avoid treating a historic threshold as fixed.
  4. Check GCSE and SJT requirements, which can be separate screening criteria.
  5. Build a balanced list rather than using all four choices on highly UCAT-ranked courses.

Use your UCAT carefully

The UCAT cognitive score is now reported out of 2700, with SJT reported separately in bands. Schools may use a minimum score, rank applicants, or combine UCAT with academics. Historic cut-offs are informative but are often set only after the applicant pool is known.

Try the UCAT and grades shortlist tool

Before you apply

Read the official course page for the exact entry year, note the policy wording, and keep a record of any admissions-team response. Alongside grades and UCAT, prepare meaningful healthcare exposure, reflection and interview preparation. A resit year is strongest when it shows clear academic improvement and sustained commitment to medicine.