Is the UCAT easier if you sit it early?
UCAT 2026
Early testers averaged 102 points higher
Your result
Early testers averaged 102 points higher. The 20,794 who sat by 13 September 2026 averaged 1970; the 21,565 who sat later averaged about 1868. Candidates chose their own dates, so this shows who sits early, not that an early date raises a score.
- Sat by 13 September197020,794 tests
- Sat laterAbout 186821,565 tests
- Published mean
- Worked out or estimated
So should you sit early? Book the date that gives you the preparation you need and time to rebook if something goes wrong. The data show early testers score higher, not that the test is easier then.
Whatever your date
UCAT Pro
Score 2,250 or your money back
£229 once
At least 12 months of access
No VAT is charged. Conditions
Early testers scored about 90 to 100 points higher on average in 2024, 2025 and 2026, but they chose to test early.
Questions people ask
Is it better to sit the UCAT early?
Early testers scored about 90 to 100 points higher on average in 2024, 2025 and 2026, but they chose to test early. Book the date that gives you enough preparation and time to rebook if something goes wrong.
Is the UCAT harder in September?
The published figures do not show that. They show a lower average among people who test later, and those candidates differ from early testers in ways the data cannot separate from the date.
Why do the UCAT deciles drop after the preliminary results?
Later testers average lower scores, so adding them pulls the whole table down. In 2025 each decile boundary fell 40 to 60 points between the preliminary and final tables.
More free tools
Keep going
How we work this out
What it does
What UCAT's own means show about candidates who test early and those who test late, and what that does and does not tell you about booking.
UK UCAT totals on the three cognitive sections, for the 2024 test (Abstract Reasoning removed afterwards by UCAT), the 2025 test and the 2026 test. Early means everyone who sat by mid-September, not July alone.
Method
- UCAT publishes a preliminary mean in mid-September and a final mean after testing ends, each with the number of tests.
- The later group's mean follows from those four numbers: later mean = (final tests x final mean - early tests x early mean) / (final tests - early tests).
- For 2025: (41,354 x 1891 - 21,882 x 1939) / 19,472 = about 1837, so early testers averaged about 102 points more. For 2024 the gap was about 91.
- For 2026, UCAT's final mean of 1918 from 42,359 tests gives the later group directly.
Published figures
The published means behind the comparison
UCAT’s preliminary and final means on the three cognitive sections. 2024’s are UCAT’s later figures with Abstract Reasoning taken out.
| Test year and table | Tests to | Tests | Mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 final | 26 September 2025 | 41,354 | 1891 |
| 2026 preliminary | 13 September 2026 | 20,794 | 1970 |
| 2025 preliminary | 14 September 2025 | 21,882 | 1939 |
| 2024 preliminary | 15 September 2024 | 20,066 | 1913 |
| 2024 final | 26 September 2024 | 37,913 | 1870 |
| 2026 final | 24 September 2026 | 42,359 | 1918 |