UCAS allows a maximum of four choices in medicine, dentistry or veterinary medicine/science, so the fifth has to be something else or left empty. Most applicants use it for a related science such as biomedical sciences, which keeps a route into medicine open through graduate entry. Your one personal statement goes to all five, but UCAS notes some universities are happy to be a fifth choice for medicine applicants; check with the university first. Leaving it empty means you cannot normally use UCAS Extra if all four medicine choices are unsuccessful.
Medicine, dentistry and veterinary applicants play by slightly different UCAS rules. You can apply to a maximum of four courses in these subjects, which leaves one of your five choices over. It is a small decision, usually made in a hurry in the week before 15 October, and it is worth more thought than it gets.
This guide covers what the rule is, what your options are, what leaving the fifth choice empty really costs, and how to write one personal statement that works for both.
The rule
UCAS limits medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine or science to four choices. The fifth can be any other course, including one with the January deadline, or you can leave it empty.
Is your personal statement strong enough?
Get a score out of 100, line-by-line feedback, before & after rewrites, and a 10-step improvement plan — in under 10 minutes.
Review my statement → From £7.49 · Results in under 10 minYou can also add it later. UCAS lets you add choices with a different deadline after you submit, as long as you do not go over five in total. To get equal consideration for a course on the main deadline, it has to be added by 18:00 on 13 January 2027.
What you cannot change is your personal statement. Whatever you send in October is what your fifth choice reads.
What leaving it empty costs
Most guides say leaving the fifth choice empty is a neutral decision. It is not quite. UCAS's own FAQ covers applicants who made only four choices in these subjects and were unsuccessful at all of them. Its answer is that because you have not used five choices, you can't normally use Extra. The suggestion instead is to contact universities directly about any vacancies.
Extra is the scheme, running from late February, that lets applicants with no offers apply to one more course at a time. Medicine places are rarely available through it, but other courses are. So an empty fifth choice closes one door, not just leaves a space.
That still leaves plenty of good reasons to leave it empty. If you already know you would take a gap year and reapply rather than study anything else, an unused choice is honest, and you can still add one in January if you change your mind.
The main options
| Fifth choice | Fits a medicine statement? | Keeps medicine open? | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biomedical sciences | Well | Yes, via graduate entry | The most common choice. Popular, so still competitive at selective universities |
| Biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, neuroscience | Reasonably | Yes, via graduate entry | Check the course is the science you actually enjoy |
| Natural sciences or biology | Reasonably | Yes | Broader; the statement needs to show interest beyond human biology |
| Other healthcare degrees (nursing, physiotherapy, paramedic science) | Poorly | Not directly | Separate professions with their own motivations; a medicine statement rarely convinces |
| Nothing | n/a | Reapply next year | No Extra if all four are unsuccessful |
A route worth understanding before you choose: several UK medical schools run four-year graduate-entry programmes for people with a first degree. NHS Health Careers explains how graduate-entry and standard courses differ. They are highly competitive, so a first degree chosen only as a stepping stone is a risky plan; pick one you would be glad to complete in its own right.
Get a free personal statement preview in September
Most applicants leave their statement until January and rush it. Leave your email and we’ll send you one reminder when the writing season opens, with a free preview of your statement — score, strengths, and what to fix.
One email in September. Unsubscribe any time — we never share your address.
Choosing between them
Ask three questions in this order:
- Would I actually go? If you would turn down the offer and reapply anyway, the choice is only there to keep Extra open. That can still be a reason, but be honest about it.
- Would my statement persuade this course? Read the course page. A biomedical sciences course that is mostly lab-based molecular biology will read your statement differently from one built around human disease.
- Is the university realistic with my predicted grades? A fifth choice at a university that is harder to get into than your medical schools protects nothing.
Then check with the university. UCAS's guidance on writing one statement for different courses says that some courses at some universities will be happy to be your fifth choice, despite the statement not being directly relevant to them, and recommends contacting universities to confirm. An email to the admissions office asking how they treat medicine applicants takes five minutes.
Writing one statement for both
Four of your five choices are medicine, so the statement should be a medicine statement. Do not dilute it. What you can do is make sure it reads as the work of a scientist as well as a future clinician, which is what good medical schools want anyway.
Question one: why this subject. Anchor your motivation in the science of medicine as well as the care. A sentence about how a treatment works, or why a disease behaves the way it does, reads well to a medical school and to a biomedical sciences tutor. A statement built entirely on wanting to help people reads well to neither.
Question two: your studies. This is where the two courses overlap most. Be specific about the biology and chemistry you have studied and taken further: an EPQ, a paper you worked through, a topic you pursued beyond the specification. This answer is doing the heaviest lifting for your fifth choice.
Question three: outside education. Clinical work experience and volunteering belong here, and the rule is reflection over description. What you learned about how medicine is practised is relevant to a biomedical course too, as long as it is about understanding patients and disease rather than about you.
Oxford's general advice for related courses at different universities is to avoid using course titles in your statement and write about the underlying subject instead. For medicine that is hard to follow completely, and you should not hide that you want to be a doctor. But a statement that says "medicine" in every sentence is harder for anyone else to read as theirs.
Our medicine personal statement guide and biomedical science guide go into each in detail. If you want to check how your draft reads before the deadline, Statementory scores it out of 100 and annotates it line by line in about ten minutes.
Dentistry and veterinary applicants
The same four-choice rule applies, and the same logic. For dentistry, related options include biomedical sciences and dental-adjacent science courses; for veterinary medicine, animal science, zoology or bioveterinary sciences. As with medicine, check how the university treats a statement written for the professional course. See our dentistry and veterinary guides.
Related guides
- The 15 October deadline: what is actually due
- Two weeks to 15 October: a day-by-day plan
- Missed the 15 October deadline?
- UCAS Extra explained
- UCAT guide
- IB vs A-levels for medicine
Sources
- UCAS, FAQ: four choices in medicine, dentistry or vet and Extra
- UCAS, How to write a personal statement that works for multiple courses
- UCAS, Dates and deadlines for uni applications
- University of Oxford, UCAS application and personal statement guidance
- NHS Health Careers, Medical school courses
Frequently asked questions
Can I apply to five medical schools?
No. UCAS caps medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine or science at four choices. The fifth choice must be a different course or left empty.
Should I leave my fifth UCAS choice empty?
Only if you would genuinely not take up a place on any other course and would reapply instead. Leaving it empty costs nothing now, but UCAS says that if you have only used four choices and are unsuccessful at all of them, you cannot normally use Extra.
Will a medicine personal statement count against me for biomedical science?
It can be weaker than a statement written for the course, but UCAS says some courses at some universities are happy to be your fifth choice despite the statement not being directly relevant. Contact the admissions office of the university you are considering and ask how they treat medicine applicants.
Can I add my fifth choice later?
Yes. You can add a choice after submitting as long as you have fewer than five. To get equal consideration for a course with the main deadline, add it before 18:00 on 13 January 2027.
What is the best fifth choice for medicine?
The one you would be happy to study for three or four years if medicine does not happen this year. For most applicants that is a biomedical or life sciences degree, because the statement fits it best and it keeps graduate-entry medicine open.
Get your personal statement reviewed by AI — score, annotations, rewrites, and a 10-step plan in under 10 minutes.