Medicine Clearing: No Offer? Study Medicine Abroad
Medicine places in Clearing are rare. This is how UK students with no offer start medicine in Europe in English in the same year, with A-levels and without UCAT.
Results day, the UCAS hub open in one tab, and no medicine offer. Thousands of students are in exactly this place every August. For 2026 entry, 25,770 people applied to medicine and England funded 8,126 places. Medicine Clearing exists, but the number of places is small and they go within hours. This guide sets out your options and explains the one that does not depend on UCAS: a six-year programme in English at a European medical university.
European medical schools are outside UCAS. You can hold your UK choices, go through Clearing and secure a place in Europe at the same time. Nothing you do abroad touches your UCAS application.
Medicine Clearing: your options without an offer
| Option | What it involves | When you start medicine |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine Clearing | A small number of places at a few medical schools, decided within days of results day | Same year, if a place comes up |
| Gap year and reapply | New UCAT sitting, new UCAS application by 15 October, interviews in winter | One year later |
| First degree, then graduate entry | Three-year degree such as biomedical science, then a four-year graduate course | Three years later |
| Study medicine abroad | Six-year programme in English at a European medical university, entry with A-levels | Same year |
How medicine Clearing works
Clearing opens in July and peaks on A-level results day in mid-August. Medical schools that still have places list them on UCAS and usually ask you to call. Decisions are made fast, often on the same day, and near-miss applicants who already interviewed at that school come first. If you want to try, have your grades, your UCAT score and your personal statement ready on the morning of results day. Then make the calls.
Plan the alternative before that morning. A place in Europe that is already confirmed takes the pressure out of the day. If Clearing works, you decline the European place. If it does not, you pack.
Study medicine abroad instead of waiting a year
A gap year costs you twelve months and gives you the same odds again. A European medical school gives you a seat. Our partner universities admit on A-levels in Biology and Chemistry; some add an entrance test in the two subjects. None asks for the UCAT. Tuition runs from 3,500 € a year in Foča to 15,000 € a year in Brno, and Bulgaria sits at 9,000 € to 10,000 €.
- Applications open in November for the following autumn, well before UK offers are out
- Application direct to the university, independent of UCAS
- Teaching in English for all six years
- An EEA degree is accepted by the GMC without PLAB
Our founder Marcel Kloos knows the late start from his own life. He began his studies in Sofia at 24, graduated in 2021 and is a federally recognised dentist in Switzerland today. A year lost at 18 feels enormous. Six years later nobody asks.
Timeline: UCAS and a place in Europe side by side
- 15 October 2026: UCAS deadline for medicine, 2027 entry
- From November 2026: applications to European medical schools open
- Winter and spring 2027: UK interviews and decisions; your European place is held in parallel
- August 2027: A-level results and Clearing; final documents go to the European university
- Autumn 2027: first lecture
Coming back to the UK
Starting abroad does not mean staying abroad. With a medical degree from an EEA country you register with the GMC without PLAB. How the first NHS post and specialty training work under the 2026 prioritisation law is explained in GMC registration after studying medicine abroad.
Send us your predicted or achieved grades and we tell you within one call where you can start. Book your free consultation.
More guides for UK students
FAQ: medicine Clearing and studying abroad
Is medicine available in Clearing?
In some years a few medical schools list places in Clearing. The numbers are small and the places are filled within hours or days of results day.
Can I apply to a European medical school and UCAS at the same time?
Yes. European universities are not part of UCAS, so you can hold UK choices and a place in Europe in parallel.
Can I apply to study medicine abroad after results day?
Yes. Send us your results and we tell you at which of our partner universities you can apply with them.
Do I need AAA to study medicine in Europe?
Entry rules are set by each university and are not tied to the UK standard offer. Biology and Chemistry at A-level are what counts.
Do I need the UCAT for medical schools in Europe?
No. None of our partner universities uses the UCAT.
Last reviewed: October 2026
Ahmad
Sabrina
Rami
Noah
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