For over a decade, medical schools have worked together to improve recruitment practices, with a shared focus on widening participation and reducing barriers for students from disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds.
To make meaningful progress in widening participation, it’s essential to understand what the barriers are and how to remove them. Over the years, medical schools have commissioned research and reflected on practice to drive change in a coordinated and evidence-led way.
Two key reports have shaped this work:
This influential report identified the structural barriers that can make it harder for applicants from lower socioeconomic backgrounds to enter medical school. It provided a series of recommendations for medical schools and stakeholders to help create a more inclusive admissions process.
Published ten years later, this follow-up report reflects on the progress made. It highlights the positive outcomes of collective efforts by medical schools and government, including the expansion of outreach, improvements in applicant support, and better use of data to inform practice.
Fostering Potential – 10 years on from Selecting for Excellence
Together, these reports provide a foundation for ongoing work to ensure that medicine is accessible to all who are capable of thriving in it.
While medical schools set their own admission policies, through the MSC they collaborate to improve their processes and share best practice.
Medical schools use a variety of tools, like admissions tests and interviews, to assess candidates. Ongoing research is exploring how different weightings, such as the emphasis placed on various parts of an application, affect applicants from widening participation backgrounds. This research helps make the selection process fairer and more inclusive for all prospective students.
Although entry requirements for medical schools are typically high, they can differ slightly between institutions, and crucial information about widening participation is often difficult to find. This data is spread across numerous websites, which can make it challenging for applicants to access it easily. To tackle this issue, we compile and consolidate information directly from medical schools. This up-to-date information is available to applicants via our Entry Requirements Tool. Additionally, our dedicated applicant website, Studying Healthcare provides applicants with all the guidance they need in one place.
Medical schools actively participate in a range of outreach programmes aimed at widening access to medicine. In partnership with NHS England, we run several summer schools for Year 11 and 12 students from disadvantaged backgrounds. These initiatives help level the playing field and provide valuable exposure to the medical profession.
The MSC Selection Alliance oversees the development and implementation of our selection work. The membership of this group consists of selection leads from across medical schools.
