Pre-allocation process, if allocated to Scotland

All applicants approved under any of the five UKFPO pre-allocation criteria will have their application to Scotland considered in the same way.

Due to our wide geographical area, individuals will be pre-allocated based on their home address to one of four regions: East, North, South-East and West.

Where possible, applicants may request either:

• the region linked to their medical school
• another region, where this is consistent with the reason in their approved pre-allocation form

Applicants requesting a region must provide a valid, current address in that region. This address should match the circumstances described in their approved pre-allocation application.

Final allocation will be subject to verification of the information provided, including confirmation that the requested region is consistent with the applicant's approved pre-allocation criterion and supporting address evidence.

1. Foundation School Team receive approved pre-allocation names and forms from UKFPO (approx. January of each year).
2. Pre-allocation applicants are asked by the Scottish Foundation School Team to preference their ‘top 5 groups’ e.g. E01, N07, S13, W15 etc via MS Form.
3. Pre-allocation forms and applicant preferences are shared with the regional Associate Postgraduate Deans (APGDs).
4. Regional APGDs allocates applicant to a group based on individual applicant preferences provided and the information based on the pre-allocation application form.
5. Pre-allocation applicants must preference groups in Oriel in the same order as provided to the Foundation School.
6. Pre-allocated to a group in Oriel.
7. Group match run and released as per national timeline.
8. Pre-allocation applicants must the preference all programmes in their allocated group, note this is the same process for standard FP applicants.
9. Allocation to programme is based on preference and PIA rank.
10. Programme match run and released as per national timeline.

The Scottish Foundation School aims to accommodate applicants who have been pre-allocated to Scotland within the region most appropriate to their circumstances, based on the information provided in their application. 

Pre-allocation DOES NOT guarantee first choice preference of Group (e.g. E08, N05, S02, W13).

Yes, the Oriel system requires you to rank your Group preferences, so you must do this even if you are being allocated through pre-allocation.

You should rank the Group preferences in the order you provided to the Scottish Foundation School.

Group allocation will be released at the same time as other applicants via Oriel, following the national timeline.

The pre-allocation process only applies to Group allocation stage only. Once you have been allocated to a Group, your programme will be allocated based upon your preference and PIA rank.

As part of pre-allocation, the Scottish Foundation School cannot guarantee a specific Group, but we will endeavour to meet your request to be placed in a particular region (East, North, South-East or West). 

If your pre-allocation is approved and you are pre-allocated to the Scottish Foundation School using the national process and guidelines, the Scottish Foundation School team will contact you via the email address provided on your Oriel application. Please do not contact the Foundation School team in advance of this.

The Scottish Foundation School will ask you to rank your top five preferred Groups, your preferences must reflect the information you have provided in your pre-allocation application.

The Associate Postgraduate Dean(s) for your preferred region will allocate you to a Group based upon the information in your application, your home location, your Group preferences, and the overall Group allocations for applicants approved for pre-allocation.

Applicants approved for pre-allocation are not guaranteed their first choice of Group.  Applicants should not contact the local regional teams regarding pre-allocation, this process in managed centrally by the Scottish Foundation School.