The admissions process must be scrupulously fair and select the most suitable students. Data on applicants to the Manchester Dental School for the 1996/97 academic year were analysed. The aims of this project were to: describe the applicants using information from the UCAS (university entrance) form; to relate information from the UCAS form to interview performance and A-level results; and to evaluate whether these factors can predict performance during the first year of the course.