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Dental school comparison

Aston Dental School vs King's College London (KCL)

Aston Dental School and King's College London (KCL) are both UK dental schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Aston Dental School is based in Birmingham (England) while King's College London (KCL) sits in London (London), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination. The interview formats diverge — MMI vs Panel — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different. King's College London (KCL) is the older institution (founded 1829); the other (founded 2022) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Aston Dental School

Birmingham

Quick comparison

Location
Birmingham, UK
A-Level offer
A*AA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (A* in Chemistry or Biology)
TrueScore
-
UCAT home cut-off
UCAT cognitive subtests used for shortlisting; no fixed cut-off published
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance
-
Decision date
February - April

King's College London (KCL)

London

Quick comparison

Location
London, UK
A-Level offer
A*AA at A-level — A* in Biology or Chemistry, plus A in another of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics / Psychology
TrueScore
2050
UCAT home cut-off
~2050+/2700 (consider 2050+ minimum threshold with 8+ grade 8/9s and band 1 SJT). 2024 average at interview ≈ 2170+/2700.
Interview format
Two-interviewer panel, remote (no longer 6-station MMI)
Post-interview chance
Non-contextual home students without degree: 98/171 = 57% (2025). Overall 2025: 175/350 = 50%.
Decision date
March onwards
Compare different schools

Aston Dental School vs King's College London (KCL) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Aston Dental School requires A*AA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology. King's College London (KCL) requires A*AA - A* in biology or chemistry, plus A in another of biology/chemistry/physics/maths/psychology. Resit considered for first-time L3 resitters. Second resits only with mitigating circumstances.. Both demand the same A-Level grade band, so academic prediction is unlikely to differentiate your application between them — provided you meet the required subject combination at each.

Interview formats

Aston Dental School uses MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)); King's College London (KCL) uses Panel (Two-interviewer panel, remote (no longer 6-station MMI)). These two formats reward different skills — MMI emphasises breadth, station-recovery and structured answers under time pressure, while Panel rewards depth and consistency. If your strengths lie in conversational depth, King's College London (KCL) may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Aston Dental School is the better fit. Interview windows: Aston Dental School interviews in December - February; King's College London (KCL) in January – February.

What makes each distinctive

Aston Dental School: One of the newest UK dental schools, with a small cohort and a distinctive dexterity-reflection station rare among UK BDS interviews. UCAT cognitive subtests primary shortlisting tool. King's College London (KCL): Combined scoring: ~45% UCAT + 5% SJT + 40% GCSE + 10% contextual factors (FOI-derived; subject to change). 8+ grade 8/9s at GCSE typically required. SJT band 4 appears to be automatically rejected. Also runs a 4-year and 3-year graduate-entry programme (see Graduate Entry section).

Which is right for you?

Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Aston Dental School feeds into the England foundation programme network; King's College London (KCL) into the London network. Your firm/insurance choice should ultimately weight: where your UCAT and predicted grades sit relative to each school's threshold, which interview format you can prepare for most credibly, and where you'd actually want to live for five years.

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