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Dental school comparison

Aston Dental School vs Queen Mary (QMUL)

Aston Dental School and Queen Mary (QMUL) 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 Queen Mary (QMUL) 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. Queen Mary (QMUL) is the older institution (founded 1843); 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

Queen Mary (QMUL)

London

Quick comparison

Location
London, UK
A-Level offer
A*AA at A-level (offer and prediction) — single sitting, no more than 2 years. UCAS Tariff minimum 152 (A*AA delivers this).
TrueScore
2070
UCAT home cut-off
~2070+/2700
Interview format
Two-interviewer panel, online (January–February)
Post-interview chance
2025 - All applicants: 182/267 = 68%. Overseas: 13/22 = 59%.
Decision date
Spring
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Aston Dental School vs Queen Mary (QMUL) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Aston Dental School requires A*AA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology. Queen Mary (QMUL) requires A*AA in single sitting, no more than 2 years. Must include biology or chemistry + second science from chemistry/biology/physics/maths. Resit only with extenuating circumstances under Equality and Diversity Act 2010.. 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)); Queen Mary (QMUL) uses Panel (Two-interviewer panel, online (January–February)). 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, Queen Mary (QMUL) 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; Queen Mary (QMUL) 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. Queen Mary (QMUL): QMUL-specific 4th decile minimum (2361 for 2024 + 2025). Anyone exceeding the UCAT cut-off gets an interview - higher predictions don't change anything. SJT band 4 automatically rejected.

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; Queen Mary (QMUL) 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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