How do interviews differ between Bristol and Dundee?

Bristol uses Panel interview: Structured panel-style interview (Zoom, remote). Dundee uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). The two formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each, with at least 3 full mock interviews per format before sitting either. Interview windows: December – February (Bristol); December – February (Dundee).

Which has a higher post-interview offer rate, Bristol or Dundee?

Bristol: UK applicants: 89/169 = 53% (2025).. Dundee: Scottish: 71/149 = 48%. RUK: 17/127 = 13%. Overseas: 28/58 = 48%.. Post-interview odds tell you how competitive each school is at the final stage. Two schools with similar UCAT thresholds can have very different post-interview rates — a school with a 60% post-interview success rate is structurally easier to convert than one at 25%.

Where are Bristol and Dundee located, and how does that affect cost?

Bristol is in Bristol, UK. Dundee is in Dundee, UK. Scottish-domiciled applicants funded by SAAS pay no tuition fees at Scottish medical schools — a substantial funding advantage worth tens of thousands of pounds over the degree. Rest-of-UK applicants still pay £9,250/year.

When does each school release decisions?

Bristol typically releases dentistry decisions March onwards. Dundee releases dentistry decisions March onwards. If one is earlier than the other, you may need to hold a decision while waiting for the second school — be ready to compare in real time.

Dental school comparison

Bristol vs Dundee

Bristol and Dundee are both UK dental schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Bristol is based in Bristol (England) while Dundee sits in Dundee (Scotland), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination.

On UCAT alone there is roughly a 1320-point gap between them — a substantial difference that should shape which you list as firm choice vs. insurance. The interview formats diverge — Panel vs MMI — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Bristol and Dundee.
Comparison field	BristolBristol	DundeeDundee
Quick comparison
Location	Bristol, UK	Dundee, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics / Further Mathematics	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology — all three subjects in the same sitting. Ideally 1–2 A* predicted.
TrueScore	Bristol TrueScore 2280	Dundee TrueScore 1500
UCAT home cut-off	~2280+/2700	Dundee does not publish a UCAT threshold for dentistry on the current scale. Its historical admissions figures were measured on the retired /3600 four-subtest test and, as Dundee itself warns, are not directly comparable with scores from 2025 onwards.
Interview format	Structured panel-style interview (Zoom, remote)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	UK applicants: 89/169 = 53% (2025).	Scottish: 71/149 = 48%. RUK: 17/127 = 13%. Overseas: 28/58 = 48%.
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics / Further Mathematics	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology — all three subjects in the same sitting. Ideally 1–2 A* predicted.
Contextual A-Level offer	ABB at A-level including A in Chemistry and B in one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics / Further Mathematics (for Next Step Bristol contextual applicants)	-
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry required, plus one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics / Further Mathematics	Chemistry and Biology both required
A-Level resit policy	Resits considered	Resits not accepted (one-sitting expectation)
GCSE requirements	Mathematics at grade 7/A or higher. English Language or English Literature at grade 4/C or higher.	Mathematics and English at grade 6/B or above (National 5 or GCSE) — used in shortlisting, higher grades essential
GCSE scoring methodology	Used as minimum threshold only — Bristol BDS is wholly UCAT-based for shortlisting once academic minimums met	GCSEs feed the academic score (60% of pre-interview ranking for school leavers). Higher grades essential due to weighting.
Scottish Highers	AAAAB at Higher including Chemistry and one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics	AAAAB at Higher in S5 including Chemistry and Biology
Scottish Advanced Highers	AA at Advanced Higher in Chemistry and one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics	AB at Advanced Higher in S6 (in addition to S5 Highers above), recommended for competitive ranking
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall, 666 at Higher Level including Chemistry (Biology recommended)	37 points overall, 666 at Higher Level including Chemistry and Biology
Graduate-entry degree requirement	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above in a related/core science subject. UCAT still required.	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above. Graduate weighting reversed: 40% academic + 60% UCAT.
Alternative qualifications	-	-

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	~2260+/2700	-
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	No use of SJT in selection	No use of SJT in selection
UCAT notes	Personal statement and reference only used to distinguish borderline academic profiles. No SJT use.	The SJT is not used. Scottish, RUK and international applicants are considered against separately funded intakes, so the effective bar differs between them.

Degree awarded	BDS	BDS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Spiral	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	Year 2	Year 1
Placement geography	Bristol and further afield	Dundee
Named placement sites	Bristol Dental School	-
Intercalation	Available for one year, to pursue specific interests and research.	-
Course highlight	The Bristol Dental School building opened in 2023, a £36 million facility in Bristol city centre.	Students work with Thiel cadavers, which preserve life-like flexibility and tissue quality.

Interview window	December – February	December – February
Interview details	30–45 minute structured interview with four assessors over Zoom. Bristol often sets unusual pre-interview tasks - e.g. building a 3-dimensional pasta model of an animal that represents your personalit…	Multiple Mini Interview format. Personal statement is not assessed pre-interview but is used as a basis for discussion at certain stations. Tone is friendly and conversational rather than adversarial.

Specialities	Dentistry (BDS)	Dentistry (BDS)
Established	1828	1916
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Entirely UCAT-based shortlisting (work experience encouraged, not required). No SJT use. No significant personal-statement scoring - medical applicants often get offers with a medical statement.	Non-graduate weighting: 60% academic / 40% UCAT. Graduate weighting: 40% academic / 60% UCAT. Both A-level predictions and GCSEs feed the academic score, so consistent strong grades matter.
Official course page	https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/2026/dentistry/	https://www.dundee.ac.uk/undergraduate/dentistry

Bristol

Quick comparison

Location: Bristol, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Chemistry and one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics / Further Mathematics
TrueScore: Bristol TrueScore 2280
UCAT home cut-off: ~2280+/2700
Interview format: Structured panel-style interview (Zoom, remote)
Post-interview chance: UK applicants: 89/169 = 53% (2025).
Decision date: March onwards

Dundee

Quick comparison

Location: Dundee, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology — all three subjects in the same sitting. Ideally 1–2 A* predicted.
TrueScore: Dundee TrueScore 1500
UCAT home cut-off: Dundee does not publish a UCAT threshold for dentistry on the current scale. Its historical admissions figures were measured on the retired /3600 four-subtest test and, as Dundee itself warns, are not directly comparable with scores from 2025 onwards.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Scottish: 71/149 = 48%. RUK: 17/127 = 13%. Overseas: 28/58 = 48%.
Decision date: March onwards

Bristol vs Dundee - in detail

UCAT thresholds compared

Bristol's published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 2280, while Dundee sits at approximately 3600.

That's a 1320-point gap — large enough to put the two schools in completely different competitiveness tiers. An applicant scoring in the 2700-3200 band would be competitive at Bristol but borderline at Dundee.

A-Level and academic profile

Bristol requires AAA at A-level including Chemistry and one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics / Further Mathematics.

Dundee requires AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology — all three subjects in the same sitting. Ideally 1–2 A* predicted.

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.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Bristol: Mathematics at grade 7/A or higher. English Language or English Literature at grade 4/C or higher. Used as minimum threshold only — Bristol BDS is wholly UCAT-based for shortlisting once academic… Dundee: Mathematics and English at grade 6/B or above (National 5 or GCSE) — used in shortlisting, higher grades essential.

GCSEs feed the academic score (60% of pre-interview ranking for school leavers)…

Interview formats

Bristol uses Panel (Structured panel-style interview (Zoom, remote)); Dundee uses MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)). These two formats reward different skills — Panel emphasises narrative coherence and the ability to develop a thread under follow-up questioning, while MMI rewards breadth and quick recovery.

If your strengths lie in conversational depth, Bristol may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Dundee is the better fit.

Interview windows: Bristol interviews in December – February; Dundee in December – February.

Curriculum and teaching style

Both schools deliver a Spiral-style curriculum, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar across years 1-3.

Specifics: Five-year BDS spiral curriculum. Clinical placements at Bristol Dental Hospital and South-West community sites. Five-year BDS with spiral curriculum. Clinical placements at Dundee Dental Hospital and Tayside community sites.

Intake size: Bristol — ~70 home + ~20 international places per year for BDS Dentistry.; Dundee — ~75 places per year (predominantly Scottish + RUK + small international).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

Bristol: UK applicants: 89/169 = 53% (2025). Dundee: Scottish: 71/149 = 48%. RUK: 17/127 = 13%. Overseas: 28/58 = 48%.

Post-interview odds give you the clearest signal of how competitive each school is at the final stage — a school with a 60% post-interview success rate is structurally easier to convert than one at 25%, even if the interview thresholds look identical on paper.

What makes each distinctive

Bristol: Entirely UCAT-based shortlisting (work experience encouraged, not required). No SJT use. No significant personal-statement scoring - medical applicants often get offers with a medical statement.

Dundee: Non-graduate weighting: 60% academic / 40% UCAT. Graduate weighting: 40% academic / 60% UCAT. Both A-level predictions and GCSEs feed the academic score, so consistent strong grades matter.

Which is right for you?

If your UCAT lands below the UK median (~1880/2700), Bristol is the more realistic firm-choice option. Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Bristol feeds into the England foundation programme network; Dundee into the Scotland 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.

Common questions

Bristol's typical home cut-off is around 2280, while Dundee sits at approximately 3600 — a 1320-point spread. That's a meaningful gap; Bristol is materially more accessible for an average-to-good UCAT, while Dundee expects performance closer to the top -33% of test-takers. Cut-offs change year on year and vary by tier — check each school's latest published threshold before submitting your UCAS form.

Bristol requires AAA including chemistry and one of biology/physics/maths/further maths. ABB contextual offer including A in chemistry and B in one of biology/physics/maths/further maths. Resit considered.. Dundee requires AAA including chemistry and biology, all in the same sitting. Ideally 1–2 A* predicted. Resits not accepted.. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Bristol — Resits accepted with explanation.. Dundee — Resits not accepted (one-sitting expectation)..

Bristol — Mathematics at grade 7/A or higher. English Language or English Literature at grade 4/C or higher. Used as minimum threshold only — Bristol BDS is wholly UCAT-based for shortlisting once academic minimums met Dundee — Mathematics and English at grade 6/B or above (National 5 or GCSE) — used in shortlisting, higher grades essential. GCSEs feed the academic score (60% of pre-interview ranking for school leavers). Higher grades essential due to weighting.

Bristol's selection methodology: Wholly UCAT-based shortlisting after academic minimums met. Multiple Mini Interview. Personal statement only used if borderline. Dundee's selection methodology: Combined academic + UCAT + MMI. Strong Scottish focus. SJT not used. Understanding each school's exact algorithm is the single highest-leverage piece of pre-application research — it tells you whether your profile is competitive before you spend an application choice.

Bristol runs a Spiral curriculum. Dundee runs a Spiral curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. Bristol specifics: Five-year BDS spiral curriculum. Clinical placements at Bristol Dental Hospital and South-West community sites. Dundee specifics: Five-year BDS with spiral curriculum. Clinical placements at Dundee Dental Hospital and Tayside community sites.

You can — UCAS allows 4 medicine/dentistry choices in total, so listing both is feasible if your profile fits each school's selection algorithm. Apply to both only if your UCAT, GCSE and predicted-grade profile is competitive against each school's published weighting. A common mistake is using two of your four slots on similar schools when a more spread-out portfolio (one safe + one stretch) would maximise overall offer probability.

Where to go next

BristolEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

DundeeEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Other dental school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 19 September 2026.