Cardiff vs Dundee

Cardiff's published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 2080, while Dundee sits at approximately 1830.

The 250-point spread matters: Dundee offers slightly more headroom for an average-strong UCAT, while Cardiff expects performance closer to the national 75th-90th percentile.

Cardiff requires AAA including biology or chemistry. No prediction requirement. A-level resits not considered except for firm offer-holders who miss offers.

Dundee requires AAA including chemistry and biology, all in the same sitting. Ideally 1–2 A* predicted. Resits not accepted.

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 — Cardiff: AAA including Chemistry and Biology. Strong GCSE profile. Dundee: AAA at A-Level. National 5 / GCSE Biology, English, Maths at grade 6+ if not at A-Level.

Both Cardiff and Dundee use MMI interviews, so the underlying prep approach is the same — practise ethics frameworks, NHS hot-topic answers and (for MMI) structured station responses against a timer.

That said, the specifics differ slightly: Cardiff runs multiple mini interviews (mmi), in person (overseas online); Dundee runs multiple mini interviews (mmi). Mock practice tailored to each school's exact format is the highest-leverage prep.

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

Cardiff runs a Case-based curriculum; Dundee runs a Spiral curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Cardiff leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Dundee uses a more traditional lecture-led structure.

Specifics: Five-year BDS with case-based learning. Clinical placements at Cardiff University Dental Hospital and South Wales community sites. Five-year BDS with spiral curriculum. Clinical placements at Dundee Dental Hospital and Tayside community sites.

Intake size: Cardiff — ~70 home + ~10 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.

Cardiff: Total: 128/319 = 40% (2025). Home: 117/298 = 39%. International: 11/21 = 52%. 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.

Cardiff: Application score calculated /28 from 7 GCSEs (8/9/A* = 4 pts, etc.) - must include biology and chemistry. Welsh-domiciled and contextually eligible applicants get extra consideration.

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.