Cardiff vs Queen's University Belfast

Cardiff's published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 2080, while Queen's University Belfast sits at approximately 2025.

Their UCAT bars are statistically indistinguishable (within 55 points), so the UCAT is unlikely to be your differentiator between them.

Contextual / widening-participation cut-offs differ — Cardiff: not separately disclosed; Queen's University Belfast: Different combinations valid - very low deciles accepted with 9× grade 9s at GCSE. Eligible applicants should weight this heavily when choosing.

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

Queen's University Belfast requires AAA including chemistry and biology/human biology. Resit: only those who applied to QUB Dentistry on first attempt and held an offer (if made) as conditional firm - then awarded 36/36 on academics.

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.

Both Cardiff and Queen's University Belfast 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); Queen's University Belfast runs mmi / panel format. Mock practice tailored to each school's exact format is the highest-leverage prep.

Interview windows: Cardiff interviews in February; Queen's University Belfast in December – February.

Cardiff: Total: 128/319 = 40% (2025). Home: 117/298 = 39%. International: 11/21 = 52%. Queen's University Belfast: All applicants (2024): 87/204 = 43%.

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.

Queen's University Belfast: Scoring system changed: total now /45 (UCAT /9 not /6). UK students scored on UCAT decile + best 9 GCSEs (9 = 4 pts, 7/8 = 3 pts, 6 = 2 pts, 4/5 = 1 pt). Achieved A-levels meeting requirements = 36/36. International students: no UCAT needed; assessed holistically. 15 overseas places.