Cardiff vs UCLan (Graduate Dentistry)

Cardiff's published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 2080, while UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) sits at approximately 2025.

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

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

UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) requires 2:1 in biomedical discipline. GCSE English and maths grade B. CCC at A-level including 2 from biology/physics/chemistry/maths.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Cardiff: AAA including Chemistry and Biology. Strong GCSE profile. UCLan (Graduate Dentistry): Not applicable - graduate-entry programme. Requires a 2:1 honours degree.

Both Cardiff and UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) 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); UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) runs mmi for both uk and international applicants. Mock practice tailored to each school's exact format is the highest-leverage prep.

Interview windows: Cardiff interviews in February; UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) in Spring.

Cardiff runs a Case-based curriculum; UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Cardiff leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) centres learning around clinical cases.

Specifics: Five-year BDS with case-based learning. Clinical placements at Cardiff University Dental Hospital and South Wales community sites. Four-year accelerated graduate-entry BDS. Preston-based with clinical placements across Lancashire NHS sites.

Intake size: Cardiff — ~70 home + ~10 international places per year for BDS Dentistry.; UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) — ~30-50 places per year (small graduate-entry cohort).. 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%. UCLan (Graduate Dentistry): 38/120 = 32% (2025).

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.

UCLan (Graduate Dentistry): Both UK and international applicants accepted - only one offer made each year to an international applicant. 2025: 353 applicants, 120 interviews, 38 offers (32%). Personal statements no longer used.