Dundee vs Plymouth

Dundee's published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 1830, while Plymouth sits at approximately 1990.

The 160-point spread matters: Dundee offers slightly more headroom for an average-strong UCAT, while Plymouth expects performance closer to the national 75th-90th percentile.

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

Plymouth requires A*AA – AAA offer (AAB widening access - A in biology + second science). Including biology and a second science from chemistry/physics/maths/psychology. Resit (with predicted grades): minimum ABB on first sitting (or ABC WP).

Plymouth is the stricter A-Level offer; Dundee is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Dundee carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

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

Both Dundee and Plymouth 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: Dundee runs multiple mini interviews (mmi); Plymouth runs five-station mmi (online), ~55 minutes. Mock practice tailored to each school's exact format is the highest-leverage prep.

Interview windows: Dundee interviews in December – February; Plymouth in February – April.

Dundee runs a Spiral curriculum; Plymouth runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Dundee delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while Plymouth centres learning around clinical cases.

Specifics: Five-year BDS with spiral curriculum. Clinical placements at Dundee Dental Hospital and Tayside community sites. Five-year BDS with PBL. Plymouth Peninsula Dental School - clinical placements across South-West community sites.

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

Dundee: Scottish: 71/149 = 48%. RUK: 17/127 = 13%. Overseas: 28/58 = 48%. Plymouth: Home: 132/499 = 26% (2025). Overseas: 8/28 = 29%. Home Foundation Year: 17/104 = 16%.

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.

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.

Plymouth: Interview-score-based offer making. Personal statements and work experience are NOT considered for interview selection - UCAT and academic minimums alone determine who reaches interview.