Where are King's College London (KCL) and Plymouth located, and how does that affect cost?

King's College London (KCL) is in London, UK. Plymouth is in Plymouth, UK. Tuition is £9,250/year at both for UK home applicants; the main cost difference is accommodation (London accommodation typically runs 30-50% above the national average).

When does each school release decisions?

King's College London (KCL) typically releases dentistry decisions March onwards. Plymouth releases dentistry decisions Spring. 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

King's College London (KCL) vs Plymouth

King's College London (KCL) and Plymouth are both UK dental schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. King's College London (KCL) is based in London (London) while Plymouth sits in Plymouth (England), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination.

On UCAT alone there is roughly a 1577-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.

King's College London (KCL) is the older institution (founded 1829); the other (founded 2007) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: King's College London (KCL) and Plymouth.
Comparison field	King's College London (KCL)London	PlymouthPlymouth
Quick comparison
Location	London, UK	Plymouth, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level — A in Biology or Chemistry, plus A in another of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics / Psychology	A*AA – AAB at A-level (offer depends on cohort strength) including grade A in Biology and grade A in a second science from Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics / Psychology
TrueScore	King's College London (KCL) TrueScore 2050	Plymouth TrueScore 1990
UCAT home cut-off	No threshold published. King's does not release its dentistry UCAT cut-off, and its published admissions statistics run on the retired /3600 scale, so they cannot be restated on the current /2700 one.	Not published on the current scale. The average thresholds Plymouth published for the 2023-2025 cycles were measured on the retired /3600 four-subtest test and cannot be converted to /2700 - removing a subtest does not scale a score.
Interview format	Two-interviewer panel, remote (no longer 6-station MMI)	Five-station MMI (online), ~55 minutes
Post-interview chance	Non-contextual home students without degree: 98/171 = 57% (2025). Overall 2025: 175/350 = 50%.	Home: 132/499 = 26% (2025). Overseas: 8/28 = 29%. Home Foundation Year: 17/104 = 16%.
Decision date	March onwards	Spring

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level — A in Biology or Chemistry, plus A in another of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics / Psychology	A*AA – AAB at A-level (offer depends on cohort strength) including grade A in Biology and grade A in a second science from Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics / Psychology
Contextual A-Level offer	-	AAB at A-level for widening-access applicants — A in Biology and A in a second science from Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics / Psychology
Required A-Level subjects	Biology or Chemistry at grade A*, plus another of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics / Psychology at grade A	Biology required at grade A, plus a second science from Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics / Psychology at grade A
A-Level resit policy	Resits accepted for applicants resitting their Level 3 qualifications for the first time. Second resits only with mitigating circumstances.	Resits accepted: with predicted grades, minimum ABB on first sitting (ABC for widening access). If applying with achieved A-level resit grades, first-sitting requirements waived.
GCSE requirements	Minimum grade 6/B (National 5 grade B or Intermediate 2 / Standard Credit Grade 1 or 2) in Mathematics and English Language. 8+ grade 8/9s typically required to be competitive.	Seven GCSEs at grade 4/C or above, must include English Language, Mathematics, and either 4-4 Dual Science or two from Biology / Chemistry / Physics
GCSE scoring methodology	GCSE = ~40% of pre-interview score: 8+ grade 8/9s = 40/40, 7s = 30, 6s = 20, 5s = 10. A grades may be counted as A* for applicants from lower-performing schools.	Used as minimum threshold only — Plymouth does not consider personal statements or work experience when selecting for interview
Scottish Highers	Three Scottish Highers in combination with two Advanced Highers (no subject counted at both Higher and Advanced Higher levels)	Scottish Highers NOT accepted — Plymouth Dental School requires Advanced Highers only
Scottish Advanced Highers	A at Advanced Higher Biology or Chemistry, plus A at an additional Advanced Higher in one of Biology / Chemistry / Mathematics / Physics / Psychology	AAA at Advanced Higher including grade A in Biology and grade A in one further science from Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics / Psychology
International Baccalaureate	38 points overall (including TOK/EE), with HL 6 in Chemistry or Biology, plus HL 6 in one of Biology / Chemistry / Mathematics / Physics / Psychology. Either Maths Analysis & Approaches or Applications & Interpretation accepted.	36–38 points overall, with HL 6 in Biology and HL 6 in one further science from Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics / Psychology
Graduate-entry degree requirement	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above. An accelerated 4-year Graduate/Professional Entry Dentistry programme is available. The lowest UCAT invited that King's has published for this route (2,330 for 2024 entry) was measured on the retired /3600 four-subtest test and has no equivalent on the current /2700 scale.	Applicants must have achieved or be predicted to achieve a 1st (70%) or higher in a University of Plymouth School of Biomedical Science programme
Alternative qualifications	-	-

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	A target of around 15 overseas places.	-
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	Band 1 ideal; band 4 appears to be automatically rejected. SJT contributes ~5% of scoring.	No use of SJT in selection
UCAT notes	King's has declined to publish the exact weightings it applies. Any precise UCAT/GCSE/SJT formula quoted for King's dentistry is inferred from Freedom of Information responses rather than published po…	The SJT is not used under the selection policy. The UCAT must be sat in the year of application and is used by the Admissions Advisory Panel alongside academic qualifications to select for interview;…

Degree awarded	BDS	BDS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Integrated	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	-	Year 1
Placement geography	London	Devon and Cornwall
Named placement sites	Guy's Hospital, St Thomas' Hospital, King's College Hospital	Portland Square (Plymouth main campus), Devonport Dental Education Facility, Derriford (Plymouth), Exeter Dental Education Facility, Truro Dental Education Facility
Intercalation	Opportunity to intercalate a BSc.	Selected students may intercalate between year 3 and year 4, taking a one-year MSc in the Plymouth research laboratories.
Course highlight	The largest dental school in the UK, graduating around 150 dentists a year.	Won a Times Higher Education Award in 2023 for contribution to the community.

Interview window	January – February	February – April
Interview details	Two-interviewer panel format conducted remotely. Tests communication skills while exploring general health-related social and ethical issues. Many questions overlap with the SJT-style scenarios. Build…	Online MMI format. 5 stations of ~11 minutes each by 4 different interviewers. Each station has a 'red flag' section - Yes/No reflecting suitability for the programme. One MMI station dedicated to a m…

Specialities	Dentistry (BDS), Graduate Entry Dentistry (4-year), Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (3-year, post-FY2)	Dentistry (BDS)
Established	1829	2007
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Combined scoring: ~45% UCAT + 5% SJT + 40% GCSE + 10% contextual factors (FOI-derived; subject to change). 8+ grade 8/9s at GCSE typically required. SJT band 4 appears to be automatically rejected. Al…	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.
Official course page	https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/dentistry-bds	https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/bds-dental-surgery

King's College London (KCL)

London

Quick comparison

Location: London, UK
A-Level offer: A*AA at A-level — A* in Biology or Chemistry, plus A in another of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics / Psychology
TrueScore: King's College London (KCL) TrueScore 2050
UCAT home cut-off: No threshold published. King's does not release its dentistry UCAT cut-off, and its published admissions statistics run on the retired /3600 scale, so they cannot be restated on the current /2700 one.
Interview format: Two-interviewer panel, remote (no longer 6-station MMI)
Post-interview chance: Non-contextual home students without degree: 98/171 = 57% (2025). Overall 2025: 175/350 = 50%.
Decision date: March onwards

Plymouth

Quick comparison

Location: Plymouth, UK
A-Level offer: A*AA – AAB at A-level (offer depends on cohort strength) including grade A in Biology and grade A in a second science from Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics / Psychology
TrueScore: Plymouth TrueScore 1990
UCAT home cut-off: Not published on the current scale. The average thresholds Plymouth published for the 2023-2025 cycles were measured on the retired /3600 four-subtest test and cannot be converted to /2700 - removing a subtest does not scale a score.
Interview format: Five-station MMI (online), ~55 minutes
Post-interview chance: Home: 132/499 = 26% (2025). Overseas: 8/28 = 29%. Home Foundation Year: 17/104 = 16%.
Decision date: Spring

King's College London (KCL) vs Plymouth - in detail

UCAT thresholds compared

King's College London (KCL)'s published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 3600, while Plymouth sits at approximately 2023.

That's a 1577-point gap — large enough to put the two schools in completely different competitiveness tiers. An applicant scoring in the 2500-3100 band would be competitive at Plymouth but borderline at King's College London (KCL).

A-Level and academic profile

King's College London (KCL) requires A*AA at A-level — A* in Biology or Chemistry, plus A in another of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics / Psychology.

Plymouth requires A*AA – AAB at A-level (offer depends on cohort strength) including grade A in Biology and grade A in a second science from Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics / Psychology.

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 — King's College London (KCL): Minimum grade 6/B (National 5 grade B or Intermediate 2 / Standard Credit Grade 1 or 2) in Mathematics and English Language. 8+ grade 8/9s typically required to be competitive.

GCSE = ~40% of… Plymouth: Seven GCSEs at grade 4/C or above, must include English Language, Mathematics, and either 4-4 Dual Science or two from Biology / Chemistry / Physics. Used as minimum threshold only — Plymouth does…

Interview formats

King's College London (KCL) uses Panel (Two-interviewer panel, remote (no longer 6-station MMI)); Plymouth uses MMI (Five-station MMI (online), ~55 minutes). 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, King's College London (KCL) may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Plymouth is the better fit.

Interview windows: King's College London (KCL) interviews in January – February; Plymouth in February – April.

Post-interview offer rate

King's College London (KCL): Non-contextual home students without degree: 98/171 = 57% (2025). Overall 2025: 175/350 = 50%. 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.

What makes each distinctive

King's College London (KCL): Combined scoring: ~45% UCAT + 5% SJT + 40% GCSE + 10% contextual factors (FOI-derived; subject to change). 8+ grade 8/9s at GCSE typically required. SJT band 4 appears to be automatically rejected. Also runs a 4-year and 3-year graduate-entry programme (see Graduate Entry section).

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.

Which is right for you?

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

King's College London (KCL)'s typical home cut-off is around 3600, while Plymouth sits at approximately 2023 — a 1577-point spread. That's a meaningful gap; Plymouth is materially more accessible for an average-to-good UCAT, while King's College London (KCL) 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.

King's College London (KCL) uses Panel interview: Two-interviewer panel, remote (no longer 6-station MMI). Plymouth uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Five-station MMI (online), ~55 minutes. 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: January – February (King's College London (KCL)); February – April (Plymouth).

King's College London (KCL) requires A*AA - A* in biology or chemistry, plus A in another of biology/chemistry/physics/maths/psychology. Resit considered for first-time L3 resitters. Second resits only with mitigating circumstances.. 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).. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school.

King's College London (KCL) — Minimum grade 6/B (National 5 grade B or Intermediate 2 / Standard Credit Grade 1 or 2) in Mathematics and English Language. 8+ grade 8/9s typically required to be competitive. GCSE = ~40% of pre-interview score: 8+ grade 8/9s = 40/40, 7s = 30, 6s = 20, 5s = 10. A grades may be counted as A* for applicants from lower-performing schools. Plymouth — Seven GCSEs at grade 4/C or above, must include English Language, Mathematics, and either 4-4 Dual Science or two from Biology / Chemistry / Physics. Used as minimum threshold only — Plymouth does not consider personal statements or work experience when selecting for interview

King's College London (KCL)'s selection methodology: shortlisting weight not fully disclosed; check the official admissions page. Plymouth's selection methodology: UCAT + academic + MMI. Strong South-West focus. 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.

King's College London (KCL): Non-contextual home students without degree: 98/171 = 57% (2025). Overall 2025: 175/350 = 50%.. Plymouth: Home: 132/499 = 26% (2025). Overseas: 8/28 = 29%. Home Foundation Year: 17/104 = 16%.. 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%.

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

King's College London (KCL)Entry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

PlymouthEntry 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.

King's College London (KCL) vs Plymouth

Side-by-side comparison

King's College London (KCL) vs Plymouth - in detail

UCAT thresholds compared

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

Post-interview offer rate

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What UCAT score do I need for King's College London (KCL) vs Plymouth?

How do interviews differ between King's College London (KCL) and Plymouth?

What A-Level grades do King's College London (KCL) and Plymouth require?

How are GCSEs weighted at King's College London (KCL) vs Plymouth?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Which has a higher post-interview offer rate, King's College London (KCL) or Plymouth?

Where are King's College London (KCL) and Plymouth located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

Should I apply to both King's College London (KCL) and Plymouth?

Where to go next

Other dental school comparisons