Where are Liverpool and Queen Mary (QMUL) located, and how does that affect cost?

Liverpool is in Liverpool, UK. Queen Mary (QMUL) is in London, 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?

Liverpool typically releases dentistry decisions March onwards. Queen Mary (QMUL) 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

Liverpool vs Queen Mary (QMUL)

Liverpool and Queen Mary (QMUL) are both UK dental schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Liverpool is based in Liverpool (England) while Queen Mary (QMUL) sits in London (London), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination. Their A-Level requirements (AAA vs A*AA) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.

The interview formats diverge — MMI vs Panel — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Liverpool and Queen Mary (QMUL).
Comparison field	LiverpoolLiverpool	Queen Mary (QMUL)London
Quick comparison
Location	Liverpool, UK	London, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry and Biology — all three subjects taken at first sitting after two years of study	AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) — single sitting, no more than 2 years. UCAS Tariff minimum 152 (AAA delivers this).
TrueScore	Liverpool TrueScore 1800	Queen Mary (QMUL) TrueScore 2210
UCAT home cut-off	-	Expressed as a decile, not a raw score: applications below the fourth decile of the total UCAT do not pass first shortlisting, and clearing it guarantees nothing.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI), online	Two-interviewer panel, online (January–February)
Post-interview chance	Non-widening participation (2024): 89/402 = 22%.	2025 - All applicants: 182/267 = 68%. Overseas: 13/22 = 59%.
Decision date	March onwards	Spring

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry and Biology — all three subjects taken at first sitting after two years of study	AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) — single sitting, no more than 2 years. UCAS Tariff minimum 152 (AAA delivers this).
Contextual A-Level offer	Up to a two-grade reduction in entry requirements for eligible contextual / widening-participation applicants (ABB equivalent — assessed via personal circumstances)	Reduced offer available for East London / contextual applicants
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry and Biology both required	Biology or Chemistry required, plus a second science from Chemistry / Biology / Physics / Mathematics
A-Level resit policy	A-level resits not normally accepted. Only considered for applicants who narrowly fail academic criteria due to significant extenuating circumstances — would not consider an applicant who achieved less than BBB.	Resits only with extenuating circumstances falling under the Equality and Diversity Act 2010
GCSE requirements	Minimum 8 GCSEs including at least 5 subjects at grade 7/A and 3 at grade 6/B. Grade 6/B required in English Language, Mathematics and Science (dual science or Biology). GCSE requirements must be in place at the time of application — no pending grades accepted.	Six GCSEs at grade 7,7,7,6,6,6 (777666) or above, must include Mathematics, English Language or Literature, Biology and Chemistry (or Double Science). GCSEs are not required for graduate applicants.
GCSE scoring methodology	Used only as minimum threshold beyond meeting the floor — UCAT + SJT + non-academic information form drive the ranking	Used as minimum threshold once met — UCAT and UCAS tariff drive the ranking. No longer at a 50:50 UCAS:UCAT weighting.
Scottish Highers	AAAAA at Higher including Chemistry and Biology	AAA at Higher
Scottish Advanced Highers	AA at Advanced Higher including Chemistry and Biology	AA at Advanced Higher
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall, 666 at Higher Level including Chemistry and Biology	37 points overall, 666 at Higher Level including Chemistry or Biology, plus one further science from Chemistry / Biology / Physics / Mathematics
Graduate-entry degree requirement	-	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above. Graduate qualifications scored via QMUL's internal Academic Points system (50/50 UCAT:Academic Points). No GCSE requirement for graduates.
Alternative qualifications	-	-

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	-
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	Band 4 automatically rejected. Band 1 or 2 ideal.	Band 4 automatically rejected. Used post-interview in offer-making (likely minimal weighting).
UCAT notes	Liverpool School of Dentistry states it has NO set UCAT cut-off. Scores are considered alongside the non-academic information form and academic attainment, so no threshold should be inferred or estima…	Queen Mary states that thresholds cannot be predicted for any individual year, nor derived from previous years - which is why the bar is published as a decile rather than a score. Applicants above the…

Degree awarded	BDS	BDS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Enquiry-based learning	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	Year 1	-
Placement geography	Liverpool and Merseyside	East London
Named placement sites	Aintree University Hospital (oral and maxillofacial surgery), Alder Hey Children's Hospital (paediatric dentistry)	The Royal London Dental Institute
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	Students share a three-year Collaborative Learning Core with dental therapy students.	The Institute of Dentistry moved into the Alexandra Wing of The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel in 2014 — a £78 million building, the first new dental school built in the UK for over 40 years.

Interview window	December – February	January – February
Interview details	Long MMI lasting over an hour with 10–12 stations. Format demands quick thinking and ability to adapt, as each new station is a fresh scenario. Sample questions: "How would you explain the importance…	Online panel interview with two senior academic/clinical staff, a dental student, or sometimes a lay selector. Split into two parts: (1) questions based on an article given 2 weeks prior; (2) personal…

Specialities	Dentistry (BDS)	Dentistry (BDS)
Established	1903	1843
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	No set UCAT cut-off - UCAT considered alongside non-academic information form (sent shortly after UCAS deadline, 2 weeks to complete). SJT band 4 is automatically rejected.	Queen Mary applies a fourth-decile minimum on the total UCAT: below it an application does not pass first shortlisting, and clearing it guarantees nothing. The bar is published as a decile rather than…
Official course page	https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/courses/2026/dental-surgery-bds	https://www.qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/coursefinder/courses/2026/dentistry/

Liverpool

Quick comparison

Location: Liverpool, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry and Biology — all three subjects taken at first sitting after two years of study
TrueScore: Liverpool TrueScore 1800
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI), online
Post-interview chance: Non-widening participation (2024): 89/402 = 22%.
Decision date: March onwards

Queen Mary (QMUL)

London

Quick comparison

Location: London, UK
A-Level offer: A*AA at A-level (offer and prediction) — single sitting, no more than 2 years. UCAS Tariff minimum 152 (A*AA delivers this).
TrueScore: Queen Mary (QMUL) TrueScore 2210
UCAT home cut-off: Expressed as a decile, not a raw score: applications below the fourth decile of the total UCAT do not pass first shortlisting, and clearing it guarantees nothing.
Interview format: Two-interviewer panel, online (January–February)
Post-interview chance: 2025 - All applicants: 182/267 = 68%. Overseas: 13/22 = 59%.
Decision date: Spring

Liverpool vs Queen Mary (QMUL) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Liverpool requires AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry and Biology — all three subjects taken at first sitting after two years of study.

Queen Mary (QMUL) requires A*AA at A-level (offer and prediction) — single sitting, no more than 2 years. UCAS Tariff minimum 152 (A*AA delivers this).

Queen Mary (QMUL) is the stricter A-Level offer; Liverpool is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Liverpool carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Liverpool: Minimum 8 GCSEs including at least 5 subjects at grade 7/A and 3 at grade 6/B. Grade 6/B required in English Language, Mathematics and Science (dual science or Biology).

GCSE requirements must be in… Queen Mary (QMUL): Six GCSEs at grade 7,7,7,6,6,6 (777666) or above, must include Mathematics, English Language or Literature, Biology and Chemistry (or Double Science). GCSEs are not required for graduate applicants…

Interview formats

Liverpool uses MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI), online); Queen Mary (QMUL) uses Panel (Two-interviewer panel, online (January–February)). These two formats reward different skills — MMI emphasises breadth, station-recovery and structured answers under time pressure, while Panel rewards depth and consistency.

If your strengths lie in conversational depth, Queen Mary (QMUL) may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Liverpool is the better fit.

Interview windows: Liverpool interviews in December – February; Queen Mary (QMUL) in January – February.

Curriculum and teaching style

Both schools deliver a Integrated-style curriculum, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar across years 1-3.

Specifics: Five-year BDS. Clinical placements at Liverpool University Dental Hospital and Cheshire & Merseyside community sites. Five-year BDS at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. Clinical placements at Royal London Dental Hospital and East London community

Intake size: Liverpool — ~75 home + ~15 international places per year for BDS Dentistry.; Queen Mary (QMUL) — ~80 home + ~20 international places per year for BDS Dentistry (Barts and The London).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

Liverpool: Non-widening participation (2024): 89/402 = 22%. Queen Mary (QMUL): 2025 - All applicants: 182/267 = 68%. Overseas: 13/22 = 59%.

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

Liverpool: No set UCAT cut-off - UCAT considered alongside non-academic information form (sent shortly after UCAS deadline, 2 weeks to complete). SJT band 4 is automatically rejected.

Queen Mary (QMUL): Queen Mary applies a fourth-decile minimum on the total UCAT: below it an application does not pass first shortlisting, and clearing it guarantees nothing. The bar is published as a decile rather than a score because the boundary moves with each cohort, and Queen Mary states thresholds cannot be predicted from previous years.

Higher predicted grades do not compensate. SJT band 4 automatically rejected.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Liverpool is the lower-risk academic option. Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Liverpool feeds into the England foundation programme network; Queen Mary (QMUL) into the London 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

Neither school publishes a single fixed UCAT cut-off; both use UCAT as part of a composite shortlisting score alongside GCSE and personal-statement weighting. Liverpool guidance: Liverpool School of Dentistry states it has NO set UCAT cut-off. Scores are considered alongside the non-academic information form and academic attainment, so no threshold should be inferred or estimated.. Queen Mary (QMUL) guidance: Expressed as a decile, not a raw score: applications below the fourth decile of the total UCAT do not pass first shortlisting, and clearing it guarantees nothing..

Liverpool uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI), online. Queen Mary (QMUL) uses Panel interview: Two-interviewer panel, online (January–February). 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: December – February (Liverpool); January – February (Queen Mary (QMUL)).

Liverpool requires AAA prediction and offer. Must include biology and chemistry, all 3 subjects taken in one sitting. Contextual: ABB offer. A-level resits not normally accepted.. Queen Mary (QMUL) requires A*AA in single sitting, no more than 2 years. Must include biology or chemistry + second science from chemistry/biology/physics/maths. Resit only with extenuating circumstances under Equality and Diversity Act 2010.. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Liverpool — Resits accepted with explanation.. Queen Mary (QMUL) — Resits considered with explanation..

Liverpool — Minimum 8 GCSEs including at least 5 subjects at grade 7/A and 3 at grade 6/B. Grade 6/B required in English Language, Mathematics and Science (dual science or Biology). GCSE requirements must be in place at the time of application — no pending grades accepted. Used only as minimum threshold beyond meeting the floor — UCAT + SJT + non-academic information form drive the ranking Queen Mary (QMUL) — Six GCSEs at grade 7,7,7,6,6,6 (777666) or above, must include Mathematics, English Language or Literature, Biology and Chemistry (or Double Science). GCSEs are not required for graduate applicants. Used as minimum threshold once met — UCAT and UCAS tariff drive the ranking. No longer at a 50:50 UCAS:UCAT weighting.

Liverpool's selection methodology: GCSE attainment plus UCAT, considered together with the non-academic information form, then MMI. There is no UCAT cut-off to clear - only the GCSE minimum operates as a hard gate. Queen Mary (QMUL)'s selection methodology: UCAT + academic + MMI. SJT used post-interview. Strong East London 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.

Liverpool: Non-widening participation (2024): 89/402 = 22%.. Queen Mary (QMUL): 2025 - All applicants: 182/267 = 68%. Overseas: 13/22 = 59%.. 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%.

Liverpool runs a Integrated curriculum. Queen Mary (QMUL) runs a Integrated curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. Liverpool specifics: Five-year BDS. Clinical placements at Liverpool University Dental Hospital and Cheshire & Merseyside community sites. Queen Mary (QMUL) specifics: Five-year BDS at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. Clinical placements at Royal London Dental Hospital and East London community sites.

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

LiverpoolEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Queen Mary (QMUL)Entry 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.

Liverpool vs Queen Mary (QMUL)

Side-by-side comparison

Liverpool vs Queen Mary (QMUL) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

Post-interview offer rate

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What UCAT score do I need for Liverpool vs Queen Mary (QMUL)?

How do interviews differ between Liverpool and Queen Mary (QMUL)?

What A-Level grades do Liverpool and Queen Mary (QMUL) require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Liverpool vs Queen Mary (QMUL)?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Which has a higher post-interview offer rate, Liverpool or Queen Mary (QMUL)?

Where are Liverpool and Queen Mary (QMUL) located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Liverpool and Queen Mary (QMUL) use?

Should I apply to both Liverpool and Queen Mary (QMUL)?

Where to go next

Other dental school comparisons