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Dental school comparison

Liverpool vs UCLan (Graduate Dentistry)

Liverpool and UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) are both UK dental schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Both sit in England, so location and clinical-placement breadth are similar — the differentiation comes from selection methodology, interview style and curriculum philosophy. Their A-Level requirements (AAA vs CCC) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.

Side-by-side comparison

Liverpool

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

UCLan (Graduate Dentistry)

Preston

Quick comparison

Location
Preston, UK
A-Level offer
CCC at A-level minimum (in addition to degree) including 2 of Biology / Physics / Chemistry / Mathematics
TrueScore
UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) TrueScore 1810
UCAT home cut-off
Lowest UCAT score for 2025 entry: ~1810+ /2700
Interview format
MMI for both UK and international applicants
Post-interview chance
38/120 = 32% (2025).
Decision date
Spring

Liverpool vs UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) - 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.

UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) requires CCC at A-level minimum (in addition to degree) including 2 of Biology / Physics / Chemistry / Mathematics.

Liverpool is the stricter A-Level offer; UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) 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… UCLan (Graduate Dentistry): GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade 6/B or above.

Interview formats

Both Liverpool 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: Liverpool runs multiple mini interviews (mmi), 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: Liverpool interviews in December – February; UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) in Spring.

Curriculum and teaching style

Liverpool runs a Integrated curriculum; UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Liverpool delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) centres learning around clinical cases.

Specifics: Five-year BDS. Clinical placements at Liverpool University Dental Hospital and Cheshire & Merseyside community sites. Four-year accelerated graduate-entry BDS. Preston-based with clinical placements across Lancashire NHS sites.

Intake size: Liverpool — ~75 home + ~15 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.

Post-interview offer rate

Liverpool: Non-widening participation (2024): 89/402 = 22%. 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.

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.

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.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) is the lower-risk academic option. Both schools sit in the same England foundation-programme catchment, so post-graduation training paths overlap heavily. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer UCLan (Graduate Dentistry); if you prefer lecture-led foundations, the other suits better.

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.. UCLan (Graduate Dentistry) guidance: Lowest UCAT score for 2025 entry: ~1810+ /2700.

Where to go next

LiverpoolEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full
UCLan (Graduate Dentistry)Entry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Other dental school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed .