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Dental school comparison

Plymouth vs Queen Mary (QMUL)

Plymouth and Queen Mary (QMUL) are both UK dental schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Plymouth is based in Plymouth (England) while Queen Mary (QMUL) sits in London (London), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination. The interview formats diverge — MMI vs Panel — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different. Queen Mary (QMUL) is the older institution (founded 1843); the other (founded 2007) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Plymouth

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
1990
UCAT home cut-off
~1990+/2700
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

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
2070
UCAT home cut-off
~2070+/2700
Interview format
Two-interviewer panel, online (January–February)
Post-interview chance
2025 - All applicants: 182/267 = 68%. Overseas: 13/22 = 59%.
Decision date
Spring
Compare different schools

Plymouth vs Queen Mary (QMUL) - in detail

UCAT thresholds compared

Plymouth's published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 1990, while Queen Mary (QMUL) sits at approximately 2070. The 80-point spread is within year-on-year noise — for most applicants the two thresholds are effectively interchangeable, and other selection factors (GCSE weighting, interview score) will dominate.

A-Level and academic profile

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).. 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.. 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 — Plymouth: AAA at A-Level including Chemistry and Biology. GCSE Maths + English at grade 6+. Queen Mary (QMUL): AAA at A-Level including Chemistry and Biology. Min 6 GCSEs at grade 6+.

Interview formats

Plymouth uses MMI (Five-station MMI (online), ~55 minutes); 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, Plymouth is the better fit. Interview windows: Plymouth interviews in February – April; Queen Mary (QMUL) in January – February.

Curriculum and teaching style

Plymouth runs a PBL curriculum; Queen Mary (QMUL) runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Plymouth leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Queen Mary (QMUL) uses a more traditional lecture-led structure. Specifics: Five-year BDS with PBL. Plymouth Peninsula Dental School - clinical placements across South-West 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: Plymouth — ~75 home places per year for BDS Dentistry (smaller cohort, regional focus).; 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

Plymouth: Home: 132/499 = 26% (2025). Overseas: 8/28 = 29%. Home Foundation Year: 17/104 = 16%.. 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

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. Queen Mary (QMUL): QMUL-specific 4th decile minimum (2361 for 2024 + 2025). Anyone exceeding the UCAT cut-off gets an interview - higher predictions don't change anything. SJT band 4 automatically rejected.

Which is right for you?

Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Plymouth feeds into the England foundation programme network; Queen Mary (QMUL) into the London network. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Plymouth; 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

Plymouth's typical home cut-off is around 1990, while Queen Mary (QMUL) sits at approximately 2070 — a 80-point spread. The spread is small enough that other factors (GCSE weighting, interview score, contextual flags) usually dominate the firm/insurance decision. Cut-offs change year on year and vary by tier — check each school's latest published threshold before submitting your UCAS form.

Plymouth uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Five-station MMI (online), ~55 minutes. 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: February – April (Plymouth); January – February (Queen Mary (QMUL)).

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).. 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: Plymouth — Resits accepted.. Queen Mary (QMUL) — Resits considered with explanation..

Plymouth — AAA at A-Level including Chemistry and Biology. GCSE Maths + English at grade 6+. Queen Mary (QMUL) — AAA at A-Level including Chemistry and Biology. Min 6 GCSEs at grade 6+.

Plymouth's selection methodology: UCAT + academic + MMI. Strong South-West focus. 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.

Plymouth: Home: 132/499 = 26% (2025). Overseas: 8/28 = 29%. Home Foundation Year: 17/104 = 16%.. 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%.

Plymouth is in Plymouth, 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).

Plymouth typically releases dentistry decisions Spring. 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.

Plymouth runs a PBL curriculum. Queen Mary (QMUL) runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Plymouth specifics: Five-year BDS with PBL. Plymouth Peninsula Dental School - clinical placements across South-West 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.