Queen Mary (QMUL) vs Sheffield

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).

Sheffield requires AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry and Biology, plus a pass in the practical element of any science A-levels taken.

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

GCSE profile matters at both schools — 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… Sheffield: Six GCSEs at grade 7/A including English Language, Mathematics, and Science (Chemistry and Biology, or Dual Science).

"One or two B/6 grades consider applying once you have achieved your A-levels"…

Both Queen Mary (QMUL) and Sheffield use Panel 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: Queen Mary (QMUL) runs two-interviewer panel, online (january–february); Sheffield runs semi-structured face-to-face 15 min in-person panel + group task (feb 20–27). Mock practice tailored to each school's exact format is the highest-leverage prep.

Interview windows: Queen Mary (QMUL) interviews in January – February; Sheffield in 20–27 February.

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

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 Five-year BDS with PBL. Clinical placements at Charles Clifford Dental Hospital and Yorkshire community sites.

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

Queen Mary (QMUL): 2025 - All applicants: 182/267 = 68%. Overseas: 13/22 = 59%. Sheffield: Home applicants: 132/317 = 42% (2024). International: 4/11 = 36%. Typically ~130 offers and ~350 interviews.

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.

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.

Sheffield: All applicants must be SJT band 1 or 2 for 2026 entry. Applicants clearing the academic and UCAT criteria are then ranked on UCAT score, so the effective bar sits well up the national distribution and moves each cycle - Sheffield does not publish a figure. Tighter SJT and UCAT requirements than at most other dental schools.