Aberdeen vs Edinburgh

Aberdeen requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology/Physics/Mathematics.

Edinburgh requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology/Physics/Mathematics.

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 — Aberdeen: Strong National 5 / GCSE profile expected; not algorithmically scored but contributes to academic ranking. Edinburgh: Strong GCSE/National 5 profile expected; not algorithmically scored.

Aberdeen uses MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)); Edinburgh uses Assessment day (Assessment day: three 12-minute individual stations plus a 45-minute group exercise (Edinburgh describes it as 'not a typical MMI format')). These two formats reward different skills — MMI emphasises breadth, station-recovery and structured answers under time pressure, while Assessment day rewards malleability and intellectual honesty.

If your strengths lie in conversational depth, either may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Aberdeen is the better fit.

Interview windows: Aberdeen interviews in December - March; Edinburgh in December - February.

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

Specifics: Five-year MBChB with early clinical exposure from Year 1. Distinctive remote/rural placement strand in Highlands and Western Isles. Six-year MBChB with compulsory intercalated honours degree in Year 3 (one of the largest intercalated cohorts in the UK).

Intake size: Aberdeen — ~257 Scottish + ~24 RUK + ~39 International per year (2025 entry data).; Edinburgh — ~210 Scottish + RUK + ~22 international places per year.. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Aberdeen: RUK 74/165 = 45% (2025); Scottish 736/863 = 85%; International 101/140 = 72%. Edinburgh: RUK student: 166/300 = 68%; Scottish student: 424/432 = 98% (effectively not interviewed); Overseas student: 45/98 = 46%.

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.

Aberdeen: Shortlisting weights academic 60% (A-level scores) / UCAT 40%. Scottish-domiciled applicants in the top 75% academically receive guaranteed interview. Care leavers and Quintile 1 postcode applicants receive a 10% UCAT uplift; Quintile 2 receives 5%.

Edinburgh: Around 50% academic, 35% UCAT and 15% SJT in shortlisting; SJT band 4 is rejected outright. Scottish applicants face a much lower bar than RUK and are effectively guaranteed an interview if they meet minimums. Strong research focus and international reputation.