Aberdeen vs Kent and Medway (KMMS)

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

Kent and Medway (KMMS) requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology.

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. Kent and Medway (KMMS): Min 6 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

Both Aberdeen and Kent and Medway (KMMS) 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.

Interview windows: Aberdeen interviews in December - March; Kent and Medway (KMMS) in December - March.

Aberdeen runs a Integrated curriculum; Kent and Medway (KMMS) runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Aberdeen delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while Kent and Medway (KMMS) centres learning around clinical cases.

Specifics: Five-year MBChB with early clinical exposure from Year 1. Distinctive remote/rural placement strand in Highlands and Western Isles. Five-year MBBS jointly run by University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University. Strong rural/community placement strand across Kent and Medw

Intake size: Aberdeen — ~257 Scottish + ~24 RUK + ~39 International per year (2025 entry data).; Kent and Medway (KMMS) — ~125 home + ~25 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%. Kent and Medway (KMMS): Home Fee Status: 176/404 = 44%; International: 14/32 = 44% (only 113 applicants); Graduate (2023): 52/83 = 63%.

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%.

Kent and Medway (KMMS): Selection by contextualised GCSE 'Attainment 8' score (/90) after UCAT minimum met - strong choice for high-GCSE / low-UCAT applicants. School performance averaged in to contextualise GCSE scoring (national average 45.9; ~25% above school average likely required).