Aberdeen vs Surrey (GEM)

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

Surrey (GEM) 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. Surrey (GEM): Not applicable - graduate-entry programme. Requires a 2:1 honours degree.

Both Aberdeen and Surrey (GEM) 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; Surrey (GEM) in December - March.

Aberdeen runs a Integrated curriculum; Surrey (GEM) runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Aberdeen delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while Surrey (GEM) 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. Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBChB. Surrey-based with South-East NHS placements.

Intake size: Aberdeen — ~257 Scottish + ~24 RUK + ~39 International per year (2025 entry data).; Surrey (GEM) — ~30-50 places per year (small newer cohort).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

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%.

Surrey (GEM): New graduate-entry medical school with focus on innovative teaching methods and the use of technology in healthcare delivery.