How are GCSEs weighted at Aberdeen vs Ulster University Medical School?

Aberdeen — English Language and Mathematics at grade 6/B or above. A combination of grade 6–9 GCSEs expected, especially in sciences. National 5 (Scottish): English and Maths at B/6 minimum. GCSEs are not used in scoring - minimum threshold only (2025 entry onwards) Ulster University Medical School — Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

Where are Aberdeen and Ulster University Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

Aberdeen is in Aberdeen, UK. Ulster University Medical School is in Londonderry, UK. Scottish-domiciled applicants funded by SAAS pay no tuition fees at Scottish medical schools — a substantial funding advantage worth tens of thousands of pounds over the degree. Rest-of-UK applicants still pay £9,250/year.

When does each school release decisions?

Aberdeen typically releases medicine decisions March/April. Ulster University Medical School releases medicine decisions March onwards. 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.

Medical school comparison

Aberdeen vs Ulster University Medical School

Aberdeen and Ulster University Medical School are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Aberdeen is based in Aberdeen (Scotland) while Ulster University Medical School sits in Londonderry (London), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination.

Aberdeen is the older institution (founded 1495); the other (founded 2021) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Aberdeen and Ulster University Medical School.
Comparison field	AberdeenAberdeen	Ulster University Medical SchoolLondonderry
Quick comparison
Location	Aberdeen, UK	Londonderry, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
TrueScore	Aberdeen TrueScore 1700	-
UCAT home cut-off	-	-
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	RUK 74/165 = 45% (2025); Scottish 736/863 = 85%; International 101/140 = 72%	-
Decision date	March/April	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
Contextual A-Level offer	-	-
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry required, plus one of Biology / Human Biology / Mathematics / Physics, plus one other subject	-
A-Level resit policy	Resits only accepted with serious extenuating circumstances or personal difficulties	Resits accepted.
GCSE requirements	English Language and Mathematics at grade 6/B or above. A combination of grade 6–9 GCSEs expected, especially in sciences. National 5 (Scottish): English and Maths at B/6 minimum.	-
GCSE scoring methodology	GCSEs are not used in scoring - minimum threshold only (2025 entry onwards)	-
Scottish Highers	AAAAB at one sitting including Chemistry plus two of Biology / Human Biology / Mathematics / Physics. AAAB for widening-access applicants.	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall, including HL 6,6,6 with HL Chemistry plus HL Maths / Biology / Physics, and one other HL subject	-
Graduate-entry degree requirement	-	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above in any honours degree (Arts, Science, Humanities all accepted)
Alternative qualifications	-	Graduate-entry only. UCAT NOT used - Ulster uses GAMSAT (Graduate Medical School Admissions Test). Recent GAMSAT thresholds have been ~61. Plus 2:1 honours degree and MMI interview. Strong Northern Ireland regional focus.

Contextual cut-off	SIMD20 and care-experienced school leavers receive a 10% uplift on their UCAT score; SIMD40 school leavers receive 5%.	-
Scottish (where applicable)	No cut-off. Scotland-domiciled applicants are guaranteed an interview if they meet the minimum academic requirements and their UCAT sits within the top 75% of scores from Aberdeen applicants.	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	-
Graduate cut-off	-	Not applicable - Ulster uses GAMSAT, not the UCAT. Recent thresholds have been around 61.
SJT band	No use of SJT - band 4 accepted	-
UCAT notes	Aberdeen does not use a minimum UCAT cut-off at all. Your score is converted into points relative to every other Aberdeen applicant that year, and feeds a total of academic attainment 30%, UCAT 20% an…	GAMSAT is scored out of 100. Do not sit the UCAT for this course.

Degree awarded	MBChB	MBBS
Course length	5 years	4 years (graduate entry)
Teaching style	Integrated	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	Imaging and models
First patient contact	Year 1	-
Placement geography	Grampian, the Highlands and the Scottish islands	Across Northern Ireland
Named placement sites	Aberdeen Royal Infirmary	-
Intercalation	A one-year intercalated honours degree in Medical Science or Medical Humanities at the end of year 3 or 4.	-
Course highlight	The world’s first full-body MRI scanner was developed and built by researchers at Aberdeen.	Based at the Magee campus in Derry~Londonderry, alongside other healthcare programmes.

Interview window	December - March	December - March
Interview details	Multiple Mini Interview format with applicants rotating through several stations. Each station has two interviewers and assesses a specific competency such as motivation, ethical reasoning, communicat…	MMI format with multiple stations. Focus on serving Northern Ireland's healthcare needs alongside standard motivation, ethics and communication content.

Specialities	Medicine, Medical Sciences, Rural Health	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	1495	2021
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	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 r…	New medical school serving Northern Ireland. Strong regional focus, with the course oriented around local workforce needs. Cut-offs have not yet stabilised.
Official course page	https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/degree-programmes/796/A100/medicine-5-years/	https://www.ulster.ac.uk/courses/202627/medicine-41407

Aberdeen

Quick comparison

Location: Aberdeen, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level
TrueScore: Aberdeen TrueScore 1700
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: RUK 74/165 = 45% (2025); Scottish 736/863 = 85%; International 101/140 = 72%
Decision date: March/April

Ulster University Medical School

Londonderry

Quick comparison

Location: Londonderry, UK
A-Level offer: Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
TrueScore: -
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March onwards

Aberdeen vs Ulster University Medical School - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Aberdeen requires AAA at A-level.

Ulster University Medical School requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Aberdeen: English Language and Mathematics at grade 6/B or above. A combination of grade 6–9 GCSEs expected, especially in sciences. National 5 (Scottish): English and Maths at B/6 minimum. GCSEs are not used… Ulster University Medical School: Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

Interview formats

Both Aberdeen and Ulster University Medical School 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; Ulster University Medical School in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

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. Four-year accelerated MBBS for graduates. Clinical placements across Northern Ireland NHS sites (Magee Campus, Western HSC, Northern HSC).

Intake size: Aberdeen — ~257 Scottish + ~24 RUK + ~39 International per year (2025 entry data).; Ulster University Medical School — ~70 places per year (small cohort, NI-focused).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

What makes each distinctive

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%.

Ulster University Medical School: New medical school serving Northern Ireland. Strong regional focus, with the course oriented around local workforce needs. Cut-offs have not yet stabilised.

Which is right for you?

Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Aberdeen feeds into the Scotland foundation programme network; Ulster University Medical School into the London network.

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 or six years.

Common questions

Neither school publishes a single fixed UCAT cut-off; both use UCAT as part of a composite shortlisting score alongside GCSE and personal-statement weighting. Aberdeen guidance: Aberdeen does not use a minimum UCAT cut-off at all. Your score is converted into points relative to every other Aberdeen applicant that year, and feeds a total of academic attainment 30%, UCAT 20% and interview 50%. Applicants are ranked on that total, so UCAT is only a fifth of the decision and the interview is half of it.. Ulster University Medical School guidance: GAMSAT is scored out of 100. Do not sit the UCAT for this course..

Aberdeen uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Ulster University Medical School uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). The format is the same, so the same prep approach applies — practise ethics frameworks, NHS hot topics, and (for MMI) structured 5-7 minute station answers. Interview windows: December - March (Aberdeen); December - March (Ulster University Medical School).

Aberdeen requires AAA including Chemistry, plus one of Biology, Human Biology, Mathematics or Physics, plus one other subject. Ulster University Medical School requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Aberdeen — Resits considered with strong justification.. Ulster University Medical School — Resits accepted..

Aberdeen's selection methodology: Aberdeen scores academic attainment and predictions at 30%, UCAT at 20% and interview performance at 50%, then ranks applicants on the total; those above the required threshold are interviewed and may then be offered a place. There is no minimum UCAT cut-off - your score is converted to points relative to all other Aberdeen applicants that year. Scotland-domiciled applicants who meet the academic minimum and sit within the top 75% of Aberdeen's UCAT scores are guaranteed an interview. Ulster University Medical School's selection methodology: Graduate-entry only: a 2:1 honours degree in any discipline plus GAMSAT (recent threshold ~61 out of 100), then MMI. Strong Northern Ireland regional 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.

Aberdeen runs a Integrated curriculum. Ulster University Medical School runs a Integrated curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. Aberdeen specifics: Five-year MBChB with early clinical exposure from Year 1. Distinctive remote/rural placement strand in Highlands and Western Isles. Ulster University Medical School specifics: Four-year accelerated MBBS for graduates. Clinical placements across Northern Ireland NHS sites (Magee Campus, Western HSC, Northern HSC).

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.

Where to go next

AberdeenEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Ulster University Medical SchoolEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Other medical school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 19 September 2026.