Where are Anglia Ruskin (ARU) and Surrey (GEM) located, and how does that affect cost?

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) is in Chelmsford, UK. Surrey (GEM) is in Guildford, UK. Tuition is £9,250/year at both for UK home applicants; the main cost difference is accommodation (London accommodation typically runs 30-50% above the national average).

When does each school release decisions?

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Surrey (GEM) 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

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) vs Surrey (GEM)

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at Anglia Ruskin (ARU) vs Surrey (GEM)?

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) — Minimum 4 GCSEs at grade 5/B or above including Mathematics, English Language and two science subjects. Surrey (GEM) — GCSE Maths and English at grade C/5 or above.

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) and Surrey (GEM) are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Both sit in England, so location and clinical-placement breadth are similar — the differentiation comes from selection methodology, interview style and curriculum philosophy.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Anglia Ruskin (ARU) and Surrey (GEM).
Comparison field	Anglia Ruskin (ARU)Chelmsford	Surrey (GEM)Guildford
Quick comparison
Location	Chelmsford, UK	Guildford, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus one of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics or Psychology. The third subject may not be General Studies or Critical Thinking.	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject
TrueScore	Anglia Ruskin (ARU) TrueScore 2030	Surrey (GEM) TrueScore 1700GEM
UCAT home cut-off	2010+ /2700 (2026 entry main cut-off)	-
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	UK Applicants: 463/648 = 71% (2025)	-
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus one of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics or Psychology. The third subject may not be General Studies or Critical Thinking.	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject
Contextual A-Level offer	-	-
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry or Biology required, plus one of Biology / Chemistry / Mathematics / Physics / Psychology	-
A-Level resit policy	Resits accepted.	Not applicable to graduate entry.
GCSE requirements	Minimum 4 GCSEs at grade 5/B or above including Mathematics, English Language and two science subjects.	GCSE Maths and English at grade C/5 or above
GCSE scoring methodology	-	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	Minimum 36 points overall with 6,6,6 at Higher Level in Biology and/or Chemistry plus one other science, including Mathematics or English.	-
Graduate-entry degree requirement	-	Minimum 2:1 UK honours degree (or equivalent) in any subject - all disciplines are given equal consideration.
Alternative qualifications	-	Graduate-entry only (4-year BMBS). GAMSAT is the general admission test; UCAT is accepted only from Biochemistry, Biology, Biomedical Science, Chemistry or Natural Sciences graduates. Open to UK and international applicants (IELTS 7.0 overall and in every component). The University of Exeter is the contingency awarding body while Surrey completes GMC accreditation.

Contextual cut-off	1960+ East of England, 1920+ WAMS or Essex, 1870+ East of England + WAMS, 1830+ Essex + WAMS. FSM/care-experienced applicants invited regardless of UCAT (provided academic + band 1–3 SJT)	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	-
Graduate cut-off	1830+ main, 1790+ East of England, 1740+ Essex	GAMSAT is the general route. UCAT is accepted ONLY from applicants holding a degree in Biochemistry, Biology, Biomedical Science, Chemistry or Natural Sciences.
SJT band	Band 4 = auto reject	-
UCAT notes	International applicants not accepted. Band 4 SJT auto-rejected. ARU publishes hard cut-offs, ranked by UCAT.	No numeric cut-off is published; scores sort applicants into interview, waitlist or rejection. Do not assume a UCAT route - for most degree subjects GAMSAT is the only option.

Degree awarded	MBChB	BMBS
Course length	5 years	4 years (graduate entry)
Teaching style	Integrated	Team-based learning
Anatomy teaching	Mixed	Prosection
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	Essex	Surrey and the surrounding area
Named placement sites	Colchester Hospital, Basildon Hospital, Harlow (Princess Alexandra) Hospital, Southend Hospital, Broomfield Hospital, St Andrew's Centre for Plastic Surgery and Burns, Essex Cardiothoracic Centre	Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, Surrey Heartlands ICS, Frimley Health and Care ICS
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	Essex's first medical school.	AI is integrated into the curriculum, and virtual reality surgical training runs through the VRiMS collaboration.

Interview window	December - March	December - March
Interview details	MMI format heavy on real-world scenarios and role-play. Practise reasoning out loud through clinical or ethical situations and showing critical thinking under follow-up questioning.	MMI format with multiple stations assessing communication, ethical reasoning and problem-solving.

Specialities	Medicine, Community Medicine	Medicine, Healthcare Technology, Clinical Practice
Established	2018	2024
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Local applicants (East of England, especially Essex) get a UCAT cut-off reduction. Free School Meals or care-experienced applicants are invited to interview regardless of UCAT score, provided academic…	New graduate-entry school taking a technology-forward approach to teaching. Still under GMC review, so the University of Exeter acts as the contingency awarding body until Surrey's own accreditation c…
Official course page	https://www.aru.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/medicine	https://www.surrey.ac.uk/undergraduate/medicine-graduate-entry

Anglia Ruskin (ARU)

Chelmsford

Quick comparison

Location: Chelmsford, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus one of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics or Psychology. The third subject may not be General Studies or Critical Thinking.
TrueScore: Anglia Ruskin (ARU) TrueScore 2030
UCAT home cut-off: 2010+ /2700 (2026 entry main cut-off)
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: UK Applicants: 463/648 = 71% (2025)
Decision date: March onwards

Surrey (GEM)

Guildford

Quick comparison

Location: Guildford, UK
A-Level offer: Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject
TrueScore: Surrey (GEM) TrueScore 1700GEM
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March onwards

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) vs Surrey (GEM) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) requires AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus one of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics or Psychology. The third subject may not be General Studies or Critical Thinking.

Surrey (GEM) requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Anglia Ruskin (ARU): Minimum 4 GCSEs at grade 5/B or above including Mathematics, English Language and two science subjects. Surrey (GEM): GCSE Maths and English at grade C/5 or above.

Interview formats

Both Anglia Ruskin (ARU) 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: Anglia Ruskin (ARU) interviews in December - March; Surrey (GEM) in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

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

Specifics: Five-year MBChB with PBL and case-based learning. Chelmsford-based with placements across East of England NHS sites (Mid & South Essex, Cambridge Univ Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBChB. Surrey-based with South-East NHS placements.

Intake size: Anglia Ruskin (ARU) — ~100 home places per year (predominantly UK applicants).; Surrey (GEM) — ~30-50 places per year (small newer cohort).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

What makes each distinctive

Anglia Ruskin (ARU): Local applicants (East of England, especially Essex) get a UCAT cut-off reduction. Free School Meals or care-experienced applicants are invited to interview regardless of UCAT score, provided academic and SJT minimums are met.

Surrey (GEM): New graduate-entry school taking a technology-forward approach to teaching. Still under GMC review, so the University of Exeter acts as the contingency awarding body until Surrey's own accreditation completes - worth confirming before you accept an offer.

Which is right for you?

Both schools sit in the same England foundation-programme catchment, so post-graduation training paths overlap heavily. 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. Anglia Ruskin (ARU) guidance: 2010+ /2700 (2026 entry main cut-off). Surrey (GEM) guidance: No numeric cut-off is published; scores sort applicants into interview, waitlist or rejection. Do not assume a UCAT route - for most degree subjects GAMSAT is the only option..

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Surrey (GEM) 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 (Anglia Ruskin (ARU)); December - March (Surrey (GEM)).

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) requires AAA including Chemistry or Biology, plus one of Biology, Chemistry, Maths, Physics or Psychology. Surrey (GEM) requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Anglia Ruskin (ARU) — Resits accepted.. Surrey (GEM) — Not applicable to graduate entry..

Anglia Ruskin (ARU)'s selection methodology: Newer programme (first cohort 2018). UCAT + academic + MMI interview. Strong East-of-England focus. Surrey (GEM)'s selection methodology: Degree class hurdle (2:1, any subject), then GAMSAT - or UCAT for bioscience/chemistry graduates only - sorting applicants into interview, waitlist or reject, then a virtual MMI lasting under an hour. 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.

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) runs a PBL curriculum. Surrey (GEM) runs a PBL curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. Anglia Ruskin (ARU) specifics: Five-year MBChB with PBL and case-based learning. Chelmsford-based with placements across East of England NHS sites (Mid & South Essex, Cambridge University Hospitals). Surrey (GEM) specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBChB. Surrey-based with South-East NHS placements.

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

Anglia Ruskin (ARU)Entry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Surrey (GEM)Entry 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.

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) vs Surrey (GEM)

Side-by-side comparison

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) vs Surrey (GEM) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What UCAT score do I need for Anglia Ruskin (ARU) vs Surrey (GEM)?

How do interviews differ between Anglia Ruskin (ARU) and Surrey (GEM)?

What A-Level grades do Anglia Ruskin (ARU) and Surrey (GEM) require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Anglia Ruskin (ARU) vs Surrey (GEM)?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Where are Anglia Ruskin (ARU) and Surrey (GEM) located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Anglia Ruskin (ARU) and Surrey (GEM) use?

Should I apply to both Anglia Ruskin (ARU) and Surrey (GEM)?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons