Where are Anglia Ruskin (ARU) and Ulster University Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) is in Chelmsford, UK. Ulster University Medical School is in Londonderry, 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. 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

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) vs Ulster University Medical School

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at Anglia Ruskin (ARU) vs Ulster University Medical School?

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) — Minimum 4 GCSEs at grade 5/B or above including Mathematics, English Language and two science subjects. Ulster University Medical School — Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

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

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Anglia Ruskin (ARU) and Ulster University Medical School.
Comparison field	Anglia Ruskin (ARU)Chelmsford	Ulster University Medical SchoolLondonderry
Quick comparison
Location	Chelmsford, UK	Londonderry, 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 honours degree
TrueScore	Anglia Ruskin (ARU) TrueScore 2030	-
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 honours degree
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.	Resits accepted.
GCSE requirements	Minimum 4 GCSEs at grade 5/B or above including Mathematics, English Language and two science subjects.	-
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	-	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	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	Not applicable - Ulster uses GAMSAT, not the UCAT. Recent thresholds have been around 61.
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.	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	Mixed	Imaging and models
First patient contact	Year 1	-
Placement geography	Essex	Across Northern Ireland
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	-
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	Essex's first medical school.	Based at the Magee campus in Derry~Londonderry, alongside other healthcare programmes.

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. Focus on serving Northern Ireland's healthcare needs alongside standard motivation, ethics and communication content.

Specialities	Medicine, Community Medicine	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	2018	2021
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 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.aru.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/medicine	https://www.ulster.ac.uk/courses/202627/medicine-41407

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

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

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) vs Ulster University Medical School - 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.

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

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. Ulster University Medical School: Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

Interview formats

Both Anglia Ruskin (ARU) 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: Anglia Ruskin (ARU) interviews in December - March; Ulster University Medical School in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) runs a PBL curriculum; Ulster University Medical School runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Anglia Ruskin (ARU) leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Ulster University Medical School uses a more traditional lecture-led structure.

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

Intake size: Anglia Ruskin (ARU) — ~100 home places per year (predominantly UK applicants).; 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

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.

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 — Anglia Ruskin (ARU) feeds into the England foundation programme network; Ulster University Medical School into the London network. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Anglia Ruskin (ARU); if you prefer lecture-led foundations, the other suits better.

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). Ulster University Medical School guidance: GAMSAT is scored out of 100. Do not sit the UCAT for this course..

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) 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 (Anglia Ruskin (ARU)); December - March (Ulster University Medical School).

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) requires AAA including Chemistry or Biology, plus one of Biology, Chemistry, Maths, Physics or Psychology. 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: Anglia Ruskin (ARU) — Resits accepted.. Ulster University Medical School — Resits accepted..

Anglia Ruskin (ARU)'s selection methodology: Newer programme (first cohort 2018). UCAT + academic + MMI interview. Strong East-of-England focus. 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.

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) runs a PBL curriculum. Ulster University Medical School runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. 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). 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

Anglia Ruskin (ARU)Entry 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.

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) vs Ulster University Medical School

Side-by-side comparison

Anglia Ruskin (ARU) vs Ulster University Medical School - 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 Ulster University Medical School?

How do interviews differ between Anglia Ruskin (ARU) and Ulster University Medical School?

What A-Level grades do Anglia Ruskin (ARU) and Ulster University Medical School require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Anglia Ruskin (ARU) vs Ulster University Medical School?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Where are Anglia Ruskin (ARU) and Ulster University Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Anglia Ruskin (ARU) and Ulster University Medical School use?

Should I apply to both Anglia Ruskin (ARU) and Ulster University Medical School?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons