Aston University vs Barts and The London (Queen Mary)

Aston University's published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 1950, while Barts and The London (Queen Mary) sits at approximately 2000.

Their UCAT bars are statistically indistinguishable (within 50 points), so the UCAT is unlikely to be your differentiator between them.

Contextual / widening-participation cut-offs differ — Aston University: ~1800+ /2700 (UK WP - AAB contextual offer via Aston Ready); Barts and The London (Queen Mary): not separately disclosed. Eligible applicants should weight this heavily when choosing.

Aston University requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology (A* in Chemistry or Biology).

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology/Physics/Mathematics.

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 — Aston University: Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science. Barts and The London (Queen Mary): Min 6 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

Aston University uses MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)); Barts and The London (Queen Mary) uses Panel (Panel interview with two senior academic or clinical staff, sometimes a lay selector (online)). These two formats reward different skills — MMI emphasises breadth, station-recovery and structured answers under time pressure, while Panel rewards depth and consistency.

If your strengths lie in conversational depth, Barts and The London (Queen Mary) may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Aston University is the better fit.

Interview windows: Aston University interviews in December - March; Barts and The London (Queen Mary) in December - February.

Aston University runs a PBL curriculum; Barts and The London (Queen Mary) runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Aston University leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Barts and The London (Queen Mary) uses a more traditional lecture-led structure.

Specifics: Five-year MBChB with PBL. Clinical placements across Birmingham NHS sites (UHB, Sandwell, Walsall, Heart of England). Five-year MBBS with integrated theory and clinical practice. Strong East London NHS placement network (Royal London, Whipps Cross, Newham, Mile End).

Intake size: Aston University — ~110 places per year.; Barts and The London (Queen Mary) — ~290 home + ~30 international places per year (one of the larger UK medical schools).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Aston University: All Applicants: 306/363 = 84% (2025); Non-Contextual: 182/214 = 85%. Barts and The London (Queen Mary): UK Undergrad: 948/1294 = 73% (2025); International: 61/159 = 38%; A101 Graduate Medicine: 55/127 = 43%.

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.

Aston University: UCAT and GCSE used heavily post-interview (academic:UCAT:interview ratio = 2:1:1). Interview is just 25% of final scoring, so post-interview chances are excellent for high-stat applicants. SJT not used - band 4 is fine.

Barts and The London (Queen Mary): No longer 50:50 weighted on A-level predictions and UCAT - anyone who exceeds the UCAT cut-off generally gets an interview regardless of predictions. SJT band adds bonus points to interview score post-interview (Band 1 = +2, Band 2 = +1, Band 3 = 0).