Where are Aston University and Birmingham located, and how does that affect cost?

Aston University is in Birmingham, UK. Birmingham is in Birmingham, 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?

Aston University typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Birmingham 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

Aston University vs Birmingham

Aston University and Birmingham 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. Their A-Level requirements (A*AA vs AAA) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.

Birmingham is the older institution (founded 1900); the other (founded 2018) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Aston University and Birmingham.
Comparison field	Aston UniversityBirmingham	BirminghamBirmingham
Quick comparison
Location	Birmingham, UK	Birmingham, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (A must be in Chemistry or Biology)	AAA including Chemistry and a second science from Biology/Human Biology, Physics or Mathematics, with a minimum prediction of AAB. Three A-levels are required.
TrueScore	Aston University TrueScore 1950	Birmingham TrueScore 2030
UCAT home cut-off	No cut-off at all. Aston states it does not set score requirements for the UCAT and has no lower cut-off for either the UCAT or the SJT.	No cut-off. Birmingham states there is no minimum UCAT score - your total is converted to a national decile and fed into a combined application score.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	All Applicants: 306/363 = 84% (2025); Non-Contextual: 182/214 = 85%	Strong. In the 2024-25 cycle Birmingham made 845 offers from 1,061 home interviews (80%) and 79 from 117 international interviews (68%). Getting to interview is the hard part.
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (A must be in Chemistry or Biology)	AAA including Chemistry and a second science from Biology/Human Biology, Physics or Mathematics, with a minimum prediction of AAB. Three A-levels are required.
Contextual A-Level offer	AAB at A-level for Aston Ready (WP) applicants, with AA in Chemistry + Biology	AAB under the Contextual Offer scheme (one grade below standard), or ABB on completing a Pathways to Birmingham programme (two grades below), both including Chemistry and a second science from Biology/Human Biology, Physics or Mathematics
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry + Biology compulsory, plus one other subject. If 4 A-levels taken, Chemistry, Biology and the next-best grade are considered.	Chemistry plus one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics, plus one other subject
A-Level resit policy	Final qualification profile must normally be achieved in no more than three academic years - one resit attempt only	Birmingham does not publish a resit policy on its medicine selection pages, and its sibling dentistry programme states that resits are not considered. Applicants resitting any qualification should confirm their position with the Medical School before applying rather than assuming resits are accepted.
GCSE requirements	Minimum 6 GCSEs/IGCSEs at grade 6/B or above including English Language, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology (or Double Science)	English Language at grade 6/B, Mathematics at grade 6/B, Biology and Chemistry (or Dual Award Science) at grade 6/B
GCSE scoring methodology	GCSEs scored /24 (or /12 if A-levels completed) as part of the academic score: 9/8/A* = 4 (or 2) pts, 7/A = 3 (or 2) pts, 6/B = 2 (or 1) pts, 5/4/C = 1 (or 0) pt	Top GCSEs heavily scored: GCSE = 45% of pre-interview application score (UCAT 40%, contextual 15%)
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	AAA at Advanced Higher including Chemistry and Biology	-
International Baccalaureate	37 points overall, 7,6,6 at Higher Level including Chemistry and Biology - one of Chem/Bio must be grade 7 HL	Minimum 32 points overall with 6,6,6 at Higher Level, including Chemistry and a second science from Biology / Physics / Mathematics
Graduate-entry degree requirement	Upper-second-class (2:1) Honours degree in any discipline + ABB A-levels including Chemistry and Biology (one of which at grade A). Five-year programme - no accelerated graduate route.	-
Alternative qualifications	-	-

Contextual cut-off	Aston Ready contextual applicants are ranked in their own Home Widening Participation group rather than against other home applicants.	No cut-off. Contextual applicants gain up to 1.5 extra points on the application score, scaled to their POLAR4 quintile, which lets a lower UCAT decile still reach the interview threshold.
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	International applicants are not given an application score at all: they must meet an academic standard equivalent to A*AA and are then ranked on total UCAT alone.
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	Not scored - good for band 4	Used post-interview as one of the interview stations. B1=3/3, B2=2/3, B3=1/3, B4=0/3.
UCAT notes	Aston ranks applicants on their ACHIEVED qualifications - normally GCSEs - together with the total UCAT score. A-level predicted grades are not used in scoring and are not considered at any stage. Hom…	Application score = 45% GCSE + 40% UCAT + 15% contextual, out of 10. UCAT is scored by national decile, from 4.000 for the 10th decile down to 0.000 for the 1st, so a decile drop costs about 0.44 poin…

Degree awarded	MBChB	MBChB
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Problem-based learning	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	The West Midlands	-
Named placement sites	-	-
Intercalation	-	Available, usually between year 2 and year 3.
Course highlight	-	-

Interview window	December - March	December - February
Interview details	MMI format with 7-10 stations of around 7 minutes each, plus 2 minutes' reading time. There are typically 2 acting/role-play stations testing how you handle difficult situations.	An MMI circuit of six or seven stations, each lasting 8 minutes including 2 minutes of preparation in which you are told the topic and, where relevant, the questions. The circuit mixes interview stati…

Specialities	Medicine, Community Medicine	Medicine, Dentistry, Medical Sciences
Established	2018	1900
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	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 use…	Selection is GCSE-heavy: 45% GCSE / 40% UCAT / 15% contextual. UCAT scored by national decile, so a clear top-decile score makes a big difference. Birmingham was the first UK university to offer denti…
Official course page	https://www.aston.ac.uk/study/courses/medicine-mbchb	https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/med/medicine

Aston University

Birmingham

Quick comparison

Location: Birmingham, UK
A-Level offer: A*AA at A-level (A* must be in Chemistry or Biology)
TrueScore: Aston University TrueScore 1950
UCAT home cut-off: No cut-off at all. Aston states it does not set score requirements for the UCAT and has no lower cut-off for either the UCAT or the SJT.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: All Applicants: 306/363 = 84% (2025); Non-Contextual: 182/214 = 85%
Decision date: March onwards

Birmingham

Quick comparison

Location: Birmingham, UK
A-Level offer: AAA including Chemistry and a second science from Biology/Human Biology, Physics or Mathematics, with a minimum prediction of AAB. Three A-levels are required.
TrueScore: Birmingham TrueScore 2030
UCAT home cut-off: No cut-off. Birmingham states there is no minimum UCAT score - your total is converted to a national decile and fed into a combined application score.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Strong. In the 2024-25 cycle Birmingham made 845 offers from 1,061 home interviews (80%) and 79 from 117 international interviews (68%). Getting to interview is the hard part.
Decision date: March onwards

Aston University vs Birmingham - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Aston University requires A*AA at A-level (A* must be in Chemistry or Biology).

Birmingham requires AAA including Chemistry and a second science from Biology/Human Biology, Physics or Mathematics, with a minimum prediction of AAB. Three A-levels are required.

Aston University is the stricter A-Level offer; Birmingham is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Birmingham carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Aston University: Minimum 6 GCSEs/IGCSEs at grade 6/B or above including English Language, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology (or Double Science).

GCSEs scored /24 (or /12 if A-levels completed) as part of the academic… Birmingham: English Language at grade 6/B, Mathematics at grade 6/B, Biology and Chemistry (or Dual Award Science) at grade 6/B. Top GCSEs heavily scored: GCSE = 45% of pre-interview application score (UCAT 40%…

Interview formats

Both Aston University and Birmingham 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: Aston University interviews in December - March; Birmingham in December - February.

Curriculum and teaching style

Aston University runs a PBL curriculum; Birmingham runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Aston University leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Birmingham 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 MBChB with integrated science and clinical exposure from Year 1. Clinical placements across Birmingham-affiliated NHS hospitals (UHB, Russel

Intake size: Aston University — ~110 places per year.; Birmingham — 380 home places and 28 international for 2025 entry, of which up to 6 international places are reserved for IMU-Malaysia students entering the clinical years.. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

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.

What makes each distinctive

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.

Birmingham: Selection is GCSE-heavy: 45% GCSE / 40% UCAT / 15% contextual. UCAT scored by national decile, so a clear top-decile score makes a big difference. Birmingham was the first UK university to offer dentistry and medicine programmes side by side.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Birmingham is the lower-risk academic option. Both schools sit in the same England foundation-programme catchment, so post-graduation training paths overlap heavily. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Aston University; 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. Aston University guidance: No cut-off at all. Aston states it does not set score requirements for the UCAT and has no lower cut-off for either the UCAT or the SJT.. Birmingham guidance: No cut-off. Birmingham states there is no minimum UCAT score - your total is converted to a national decile and fed into a combined application score..

Aston University uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Birmingham 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 (Aston University); December - February (Birmingham).

Aston University requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology (A* in Chemistry or Biology). Birmingham requires AAA including Chemistry and a second science from Biology/Human Biology, Physics or Mathematics, with a minimum prediction of AAB. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Aston University — Resits accepted.. Birmingham — Birmingham does not publish a resit policy on its medicine selection pages, and its sibling dentistry programme states that resits are not c.

Aston University — Minimum 6 GCSEs/IGCSEs at grade 6/B or above including English Language, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology (or Double Science). GCSEs scored /24 (or /12 if A-levels completed) as part of the academic score: 9/8/A* = 4 (or 2) pts, 7/A = 3 (or 2) pts, 6/B = 2 (or 1) pts, 5/4/C = 1 (or 0) pt Birmingham — English Language at grade 6/B, Mathematics at grade 6/B, Biology and Chemistry (or Dual Award Science) at grade 6/B. Top GCSEs heavily scored: GCSE = 45% of pre-interview application score (UCAT 40%, contextual 15%)

Aston University's selection methodology: Newer programme (first cohort 2018). UCAT + academic + MMI. Birmingham-based with strong widening-participation focus. Birmingham's selection methodology: Home applicants are ranked on a total application score out of 10: 45% GCSE (max 4.5), 40% UCAT by national decile (max 4.0) and 15% contextual (max 1.5). There is no fixed UCAT cut-off, so strong GCSEs genuinely compensate for a weaker UCAT. The personal statement is not scored, though it is read before and after interview and must evidence commitment to medicine. The threshold score moves each year and is only set once the whole pool is known. International applicants are handled separately, ranked on UCAT alone once they meet the academic bar. 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.

Aston University: All Applicants: 306/363 = 84% (2025); Non-Contextual: 182/214 = 85%. Birmingham: Strong. In the 2024-25 cycle Birmingham made 845 offers from 1,061 home interviews (80%) and 79 from 117 international interviews (68%). Getting to interview is the hard part.. Post-interview odds tell you how competitive each school is at the final stage. Two schools with similar UCAT thresholds can have very different post-interview rates — a school with a 60% post-interview success rate is structurally easier to convert than one at 25%.

Aston University runs a PBL curriculum. Birmingham runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Aston University specifics: Five-year MBChB with PBL. Clinical placements across Birmingham NHS sites (UHB, Sandwell, Walsall, Heart of England). Birmingham specifics: Five-year MBChB with integrated science and clinical exposure from Year 1. Clinical placements across Birmingham-affiliated NHS hospitals (UHB, Russell's Hall, Heartlands).

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

Aston UniversityEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

BirminghamEntry 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.

Aston University vs Birmingham

Side-by-side comparison

Aston University vs Birmingham - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

Post-interview offer rate

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What UCAT score do I need for Aston University vs Birmingham?

How do interviews differ between Aston University and Birmingham?

What A-Level grades do Aston University and Birmingham require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Aston University vs Birmingham?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Which has a higher post-interview offer rate, Aston University or Birmingham?

Where are Aston University and Birmingham located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Aston University and Birmingham use?

Should I apply to both Aston University and Birmingham?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons