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

Aston University requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology (A* in Chemistry or Biology). Buckingham requires ABB including Chemistry or Biology (4.5-year MBChB). Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Aston University — Resits accepted.. Buckingham — Resits considered..

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

Aston University: All Applicants: 306/363 = 84% (2025); Non-Contextual: 182/214 = 85%. Buckingham: Refused to state. 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%.

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

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

Aston University and Buckingham 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 ABB) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Aston University and Buckingham.
Comparison field	Aston UniversityBirmingham	BuckinghamBuckingham
Quick comparison
Location	Birmingham, UK	Buckingham, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (A must be in Chemistry or Biology)	Minimum ABB at A-level including Chemistry OR Biology - both are not required.
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)	Three-stage selection: academic screening, digital Multiple Mini Assessment (MMA), then an MMI/OSSE task circuit
Post-interview chance	All Applicants: 306/363 = 84% (2025); Non-Contextual: 182/214 = 85%	Refused to state
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (A must be in Chemistry or Biology)	Minimum ABB at A-level including Chemistry OR Biology - both are not required.
Contextual A-Level offer	AAB at A-level for Aston Ready (WP) applicants, with AA in Chemistry + Biology	-
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 or Biology (one of the two, not both)
A-Level resit policy	Final qualification profile must normally be achieved in no more than three academic years - one resit attempt only	Resits considered.
GCSE requirements	Minimum 6 GCSEs/IGCSEs at grade 6/B or above including English Language, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology (or Double Science)	At least grade 4 in GCSE English and at least grade 4 in GCSE Mathematics (or equivalent).
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	-
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	Total score of at least 32 points including three Higher Level subjects, with at least HL6 in Chemistry or Biology and at least HL5 in the other.
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.	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	-
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	Not scored - good for band 4	UCAT not used - uses MMA computer-based test instead
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…	UCAT not used. Selection is by Buckingham's own computer-based MMA (Multiple Mini Assessment). Private university, applied to directly outside UCAS.

Degree awarded	MBChB	MB ChB
Course length	5 years	4.5 years
Teaching style	Problem-based learning	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	Year 1	-
Placement geography	The West Midlands	Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Cheshire
Named placement sites	-	Milton Keynes University Hospital, St Andrew's Hospital, Northampton, South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Macclesfield General Hospital (East Cheshire Trust), Leighton Hospital (Mid Cheshire Hospitals)
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	-	Buckingham is an independent, privately funded university — tuition is £41,500 a year for UK students and £47,000 for international students.

Interview window	December - March	December - March
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.	Buckingham selects in three stages for January 2027 entry: academic screening, a digital Multiple Mini Assessment (MMA), then an MMI/OSSE — a series of tasks assessing Good Medical Practice attributes…

Specialities	Medicine, Community Medicine	Medicine, Accelerated Medicine
Established	2018	1976
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…	UCAT is not used - Buckingham selects with its own computer-based MMA (Multiple Mini Assessment). Private university: fees rise to £41,500/year for UK and £47,000/year for international applicants (£1…
Official course page	https://www.aston.ac.uk/study/courses/medicine-mbchb	https://www.buckingham.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/mb-chb-medicine-4.5-year-degree/

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

Buckingham

Quick comparison

Location: Buckingham, UK
A-Level offer: Minimum ABB at A-level including Chemistry OR Biology - both are not required.
TrueScore: -
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Three-stage selection: academic screening, digital Multiple Mini Assessment (MMA), then an MMI/OSSE task circuit
Post-interview chance: Refused to state
Decision date: March onwards

Aston University vs Buckingham - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

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

Buckingham requires Minimum ABB at A-level including Chemistry OR Biology - both are not required.

Aston University is the stricter A-Level offer; Buckingham is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Buckingham 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… Buckingham: At least grade 4 in GCSE English and at least grade 4 in GCSE Mathematics (or equivalent).

Interview formats

Both Aston University and Buckingham 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.

That said, the specifics differ slightly: Aston University runs multiple mini interviews (mmi); Buckingham runs three-stage selection: academic screening, digital multiple mini assessment (mma), then an mmi/osse task circuit. Mock practice tailored to each school's exact format is the highest-leverage prep.

Interview windows: Aston University interviews in December - March; Buckingham in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Aston University runs a PBL curriculum; Buckingham runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Aston University leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Buckingham 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). Four-and-a-half-year accelerated MB ChB (no UCAT required). Clinical placements at Milton Keynes, Stoke Mandeville and partner NHS sites.

Intake size: Aston University — ~110 places per year.; Buckingham — ~70 home + significant international places per year (UK's only private medical school).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

Aston University: All Applicants: 306/363 = 84% (2025); Non-Contextual: 182/214 = 85%. Buckingham: Refused to state.

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.

Buckingham: UCAT is not used - Buckingham selects with its own computer-based MMA (Multiple Mini Assessment). Private university: fees rise to £41,500/year for UK and £47,000/year for international applicants (£186,750 and £211,500 across the 4.5 years). Apply directly, outside UCAS.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Buckingham 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.. Buckingham guidance: UCAT not used. Selection is by Buckingham's own computer-based MMA (Multiple Mini Assessment). Private university, applied to directly outside UCAS..

Aston University uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Buckingham uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Three-stage selection: academic screening, digital Multiple Mini Assessment (MMA), then an MMI/OSSE task circuit. 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 - March (Buckingham).

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 Buckingham — At least grade 4 in GCSE English and at least grade 4 in GCSE Mathematics (or equivalent).

Aston University's selection methodology: Newer programme (first cohort 2018). UCAT + academic + MMI. Birmingham-based with strong widening-participation focus. Buckingham's selection methodology: Buckingham does not require UCAT or BMAT. Selection by interview + academic profile + personal statement. Annual fees ~£40,000+ (private school, no NHS bursary). 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 runs a PBL curriculum. Buckingham 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). Buckingham specifics: Four-and-a-half-year accelerated MB ChB (no UCAT required). Clinical placements at Milton Keynes, Stoke Mandeville and partner NHS sites.

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

BuckinghamEntry 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.