How do interviews differ between Aston University and Edge Hill?

Aston University uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Edge Hill 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 - March (Edge Hill).

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

Aston University is in Birmingham, UK. Edge Hill is in Ormskirk, 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. Edge Hill 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 Edge Hill

Aston University and Edge Hill 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.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Aston University and Edge Hill.
Comparison field	Aston UniversityBirmingham	Edge HillOrmskirk
Quick comparison
Location	Birmingham, UK	Ormskirk, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (A must be in Chemistry or Biology)	AAA at A-level including Biology and Chemistry, OR AAB / A*AB with Biology and Chemistry at grade A or above plus a third subject at grade B or above
TrueScore	Aston University TrueScore 1950	Edge Hill 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.	Edge Hill does not publish a UCAT cut-off. Shortlisting is UCAT-led once the minimum academic requirements are met, so the effective bar moves with the strength of each cohort.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	All Applicants: 306/363 = 84% (2025); Non-Contextual: 182/214 = 85%	Home Student (2023): 32/115 = 28% - chances may have improved with 63 places now (vs 30 in 2023, 50 in 2024)
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (A must be in Chemistry or Biology)	AAA at A-level including Biology and Chemistry, OR AAB / A*AB with Biology and Chemistry at grade A or above plus a third subject at grade B or above
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.	Biology and Chemistry both required
A-Level resit policy	Final qualification profile must normally be achieved in no more than three academic years - one resit attempt only	Resits accepted
GCSE requirements	Minimum 6 GCSEs/IGCSEs at grade 6/B or above including English Language, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology (or Double Science)	At least 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above (or equivalent), including Biology, Chemistry, English Language and Mathematics. Double Science 6-6 accepted in lieu of separate Bio/Chem.
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	Used only as minimum threshold - wholly UCAT-based shortlisting once met
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	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Biology and Chemistry
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	-	Edge Hill does NOT accept international students. Foundation Year (A104) route available with lower UCAT bar (~1750 /2700).

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	No significant use, band 4 auto-rejected
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…	International students are not accepted. A Band 4 SJT is not accepted.

Degree awarded	MBChB	MBChB
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Problem-based learning	Case-based learning + Team-based learning
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 2
Placement geography	The West Midlands	The north west of England
Named placement sites	-	-
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	-	Students are allocated to a specific hospital for the whole of their training rather than rotating between sites.

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.	MMI format with 1 minute of prep outside each station and 7 minutes to answer. Probing follow-up questions are common - treat them as opportunities to develop your answer rather than signs you have go…

Specialities	Medicine, Community Medicine	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	2018	2020
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…	Significant proportional increase in places - now 63 places, up from 30 in 2023 and 50 in 2024. UCAT thresholds may have softened with growth. International students not accepted. Band 4 SJT auto-reje…
Official course page	https://www.aston.ac.uk/study/courses/medicine-mbchb	https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/course/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

Edge Hill

Ormskirk

Quick comparison

Location: Ormskirk, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Biology and Chemistry, OR A*A*B / A*AB with Biology and Chemistry at grade A or above plus a third subject at grade B or above
TrueScore: Edge Hill TrueScore 1950
UCAT home cut-off: Edge Hill does not publish a UCAT cut-off. Shortlisting is UCAT-led once the minimum academic requirements are met, so the effective bar moves with the strength of each cohort.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Home Student (2023): 32/115 = 28% - chances may have improved with 63 places now (vs 30 in 2023, 50 in 2024)
Decision date: March onwards

Aston University vs Edge Hill - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

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

Edge Hill requires AAA at A-level including Biology and Chemistry, OR A*A*B / A*AB with Biology and Chemistry at grade A or above plus a third subject at grade B or above.

Aston University is the stricter A-Level offer; Edge Hill is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Edge Hill 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… Edge Hill: At least 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above (or equivalent), including Biology, Chemistry, English Language and Mathematics.

Double Science 6-6 accepted in lieu of separate Bio/Chem. Used only as minimum…

Interview formats

Both Aston University and Edge Hill 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; Edge Hill 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. Clinical placements across Birmingham NHS sites (UHB, Sandwell, Walsall, Heart of England). Five-year MBChB with PBL and case-based learning. Clinical placements across Lancashire NHS sites (Southport & Ormskirk, Wirral, Mersey Care).

Intake size: Aston University — ~110 places per year.; Edge Hill — 63 places per year, up from 50 in 2024 and 30 in 2023.. 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.

Edge Hill: Significant proportional increase in places - now 63 places, up from 30 in 2023 and 50 in 2024. UCAT thresholds may have softened with growth. International students not accepted. Band 4 SJT auto-rejected.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Edge Hill is the lower-risk academic option. 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. 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.. Edge Hill guidance: Edge Hill does not publish a UCAT cut-off. Shortlisting is UCAT-led once the minimum academic requirements are met, so the effective bar moves with the strength of each cohort..

Aston University requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology (A* in Chemistry or Biology). Edge Hill requires AAA including Biology and Chemistry, OR A*A*B / A*AB with Biology and Chemistry at grade A or above plus a third subject at grade B or above. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Aston University — Resits accepted.. Edge Hill — Resits accepted..

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 Edge Hill — At least 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above (or equivalent), including Biology, Chemistry, English Language and Mathematics. Double Science 6-6 accepted in lieu of separate Bio/Chem. Used only as minimum threshold - wholly UCAT-based shortlisting once met

Aston University's selection methodology: Newer programme (first cohort 2018). UCAT + academic + MMI. Birmingham-based with strong widening-participation focus. Edge Hill's selection methodology: Newer programme (first cohort 2020). UCAT + academic + MMI interview. Strong North-West / Lancashire 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.

Aston University: All Applicants: 306/363 = 84% (2025); Non-Contextual: 182/214 = 85%. Edge Hill: Home Student (2023): 32/115 = 28% - chances may have improved with 63 places now (vs 30 in 2023, 50 in 2024). 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. Edge Hill runs a PBL curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. Aston University specifics: Five-year MBChB with PBL. Clinical placements across Birmingham NHS sites (UHB, Sandwell, Walsall, Heart of England). Edge Hill specifics: Five-year MBChB with PBL and case-based learning. Clinical placements across Lancashire NHS sites (Southport & Ormskirk, Wirral, Mersey Care).

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

Edge HillEntry 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 Edge Hill

Side-by-side comparison

Aston University vs Edge Hill - 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 Edge Hill?

How do interviews differ between Aston University and Edge Hill?

What A-Level grades do Aston University and Edge Hill require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Aston University vs Edge Hill?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

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

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

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Aston University and Edge Hill use?

Should I apply to both Aston University and Edge Hill?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons