Where are Aston University and University of Greater Manchester located, and how does that affect cost?

Aston University is in Birmingham, UK. University of Greater Manchester is in Bolton, 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. University of Greater Manchester 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 University of Greater Manchester

Aston University and University of Greater Manchester 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 AAB) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Aston University and University of Greater Manchester.
Comparison field	Aston UniversityBirmingham	University of Greater ManchesterBolton
Quick comparison
Location	Birmingham, UK	Bolton, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (A must be in Chemistry or Biology)	Minimum AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years.
TrueScore	Aston University TrueScore 1950	University of Greater Manchester TrueScore 1700intl
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.	Not applicable - the course is not open to home applicants for 2026-27 entry
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	All Applicants: 306/363 = 84% (2025); Non-Contextual: 182/214 = 85%	-
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (A must be in Chemistry or Biology)	Minimum AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years.
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 required, plus a further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics
A-Level resit policy	Final qualification profile must normally be achieved in no more than three academic years - one resit attempt only	Resits may be considered
GCSE requirements	Minimum 6 GCSEs/IGCSEs at grade 6/B or above including English Language, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology (or Double Science)	Five GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including Mathematics, English Language and two science subjects. Resits accepted in GCSE English Language or Mathematics.
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	34 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Chemistry or Biology and one of Biology / Chemistry / 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	-	International students only for 2026-27 entry; the school has indicated home eligibility may change in future cycles, so confirm directly with admissions before applying. Applications are made directly to the school rather than through UCAS. UCAT required of all applicants from 2026 entry, with no published cut-off and no SJT use.

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	-	UCAT required from 2026 entry; no cut-off published
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	Not scored - good for band 4	No usage mentioned in any selection policy
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…	The school requires the UCAT of all applicants from 2026 entry but publishes no threshold, so no cut-off should be inferred. No SJT use stated. Applications are made directly to the school, outside th…

Degree awarded	MBChB	MBChB
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Problem-based learning	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	Year 1	-
Placement geography	The West Midlands	The north west of England
Named placement sites	-	-
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	-	£40 million of purpose-built facilities, in Bolton — around 20 minutes from Manchester.

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.	Interviews are conducted online and run as a series of mini-interviews and tests. From 2026 entry every applicant must sit the UCAT; the school publishes no cut-off score.

Specialities	Medicine, Community Medicine	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	2018	2025
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…	For 2026-27 entry the MBChB is open to international students only. Applications are made directly to the school, so a place here costs you none of your four UCAS medical choices. Teaching is based at…
Official course page	https://www.aston.ac.uk/study/courses/medicine-mbchb	https://medicine.greatermanchester.ac.uk/undergraduate-medical-school/

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

University of Greater Manchester

Bolton

Quick comparison

Location: Bolton, UK
A-Level offer: Minimum AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years.
TrueScore: University of Greater Manchester TrueScore 1700intl
UCAT home cut-off: Not applicable - the course is not open to home applicants for 2026-27 entry
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March onwards

Aston University vs University of Greater Manchester - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

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

University of Greater Manchester requires Minimum AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years.

Aston University is the stricter A-Level offer; University of Greater Manchester is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, University of Greater Manchester 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… University of Greater Manchester: Five GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including Mathematics, English Language and two science subjects.

Resits accepted in GCSE English Language or Mathematics.

Interview formats

Both Aston University and University of Greater Manchester 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; University of Greater Manchester 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 taught at the Institute of Medical Sciences on the Royal Bolton Hospital site, with clinical placements through the school's own healt

Intake size: Aston University — ~110 places per year.; University of Greater Manchester — Not published by the school.. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

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.

University of Greater Manchester: For 2026-27 entry the MBChB is open to international students only. Applications are made directly to the school, so a place here costs you none of your four UCAS medical choices. Teaching is based at the Institute of Medical Sciences on the Royal Bolton Hospital site.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, University of Greater Manchester 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.. University of Greater Manchester guidance: Not applicable - the course is not open to home applicants for 2026-27 entry.

Aston University uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). University of Greater Manchester 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 (University of Greater Manchester).

Aston University requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology (A* in Chemistry or Biology). University of Greater Manchester requires Minimum AAB offer/prediction, must include chemistry or biology and one further subject from biology/chemistry/physics/maths. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years. May consider resits. GCSEs: 5 subjects at grade 6, must include maths, English language and two sciences; will consider resits in GCSE English language or maths.. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Aston University — Resits accepted.. University of Greater Manchester — Resits may be considered..

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 University of Greater Manchester — Five GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including Mathematics, English Language and two science subjects. Resits accepted in GCSE English Language or Mathematics.

Aston University's selection methodology: Newer programme (first cohort 2018). UCAT + academic + MMI. Birmingham-based with strong widening-participation focus. University of Greater Manchester's selection methodology: Academic entry requirements plus UCAT (required of all applicants from 2026 entry, with no published cut-off), then an online interview made up of a series of mini-interviews and tests. Direct application to the school rather than through UCAS. 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. University of Greater Manchester 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). University of Greater Manchester specifics: Five-year MBChB taught at the Institute of Medical Sciences on the Royal Bolton Hospital site, with clinical placements through the school's own healthcare partners.

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

University of Greater ManchesterEntry 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 University of Greater Manchester

Side-by-side comparison

Aston University vs University of Greater Manchester - 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 Aston University vs University of Greater Manchester?

How do interviews differ between Aston University and University of Greater Manchester?

What A-Level grades do Aston University and University of Greater Manchester require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Aston University vs University of Greater Manchester?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Where are Aston University and University of Greater Manchester located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Aston University and University of Greater Manchester use?

Should I apply to both Aston University and University of Greater Manchester?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons