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

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

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

Manchester is the older institution (founded 1824); 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 Manchester.
Comparison field	Aston UniversityBirmingham	ManchesterManchester
Quick comparison
Location	Birmingham, UK	Manchester, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (A must be in Chemistry or Biology)	AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus one of Biology / Chemistry / Maths / Further Maths / Physics / Psychology. No use of predicted grades.
TrueScore	Aston University TrueScore 1950	Manchester TrueScore 2060
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.	2060+ /2700 with Band 1 or 2 SJT (2026 entry threshold, A106)
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	All Applicants: 306/363 = 84% (2025); Non-Contextual: 182/214 = 85%	2026 entry: home 985 offers from 1,667 interviews (59%); overseas 40 from 191 (21%); A101 home 91 from 157 (58%) and A101 overseas 6 from 10. Overseas applicants face a far harder run at both stages than home applicants.
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 Chemistry or Biology, plus one of Biology / Chemistry / Maths / Further Maths / Physics / Psychology. No use of predicted grades.
Contextual A-Level offer	AAB at A-level for Aston Ready (WP) applicants, with AA in Chemistry + Biology	AAB at A-level for WP+ contextual applicants. ABB for refugee or care-experienced (WP++) applicants.
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 one of Biology / Chemistry / Mathematics / Further Mathematics / Physics / Psychology
A-Level resit policy	Final qualification profile must normally be achieved in no more than three academic years - one resit attempt only	Resits accepted, but only one of Year 12 or Year 13 may be resat, a minimum of ABB at the first Year 13 sitting is required for resit grades to count, and the resit offer is AAA
GCSE requirements	Minimum 6 GCSEs/IGCSEs at grade 6/B or above including English Language, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology (or Double Science)	At least 7 GCSEs at grade 7, 8 or 9. English Language or Literature, Mathematics, and 2 Science subjects must be at grade 6 or above. WP+/WP++: 6 GCSEs at grade 7+ accepted. GCSE resits permitted; up to one Level 2 BTEC may be counted.
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 eligibility threshold - no further use of GCSEs in shortlisting beyond the floor
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 HL Chemistry or Biology plus another science from Chemistry / Biology / Physics / Psychology / 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.	A 2:1 honours degree or above, plus a minimum of BBB at A-level at the first sitting. Applicants with a relevant science degree are exempt from the A-level subject specification but must still meet BBB. The accelerated four-year A101 Graduate Entry programme runs a separate UCAT threshold (2,080 home, 2,310 overseas for 2026 entry).
Alternative qualifications	-	-

Contextual cut-off	Aston Ready contextual applicants are ranked in their own Home Widening Participation group rather than against other home applicants.	1960+ /2700 (WP+, 2026 entry threshold)
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	2250+ /2700 (2026 entry threshold) - 190 points ABOVE the home bar, not level with it
Graduate cut-off	-	2080+ /2700 for home A101, or 2310+ for overseas A101 (2026 entry)
SJT band	Not scored - good for band 4	Band 1 or 2 - do not currently consider B3/4
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…	Met-or-not thresholds, set each November once results are in, so Manchester cannot confirm them in advance and they move year to year. Clear the threshold with an SJT of Band 1 or 2 and you are very l…

Degree awarded	MBChB	MBChB
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Problem-based learning	Case-based learning + Team-based learning
Anatomy teaching	-	Dissection
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 3
Placement geography	The West Midlands	Greater Manchester and the north west
Named placement sites	-	Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (Oxford Road), Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (Wythenshawe), Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (formerly Salford Royal), Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Intercalation	-	Intercalate for a year to complete a BSc, a master’s degree or an MB-PhD.
Course highlight	-	The UK’s largest medical school, with over 2,200 undergraduate medical students.

Interview window	December - March	December - early 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.	Five-station MMI including a role-play that assesses verbal and non-verbal communication and empathy, plus typical MMI questions on motivation, ethics and teamwork. One station may ask you to elaborat…

Specialities	Medicine, Community Medicine	Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy
Established	2018	1824
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…	The UK's largest medical school, with over 2,200 undergraduate medical students and strong research links. Thresholds are met-or-not rather than ranked, so clearing the UCAT bar with an SJT of Band 1…
Official course page	https://www.aston.ac.uk/study/courses/medicine-mbchb	https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/2026/01428/mbchb-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

Manchester

Quick comparison

Location: Manchester, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus one of Biology / Chemistry / Maths / Further Maths / Physics / Psychology. No use of predicted grades.
TrueScore: Manchester TrueScore 2060
UCAT home cut-off: 2060+ /2700 with Band 1 or 2 SJT (2026 entry threshold, A106)
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: 2026 entry: home 985 offers from 1,667 interviews (59%); overseas 40 from 191 (21%); A101 home 91 from 157 (58%) and A101 overseas 6 from 10. Overseas applicants face a far harder run at both stages than home applicants.
Decision date: March onwards

Aston University vs Manchester - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

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

Manchester requires AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus one of Biology / Chemistry / Maths / Further Maths / Physics / Psychology. No use of predicted grades.

Aston University is the stricter A-Level offer; Manchester is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, 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… Manchester: At least 7 GCSEs at grade 7, 8 or 9.

English Language or Literature, Mathematics, and 2 Science subjects must be at grade 6 or above. WP+/WP++: 6 GCSEs at grade 7+ accepted. GCSE resits permitted; up…

Interview formats

Both Aston University and 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; Manchester in December - early 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 built around problem-based learning. Clinical placements distributed across Greater Manchester NHS sector hospitals from Year 3.

Intake size: Aston University — ~110 places per year.; Manchester — Manchester publishes 401 funded places across its medicine courses - the majority for home students and 28 for international students - plus a small number of additional self-funded or government-sponsored places on the graduate-entry programme.. 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.

Manchester: The UK's largest medical school, with over 2,200 undergraduate medical students and strong research links. Thresholds are met-or-not rather than ranked, so clearing the UCAT bar with an SJT of Band 1 or 2 usually earns an interview; Bands 3 and 4 are not currently considered.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, 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.. Manchester guidance: 2060+ /2700 with Band 1 or 2 SJT (2026 entry threshold, A106).

Aston University uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). 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 - early March (Manchester).

Aston University requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology (A* in Chemistry or Biology). Manchester requires AAA including Chemistry or Biology, plus one of Biology / Chemistry / Maths / Further Maths / Physics / Psychology. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Aston University — Resits accepted.. Manchester — Accepted, but strictly conditioned. You may resit only one of Year 12 or Year 13. If A-levels were attempted in Year 13, you must have achie.

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 Manchester — At least 7 GCSEs at grade 7, 8 or 9. English Language or Literature, Mathematics, and 2 Science subjects must be at grade 6 or above. WP+/WP++: 6 GCSEs at grade 7+ accepted. GCSE resits permitted; up to one Level 2 BTEC may be counted. Used only as minimum eligibility threshold - no further use of GCSEs in shortlisting beyond the floor

Aston University's selection methodology: Newer programme (first cohort 2018). UCAT + academic + MMI. Birmingham-based with strong widening-participation focus. Manchester's selection methodology: Academic minimums first, then UCAT must exceed cut-off. Historically, all applicants beyond the cut-off interviewed. SJT band 1 or 2 expected. 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%. Manchester: 2026 entry: home 985 offers from 1,667 interviews (59%); overseas 40 from 191 (21%); A101 home 91 from 157 (58%) and A101 overseas 6 from 10. Overseas applicants face a far harder run at both stages than home applicants.. 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. 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). Manchester specifics: Five-year MBChB built around problem-based learning. Clinical placements distributed across Greater Manchester NHS sector hospitals from Year 3.

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

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 Manchester

Side-by-side comparison

Aston University vs Manchester - 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 Manchester?

How do interviews differ between Aston University and Manchester?

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

How are GCSEs weighted at Aston University vs Manchester?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

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

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

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Aston University and Manchester use?

Should I apply to both Aston University and Manchester?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons