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Aston University vs St Mary's Twickenham

Aston University and St Mary's Twickenham are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Aston University is based in Birmingham (England) while St Mary's Twickenham sits in Twickenham, London (London), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination.

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

Side-by-side comparison

Aston University

Birmingham

Quick comparison

Location
Birmingham, UK
A-Level offer
A*AA at A-level (A* must be in Chemistry or Biology)
TrueScore
1950
UCAT home cut-off
~1950+ /2700 (non-WP - 2024 lowest invited 2600/3600 ≈ 1950)
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance
All Applicants: 306/363 = 84% (2025); Non-Contextual: 182/214 = 85%
Decision date
March onwards

St Mary's Twickenham

Twickenham, London

Quick comparison

Location
Twickenham, London, UK
A-Level offer
AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics
TrueScore
1700intl
UCAT home cut-off
-
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance
-
Decision date
March onwards

Aston University vs St Mary's Twickenham - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Aston University requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology (A* in Chemistry or Biology).

St Mary's Twickenham requires AAA prediction and offer requirements, must include chemistry or biology as well as one of biology/chemistry/physics/maths. Resits only considered in exceptional circumstances. GCSEs: grade 6 minimum in maths, English language, biology and chemistry (or dual award science).

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

Interview formats

Both Aston University and St Mary's Twickenham 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; St Mary's Twickenham in December - March.

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.

St Mary's Twickenham: For international students only and new this year - apply directly in addition to your 4 UCAS medical choices, so no harm in giving it a try. The medical school is actively seeking links with international applicants.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, St Mary's Twickenham is the lower-risk academic option. Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Aston University feeds into the England foundation programme network; St Mary's Twickenham into the London network.

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