Barts and The London (Queen Mary) vs Chester Medical School (GEM)

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology/Physics/Mathematics.

Chester Medical School (GEM) requires Graduate entry - degree required.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Barts and The London (Queen Mary): Min 6 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science. Chester Medical School (GEM): Not applicable - graduate-entry programme. Requires a 2:1 honours degree.

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) uses Panel (Panel interview with two senior academic or clinical staff, sometimes a lay selector (online)); Chester Medical School (GEM) uses MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)). These two formats reward different skills — Panel emphasises narrative coherence and the ability to develop a thread under follow-up questioning, while MMI rewards breadth and quick recovery.

If your strengths lie in conversational depth, Barts and The London (Queen Mary) may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Chester Medical School (GEM) is the better fit.

Interview windows: Barts and The London (Queen Mary) interviews in December - February; Chester Medical School (GEM) in December - March.

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) runs a Integrated curriculum; Chester Medical School (GEM) runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Barts and The London (Queen Mary) delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while Chester Medical School (GEM) centres learning around clinical cases.

Specifics: Five-year MBBS with integrated theory and clinical practice. Strong East London NHS placement network (Royal London, Whipps Cross, Newham, Mile End). Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBChB. Cheshire-based with regional NHS placements.

Intake size: Barts and The London (Queen Mary) — ~290 home + ~30 international places per year (one of the larger UK medical schools).; Chester Medical School (GEM) — ~30-50 places per year (small newer cohort).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Barts and The London (Queen Mary): No longer 50:50 weighted on A-level predictions and UCAT - anyone who exceeds the UCAT cut-off generally gets an interview regardless of predictions. SJT band adds bonus points to interview score post-interview (Band 1 = +2, Band 2 = +1, Band 3 = 0).

Chester Medical School (GEM): Graduate entry programme with focus on serving local communities. Newer course with a regional commitment to north-west England.