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Medical school comparison

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) vs Dundee

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and Dundee are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Barts and The London (Queen Mary) is based in London (London) while Dundee sits in Dundee (Scotland), 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. Barts and The London (Queen Mary) is the older institution (founded 1785); the other (founded 1967) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Barts and The London (Queen Mary)

London

Quick comparison

Location
London, UK
A-Level offer
A*AA at A-level achieved in one sitting over a study period of no longer than two years
TrueScore
2010
UCAT home cut-off
~2000+ /2700 (A100 Home; 2025 entry cut-off ≈ 2003 /2700)
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance
UK Undergrad: 948/1294 = 73% (2025); International: 61/159 = 38%; A101 Graduate Medicine: 55/127 = 43%
Decision date
March onwards

Dundee

Dundee

Quick comparison

Location
Dundee, UK
A-Level offer
AAA at A-level (minimum) - A*A*A or A*A*A* recommended for non-contextual RUK due to use in shortlisting algorithm
TrueScore
1700
UCAT home cut-off
-
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance
RUK Non-Contextual (2025): 73/130 = 56%; Scottish: 647/825 = 78%; International: 86/156 = 55%
Decision date
March onwards
Compare different schools

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) vs Dundee - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology/Physics/Mathematics. Dundee requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology. Barts and The London (Queen Mary) is the stricter A-Level offer; Dundee is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Dundee carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview. 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. Dundee: Biology, English and Maths required at GCSE grade 6/B (if not studied at A-Level). Higher GCSE/National 5 grades essential due to high academic weighting in shortlisting.

Interview formats

Both Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and Dundee 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: Barts and The London (Queen Mary) interviews in December - February; Dundee in December - February.

Curriculum and teaching style

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) runs a Integrated curriculum; Dundee runs a Spiral curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Barts and The London (Queen Mary) delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while Dundee uses a more traditional lecture-led structure. Specifics: Five-year MBBS with integrated theory and clinical practice. Strong East London NHS placement network (Royal London, Whipps Cross, Newham, Mile End). Five-year MBChB spiral curriculum - concepts revisited with increasing complexity. Clinical placements across NHS Tayside, NHS Fife, NHS Highland, and Intake size: Barts and The London (Queen Mary) — ~290 home + ~30 international places per year (one of the larger UK medical schools).; Dundee — Home (Scottish + Contextual) ~825 places; RUK ~130; International ~156 (2025 entry).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

Barts and The London (Queen Mary): UK Undergrad: 948/1294 = 73% (2025); International: 61/159 = 38%; A101 Graduate Medicine: 55/127 = 43%. Dundee: RUK Non-Contextual (2025): 73/130 = 56%; Scottish: 647/825 = 78%; International: 86/156 = 55%. 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

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). Dundee: Scottish medical school renowned for anatomy teaching and medical research. Shortlisting weights 60% academic / 40% UCAT for school leavers (40/60 for graduates). Both A-level predictions and GCSEs feed the academic score.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Dundee is the lower-risk academic option. Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Barts and The London (Queen Mary) feeds into the London foundation programme network; Dundee into the Scotland network. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Barts and The London (Queen Mary); if you prefer lecture-led foundations, the other suits better. 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. Barts and The London (Queen Mary) guidance: ~2000+ /2700 (A100 Home; 2025 entry cut-off ≈ 2003 /2700). Dundee guidance: Pre-interview shortlisting: 60% academic + 40% UCAT (school leavers); 40% / 60% for graduates. SJT not used..

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Dundee 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 - February (Barts and The London (Queen Mary)); December - February (Dundee).

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology/Physics/Mathematics. Dundee requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Barts and The London (Queen Mary) — Resits considered with explanation.. Dundee — Resits not accepted (one-sitting expectation for standard applicants)..

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) — Min 6 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science. Dundee — Biology, English and Maths required at GCSE grade 6/B (if not studied at A-Level). Higher GCSE/National 5 grades essential due to high academic weighting in shortlisting.

Barts and The London (Queen Mary)'s selection methodology: UCAT + academic + Multiple Mini Interview. SJT used post-interview. Strong East London / international focus. Dundee's selection methodology: 60% academic score (GCSE + predicted A-Level) + 40% UCAT for shortlisting. Personal statement not scored - may be discussed at interview. SJT not used. 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.

Barts and The London (Queen Mary): UK Undergrad: 948/1294 = 73% (2025); International: 61/159 = 38%; A101 Graduate Medicine: 55/127 = 43%. Dundee: RUK Non-Contextual (2025): 73/130 = 56%; Scottish: 647/825 = 78%; International: 86/156 = 55%. 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%.

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) is in London, UK. Dundee is in Dundee, UK. Scottish-domiciled applicants funded by SAAS pay no tuition fees at Scottish medical schools — a substantial funding advantage worth tens of thousands of pounds over the degree. Rest-of-UK applicants still pay £9,250/year.

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Dundee 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.

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) runs a Integrated curriculum. Dundee runs a Spiral curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Barts and The London (Queen Mary) specifics: Five-year MBBS with integrated theory and clinical practice. Strong East London NHS placement network (Royal London, Whipps Cross, Newham, Mile End). Dundee specifics: Five-year MBChB spiral curriculum - concepts revisited with increasing complexity. Clinical placements across NHS Tayside, NHS Fife, NHS Highland, and remote/rural Scottish sites.

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.

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 20 June 2026.