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Medical school comparison

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) vs Exeter

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and Exeter 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 Exeter sits in Exeter, Devon, England, UK (England), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination.

The interview formats diverge — Panel vs MMI — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different. Barts and The London (Queen Mary) is the older institution (founded 1785); the other (founded 2013) 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
Panel interview with two senior academic or clinical staff, sometimes a lay selector (online)
Post-interview chance
UK Undergrad: 948/1294 = 73% (2025); International: 61/159 = 38%; A101 Graduate Medicine: 55/127 = 43%
Decision date
March onwards

Exeter

Exeter, Devon, England, UK

Quick comparison

Location
Exeter, Devon, England, UK, UK
A-Level offer
A*AA at A-level including A in Chemistry and A in Biology
TrueScore
1900
UCAT home cut-off
~1880+ /2700 with A*A*A* (5th decile) OR ~2100+ /2700 with A*A*A (8th decile). Points cut-off 74+/100.
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance
International (2026 policy): ~33% (10 places, ~30 interviews); UK Undergrad: 366/696 = 53%
Decision date
March onwards / mid-May
Compare different schools

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

UCAT thresholds compared

Barts and The London (Queen Mary)'s published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 2000, while Exeter sits at approximately 1880.

The 120-point spread is within year-on-year noise — for most applicants the two thresholds are effectively interchangeable, and other selection factors (GCSE weighting, interview score) will dominate.

Contextual / widening-participation cut-offs differ — Barts and The London (Queen Mary): not separately disclosed; Exeter: ~1820+ /2700 with A*A*A* (4th decile) OR ~2010+ /2700 with A*A*A (7th decile). Eligible applicants should weight this heavily when choosing.

A-Level and academic profile

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

Exeter requires Applicants need to apply via UCAS by 15 October; academic profile + admissions test used to determine interview invite. Typical A-Level offer A*AA (contextual AAB) for 2026 entry.

Interview formats

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) uses Panel (Panel interview with two senior academic or clinical staff, sometimes a lay selector (online)); Exeter 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, Exeter is the better fit.

Interview windows: Barts and The London (Queen Mary) interviews in December - February; Exeter in December – March.

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%. Exeter: International (2026 policy): ~33% (10 places, ~30 interviews); UK Undergrad: 366/696 = 53%.

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).

Exeter: Focus on non-academic qualities including communication, empathy, role-play and realistic insight into the course and career. Points-based shortlisting combining A-level prediction + UCAT decile (75% academic / 25% UCAT). SJT not used - band 4 is fine.

Which is right for you?

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; Exeter into the England 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

Where to go next

Barts and The London (Queen Mary)Entry requirements, interview format and key dates in fullExeterEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Other medical school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 4 August 2026.