Where are Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and North Wales (Bangor) located, and how does that affect cost?

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) is in London, UK. North Wales (Bangor) is in Bangor, 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?

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. North Wales (Bangor) 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

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) vs North Wales (Bangor)

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and North Wales (Bangor) 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 North Wales (Bangor) sits in Bangor (England), 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. 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 2020) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and North Wales (Bangor).
Comparison field	Barts and The London (Queen Mary)London	North Wales (Bangor)Bangor
Quick comparison
Location	London, UK	Bangor, UK
A-Level offer	A*AA at A-level achieved in one sitting over a study period of no longer than two years	AAA at A-level including Biology and one further science.
TrueScore	Barts and The London (Queen Mary) TrueScore 2010	North Wales (Bangor) TrueScore 1700
UCAT home cut-off	A hard floor at the fourth decile: Queen Mary states your application will not be considered beyond first shortlisting if your total UCAT falls below it. Clearing the fourth decile is no guarantee of an interview.	-
Interview format	Panel interview with two senior academic or clinical staff, sometimes a lay selector (online)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	UK Undergrad: 948/1294 = 73% (2025); International: 61/159 = 38%; A101 Graduate Medicine: 55/127 = 43%	Refused to disclose. New medical school, has been in clearing in past years.
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	A*AA at A-level achieved in one sitting over a study period of no longer than two years	AAA at A-level including Biology and one further science.
Contextual A-Level offer	AAA at A-level for standard or enhanced contextual applicants. AAB for care-leavers.	AAB for Welsh-speaking applicants (who must also hold a first-language Welsh GCSE) and for others meeting Bangor's contextual criteria.
Required A-Level subjects	First A-level: Chemistry or Biology. Second A-level: a further science from Chemistry, Biology, Physics or Mathematics. Third A-level: any subject.	Biology required, plus one further science
A-Level resit policy	Resits only with extenuating circumstances. UCAS tariff scoring applies only to the 3 A-levels meeting the A*AA requirement (not EPQ or music qualifications).	A-level resits are NOT accepted. GCSE resits are accepted only if completed within 12 months of the original sitting and before application.
GCSE requirements	At least 6 GCSEs at grades 777666 (AAABBB pre-2017) including Biology, Chemistry, English Language or English Literature, and Mathematics. Science Double Award may substitute all sciences. GCSEs not required for graduates.	English or Welsh Language at grade B/6, and Double Science at BB/66.
GCSE scoring methodology	Used only as minimum threshold once met - UCAT-led ranking takes over	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	38 points overall, 7,6,6 at Higher Level - including HL Chemistry or Biology and a second science / Maths	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Biology and one further science
Graduate-entry degree requirement	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above. A101 4-year accelerated Graduate Entry programme available.	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above in any honours degree (A101 graduate-entry route)
Alternative qualifications	-	-

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	-
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	Band 4 auto-rejected. SJT used minimally post-interview (B1=2pts, B2=1pt, B3=0).	Refused to disclose how SJT is used (avoid with B4)
UCAT notes	Queen Mary says plainly that it is not possible to predict what the thresholds will be in any given year, nor to use previous years' data to predict them - so treat any specific figure quoted elsewher…	Bangor requires the UCAT but publishes NO minimum threshold - it states only that the score is used in selection. No cut-off should be inferred or estimated.

Degree awarded	MBBS	BMBS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Problem-based learning + Team-based learning	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	Full-body dissection	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	East London and north east London	North Wales
Named placement sites	The Royal London Hospital, Homerton Hospital, Newham Hospital, Whipps Cross Hospital, King George Hospital, Queen's Hospital	-
Intercalation	Intercalated degree options include Experimental Pathology, Global Medical Humanities, Neuroscience, Pharmacology and Innovative Therapeutics, Prehospital Medicine, and Sports and Exercise Medicine.	-
Course highlight	-	The programme is bilingual — most components can be studied in Welsh as well as English, and students use Welsh on placement.

Interview window	December - February	December - March
Interview details	Online panel-style MMI of about 20 minutes. You speak with a current medical student before it begins, which can help settle nerves. Stations cover motivation for medicine, teamwork, communication and…	MMI format spread across several stations. Each station gives 3 minutes' preparation for two questions and 3 minutes to answer each. Topics include motivation, ethics and reflection on experiences.

Specialities	Medicine, Dentistry, Biomedical Sciences	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	1785	2020
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	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…	Bangor publishes no UCAT threshold and has declined FOI requests on its shortlisting weighting, so no cut-off can be quoted. A-level resits are not accepted. Welsh-speaking applicants (with a first-la…
Official course page	https://www.qmul.ac.uk/fmd/study/undergraduate/courses/a100/	https://www.bangor.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/a100-medicine-bmbs

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: Barts and The London (Queen Mary) TrueScore 2010
UCAT home cut-off: A hard floor at the fourth decile: Queen Mary states your application will not be considered beyond first shortlisting if your total UCAT falls below it. Clearing the fourth decile is no guarantee of an interview.
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

North Wales (Bangor)

Bangor

Quick comparison

Location: Bangor, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Biology and one further science.
TrueScore: North Wales (Bangor) TrueScore 1700
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Refused to disclose. New medical school, has been in clearing in past years.
Decision date: March onwards

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) vs North Wales (Bangor) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) requires A*AA at A-level achieved in one sitting over a study period of no longer than two years.

North Wales (Bangor) requires AAA at A-level including Biology and one further science.

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) is the stricter A-Level offer; North Wales (Bangor) is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, North Wales (Bangor) carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Barts and The London (Queen Mary): At least 6 GCSEs at grades 777666 (AAABBB pre-2017) including Biology, Chemistry, English Language or English Literature, and Mathematics. Science Double Award may substitute all sciences. GCSEs not… North Wales (Bangor): English or Welsh Language at grade B/6, and Double Science at BB/66.

Interview formats

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

Interview windows: Barts and The London (Queen Mary) interviews in December - February; North Wales (Bangor) in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) runs a Integrated curriculum; North Wales (Bangor) 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 North Wales (Bangor) 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 MBBCh (Cardiff) for graduates, or 5-year route. Strong rural/community placement strand across North Wales (Betsi Cadwaladr UHB)

Intake size: Barts and The London (Queen Mary) — 311 Home places and up to 24 Overseas expected for September 2026 entry on the five-year A100 - one of the larger UK medical schools.; North Wales (Bangor) — ~30 places per year (small cohort, designed for local retention)..

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

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).

North Wales (Bangor): Bangor publishes no UCAT threshold and has declined FOI requests on its shortlisting weighting, so no cut-off can be quoted. A-level resits are not accepted. Welsh-speaking applicants (with a first-language Welsh GCSE) and other contextual applicants may receive an AAB offer.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, North Wales (Bangor) 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; North Wales (Bangor) into the England network.

If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer North Wales (Bangor); 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: A hard floor at the fourth decile: Queen Mary states your application will not be considered beyond first shortlisting if your total UCAT falls below it. Clearing the fourth decile is no guarantee of an interview.. North Wales (Bangor) guidance: Bangor requires the UCAT but publishes NO minimum threshold - it states only that the score is used in selection. No cut-off should be inferred or estimated..

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) uses Panel interview: Panel interview with two senior academic or clinical staff, sometimes a lay selector (online). North Wales (Bangor) uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). The two formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each, with at least 3 full mock interviews per format before sitting either. Interview windows: December - February (Barts and The London (Queen Mary)); December - March (North Wales (Bangor)).

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology/Physics/Mathematics. North Wales (Bangor) requires AAA including Biology and one further science. 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.. North Wales (Bangor) — Resits considered..

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) — At least 6 GCSEs at grades 777666 (AAABBB pre-2017) including Biology, Chemistry, English Language or English Literature, and Mathematics. Science Double Award may substitute all sciences. GCSEs not required for graduates. Used only as minimum threshold once met - UCAT-led ranking takes over North Wales (Bangor) — English or Welsh Language at grade B/6, and Double Science at BB/66.

Barts and The London (Queen Mary)'s selection methodology: You must be predicted a minimum UCAS tariff of 152 (A*AA) from the required subjects, and your total UCAT must reach at least the fourth decile to pass first shortlisting. Beyond that, candidates are shortlisted for the MMI, with the SJT used after interview. Queen Mary does not publish, and says it cannot predict, the year's threshold. North Wales (Bangor)'s selection methodology: AAA including Biology and a second science, plus UCAT with no published threshold, then MMI. Cardiff University School of Medicine is the contingency partner during GMC accreditation, so students would graduate from Cardiff if required. 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%. North Wales (Bangor): Refused to disclose. New medical school, has been in clearing in past years.. 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) runs a Integrated curriculum. North Wales (Bangor) runs a PBL 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). North Wales (Bangor) specifics: Four-year accelerated MBBCh (Cardiff) for graduates, or 5-year route. Strong rural/community placement strand across North Wales (Betsi Cadwaladr UHB).

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

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

North Wales (Bangor)Entry 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.

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) vs North Wales (Bangor)

Side-by-side comparison

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) vs North Wales (Bangor) - 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 Barts and The London (Queen Mary) vs North Wales (Bangor)?

How do interviews differ between Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and North Wales (Bangor)?

What A-Level grades do Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and North Wales (Bangor) require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Barts and The London (Queen Mary) vs North Wales (Bangor)?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Which has a higher post-interview offer rate, Barts and The London (Queen Mary) or North Wales (Bangor)?

Where are Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and North Wales (Bangor) located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and North Wales (Bangor) use?

Should I apply to both Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and North Wales (Bangor)?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons