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

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) is in London, UK. Sheffield is in Sheffield, 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. Sheffield 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 Sheffield

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and Sheffield 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 Sheffield sits in Sheffield (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.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and Sheffield.
Comparison field	Barts and The London (Queen Mary)London	SheffieldSheffield
Quick comparison
Location	London, UK	Sheffield, 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 Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science. A pass in the practical element is required for science A-levels.
TrueScore	Barts and The London (Queen Mary) TrueScore 2010	Sheffield TrueScore 2150
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.	1800+ /2700 is the published minimum for 2027 entry; the actual cut-off runs well above it (2120 for 2026 entry) because applicants above the minimum are then ranked by UCAT.
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%	All Students (2024): 722/1029 = 70%; International: 55/104 = 53%
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 Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science. A pass in the practical element is required for science A-levels.
Contextual A-Level offer	AAA at A-level for standard or enhanced contextual applicants. AAB for care-leavers.	AAB for Access Sheffield (widening-access) applicants, including Chemistry or Biology at grade A plus a second science. AAB with an EPQ at grade A is also accepted.
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.	Chemistry or Biology required, plus a second 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).	Resit accepted with achieved BBB at first sitting; otherwise apply with achieved results.
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.	Minimum five GCSEs at grade 7/A, plus grade 6/B or above in Mathematics, English Language and at least one science subject.
GCSE scoring methodology	Used only as minimum threshold once met - UCAT-led ranking takes over	Used as a minimum threshold only - once met, shortlisting is by UCAT rank.
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 with 6 in three Higher Level subjects including Chemistry or Biology and a second science, and no less than 4 in any Standard Level subject.
Graduate-entry degree requirement	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above. A101 4-year accelerated Graduate Entry programme available.	-
Alternative qualifications	-	-

Contextual cut-off	-	1800+ /2700 - Access to Sheffield (Medicine) and university pathway students who clear the minimum go straight to interview.
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	2070+ /2700 (2026 entry)
Graduate cut-off	-	1800+ /2700 (A101, contextual only)
SJT band	Band 4 auto-rejected. SJT used minimally post-interview (B1=2pts, B2=1pt, B3=0).	Band 1/2 appropriate, band 3 may consider, band 4 deprioritised
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…	Two numbers matter and they are not the same: the published MINIMUM (1800 for 2027) only makes you eligible, after which shortlisting is wholly by UCAT rank. Large year-on-year variation.

Degree awarded	MBBS	MBChB
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Problem-based learning + Team-based learning	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	Full-body dissection	Imaging and models
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	East London and north east London	South Yorkshire and north Derbyshire
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.	An intercalated year is available.
Course highlight	-	The Patients as Educators programme is the largest of its kind.

Interview window	December - February	November - February
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…	An MMI of eight stations, each typically 8 minutes, covering communication, breadth of interests, empathy, knowledge of and interest in studying at Sheffield, work experience, motivation, numeracy, cr…

Specialities	Medicine, Dentistry, Biomedical Sciences	Medicine, Dentistry, Biomedical Sciences
Established	1785	1828
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…	SJT used post-interview as a virtual MMI station rather than in shortlisting. Sheffield prioritises balanced performance - applicants achieving 3/5 or more in every section are favoured over those who…
Official course page	https://www.qmul.ac.uk/fmd/study/undergraduate/courses/a100/	https://sheffield.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/2027/medicine-mbchb

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

Sheffield

Quick comparison

Location: Sheffield, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science. A pass in the practical element is required for science A-levels.
TrueScore: Sheffield TrueScore 2150
UCAT home cut-off: 1800+ /2700 is the published minimum for 2027 entry; the actual cut-off runs well above it (2120 for 2026 entry) because applicants above the minimum are then ranked by UCAT.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: All Students (2024): 722/1029 = 70%; International: 55/104 = 53%
Decision date: March onwards

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) vs Sheffield - 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.

Sheffield requires AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science. A pass in the practical element is required for science A-levels.

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) is the stricter A-Level offer; Sheffield is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Sheffield 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… Sheffield: Minimum five GCSEs at grade 7/A, plus grade 6/B or above in Mathematics, English Language and at least one science subject. Used as a minimum threshold only - once met, shortlisting is by UCAT rank.

Interview formats

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

Interview windows: Barts and The London (Queen Mary) interviews in December - February; Sheffield in November - February.

Curriculum and teaching style

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) runs a Integrated curriculum; Sheffield 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 Sheffield 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). Five-year MBChB with problem-based learning core. Clinical placements across Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Yorkshire region.

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.; Sheffield — Plans to invite ~1,150 home + ~100 international applicants for 2026 entry. ~250 places..

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).

Sheffield: SJT used post-interview as a virtual MMI station rather than in shortlisting. Sheffield prioritises balanced performance - applicants achieving 3/5 or more in every section are favoured over those who peak in some and dip in others.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Sheffield 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; Sheffield into the England network.

If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Sheffield; 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.. Sheffield guidance: 1800+ /2700 is the published minimum for 2027 entry; the actual cut-off runs well above it (2120 for 2026 entry) because applicants above the minimum are then ranked by UCAT..

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) uses Panel interview: Panel interview with two senior academic or clinical staff, sometimes a lay selector (online). Sheffield 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)); November - February (Sheffield).

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology/Physics/Mathematics. Sheffield requires AAA including Chemistry or Biology, plus one of Biology / Chemistry / Mathematics / Physics / Psychology. 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.. Sheffield — Resits accepted: only subjects that don't meet requirements may be re-sat, only one resit, all in same sitting..

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 Sheffield — Minimum five GCSEs at grade 7/A, plus grade 6/B or above in Mathematics, English Language and at least one science subject. Used as a minimum threshold only - once met, shortlisting is by UCAT rank.

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. Sheffield's selection methodology: Three consecutive stages. Stage 1 checks that you meet BOTH the academic and the UCAT threshold - miss either and the application ends there. Stage 2 ranks everyone who cleared both by UCAT score, with Home/EU and Overseas ranked in separate pools, and only the highest scorers go through. Stage 3 is the MMI. Sheffield typically interviews around 1,150 Home/EU and 150 Overseas applicants, and warns that clearing the minimum threshold is not an assurance of an interview. Access Sheffield (Medicine) participants and Sheffield biosciences students are exempt from the UCAT ranking and progress straight to interview once they meet both thresholds. 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%. Sheffield: All Students (2024): 722/1029 = 70%; International: 55/104 = 53%. 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. Sheffield 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). Sheffield specifics: Five-year MBChB with problem-based learning core. Clinical placements across Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Yorkshire region.

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

SheffieldEntry 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 Sheffield

Side-by-side comparison

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) vs Sheffield - 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 Sheffield?

How do interviews differ between Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and Sheffield?

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

How are GCSEs weighted at Barts and The London (Queen Mary) vs Sheffield?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

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

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

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and Sheffield use?

Should I apply to both Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and Sheffield?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons