Barts and The London (Queen Mary) vs Southampton

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

Their UCAT bars are statistically indistinguishable (within 0 points), so the UCAT is unlikely to be your differentiator between them.

Contextual / widening-participation cut-offs differ — Barts and The London (Queen Mary): not separately disclosed; Southampton: ~1850+ /2700 (WP - 2024 entry lowest invited ≈ 1778). Eligible applicants should weight this heavily when choosing.

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

Southampton requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology.

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) is the stricter A-Level offer; Southampton is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Southampton 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. Southampton: Strong GCSE profile expected - typically 6+ at grade 7+ including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

Both Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and Southampton use Panel 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.

That said, the specifics differ slightly: Barts and The London (Queen Mary) runs panel interview with two senior academic or clinical staff, sometimes a lay selector (online); Southampton runs selection day - panel and group. Mock practice tailored to each school's exact format is the highest-leverage prep.

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

Both schools deliver a Integrated-style curriculum, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar across years 1-3.

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 BM5 integrated programme with strong emphasis on research methodology. Clinical placements across Southampton, Portsmouth, Winchester, Salis

Intake size: Barts and The London (Queen Mary) — ~290 home + ~30 international places per year (one of the larger UK medical schools).; Southampton — ~210 home + ~25 international places per year (BM5 standard programme).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Barts and The London (Queen Mary): UK Undergrad: 948/1294 = 73% (2025); International: 61/159 = 38%; A101 Graduate Medicine: 55/127 = 43%. Southampton: Home Students: 574/834 = 69%; International (2023): 17/59 = 30%.

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.

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).

Southampton: Personal statement carries unusual weight - selectors use it to drive the panel section if you reach Selection Day. SJT is not considered. Course updated for 2025: the integrated BMedSc award is being removed in favour of more clinical learning time.