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Medical school comparison

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) vs St Andrews

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and St Andrews 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 St Andrews sits in St Andrews (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. St Andrews is the older institution (founded 1413); the other (founded 1785) 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

St Andrews

St Andrews

Quick comparison

Location
St Andrews, UK
A-Level offer
AAA at A-level (offer and predicted) including Chemistry and one of Biology, Mathematics or Physics
TrueScore
1850
UCAT home cut-off
-
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance
RUK Student (2025): 123/162 = 74%; Scottish + RUK: 411/505 = 81%; International (2023): 56/82 = 68%
Decision date
March onwards
Compare different schools

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

A-Level and academic profile

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology/Physics/Mathematics. St Andrews requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology. Barts and The London (Queen Mary) is the stricter A-Level offer; St Andrews is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, St Andrews 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. St Andrews: Strong National 5 / GCSE profile. Biology required if not studied at A-Level (per Glasgow partnership rules).

Interview formats

Both Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and St Andrews 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; St Andrews in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) runs a Integrated curriculum; St Andrews runs a Traditional curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Barts and The London (Queen Mary) delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while St Andrews 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). First 3 years at St Andrews leading to BSc (Hons) Medicine. Most students then transfer to a partner clinical school for years 4-6 of MBChB. Intake size: Barts and The London (Queen Mary) — ~290 home + ~30 international places per year (one of the larger UK medical schools).; St Andrews — RUK ~24 places, Scottish ~150, International ~30 (3-year pre-clinical only - clinical years at partner schools).. 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%. St Andrews: RUK Student (2025): 123/162 = 74%; Scottish + RUK: 411/505 = 81%; International (2023): 56/82 = 68%. 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). St Andrews: Three-year pre-clinical course at St Andrews followed by transfer to a partner medical school for clinical years. SJT not used (was used many years ago, not now or in future). Scottish students face much lower cut-offs than RUK applicants.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, St Andrews 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; St Andrews 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). St Andrews guidance: Top ~500 ranked applicants invited to interview. WP applicants get 10% UCAT uplift. SJT not used. A990 Canadian Programme ~1950+..

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). St Andrews 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 - March (St Andrews).

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology/Physics/Mathematics. St Andrews 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.. St Andrews — Resits considered with extenuating circumstances..

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) — Min 6 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science. St Andrews — Strong National 5 / GCSE profile. Biology required if not studied at A-Level (per Glasgow partnership rules).

Barts and The London (Queen Mary)'s selection methodology: UCAT + academic + Multiple Mini Interview. SJT used post-interview. Strong East London / international focus. St Andrews's selection methodology: RUK 2024 entry: lowest UCAT for interview was 2500/3600, average 2892. Lowest UCAT given offer 2500, average ~2892. St Andrews delivers the first 3 years (BSc Medicine), then transfers most students to a clinical school (Glasgow, Manchester, Dundee, etc.). 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%. St Andrews: RUK Student (2025): 123/162 = 74%; Scottish + RUK: 411/505 = 81%; International (2023): 56/82 = 68%. 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. St Andrews is in St Andrews, 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. St Andrews 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. St Andrews runs a Traditional 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). St Andrews specifics: First 3 years at St Andrews leading to BSc (Hons) Medicine. Most students then transfer to a partner clinical school for years 4-6 of MBChB.

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.