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

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) is in London, UK. Swansea (GEM) is in Swansea, 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. Swansea (GEM) releases medicine decisions Until May. 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 Swansea (GEM)

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and Swansea (GEM) 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 Swansea (GEM) sits in Swansea (Wales), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination.

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) is the older institution (founded 1785); the other (founded 2004) 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 Swansea (GEM).
Comparison field	Barts and The London (Queen Mary)London	Swansea (GEM)Swansea
Quick comparison
Location	London, UK	Swansea, UK
A-Level offer	A*AA at A-level achieved in one sitting over a study period of no longer than two years	Graduate entry programme - degree required
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)	Assessment Day
Post-interview chance	UK Undergrad: 948/1294 = 73% (2025); International: 61/159 = 38%; A101 Graduate Medicine: 55/127 = 43%	-
Decision date	March onwards	Until May

A-Level offer	A*AA at A-level achieved in one sitting over a study period of no longer than two years	Graduate entry programme - degree required
Contextual A-Level offer	AAA at A-level for standard or enhanced contextual applicants. AAB for care-leavers.	-
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.	-
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).	Not applicable to graduate entry.
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.	No specific GCSE requirements published for graduate-entry MBBCh - academic competence is shown through the degree.
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	-
Graduate-entry degree requirement	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above. A101 4-year accelerated Graduate Entry programme available.	Minimum 2:1 in any subject; OR a Merit in an integrated master's; OR a 2:2 combined with a Pass in a postgraduate higher degree.
Alternative qualifications	-	Graduate-entry only, open to home and international applicants. Admission test may be UCAT (min 1900), GAMSAT (min 50 overall and 50 in Paper 3) or, for international applicants, MCAT (min 500). Selection day is three face-to-face stations; there is no separate written or SJT exercise. Pathways to Medicine applicants are not eligible.

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	International applicants may alternatively submit an MCAT score, minimum 500.
Graduate cut-off	-	1900+ /2700 minimum considered. Swansea accepts EITHER UCAT or GAMSAT - it is not a GAMSAT-only school.
SJT band	Band 4 auto-rejected. SJT used minimally post-interview (B1=2pts, B2=1pt, B3=0).	-
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…	Three routes in: UCAT (min 1900), GAMSAT (min 50 overall AND 50 in Paper 3), or MCAT (min 500, international only). Selection day is three 20-30 minute face-to-face stations - there is no separate wri…

Degree awarded	MBBS	MB BCh
Course length	5 years	4 years (graduate entry)
Teaching style	Problem-based learning + Team-based learning	Case-based learning
Anatomy teaching	Full-body dissection	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	East London and north east London	Across 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	-	Unique in Wales, and one of just a handful of similar programmes open to graduates of any discipline.

Interview window	December - February	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…	Two 20-minute panel interviews preceded by a 30-minute written situational judgement assessment. Panels cover personal statement, course-specific motivation and clinical reasoning.

Specialities	Medicine, Dentistry, Biomedical Sciences	Medicine, Graduate Entry Medicine, Rural Healthcare
Established	1785	2004
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…	Graduate entry programme with a written SJT exercise as part of the selection day. Personal statement and detailed course knowledge feature prominently - applicants should know Swansea's programme str…
Official course page	https://www.qmul.ac.uk/fmd/study/undergraduate/courses/a100/	https://www.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/medicine/medicine-graduate-entry-mbbch/

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

Swansea (GEM)

Swansea

Quick comparison

Location: Swansea, UK
A-Level offer: Graduate entry programme - degree required
TrueScore: -
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Assessment Day
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: Until May

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) vs Swansea (GEM) - 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.

Swansea (GEM) requires Graduate entry programme - degree required.

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… Swansea (GEM): No specific GCSE requirements published for graduate-entry MBBCh - academic competence is shown through the degree.

Interview formats

Both Barts and The London (Queen Mary) and Swansea (GEM) 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); Swansea (GEM) runs assessment day. 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; Swansea (GEM) in March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) runs a Integrated curriculum; Swansea (GEM) 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 Swansea (GEM) 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 graduate-entry MBBCh. Swansea-based with South Wales NHS placements (Swansea Bay UHB, Hywel Dda 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.; Swansea (GEM) — ~70 home + ~10 international places per year (4-year accelerated MBBCh)..

A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

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).

Swansea (GEM): Graduate entry programme with a written SJT exercise as part of the selection day. Personal statement and detailed course knowledge feature prominently - applicants should know Swansea's programme structure in detail.

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; Swansea (GEM) into the Wales network. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Swansea (GEM); 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.. Swansea (GEM) guidance: Three routes in: UCAT (min 1900), GAMSAT (min 50 overall AND 50 in Paper 3), or MCAT (min 500, international only). Selection day is three 20-30 minute face-to-face stations - there is no separate written or SJT paper..

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) uses Panel interview: Panel interview with two senior academic or clinical staff, sometimes a lay selector (online). Swansea (GEM) uses Assessment day: Assessment Day. 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)); March (Swansea (GEM)).

Barts and The London (Queen Mary) requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology/Physics/Mathematics. Swansea (GEM) requires Graduate entry programme - degree required. 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.. Swansea (GEM) — Not applicable to graduate entry..

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 Swansea (GEM) — No specific GCSE requirements published for graduate-entry MBBCh - academic competence is shown through the degree.

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. Swansea (GEM)'s selection methodology: GAMSAT-based selection (UCAT alternative for graduate-entry). Strong Welsh/regional focus. 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) runs a Integrated curriculum. Swansea (GEM) 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). Swansea (GEM) specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBBCh. Swansea-based with South Wales NHS placements (Swansea Bay UHB, Hywel Dda 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

Swansea (GEM)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 Swansea (GEM)

Side-by-side comparison

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

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

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 Swansea (GEM)?

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

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

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

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

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

When does each school release decisions?

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

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

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons