What A-Level grades do Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) and Exeter require?

Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) requires AAA including Biology and Chemistry. Exeter requires Applicants need to apply via UCAS by 15 October; academic profile + admissions test used to determine interview invite. Typical A-Level offer A*AA (contextual AAB) for 2026 entry.. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school.

Where are Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) and Exeter located, and how does that affect cost?

Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) is in Brighton, UK. Exeter is in Exeter, Devon, England, UK, 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?

Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Exeter releases medicine decisions March onwards / mid-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

Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) vs Exeter

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) vs Exeter?

Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) — Minimum grade 6/B in Mathematics and English Language or English Literature. Grade 5s accepted with contextual data. Used only as a minimum threshold - not used to rank applicants beyond meeting the floor Exeter — Grade 6/B in English Language. No other GCSE requirements.

Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) and Exeter are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Both sit in England, so location and clinical-placement breadth are similar — the differentiation comes from selection methodology, interview style and curriculum philosophy.

Their UCAT thresholds are remarkably close (within ~20 points), so the deciding factors are GCSE weighting, interview format and personal-statement use. Their A-Level requirements (AAA vs A*AA) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) and Exeter.
Comparison field	Brighton & Sussex (BSMS)Brighton	ExeterExeter, Devon, England, UK
Quick comparison
Location	Brighton, UK	Exeter, Devon, England, UK, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Biology and Chemistry	A*AA at A-level including A in Chemistry and A in Biology
TrueScore	Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) TrueScore 1990	Exeter TrueScore 1900
UCAT home cut-off	~1900+ /2700	~1880+ /2700 with AAA* (5th decile) OR ~2100+ /2700 with AAA (8th decile). Points cut-off 74+/100.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	Home: 394/737 = 53% (2025); International: 27/72 = 38%	International (2026 policy): ~33% (10 places, ~30 interviews); UK Undergrad: 366/696 = 53%
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards / mid-May

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Biology and Chemistry	A*AA at A-level including A in Chemistry and A in Biology
Contextual A-Level offer	AAB at A-level for UKWPMED-eligible (contextual) applicants, including Biology and Chemistry	AAB at A-level for contextual / WP-eligible applicants
Required A-Level subjects	Biology and Chemistry both required	Chemistry and Biology both required at grade A or higher
A-Level resit policy	Resits considered with one dropped grade (i.e. AAB on first attempt then AAA at resit)	Resits accepted - predicted grades can still be considered in shortlisting scores
GCSE requirements	Minimum grade 6/B in Mathematics and English Language or English Literature. Grade 5s accepted with contextual data.	Grade 6/B in English Language. No other GCSE requirements.
GCSE scoring methodology	Used only as a minimum threshold - not used to rank applicants beyond meeting the floor	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Biology and Chemistry	38 points overall, 7,6,6 at Higher Level including HL 6 in Chemistry and HL 6 in Biology. Contextual: 34 points overall, 6,6,5 at Higher Level.
Graduate-entry degree requirement	-	Graduate applicants must sit GAMSAT (rather than UCAT) - no specific minimum degree class published; competitive applicants typically hold a 2:1 or above
Alternative qualifications	-	-

Contextual cut-off	~1810+ /2700 (UK WP)	~1820+ /2700 with AAA* (4th decile) OR ~2010+ /2700 with AAA (7th decile)
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	~2030+ /2700	~2100+ /2700 (points cut-off 80+)
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	Band 4 autorejected - 1, 2, 3 are fine	SJT is not used - band 4 is appropriate
UCAT notes	Wholly UCAT-based shortlisting (50th centile or above considered, then ranked downwards). Offers made on interview performance. Band 4 SJT auto-rejected.	Points-based system combining A-level prediction (75% weight) + UCAT decile (25% weight). Achieved A-level grades scored more generously than predictions.

Degree awarded	BM BS	BMBS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Integrated	Case-based learning
Anatomy teaching	-	Imaging and models
First patient contact	Year 3	Year 1
Placement geography	Sussex	Devon and Cornwall
Named placement sites	Royal Sussex County Hospital	Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust (Truro)
Intercalation	Optional. Numbers are capped at 40% of the cohort, with priority given to those without a prior degree.	Between years 3 and 4 — ten bachelor's options and more than ten master's options.
Course highlight	The degree is awarded jointly by the Universities of Brighton and Sussex.	Every student spends at least one year based in Cornwall, at the Knowledge Spa in Truro.

Interview window	December - March	December – March
Interview details	MMI format. Questions feel closer to a typical job interview than a clinical viva - personal attributes feature heavily. There is usually time to spare in each station, so pace yourself.	Online MMI via Zoom breakout rooms - typically 4 stations of 5 minutes each, with a few minutes between stations. Strong focus on ethics, personal qualities and motivation. Fewer follow-up questions t…

Specialities	Medicine, Medical Education	Primary Care, Hospital Medicine, Community Medicine, Clinical Science, Rural & Regional Health
Established	2002	2013
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Wholly UCAT-based shortlisting. Offers made primarily on interview performance - UCAT is only used post-interview for borderline cases. Band 4 SJT auto-rejected; bands 1-3 are fine.	Focus on non-academic qualities including communication, empathy, role-play and realistic insight into the course and career. Points-based shortlisting combining A-level prediction + UCAT decile (75%…
Official course page	https://www.bsms.ac.uk/undergraduate/our-course/index.aspx	https://www.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate-degrees/bmbs-medicine/

Brighton & Sussex (BSMS)

Brighton

Quick comparison

Location: Brighton, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Biology and Chemistry
TrueScore: Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) TrueScore 1990
UCAT home cut-off: ~1900+ /2700
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Home: 394/737 = 53% (2025); International: 27/72 = 38%
Decision date: March onwards

Exeter

Exeter, Devon, England, UK

Quick comparison

Location: Exeter, Devon, England, UK, UK
A-Level offer: A*AA at A-level including A in Chemistry and A in Biology
TrueScore: Exeter TrueScore 1900
UCAT home cut-off: ~1880+ /2700 with A*A*A* (5th decile) OR ~2100+ /2700 with A*A*A (8th decile). Points cut-off 74+/100.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: International (2026 policy): ~33% (10 places, ~30 interviews); UK Undergrad: 366/696 = 53%
Decision date: March onwards / mid-May

Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) vs Exeter - in detail

UCAT thresholds compared

Brighton & Sussex (BSMS)'s published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 1900, while Exeter sits at approximately 1880.

Their UCAT bars are statistically indistinguishable (within 20 points), so the UCAT is unlikely to be your differentiator between them.

Contextual / widening-participation cut-offs differ — Brighton & Sussex (BSMS): ~1810+ /2700 (UK WP); Exeter: ~1820+ /2700 with A*A*A* (4th decile) OR ~2010+ /2700 with A*A*A (7th decile). Eligible applicants should weight this heavily when choosing.

A-Level and academic profile

Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) requires AAA at A-level including Biology and Chemistry.

Exeter requires A*AA at A-level including A in Chemistry and A in Biology.

Exeter is the stricter A-Level offer; Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Brighton & Sussex (BSMS): Minimum grade 6/B in Mathematics and English Language or English Literature. Grade 5s accepted with contextual data. Used only as a minimum threshold - not used to rank applicants beyond meeting the… Exeter: Grade 6/B in English Language. No other GCSE requirements.

Interview formats

Both Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) and Exeter 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: Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) interviews in December - March; Exeter in December – March.

Post-interview offer rate

Brighton & Sussex (BSMS): Home: 394/737 = 53% (2025); International: 27/72 = 38%. Exeter: International (2026 policy): ~33% (10 places, ~30 interviews); UK Undergrad: 366/696 = 53%.

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

Brighton & Sussex (BSMS): Wholly UCAT-based shortlisting. Offers made primarily on interview performance - UCAT is only used post-interview for borderline cases. Band 4 SJT auto-rejected; bands 1-3 are fine.

Exeter: Focus on non-academic qualities including communication, empathy, role-play and realistic insight into the course and career. Points-based shortlisting combining A-level prediction + UCAT decile (75% academic / 25% UCAT). SJT not used - band 4 is fine.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) is the lower-risk academic option. Both schools sit in the same England foundation-programme catchment, so post-graduation training paths overlap heavily.

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

Brighton & Sussex (BSMS)'s typical home cut-off is around 1900, while Exeter sits at approximately 1880 — a 20-point spread. The spread is small enough that other factors (GCSE weighting, interview score, contextual flags) usually dominate the firm/insurance decision. Cut-offs change year on year and vary by tier — check each school's latest published threshold before submitting your UCAS form.

Brighton & Sussex (BSMS) uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Exeter 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 - March (Brighton & Sussex (BSMS)); December – March (Exeter).

Brighton & Sussex (BSMS)'s selection methodology: Joint programme between University of Brighton and University of Sussex. UCAT + academic + Multiple Mini Interview. SJT used post-interview. Exeter's selection methodology: shortlisting weight not fully disclosed; check the official admissions page. 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.

Brighton & Sussex (BSMS): Home: 394/737 = 53% (2025); International: 27/72 = 38%. Exeter: International (2026 policy): ~33% (10 places, ~30 interviews); UK Undergrad: 366/696 = 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%.

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

Brighton & Sussex (BSMS)Entry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

ExeterEntry 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.