How do interviews differ between Bristol and Hertfordshire?

Bristol uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Hertfordshire 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: November - April (Bristol); December - March (Hertfordshire).

Where are Bristol and Hertfordshire located, and how does that affect cost?

Bristol is in Bristol, UK. Hertfordshire is in Hatfield, 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?

Bristol typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Hertfordshire 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

Bristol vs Hertfordshire

Q: What curriculum style do Bristol and Hertfordshire use?

Bristol runs a Spiral curriculum. Hertfordshire runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Bristol specifics: Five-year MB ChB spiral curriculum - concepts revisited with increasing complexity. Clinical exposure from Year 1. Hertfordshire specifics: Five-year MBChB. Hertfordshire-based with East-of-England NHS placements.

Bristol and Hertfordshire 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.

Bristol is the older institution (founded 1876); the other (founded 2025) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Bristol and Hertfordshire.
Comparison field	BristolBristol	HertfordshireHatfield
Quick comparison
Location	Bristol, UK	Hatfield, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics, Mathematics or Further Mathematics	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (or Human Biology) at grade A plus a third subject at grade A, completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years. General Studies and Critical Thinking excluded.
TrueScore	Bristol TrueScore 2280	Hertfordshire TrueScore 1700intl
UCAT home cut-off	2240+ /2700 - the final threshold to be invited to interview for 2026 entry.	-
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	Total: 650/968 = 67% (2024); A108 Gateway to Medicine: 63/88 = 72%	-
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics, Mathematics or Further Mathematics	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (or Human Biology) at grade A plus a third subject at grade A, completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years. General Studies and Critical Thinking excluded.
Contextual A-Level offer	ABB at A-level for contextual / WP-eligible applicants	-
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry required, plus one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics / Further Mathematics	Chemistry AND Biology (or Human Biology) both required, plus any third subject
A-Level resit policy	Resits accepted - no requirement that all three A-levels be sat in the same year	Resits accepted.
GCSE requirements	Mathematics at minimum grade 7/A and English Language at minimum grade 4/C. GCSE resit applicants welcomed and may apply with results pending.	Minimum 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science)
GCSE scoring methodology	GCSEs and A-levels used only as minimum thresholds - 100% UCAT weighting for shortlisting once minimums are met	-
Scottish Highers	AAAAB at Higher including Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	AA at Advanced Higher including Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics	-
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall, 18 at Higher Level including 6,6 HL in Chemistry and one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics (either Analysis & Approaches or Applications & Interpretation)	36 points overall with Higher Level 6 in Chemistry or Biology and Higher Level 5 in a second science (Chemistry, Biology, Physics) or Mathematics
Graduate-entry degree requirement	A 2:1 in your degree plus BBB at A-level, including Chemistry and either Biology, Physics, Mathematics or Further Mathematics	-
Alternative qualifications	-	Access to Medicine Diploma accepted: 39 credits at distinction plus six at merit, with all biology and chemistry credits at distinction. International applicants only for the first cohort, applying direct rather than through UCAS, so it costs none of your four UCAS choices. Applicants must be 18 by the start of the course.

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	2270+ /2700 for 2026 entry.	No cut-off exists yet. Hertfordshire ranks applicants by UCAT and invites a fixed number to interview, but the first cohort is September 2026 so there is no historic lowest-invited score to quote.
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	Not used	No usage mentioned in any selection policy
UCAT notes	Shortlisting is wholly UCAT once the academic minimum is met, using the combined score from every subtest EXCEPT the Situational Judgement Test. Bristol states the threshold is subject to change year…	International applicants only for the first intake. SJT not used. Any number circulating as a Hertfordshire 'cut-off' is guesswork - the school has not yet completed a cycle.

Degree awarded	MB ChB	MBBS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Case-based learning + Integrated	Case-based learning + Problem-based learning
Anatomy teaching	Prosection	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	-	-
Named placement sites	-	-
Intercalation	Offered between years 3 and 4, at bachelor's or master's level.	Available during the course, earning an additional qualification.
Course highlight	You choose the placement for your final-year elective.	Initially open to international students only — around 70 places a year — with plans to admit UK fee-paying students soon after.

Interview window	November - April	December - March
Interview details	Bristol calls this a structured interview rather than an MMI: around 30 minutes across six stations, each assessed by a panel of three, and hosted remotely. No reading or writing is required in any of…	Applicants are ranked by UCAT score and a fixed number invited to an Interview Day, provided they meet academic minimums. Interview format includes typical MMI-style stations.

Specialities	Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Sciences	Medicine, International Medicine
Established	1876	2025
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Russell Group university with strong medical and dental programmes. Shortlisting is wholly UCAT-based - neither personal statement nor SJT is used in selection. Bristol has the highest UCAT cut-off of…	International applicants only for the first intake, with home entry planned later. Delivered with support from City St George's, University of London, and still working toward GMC accreditation - conf…
Official course page	https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/2027/medicine/mb-chb-medicine/	https://www.herts.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/mbbs-medicine

Bristol

Quick comparison

Location: Bristol, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics, Mathematics or Further Mathematics
TrueScore: Bristol TrueScore 2280
UCAT home cut-off: 2240+ /2700 - the final threshold to be invited to interview for 2026 entry.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Total: 650/968 = 67% (2024); A108 Gateway to Medicine: 63/88 = 72%
Decision date: March onwards

Hertfordshire

Hatfield

Quick comparison

Location: Hatfield, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (or Human Biology) at grade A plus a third subject at grade A, completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years. General Studies and Critical Thinking excluded.
TrueScore: Hertfordshire TrueScore 1700intl
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March onwards

Bristol vs Hertfordshire - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Bristol requires AAA at A-level including Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics, Mathematics or Further Mathematics.

Hertfordshire requires AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (or Human Biology) at grade A plus a third subject at grade A, completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years. General Studies and Critical Thinking excluded.

Both demand the same A-Level grade band, so academic prediction is unlikely to differentiate your application between them — provided you meet the required subject combination at each.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Bristol: Mathematics at minimum grade 7/A and English Language at minimum grade 4/C. GCSE resit applicants welcomed and may apply with results pending. GCSEs and A-levels used only as minimum thresholds -… Hertfordshire: Minimum 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science).

Interview formats

Both Bristol and Hertfordshire 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: Bristol interviews in November - April; Hertfordshire in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Bristol runs a Spiral curriculum; Hertfordshire runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Bristol delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while Hertfordshire centres learning around clinical cases.

Specifics: Five-year MB ChB spiral curriculum - concepts revisited with increasing complexity. Clinical exposure from Year 1. Five-year MBChB. Hertfordshire-based with East-of-England NHS placements.

Intake size: Bristol — ~220 home + ~30 international places per year (A100 Standard Entry Medicine).; Hertfordshire — ~50-100 places per year (newer cohort).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

What makes each distinctive

Bristol: Russell Group university with strong medical and dental programmes. Shortlisting is wholly UCAT-based - neither personal statement nor SJT is used in selection. Bristol has the highest UCAT cut-off of the major English schools.

Hertfordshire: International applicants only for the first intake, with home entry planned later. Delivered with support from City St George's, University of London, and still working toward GMC accreditation - confirm the accreditation position before accepting an offer. Applicants are ranked by UCAT with no published cut-off.

Which is right for you?

Both schools sit in the same England foundation-programme catchment, so post-graduation training paths overlap heavily. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Hertfordshire; 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. Bristol guidance: 2240+ /2700 - the final threshold to be invited to interview for 2026 entry.. Hertfordshire guidance: International applicants only for the first intake. SJT not used. Any number circulating as a Hertfordshire 'cut-off' is guesswork - the school has not yet completed a cycle..

Bristol requires AAA including Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics, Mathematics or Further Mathematics. Hertfordshire requires AAA including Chemistry AND Biology (or Human Biology), plus a third subject, completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Bristol — Resits accepted; no requirement for three A-Levels in same year.. Hertfordshire — Resits accepted..

Bristol — Mathematics at minimum grade 7/A and English Language at minimum grade 4/C. GCSE resit applicants welcomed and may apply with results pending. GCSEs and A-levels used only as minimum thresholds - 100% UCAT weighting for shortlisting once minimums are met Hertfordshire — Minimum 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science).

Bristol's selection methodology: Once the academic minimum is met, shortlisting is wholly on the UCAT total excluding the SJT. For 2026 entry the final thresholds to be invited were 2,240 (home) and 2,270 (overseas). Work experience is encouraged but is not a requirement. Hertfordshire's selection methodology: Newer programme. UCAT + academic + interview. Hertfordshire-based with strong widening-participation 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.

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

BristolEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

HertfordshireEntry 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.