Where are Bristol and Surrey (GEM) located, and how does that affect cost?

Bristol is in Bristol, UK. Surrey (GEM) is in Guildford, 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. Surrey (GEM) 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 Surrey (GEM)

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at Bristol vs Surrey (GEM)?

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 Surrey (GEM) — GCSE Maths and English at grade C/5 or above.

Bristol and Surrey (GEM) 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.

The interview formats diverge — Panel vs MMI — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different. Bristol is the older institution (founded 1876); the other (founded 2024) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Bristol and Surrey (GEM).
Comparison field	BristolBristol	Surrey (GEM)Guildford
Quick comparison
Location	Bristol, UK	Guildford, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics, Mathematics or Further Mathematics	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject
TrueScore	Bristol TrueScore 2280	Surrey (GEM) TrueScore 1700GEM
UCAT home cut-off	2240+ /2700 - the final threshold to be invited to interview for 2026 entry.	-
Interview format	Structured online panel interview (Zoom): six stations marked by two panels of three assessors	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	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject
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	-
A-Level resit policy	Resits accepted - no requirement that all three A-levels be sat in the same year	Not applicable to graduate entry.
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.	GCSE Maths and English at grade C/5 or above
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)	-
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	Minimum 2:1 UK honours degree (or equivalent) in any subject - all disciplines are given equal consideration.
Alternative qualifications	-	Graduate-entry only (4-year BMBS). GAMSAT is the general admission test; UCAT is accepted only from Biochemistry, Biology, Biomedical Science, Chemistry or Natural Sciences graduates. Open to UK and international applicants (IELTS 7.0 overall and in every component). The University of Exeter is the contingency awarding body while Surrey completes GMC accreditation.

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	2270+ /2700 for 2026 entry.	-
Graduate cut-off	-	GAMSAT is the general route. UCAT is accepted ONLY from applicants holding a degree in Biochemistry, Biology, Biomedical Science, Chemistry or Natural Sciences.
SJT band	Not used	-
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…	No numeric cut-off is published; scores sort applicants into interview, waitlist or rejection. Do not assume a UCAT route - for most degree subjects GAMSAT is the only option.

Degree awarded	MB ChB	BMBS
Course length	5 years	4 years (graduate entry)
Teaching style	Case-based learning + Integrated	Spiral + Team-based learning
Anatomy teaching	Prosection	Prosection
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	South West England	Surrey and the wider South East
Named placement sites	Southmead Hospital, Bristol Royal Infirmary, Royal United Hospital Bath, Weston General Hospital, Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, Yeovil District Hospital, Great Western Hospital, Swindon	Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, Surrey Heartlands ICS, Frimley Health and Care ICS
Intercalation	Offered between years 3 and 4, at bachelor's or master's level.	-
Course highlight	You choose the placement for your final-year elective.	AI is integrated into the curriculum, and virtual reality surgical training runs through the VRiMS collaboration.

Interview window	November - April	December - March
Interview details	Bristol calls this a structured interview, not an MMI. In the format published for 2026 entry it lasts about 30 minutes on Zoom and has six stations. Each station is scored by three assessors, so you…	MMI format with multiple stations assessing communication, ethical reasoning and problem-solving.

Specialities	Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Sciences	Medicine, Healthcare Technology, Clinical Practice
Established	1876	2024
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…	New graduate-entry school taking a technology-forward approach to teaching. Still under GMC review, so the University of Exeter acts as the contingency awarding body until Surrey's own accreditation c…
Official course page	https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/2027/medicine/mb-chb-medicine/	https://www.surrey.ac.uk/undergraduate/medicine-graduate-entry

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: Structured online panel interview (Zoom): six stations marked by two panels of three assessors
Post-interview chance: Total: 650/968 = 67% (2024); A108 Gateway to Medicine: 63/88 = 72%
Decision date: March onwards

Surrey (GEM)

Guildford

Quick comparison

Location: Guildford, UK
A-Level offer: Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject
TrueScore: Surrey (GEM) TrueScore 1700GEM
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March onwards

Bristol vs Surrey (GEM) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

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

Surrey (GEM) requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject.

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 -… Surrey (GEM): GCSE Maths and English at grade C/5 or above.

Interview formats

Bristol uses Panel (Structured online panel interview (Zoom): six stations marked by two panels of three assessors); Surrey (GEM) uses MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)). These two formats reward different skills — Panel emphasises narrative coherence and the ability to develop a thread under follow-up questioning, while MMI rewards breadth and quick recovery.

If your strengths lie in conversational depth, Bristol may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Surrey (GEM) is the better fit.

Interview windows: Bristol interviews in November - April; Surrey (GEM) in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

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

Specifics: Five-year MB ChB spiral curriculum - concepts revisited with increasing complexity. Clinical exposure from Year 1. Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBChB. Surrey-based with South-East NHS placements.

Intake size: Bristol — ~220 home + ~30 international places per year (A100 Standard Entry Medicine); Surrey (GEM) — ~30-50 places per year (small 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.

Surrey (GEM): New graduate-entry school taking a technology-forward approach to teaching. Still under GMC review, so the University of Exeter acts as the contingency awarding body until Surrey's own accreditation completes - worth confirming before you accept an offer.

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 Surrey (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

Bristol: home applicants — 2240+ /2700 - the final threshold to be invited to interview for 2026 entry. Surrey (GEM): no published UCAT cut-off. These are the figures on record for 2027-entry applicants. Schools without a fixed cut-off rank UCAT inside a composite shortlisting score, so thresholds move with each year's applicant pool — confirm the latest figure on each school's admissions page.

Bristol uses Panel interview: Structured online panel interview (Zoom): six stations marked by two panels of three assessors. Surrey (GEM) uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). 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: November - April (Bristol); December - March (Surrey (GEM)).

Bristol requires AAA at A-level including Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics, Mathematics or Further Mathematics. Surrey (GEM) requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject. 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.. Surrey (GEM) — Not applicable to graduate entry..

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. Surrey (GEM)'s selection methodology: Degree class hurdle (2:1, any subject), then GAMSAT - or UCAT for bioscience/chemistry graduates only - sorting applicants into interview, waitlist or reject, then a virtual MMI lasting under an hour. 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.

Bristol runs a Spiral curriculum. Surrey (GEM) 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. Surrey (GEM) specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBChB. Surrey-based with South-East NHS placements.

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

Surrey (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 11 September 2026.

Bristol vs Surrey (GEM)

Side-by-side comparison

Bristol vs Surrey (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 Bristol vs Surrey (GEM)?

How do interviews differ between Bristol and Surrey (GEM)?

What A-Level grades do Bristol and Surrey (GEM) require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Bristol vs Surrey (GEM)?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Where are Bristol and Surrey (GEM) located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Bristol and Surrey (GEM) use?

Should I apply to both Bristol and Surrey (GEM)?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons