Brunel Medical School vs Lancaster

Brunel Medical School requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology.

Lancaster requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology.

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 — Brunel Medical School: Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science. Lancaster: Min grade 6 in English Language, Maths, dual-award Science (or Biology + Chemistry).

Both Brunel Medical School and Lancaster 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: Brunel Medical School interviews in December - March; Lancaster in December - March.

Brunel Medical School runs a Integrated curriculum; Lancaster runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Brunel Medical School delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while Lancaster centres learning around clinical cases.

Specifics: Five-year MBBS with integrated theory and early clinical practice. Brunel partners with NHS West London for clinical placements (Hillingdon, Northwick Five-year MBChB built around problem-based learning. Distinct rural/community placement strand in Cumbria, Lancashire and Morecambe Bay.

Intake size: Brunel Medical School — ~95 places per year (small newer cohort).; Lancaster — ~64 home + ~10 international places per year (small intake).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Brunel Medical School: International: 240/540 = 44%. UK estimated >30%, likely less than other London universities. Lancaster: Home student: 261/587 = 44%; International: 6/19 = 32%.

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.

Brunel Medical School: New medical school still under GMC accreditation (Buckingham acts as contingency). Refused to publish UCAT cut-offs - anecdotally low. International offers are notably high in volume relative to home places.

Lancaster: Newer medical school with a focus on regional healthcare in north-west England. Personal statement is not used in selection and interviewers do not have access to it. SJT band 4 is auto-rejected - bands 1-3 are equal.