Where are Brunel Medical School and Sunderland located, and how does that affect cost?

Brunel Medical School is in Uxbridge, UK. Sunderland is in Sunderland, 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?

Brunel Medical School typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Sunderland 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

Brunel Medical School vs Sunderland

Brunel Medical School and Sunderland 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.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Brunel Medical School and Sunderland.
Comparison field	Brunel Medical SchoolUxbridge	SunderlandSunderland
Quick comparison
Location	Uxbridge, UK	Sunderland, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science (Chemistry / Biology / Physics / Mathematics) and any third subject	AAA at A-level including Biology or Chemistry, plus another designated science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics/Further Mathematics/Statistics) and a third academic subject. No use of predicted grades - Sunderland considers achieved grades only.
TrueScore	Brunel Medical School TrueScore 1850	Sunderland TrueScore 1700
UCAT home cut-off	UCAT required for home applicants. Brunel publishes NO cut-off score - selection is competitive on overall performance, so no threshold should be inferred.	Expressed in deciles: your score must fall within the top 8 deciles of the cohort, with an SJT in Bands 1-3.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	International: 240/540 = 44%. UK estimated >30%, likely less than other London universities.	All Home Applicants: 353/731 = 48% (2025). Not for international students - home only.
Decision date	March onwards	Until May

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science (Chemistry / Biology / Physics / Mathematics) and any third subject	AAA at A-level including Biology or Chemistry, plus another designated science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics/Further Mathematics/Statistics) and a third academic subject. No use of predicted grades - Sunderland considers achieved grades only.
Contextual A-Level offer	Lower contextualised offer available for Widening Access Criteria applicants - exact grades not published	-
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry or Biology required, plus a second science from Chemistry / Biology / Physics / Mathematics, plus any third subject	Biology or Chemistry required, plus a second designated science, plus a third academic subject
A-Level resit policy	Resits considered.	Resits accepted.
GCSE requirements	Five GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including two Science subjects, English Language at grade 4/C (or equivalent), and Mathematics at grade 5/B	Five GCSEs at grade 7/A or above, with a minimum of grade 6/B in Mathematics, English Language, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Dual Science may not be accepted - confirm with the school. GCSE resits permitted before application (up to 2 attempts).
GCSE scoring methodology	-	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall, including HL 6 in Chemistry or Biology and HL 6 in a second science	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including HL Biology or Chemistry plus a second science / Maths (not published on the course page - treat as unconfirmed).
Graduate-entry degree requirement	Bachelor's degree at 2:1 or equivalent in a subject relevant to Medicine; Master's with Merit or equivalent in a relevant subject also accepted	-
Alternative qualifications	-	Sunderland does NOT accept international students - UK applicants only.

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	-
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	Band 4 SJT auto-rejected	Band 4 is automatically rejected, no further use of SJT
UCAT notes	Applicants with SJT Band 4 are not accepted. Brunel takes both home and international students (2026/7 fees: £9,790 home, £49,395 international).	Sunderland shortlists on three things together - the interview selection tool, the academic requirements and the UCAT. The selection tool is a survey you must complete by the published October deadlin…

Degree awarded	MBBS	MBChB
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Team-based learning	Problem-based learning + Case-based learning
Anatomy teaching	Plastinated specimens	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 3
Placement geography	Greater London and south east England	The north east of England
Named placement sites	-	-
Intercalation	-	Available after year 2 as a BSc, or after year 4 as an MSc.
Course highlight	The clinical skills facilities include 18 video-equipped consultation rooms.	-

Interview window	December - March	December - January
Interview details	MMI format with around 4-5 minutes per station. Heavy on scenario reasoning, data interpretation and inferences from given information rather than recall of memorised model answers. 1-minute reading t…	Series of short interview stations covering motivation, communication, reflection on work experience and reasoning. Includes a 30-minute online numeracy test as part of the selection day.

Specialities	Medicine, Healthcare Sciences	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	2022	2019
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	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…	No use of personal statement. The interview-selection tool reviews up to 4 examples of paid voluntary work or caring experience (shadowing doctors does not count). Numeracy test now part of the interv…
Official course page	https://www.brunel.ac.uk/study/courses/medicine-mbbs	https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/study/medicine/mbchb-medicine/

Brunel Medical School

Uxbridge

Quick comparison

Location: Uxbridge, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science (Chemistry / Biology / Physics / Mathematics) and any third subject
TrueScore: Brunel Medical School TrueScore 1850
UCAT home cut-off: UCAT required for home applicants. Brunel publishes NO cut-off score - selection is competitive on overall performance, so no threshold should be inferred.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: International: 240/540 = 44%. UK estimated >30%, likely less than other London universities.
Decision date: March onwards

Sunderland

Quick comparison

Location: Sunderland, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Biology or Chemistry, plus another designated science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics/Further Mathematics/Statistics) and a third academic subject. No use of predicted grades - Sunderland considers achieved grades only.
TrueScore: Sunderland TrueScore 1700
UCAT home cut-off: Expressed in deciles: your score must fall within the top 8 deciles of the cohort, with an SJT in Bands 1-3.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: All Home Applicants: 353/731 = 48% (2025). Not for international students - home only.
Decision date: Until May

Brunel Medical School vs Sunderland - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Brunel Medical School requires AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science (Chemistry / Biology / Physics / Mathematics) and any third subject.

Sunderland requires AAA at A-level including Biology or Chemistry, plus another designated science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics/Further Mathematics/Statistics) and a third academic subject. No use of predicted grades - Sunderland considers achieved grades only.

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: Five GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including two Science subjects, English Language at grade 4/C (or equivalent), and Mathematics at grade 5/B. Sunderland: Five GCSEs at grade 7/A or above, with a minimum of grade 6/B in Mathematics, English Language, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

Dual Science may not be accepted - confirm with the school. GCSE resits…

Interview formats

Both Brunel Medical School and Sunderland 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; Sunderland in December - January.

Curriculum and teaching style

Brunel Medical School runs a Integrated curriculum; Sunderland runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Brunel Medical School delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while Sunderland 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 with PBL and case-based learning. Strong North-East NHS placement network.

Intake size: Brunel Medical School — ~95 places per year (small newer cohort).; Sunderland — ~100 places per year (smaller cohort).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

Brunel Medical School: International: 240/540 = 44%. UK estimated >30%, likely less than other London universities. Sunderland: All Home Applicants: 353/731 = 48% (2025). Not for international students - home only.

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

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.

Sunderland: No use of personal statement. The interview-selection tool reviews up to 4 examples of paid voluntary work or caring experience (shadowing doctors does not count). Numeracy test now part of the interview process.

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 Sunderland; 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. Brunel Medical School guidance: UCAT required for home applicants. Brunel publishes NO cut-off score - selection is competitive on overall performance, so no threshold should be inferred.. Sunderland guidance: Expressed in deciles: your score must fall within the top 8 deciles of the cohort, with an SJT in Bands 1-3..

Brunel Medical School uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Sunderland 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 (Brunel Medical School); December - January (Sunderland).

Brunel Medical School requires AAA including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science (Chemistry / Biology / Physics / Mathematics) and any third subject. Sunderland requires AAA including Biology or Chemistry, plus another designated science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths/Further Maths/Statistics) and a third academic subject. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Brunel Medical School — Resits considered.. Sunderland — Resits accepted..

Brunel Medical School — Five GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including two Science subjects, English Language at grade 4/C (or equivalent), and Mathematics at grade 5/B. Sunderland — Five GCSEs at grade 7/A or above, with a minimum of grade 6/B in Mathematics, English Language, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Dual Science may not be accepted - confirm with the school. GCSE resits permitted before application (up to 2 attempts).

Brunel Medical School's selection methodology: New programme (first cohort 2022). UCAT + academic + interview. Brunel partners with NHS West London for clinical placements. Sunderland's selection methodology: UCAT + academic + interview. Newer programme (intake from 2019) - selection algorithm being refined annually. 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.

Brunel Medical School: International: 240/540 = 44%. UK estimated >30%, likely less than other London universities.. Sunderland: All Home Applicants: 353/731 = 48% (2025). Not for international students - home only.. 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%.

Brunel Medical School runs a Integrated curriculum. Sunderland runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Brunel Medical School specifics: Five-year MBBS with integrated theory and early clinical practice. Brunel partners with NHS West London for clinical placements (Hillingdon, Northwick Park, Ealing). Sunderland specifics: Five-year MBChB with PBL and case-based learning. Strong North-East NHS placement network.

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

Brunel Medical SchoolEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

SunderlandEntry 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.

Brunel Medical School vs Sunderland

Side-by-side comparison

Brunel Medical School vs Sunderland - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

Post-interview offer rate

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What UCAT score do I need for Brunel Medical School vs Sunderland?

How do interviews differ between Brunel Medical School and Sunderland?

What A-Level grades do Brunel Medical School and Sunderland require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Brunel Medical School vs Sunderland?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Which has a higher post-interview offer rate, Brunel Medical School or Sunderland?

Where are Brunel Medical School and Sunderland located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Brunel Medical School and Sunderland use?

Should I apply to both Brunel Medical School and Sunderland?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons