How are GCSEs weighted at Brunel Medical School vs University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)?

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. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) — GCSE performance considered as part of the broader academic profile; specific scoring not published.

Where are Brunel Medical School and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) located, and how does that affect cost?

Brunel Medical School is in Uxbridge, UK. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) is in Preston, 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. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) releases medicine decisions March - April. 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.

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Medical school comparison

Brunel Medical School vs University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)

Q: What A-Level grades do Brunel Medical School and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) require?

Brunel Medical School requires AAA including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science (Chemistry / Biology / Physics / Mathematics) and any third subject. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) requires AAB at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (home applicants). Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school.

Brunel Medical School and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) 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 A-Level requirements (AAA vs AAB) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Brunel Medical School and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).
Comparison field	Brunel Medical SchoolUxbridge	University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)Preston
Quick comparison
Location	Uxbridge, UK	Preston, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science (Chemistry / Biology / Physics / Mathematics) and any third subject	AAB at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (home applicants)
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.	UCAT used for home applicant shortlisting; no published cut-off
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.	-
Decision date	March onwards	March - April

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science (Chemistry / Biology / Physics / Mathematics) and any third subject	AAB at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (home applicants)
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	-
A-Level resit policy	Resits considered.	-
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	-
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	-
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	-	-

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	Cognitive subtests considered alongside academic and personal-statement assessment
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	Band 4 SJT auto-rejected	-
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).	UCLan publishes limited shortlisting detail. Threshold varies year-on-year; check the official course page closer to your application year.

Interview window	December - March	December - February
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…	MMI of approximately 7-9 timed stations covering motivation, ethics, communication, role-play and data interpretation. Home and international applicants are interviewed on the same MMI structure.

Specialities	Medicine, Healthcare Sciences	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	2022	2014
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…	One of the first UK universities to run a privately-funded medical school open to international students; substantial international cohort blended with a smaller home intake. Strong Lancashire regiona…
Official course page	https://www.brunel.ac.uk/study/courses/medicine-mbbs	https://www.lancashire.ac.uk/

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: 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

University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)

Preston

Quick comparison

Location: Preston, UK
A-Level offer: AAB at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (home applicants)
TrueScore: -
UCAT home cut-off: UCAT used for home applicant shortlisting; no published cut-off
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March - April

Compare different schools

Brunel Medical School vs University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) - 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.

University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) requires AAB at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (home applicants).

Brunel Medical School is the stricter A-Level offer; University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

Interview formats

Both Brunel Medical School and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) 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; University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in December - February.

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.

University of Central Lancashire (UCLan): One of the first UK universities to run a privately-funded medical school open to international students; substantial international cohort blended with a smaller home intake. Strong Lancashire regional placement network.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) 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

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.. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) guidance: UCAT used for home applicant shortlisting; no published cut-off.

Brunel Medical School uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) 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 - February (University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)).

Brunel Medical School's selection methodology: New programme (first cohort 2022). UCAT + academic + interview. Brunel partners with NHS West London for clinical placements. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)'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.

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 University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)Entry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Other medical school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 18 August 2026.