What A-Level grades do Buckingham and Swansea (GEM) require?

Buckingham requires ABB including Chemistry or Biology (4.5-year MBChB). Swansea (GEM) requires Graduate entry programme - degree required. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Buckingham — Resits considered.. Swansea (GEM) — Not applicable to graduate entry..

Where are Buckingham and Swansea (GEM) located, and how does that affect cost?

Buckingham is in Buckingham, UK. Swansea (GEM) is in Swansea, 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?

Buckingham typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Swansea (GEM) 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

Buckingham vs Swansea (GEM)

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at Buckingham vs Swansea (GEM)?

Buckingham — At least grade 4 in GCSE English and at least grade 4 in GCSE Mathematics (or equivalent). Swansea (GEM) — No specific GCSE requirements published for graduate-entry MBBCh - academic competence is shown through the degree.

Buckingham and Swansea (GEM) are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Buckingham is based in Buckingham (England) while Swansea (GEM) sits in Swansea (Wales), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination.

The interview formats diverge — MMI vs Panel — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Buckingham and Swansea (GEM).
Comparison field	BuckinghamBuckingham	Swansea (GEM)Swansea
Quick comparison
Location	Buckingham, UK	Swansea, UK
A-Level offer	Minimum ABB at A-level including Chemistry OR Biology - both are not required.	Graduate entry programme - degree required
TrueScore	-	-
UCAT home cut-off	-	-
Interview format	Three-stage selection: academic screening, digital Multiple Mini Assessment (MMA), then an MMI/OSSE task circuit	Assessment Day
Post-interview chance	Refused to state	-
Decision date	March onwards	Until May

A-Level offer	Minimum ABB at A-level including Chemistry OR Biology - both are not required.	Graduate entry programme - degree required
Contextual A-Level offer	-	-
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry or Biology (one of the two, not both)	-
A-Level resit policy	Resits considered.	Not applicable to graduate entry.
GCSE requirements	At least grade 4 in GCSE English and at least grade 4 in GCSE Mathematics (or equivalent).	No specific GCSE requirements published for graduate-entry MBBCh - academic competence is shown through the degree.
GCSE scoring methodology	-	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	Total score of at least 32 points including three Higher Level subjects, with at least HL6 in Chemistry or Biology and at least HL5 in the other.	-
Graduate-entry degree requirement	-	Minimum 2:1 in any subject; OR a Merit in an integrated master's; OR a 2:2 combined with a Pass in a postgraduate higher degree.
Alternative qualifications	-	Graduate-entry only, open to home and international applicants. Admission test may be UCAT (min 1900), GAMSAT (min 50 overall and 50 in Paper 3) or, for international applicants, MCAT (min 500). Selection day is three face-to-face stations; there is no separate written or SJT exercise. Pathways to Medicine applicants are not eligible.

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	International applicants may alternatively submit an MCAT score, minimum 500.
Graduate cut-off	-	1900+ /2700 minimum considered. Swansea accepts EITHER UCAT or GAMSAT - it is not a GAMSAT-only school.
SJT band	UCAT not used - uses MMA computer-based test instead	-
UCAT notes	UCAT not used. Selection is by Buckingham's own computer-based MMA (Multiple Mini Assessment). Private university, applied to directly outside UCAS.	Three routes in: UCAT (min 1900), GAMSAT (min 50 overall AND 50 in Paper 3), or MCAT (min 500, international only). Selection day is three 20-30 minute face-to-face stations - there is no separate wri…

Degree awarded	MB ChB	MB BCh
Course length	4.5 years	4 years (graduate entry)
Teaching style	Integrated	Case-based learning
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	-	Year 1
Placement geography	Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Cheshire	Across Wales
Named placement sites	Milton Keynes University Hospital, St Andrew's Hospital, Northampton, South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Macclesfield General Hospital (East Cheshire Trust), Leighton Hospital (Mid Cheshire Hospitals)	-
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	Buckingham is an independent, privately funded university — tuition is £41,500 a year for UK students and £47,000 for international students.	Unique in Wales, and one of just a handful of similar programmes open to graduates of any discipline.

Interview window	December - March	March
Interview details	Buckingham selects in three stages for January 2027 entry: academic screening, a digital Multiple Mini Assessment (MMA), then an MMI/OSSE — a series of tasks assessing Good Medical Practice attributes…	Two 20-minute panel interviews preceded by a 30-minute written situational judgement assessment. Panels cover personal statement, course-specific motivation and clinical reasoning.

Specialities	Medicine, Accelerated Medicine	Medicine, Graduate Entry Medicine, Rural Healthcare
Established	1976	2004
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	UCAT is not used - Buckingham selects with its own computer-based MMA (Multiple Mini Assessment). Private university: fees rise to £41,500/year for UK and £47,000/year for international applicants (£1…	Graduate entry programme with a written SJT exercise as part of the selection day. Personal statement and detailed course knowledge feature prominently - applicants should know Swansea's programme str…
Official course page	https://www.buckingham.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/mb-chb-medicine-4.5-year-degree/	https://www.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/medicine/medicine-graduate-entry-mbbch/

Buckingham

Quick comparison

Location: Buckingham, UK
A-Level offer: Minimum ABB at A-level including Chemistry OR Biology - both are not required.
TrueScore: -
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Three-stage selection: academic screening, digital Multiple Mini Assessment (MMA), then an MMI/OSSE task circuit
Post-interview chance: Refused to state
Decision date: March onwards

Swansea (GEM)

Swansea

Quick comparison

Location: Swansea, UK
A-Level offer: Graduate entry programme - degree required
TrueScore: -
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Assessment Day
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: Until May

Buckingham vs Swansea (GEM) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Buckingham requires Minimum ABB at A-level including Chemistry OR Biology - both are not required.

Swansea (GEM) requires Graduate entry programme - degree required.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Buckingham: At least grade 4 in GCSE English and at least grade 4 in GCSE Mathematics (or equivalent). Swansea (GEM): No specific GCSE requirements published for graduate-entry MBBCh - academic competence is shown through the degree.

Interview formats

Buckingham uses MMI (Three-stage selection: academic screening, digital Multiple Mini Assessment (MMA), then an MMI/OSSE task circuit); Swansea (GEM) uses Panel (Assessment Day). These two formats reward different skills — MMI emphasises breadth, station-recovery and structured answers under time pressure, while Panel rewards depth and consistency.

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

Interview windows: Buckingham interviews in December - March; Swansea (GEM) in March.

Curriculum and teaching style

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

Specifics: Four-and-a-half-year accelerated MB ChB (no UCAT required). Clinical placements at Milton Keynes, Stoke Mandeville and partner NHS sites. Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBBCh. Swansea-based with South Wales NHS placements (Swansea Bay UHB, Hywel Dda UHB).

Intake size: Buckingham — ~70 home + significant international places per year (UK's only private medical school).; Swansea (GEM) — ~70 home + ~10 international places per year (4-year accelerated MBBCh).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

What makes each distinctive

Buckingham: UCAT is not used - Buckingham selects with its own computer-based MMA (Multiple Mini Assessment). Private university: fees rise to £41,500/year for UK and £47,000/year for international applicants (£186,750 and £211,500 across the 4.5 years). Apply directly, outside UCAS.

Swansea (GEM): Graduate entry programme with a written SJT exercise as part of the selection day. Personal statement and detailed course knowledge feature prominently - applicants should know Swansea's programme structure in detail.

Which is right for you?

Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Buckingham feeds into the England foundation programme network; Swansea (GEM) into the Wales network. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Swansea (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

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. Buckingham guidance: UCAT not used. Selection is by Buckingham's own computer-based MMA (Multiple Mini Assessment). Private university, applied to directly outside UCAS.. Swansea (GEM) guidance: Three routes in: UCAT (min 1900), GAMSAT (min 50 overall AND 50 in Paper 3), or MCAT (min 500, international only). Selection day is three 20-30 minute face-to-face stations - there is no separate written or SJT paper..

Buckingham uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Three-stage selection: academic screening, digital Multiple Mini Assessment (MMA), then an MMI/OSSE task circuit. Swansea (GEM) uses Assessment day: Assessment Day. 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: December - March (Buckingham); March (Swansea (GEM)).

Buckingham's selection methodology: Buckingham does not require UCAT or BMAT. Selection by interview + academic profile + personal statement. Annual fees ~£40,000+ (private school, no NHS bursary). Swansea (GEM)'s selection methodology: GAMSAT-based selection (UCAT alternative for graduate-entry). Strong Welsh/regional 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.

Buckingham runs a Integrated curriculum. Swansea (GEM) runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Buckingham specifics: Four-and-a-half-year accelerated MB ChB (no UCAT required). Clinical placements at Milton Keynes, Stoke Mandeville and partner NHS sites. Swansea (GEM) specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBBCh. Swansea-based with South Wales NHS placements (Swansea Bay UHB, Hywel Dda UHB).

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

BuckinghamEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Swansea (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 19 September 2026.