How do interviews differ between Cambridge and Hertfordshire?

Cambridge uses Traditional interview: Traditional panel interviews with academic focus. Hertfordshire 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: December (Cambridge); December - March (Hertfordshire).

Where are Cambridge and Hertfordshire located, and how does that affect cost?

Cambridge is in Cambridge, UK. Hertfordshire is in Hatfield, 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?

Cambridge typically releases medicine decisions January. Hertfordshire 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

Cambridge vs Hertfordshire

Cambridge and Hertfordshire 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 (A*A*A vs AAA) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.

The interview formats diverge — Panel vs MMI — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different. Cambridge is the older institution (founded 1209); the other (founded 2025) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Cambridge and Hertfordshire.
Comparison field	CambridgeCambridge	HertfordshireHatfield
Quick comparison
Location	Cambridge, UK	Hatfield, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (typical offer; 92–95% of recent offer-holders predicted AAA*) including Chemistry and Biology / Mathematics / Physics	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (or Human Biology) at grade A plus a third subject at grade A, completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years. General Studies and Critical Thinking excluded.
TrueScore	Cambridge TrueScore 2150	Hertfordshire TrueScore 1700intl
UCAT home cut-off	No threshold. Cambridge states plainly: "There is no minimum threshold for UCAT score."	-
Interview format	Traditional panel interviews with academic focus	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	Home (predicted grades): 253/979 = 26% (2025); International (predicted): 8/58 = 14%. ~30 more offers to those with achieved grades.	-
Decision date	January	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (typical offer; 92–95% of recent offer-holders predicted AAA*) including Chemistry and Biology / Mathematics / Physics	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (or Human Biology) at grade A plus a third subject at grade A, completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years. General Studies and Critical Thinking excluded.
Contextual A-Level offer	-	-
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry plus two of Biology / Mathematics / Physics / Further Mathematics is optimal. Most colleges have this as a fixed requirement. Some colleges (e.g. Corpus Christi, Fitzwilliam, Girton, Gonville & Caius, Homerton, Murray Edwards, Newnham, Selwyn, Trinity Hall) may consider applicants without Biology after admissions-tutor consultation. Three A-levels is sufficient - four not required.	Chemistry AND Biology (or Human Biology) both required, plus any third subject
A-Level resit policy	Resits considered case-by-case; competitive applicants typically achieve AAA in one sitting.	Resits accepted.
GCSE requirements	No specific GCSE requirement, but successful applicants typically achieve grade 7+ across all GCSEs. Mean offer-holder ≈ 9.7 grade A*/9 historically.	Minimum 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science)
GCSE scoring methodology	GCSE used contextually as part of holistic shortlisting (less algorithmically than Oxford). Sub-90% A*/9 applicants advised to favour Cambridge over Oxford.	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	A1, A1, A2 at Advanced Higher (per Cambridge banding system)	-
International Baccalaureate	41–42 points overall, 7,7,6 at Higher Level including HL Chemistry plus two of Biology / Mathematics / Physics	36 points overall with Higher Level 6 in Chemistry or Biology and Higher Level 5 in a second science (Chemistry, Biology, Physics) or Mathematics
Graduate-entry degree requirement	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above - A-level Chemistry (normally passed within 7 years of entry) required. Accelerated A101 Graduate Course in Medicine offered at Lucy Cavendish, Hughes Hall, St Edmund's and Wolfson colleges only.	-
Alternative qualifications	-	Access to Medicine Diploma accepted: 39 credits at distinction plus six at merit, with all biology and chemistry credits at distinction. International applicants only for the first cohort, applying direct rather than through UCAS, so it costs none of your four UCAS choices. Applicants must be 18 by the start of the course.

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	No separate threshold published.	No cut-off exists yet. Hertfordshire ranks applicants by UCAT and invites a fixed number to interview, but the first cohort is September 2026 so there is no historic lowest-invited score to quote.
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	Not used. Cambridge assesses the overall cognitive subtest score only and states it will not use the situational judgement score for 2027 entry.	No usage mentioned in any selection policy
UCAT notes	Cambridge looks at the overall cognitive subtest score only and weighs it alongside academic record and interview - it publishes no cut-off and no offer-holder averages. Colleges assess individually,…	International applicants only for the first intake. SJT not used. Any number circulating as a Hertfordshire 'cut-off' is guesswork - the school has not yet completed a cycle.

Degree awarded	MB BChir	MBBS
Course length	6 years	5 years
Teaching style	Traditional / lecture-led	Case-based learning + Problem-based learning
Anatomy teaching	Full-body dissection	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	Cambridge and the East of England	-
Named placement sites	Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust	-
Intercalation	Built in — year 3 is an intercalated year for every student.	Available during the course, earning an additional qualification.
Course highlight	An optional seven-week study-abroad placement is available in year 5.	Initially open to international students only — around 70 places a year — with plans to admit UK fee-paying students soon after.

Interview window	December	December - March
Interview details	Usually two panel-style interviews, normally both at the College that is considering your application (the one you named, or the one you were allocated after an open application). Cambridge says most…	Applicants are ranked by UCAT score and a fixed number invited to an Interview Day, provided they meet academic minimums. Interview format includes typical MMI-style stations.

Specialities	Clinical Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Medical Sciences	Medicine, International Medicine
Established	1209	2025
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	UCAT replaced the BMAT from 2025 entry. Variation between colleges in average UCAT scores and success rates, but the pooling system smooths over it - applying to "less popular" colleges does not meani…	International applicants only for the first intake, with home entry planned later. Delivered with support from City St George's, University of London, and still working toward GMC accreditation - conf…
Official course page	https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/medicine-mb-bchir	https://www.herts.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/mbbs-medicine

Cambridge

Quick comparison

Location: Cambridge, UK
A-Level offer: A*A*A at A-level (typical offer; 92–95% of recent offer-holders predicted A*A*A*) including Chemistry and Biology / Mathematics / Physics
TrueScore: Cambridge TrueScore 2150
UCAT home cut-off: No threshold. Cambridge states plainly: "There is no minimum threshold for UCAT score."
Interview format: Traditional panel interviews with academic focus
Post-interview chance: Home (predicted grades): 253/979 = 26% (2025); International (predicted): 8/58 = 14%. ~30 more offers to those with achieved grades.
Decision date: January

Hertfordshire

Hatfield

Quick comparison

Location: Hatfield, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (or Human Biology) at grade A plus a third subject at grade A, completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years. General Studies and Critical Thinking excluded.
TrueScore: Hertfordshire TrueScore 1700intl
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March onwards

Cambridge vs Hertfordshire - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Cambridge requires A*A*A at A-level (typical offer; 92–95% of recent offer-holders predicted A*A*A*) including Chemistry and Biology / Mathematics / Physics.

Hertfordshire requires AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (or Human Biology) at grade A plus a third subject at grade A, completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years. General Studies and Critical Thinking excluded.

Cambridge is the stricter A-Level offer; Hertfordshire is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Hertfordshire carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Cambridge: No specific GCSE requirement, but successful applicants typically achieve grade 7+ across all GCSEs. Mean offer-holder ≈ 9.7 grade A*/9 historically. GCSE used contextually as part of holistic… Hertfordshire: Minimum 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science).

Interview formats

Cambridge uses Panel (Traditional panel interviews with academic focus); Hertfordshire 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, Cambridge may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Hertfordshire is the better fit.

Interview windows: Cambridge interviews in December; Hertfordshire in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Cambridge runs a Traditional curriculum; Hertfordshire runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Cambridge delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while Hertfordshire centres learning around clinical cases.

Specifics: Three pre-clinical years at Cambridge (mostly lecture/lab-based, with college supervisions), then three clinical years at Addenbrooke's Hospital and C Five-year MBChB. Hertfordshire-based with East-of-England NHS placements.

Intake size: Cambridge — 270 students accepted in the 2025 cycle across all Colleges (A100 Standard Entry Medicine), including a capped 22 overseas fee-status places.; Hertfordshire — ~50-100 places per year (newer cohort).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

What makes each distinctive

Cambridge: UCAT replaced the BMAT from 2025 entry. Variation between colleges in average UCAT scores and success rates, but the pooling system smooths over it - applying to "less popular" colleges does not meaningfully change your odds. A100 is offered at every College except Hughes Hall.

Hertfordshire: International applicants only for the first intake, with home entry planned later. Delivered with support from City St George's, University of London, and still working toward GMC accreditation - confirm the accreditation position before accepting an offer. Applicants are ranked by UCAT with no published cut-off.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Hertfordshire is the lower-risk academic option. 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 Hertfordshire; 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. Cambridge guidance: No threshold. Cambridge states plainly: "There is no minimum threshold for UCAT score.". Hertfordshire guidance: International applicants only for the first intake. SJT not used. Any number circulating as a Hertfordshire 'cut-off' is guesswork - the school has not yet completed a cycle..

Cambridge requires A*A*A including Chemistry, plus one or two further science or mathematics subjects from Mathematics, Biology/Human Biology, Physics or Further Mathematics (the number varies by College). Hertfordshire requires AAA including Chemistry AND Biology (or Human Biology), plus a third subject, completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Cambridge — Resits considered case-by-case; competitive applicants typically achieve A*A*A in one sitting.. Hertfordshire — Resits accepted..

Cambridge — No specific GCSE requirement, but successful applicants typically achieve grade 7+ across all GCSEs. Mean offer-holder ≈ 9.7 grade A*/9 historically. GCSE used contextually as part of holistic shortlisting (less algorithmically than Oxford). Sub-90% A*/9 applicants advised to favour Cambridge over Oxford. Hertfordshire — Minimum 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science).

Cambridge's selection methodology: Holistic assessment run by each College: "We assess applicants through a mixture of academic record, UCAT and interviews." There is no UCAT threshold and no published algorithm. Cambridge interviews a high proportion of applicants and therefore makes many post-interview rejections. Hertfordshire's selection methodology: Newer programme. UCAT + academic + interview. Hertfordshire-based with strong widening-participation 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.

Cambridge runs a Traditional curriculum. Hertfordshire runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Cambridge specifics: Three pre-clinical years at Cambridge (mostly lecture/lab-based, with college supervisions), then three clinical years at Addenbrooke's Hospital and Cambridge-affiliated NHS sites. Hertfordshire specifics: Five-year MBChB. Hertfordshire-based with East-of-England 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

CambridgeEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

HertfordshireEntry 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.