How do interviews differ between Cardiff and Liverpool?

Cardiff uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Liverpool 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 - February (Cardiff); December - February (Liverpool).

Where are Cardiff and Liverpool located, and how does that affect cost?

Cardiff is in Cardiff, UK. Liverpool is in Liverpool, 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?

Cardiff typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Liverpool 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

Cardiff vs Liverpool

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

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Cardiff and Liverpool.
Comparison field	CardiffCardiff	LiverpoolLiverpool
Quick comparison
Location	Cardiff, UK	Liverpool, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Biology OR Chemistry plus a second science from Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics or Psychology. A pass in the science practical element is required where applicable.	AAA at A-level with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. AAB also accepted with AA including Chemistry plus one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics. No use of predicted grades.
TrueScore	Cardiff TrueScore 1700	Liverpool TrueScore 1900
UCAT home cut-off	No minimum. Cardiff states there is no minimum UCAT score, and that a cut-off is only introduced - and varies each cycle - when more applicants reach the highest academic scores than it can interview (around 1,000).	No threshold published in advance. Liverpool ranks applicants on overall UCAT score and says the bar moves each cycle with the strength of the field.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	International (2024): 60/146 = 41%; Welsh: 232/349 = 66%; RUK: 347/664 = 52%; ~600 offers from 1000 interviews in 2025	Home applicants (2024): 612/1870 = 33%; International: 22/138 = 16%. Low post-interview chances for both.
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Biology OR Chemistry plus a second science from Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics or Psychology. A pass in the science practical element is required where applicable.	AAA at A-level with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. AAB also accepted with AA including Chemistry plus one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics. No use of predicted grades.
Contextual A-Level offer	-	-
Required A-Level subjects	Biology and Chemistry both required	Chemistry required, plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. (AAB pattern: A in Chemistry plus A in one of Bio/Phys/Maths; B in third subject.)
A-Level resit policy	Resits only considered for applicants who held a conditional offer in the previous cycle and provide evidence of exceptional circumstances. GCSE resits accepted within one year of original sitting (English Language any time). No use of predicted A-level grades - achieved grades only.	Resits "may be considered" - must have achieved ABB on first sitting. Offer becomes A*AA on resit.
GCSE requirements	Top 9 GCSEs scored /27, must include Mathematics, English Language, Biology, Chemistry (or Double Science): A/8/9 = 3 pts, A/7 = 2 pts, B/6 = 1 pt. Achieved A-levels add up to 3 further points (A = 3, A = 2). 27/27 typical for RUK.	Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science)
GCSE scoring methodology	GCSE-heavy: top 9 GCSEs scored /27. Welsh-domiciled and contextual applicants receive up to 3 additional points. UCAT only applied as tie-break when too many applicants reach 27/27.	Top 9 GCSEs scored /20: 2 pts per grade 7+, 1 pt per grade 6. Minimum 15/20 (12/20 with achieved A-levels). Limited number of BTECs counted. Higher GCSE scores break ties on borderline applicants.
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Biology and Chemistry	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Chemistry plus one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics
Graduate-entry degree requirement	Graduate applicants need a 2:1 (Hons) or to be working towards one, plus BBB/ABC at A-level including the subject requirements and the minimum GCSEs. Applicants who have completed a PhD need only BBC at A-level, with all other criteria still met.	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above. GAMSAT used for graduate applicants - overall score 55–56 with no section below 50 considered competitive.
Alternative qualifications	-	-

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	Home and overseas applications are assessed in completely separate pools, so the two can end up with different thresholds for invitation to interview.
Graduate cut-off	-	Graduate applicants to A100 sit the GAMSAT, not the UCAT - a genuine difference from most UK schools.
SJT band	Not considered at all	Bands 1-3 accepted, band 4 rejected (home applicants). Any band accepted (international applicants).
UCAT notes	Cardiff is academically led: GCSE and UCAT decile scores are combined to rank applicants, with an extra point for academic achievement in further or higher education. The UCAT therefore acts as a sepa…	The UCAT is compulsory for all non-graduate applicants, including those on Access to Medicine routes, and must be sat in the same year as the application. Liverpool considers UCAT annotations as part…

Degree awarded	MBBCh	MBChB
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Case-based learning + Spiral	Spiral + Case-based learning
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	-	Year 2
Placement geography	Across Wales	The north west of England
Named placement sites	-	-
Intercalation	-	An additional undergraduate or master's degree by adding a year of intercalated study.
Course highlight	You can spend all or part of the course based in north Wales and still graduate from Cardiff.	-

Interview window	December - February	December - February
Interview details	MMI format with stations testing motivation for medicine, communication, ethics and understanding of the Welsh healthcare context. You are told the general topic of each station beforehand.	MMI with stations testing communication, ethical reasoning, motivation and global-health awareness. Two separate cut-offs (GCSE and UCAT) must both be met before invitations go out.

Specialities	Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy	Medicine, Dentistry, Tropical Medicine
Established	1893	1881
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Leading Welsh medical school with strong community-medicine and research focus. GCSE-heavy scoring (/27) - full points typically requires 9 grade 8/9s. UCAT is used to rank candidates only when there…	Historic medical school known for tropical medicine and global health. GCSE-heavy scoring (top 9 GCSEs counted). Personal statement not normally used in shortlisting but reserved for borderline cases.…
Official course page	https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/course/medicine-mbbch	https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/courses/medicine-and-surgery-mbchb

Cardiff

Quick comparison

Location: Cardiff, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Biology OR Chemistry plus a second science from Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics or Psychology. A pass in the science practical element is required where applicable.
TrueScore: Cardiff TrueScore 1700
UCAT home cut-off: No minimum. Cardiff states there is no minimum UCAT score, and that a cut-off is only introduced - and varies each cycle - when more applicants reach the highest academic scores than it can interview (around 1,000).
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: International (2024): 60/146 = 41%; Welsh: 232/349 = 66%; RUK: 347/664 = 52%; ~600 offers from 1000 interviews in 2025
Decision date: March onwards

Liverpool

Quick comparison

Location: Liverpool, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. A*AB also accepted with A*A including Chemistry plus one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics. No use of predicted grades.
TrueScore: Liverpool TrueScore 1900
UCAT home cut-off: No threshold published in advance. Liverpool ranks applicants on overall UCAT score and says the bar moves each cycle with the strength of the field.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Home applicants (2024): 612/1870 = 33%; International: 22/138 = 16%. Low post-interview chances for both.
Decision date: March onwards

Cardiff vs Liverpool - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Cardiff requires AAA at A-level including Biology OR Chemistry plus a second science from Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics or Psychology. A pass in the science practical element is required where applicable.

Liverpool requires AAA at A-level with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. A*AB also accepted with A*A including Chemistry plus one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics. No use of predicted grades.

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 — Cardiff: Top 9 GCSEs scored /27, must include Mathematics, English Language, Biology, Chemistry (or Double Science): A*/8/9 = 3 pts, A/7 = 2 pts, B/6 = 1 pt.

Achieved A-levels add up to 3 further points (A* =… Liverpool: Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science). Top 9 GCSEs scored /20: 2 pts per grade 7+, 1 pt per grade 6. Minimum 15/20 (12/20…

Interview formats

Both Cardiff and Liverpool 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: Cardiff interviews in December - February; Liverpool in December - February.

Curriculum and teaching style

Cardiff runs a Case-based curriculum; Liverpool runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Cardiff leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Liverpool uses a more traditional lecture-led structure.

Specifics: Five-year MBBCh with case-based learning. Cardiff splits clinical placements across South Wales (Cardiff & Vale, Aneurin Bevan, Cwm Taf Morgannwg). Five-year MBChB with integrated theory and clinical practice. Strong NHS placement breadth across Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Intake size: Cardiff — ~270 home + ~30 international places per year (A100).; Liverpool — ~280 home + ~30 international places per year (A100 Standard Entry Medicine).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

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

Cardiff: Leading Welsh medical school with strong community-medicine and research focus. GCSE-heavy scoring (/27) - full points typically requires 9 grade 8/9s. UCAT is used to rank candidates only when there are too many at the maximum GCSE score.

Liverpool: Historic medical school known for tropical medicine and global health. GCSE-heavy scoring (top 9 GCSEs counted). Personal statement not normally used in shortlisting but reserved for borderline cases. Low post-interview success rate compared with peers.

Which is right for you?

Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Cardiff feeds into the Wales foundation programme network; Liverpool into the England network. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Cardiff; 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. Cardiff guidance: No minimum. Cardiff states there is no minimum UCAT score, and that a cut-off is only introduced - and varies each cycle - when more applicants reach the highest academic scores than it can interview (around 1,000).. Liverpool guidance: No threshold published in advance. Liverpool ranks applicants on overall UCAT score and says the bar moves each cycle with the strength of the field..

Cardiff requires AAA including Biology or Chemistry plus a second science from Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics or Psychology. Liverpool requires AAA with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Cardiff — Cardiff considers resit applicants on a case-by-case basis.. Liverpool — No A-Level prediction requirement; resit applicants accepted. Achieved-grade applicants need only 12 GCSE points (vs 15 for predicted-grade .

Cardiff — Top 9 GCSEs scored /27, must include Mathematics, English Language, Biology, Chemistry (or Double Science): A*/8/9 = 3 pts, A/7 = 2 pts, B/6 = 1 pt. Achieved A-levels add up to 3 further points (A* = 3, A = 2). 27/27 typical for RUK. GCSE-heavy: top 9 GCSEs scored /27. Welsh-domiciled and contextual applicants receive up to 3 additional points. UCAT only applied as tie-break when too many applicants reach 27/27. Liverpool — Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science). Top 9 GCSEs scored /20: 2 pts per grade 7+, 1 pt per grade 6. Minimum 15/20 (12/20 with achieved A-levels). Limited number of BTECs counted. Higher GCSE scores break ties on borderline applicants.

Cardiff's selection methodology: Cardiff combines GCSE points with UCAT decile scores to rank applicants, adding a point for academic achievement in further or higher education. Points come from nine GCSE subjects, which must include Biology, Chemistry, English (first) or Welsh (first), and Mathematics or Numeracy. There is no minimum UCAT score: a cut-off is introduced only when the number of applicants with the highest academic scores exceeds the roughly 1,000 Cardiff can interview, and it moves every cycle. No offer is made without an MMI. Liverpool's selection methodology: Applicants must clear the academic criteria, then are ranked on overall UCAT score, with the top scorers progressing. Home and overseas applications are considered in separate pools because the competition within each differs, so the two can end up with different interview thresholds. Liverpool publishes no cut-off in advance. Around 3,350 people applied to A100 for 2026 entry. 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.

Cardiff: International (2024): 60/146 = 41%; Welsh: 232/349 = 66%; RUK: 347/664 = 52%; ~600 offers from 1000 interviews in 2025. Liverpool: Home applicants (2024): 612/1870 = 33%; International: 22/138 = 16%. Low post-interview chances for both.. 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%.

Cardiff runs a Case-based curriculum. Liverpool runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Cardiff specifics: Five-year MBBCh with case-based learning. Cardiff splits clinical placements across South Wales (Cardiff & Vale, Aneurin Bevan, Cwm Taf Morgannwg). Liverpool specifics: Five-year MBChB with integrated theory and clinical practice. Strong NHS placement breadth across Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Cheshire & Merseyside.

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

CardiffEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

LiverpoolEntry 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.

Cardiff vs Liverpool

Side-by-side comparison

Cardiff vs Liverpool - 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 Cardiff vs Liverpool?

How do interviews differ between Cardiff and Liverpool?

What A-Level grades do Cardiff and Liverpool require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Cardiff vs Liverpool?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Which has a higher post-interview offer rate, Cardiff or Liverpool?

Where are Cardiff and Liverpool located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Cardiff and Liverpool use?

Should I apply to both Cardiff and Liverpool?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons