Where are Chester Medical School (GEM) and Kent and Medway (KMMS) located, and how does that affect cost?

Chester Medical School (GEM) is in Chester, UK. Kent and Medway (KMMS) is in Canterbury/Medway, 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?

Chester Medical School (GEM) typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Kent and Medway (KMMS) 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

Chester Medical School (GEM) vs Kent and Medway (KMMS)

Chester Medical School (GEM) and Kent and Medway (KMMS) 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: Chester Medical School (GEM) and Kent and Medway (KMMS).
Comparison field	Chester Medical School (GEM)Chester	Kent and Medway (KMMS)Canterbury/Medway
Quick comparison
Location	Chester, UK	Canterbury/Medway, UK
A-Level offer	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject (a Master's offsets a 2:2)	AAB minimum for applicants already holding their A-levels (Group B). Pre-A-level applicants (Group A) get a conditional offer set from their school's average attainment - typically AAA or AAB. Normally completed in two years.
TrueScore	Chester Medical School (GEM) TrueScore 1820GEM	Kent and Medway (KMMS) TrueScore 1900
UCAT home cut-off	-	47th centile or above with SJT band 3 or better (2025-26 threshold was a 2490 total). KMMS explicitly does not commit to the same threshold for 2027 entry.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	-	Home Fee Status: 176/404 = 44%; International: 14/32 = 44% (only 113 applicants); Graduate (2023): 52/83 = 63%
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject (a Master's offsets a 2:2)	AAB minimum for applicants already holding their A-levels (Group B). Pre-A-level applicants (Group A) get a conditional offer set from their school's average attainment - typically AAA or AAB. Normally completed in two years.
Contextual A-Level offer	-	-
Required A-Level subjects	-	Chemistry and/or Biology. If only one of the two is offered, one further subject from Physics, Mathematics, Psychology or Computer Science is required. Critical Thinking and General Studies are not accepted.
A-Level resit policy	Not applicable to graduate entry.	KMMS does not use predicted A-level or AS grades - selection is on achieved grades. Resit applicants are assessed on final achieved grades only.
GCSE requirements	GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade 4/C or above (or accepted equivalent)	Five GCSEs at grade 9-6 (A*-B) including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Double Science plus one other). GCSE resits accepted.
GCSE scoring methodology	-	Selection driven by a contextualised GCSE Attainment 8 score /90 (Maths /18, English Language /9, English Literature /9, three EBacc subjects /27, three other subjects /27) benchmarked against the app…
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	-	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Chemistry and/or Biology
Graduate-entry degree requirement	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or higher in any honours degree from a UK or recognised international institution. No restriction on degree subject - non-science degrees acceptable.	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or higher in any honours degree. Graduate applicants need SJT band 2 or better.
Alternative qualifications	Graduate-entry only. UCAT, GAMSAT or MCAT all accepted (applicant submits best score). Required: relevant healthcare or community work experience, plus a personal statement reflecting commitment to medicine.	-

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	Same admission-test threshold as home applicants; personal statement replaces GCSE in the scoring.
Graduate cut-off	UCAT, GAMSAT or MCAT accepted - the applicant submits their best score. No fixed cut-off: Chester sets the threshold annually 'above the national mean'.	47th centile or above, but graduates need SJT band 2 or better.
SJT band	-	Band 4 automatically rejected. Other bands treated equally for school leavers; graduates need B1 or B2.
UCAT notes	Any-discipline graduate entry. 70 hours of healthcare or care-setting work experience within the three years before applying is a hard requirement. International applicants need IELTS 7.0.	The centile matters more than the raw number here - KMMS republishes the threshold each cycle. Once it is met, selection is driven by a contextualised GCSE Attainment 8 score.

Degree awarded	MB ChB	BM BS
Course length	4 years (graduate entry)	5 years
Teaching style	Integrated	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	Imaging and models	-
First patient contact	-	Year 1
Placement geography	Cheshire, the Wirral, Shropshire and north Wales	Kent and Medway
Named placement sites	Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Warrington and Halton NHS Trust, Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Crewe, Northwich, Winsford), Cheshire and Wirral Partnership, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (Wrexham Maelor), Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt NHS Foundation Trust (Oswestry)	-
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	Open to graduates with a previous degree in any discipline, not just science.	The degree is awarded jointly by the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University.

Interview window	December - March	December - March
Interview details	Graduate-entry MMI format with stations covering clinical reasoning, communication, motivation and reflection on prior experiences.	Multi-station interview that differs significantly from standard UK MMIs. Stations of about 7 minutes covering data handling, situational judgement, role-play and values-based tasks, followed by a 40-…

Specialities	Medicine, Community Medicine	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	2024	2020
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Graduate entry programme with focus on serving local communities. Newer course with a regional commitment to north-west England.	Selection by contextualised GCSE 'Attainment 8' score (/90) after UCAT minimum met - strong choice for high-GCSE / low-UCAT applicants. School performance averaged in to contextualise GCSE scoring (na…
Official course page	https://www.chester.ac.uk/study/graduate-entry-medicine/	https://kmms.ac.uk/study/

Chester Medical School (GEM)

Chester

Quick comparison

Location: Chester, UK
A-Level offer: Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject (a Master's offsets a 2:2)
TrueScore: Chester Medical School (GEM) TrueScore 1820GEM
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March onwards

Kent and Medway (KMMS)

Canterbury/Medway

Quick comparison

Location: Canterbury/Medway, UK
A-Level offer: AAB minimum for applicants already holding their A-levels (Group B). Pre-A-level applicants (Group A) get a conditional offer set from their school's average attainment - typically AAA or AAB. Normally completed in two years.
TrueScore: Kent and Medway (KMMS) TrueScore 1900
UCAT home cut-off: 47th centile or above with SJT band 3 or better (2025-26 threshold was a 2490 total). KMMS explicitly does not commit to the same threshold for 2027 entry.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Home Fee Status: 176/404 = 44%; International: 14/32 = 44% (only 113 applicants); Graduate (2023): 52/83 = 63%
Decision date: March onwards

Chester Medical School (GEM) vs Kent and Medway (KMMS) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Chester Medical School (GEM) requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject (a Master's offsets a 2:2).

Kent and Medway (KMMS) requires AAB minimum for applicants already holding their A-levels (Group B). Pre-A-level applicants (Group A) get a conditional offer set from their school's average attainment - typically AAA or AAB. Normally completed in two years.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Chester Medical School (GEM): GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade 4/C or above (or accepted equivalent). Kent and Medway (KMMS): Five GCSEs at grade 9-6 (A*-B) including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Double Science plus one other). GCSE resits accepted. Selection driven by a contextualised…

Interview formats

Both Chester Medical School (GEM) and Kent and Medway (KMMS) 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: Chester Medical School (GEM) interviews in December - March; Kent and Medway (KMMS) in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Both schools deliver a PBL-style curriculum, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar across years 1-3.

Specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBChB. Cheshire-based with regional NHS placements. Five-year MBBS jointly run by University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University. Strong rural/community placement strand across Kent and Medw

Intake size: Chester Medical School (GEM) — ~30-50 places per year (small newer cohort).; Kent and Medway (KMMS) — ~125 home + ~25 international places per year.. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

What makes each distinctive

Chester Medical School (GEM): Graduate entry programme with focus on serving local communities. Newer course with a regional commitment to north-west England.

Kent and Medway (KMMS): Selection by contextualised GCSE 'Attainment 8' score (/90) after UCAT minimum met - strong choice for high-GCSE / low-UCAT applicants. School performance averaged in to contextualise GCSE scoring (national average 45.9; ~25% above school average likely required).

Which is right for you?

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. Chester Medical School (GEM) guidance: Any-discipline graduate entry. 70 hours of healthcare or care-setting work experience within the three years before applying is a hard requirement. International applicants need IELTS 7.0.. Kent and Medway (KMMS) guidance: 47th centile or above with SJT band 3 or better (2025-26 threshold was a 2490 total). KMMS explicitly does not commit to the same threshold for 2027 entry..

Chester Medical School (GEM) uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Kent and Medway (KMMS) 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 (Chester Medical School (GEM)); December - March (Kent and Medway (KMMS)).

Chester Medical School (GEM) requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject (a Master's offsets a 2:2). Kent and Medway (KMMS) requires AAB minimum including Chemistry and/or Biology - if only one is offered, a further subject from Physics, Maths, Psychology or Computer Science is required. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Chester Medical School (GEM) — Not applicable to graduate entry.. Kent and Medway (KMMS) — Resits considered..

Chester Medical School (GEM) — GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade 4/C or above (or accepted equivalent). Kent and Medway (KMMS) — Five GCSEs at grade 9-6 (A*-B) including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Double Science plus one other). GCSE resits accepted. Selection driven by a contextualised GCSE Attainment 8 score /90 (Maths /18, English Language /9, English Literature /9, three EBacc subjects /27, three other subjects /27) benchmarked against the applicant's school average. IGCSE treated equivalently to GCSE.

Chester Medical School (GEM)'s selection methodology: Degree class (2:1, or 2:2 with a Master's) plus an admission test - UCAT, GAMSAT or MCAT, best score counted, threshold set above the national mean each year - plus 70 hours of recent healthcare work experience, then MMI. Kent and Medway (KMMS)'s selection methodology: KMMS does NOT use predicted A-Level grades or BMAT in selection. Does NOT use percentage weighting. Offers made in batches based on UCAT + academic minimums + MMI performance. Does not use AS levels. 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.

Chester Medical School (GEM) runs a PBL curriculum. Kent and Medway (KMMS) runs a PBL curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. Chester Medical School (GEM) specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBChB. Cheshire-based with regional NHS placements. Kent and Medway (KMMS) specifics: Five-year MBBS jointly run by University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University. Strong rural/community placement strand across Kent and Medway NHS sites.

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

Chester Medical School (GEM)Entry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Kent and Medway (KMMS)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.

Chester Medical School (GEM) vs Kent and Medway (KMMS)

Side-by-side comparison

Chester Medical School (GEM) vs Kent and Medway (KMMS) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What UCAT score do I need for Chester Medical School (GEM) vs Kent and Medway (KMMS)?

How do interviews differ between Chester Medical School (GEM) and Kent and Medway (KMMS)?

What A-Level grades do Chester Medical School (GEM) and Kent and Medway (KMMS) require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Chester Medical School (GEM) vs Kent and Medway (KMMS)?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Where are Chester Medical School (GEM) and Kent and Medway (KMMS) located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Chester Medical School (GEM) and Kent and Medway (KMMS) use?

Should I apply to both Chester Medical School (GEM) and Kent and Medway (KMMS)?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons