Chester Medical School (GEM) and Lincoln Medical School 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.
| Comparison field | Chester Medical School (GEM)Chester | Lincoln Medical SchoolLincoln |
|---|---|---|
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| Location | Chester, UK | Lincoln, UK |
| A-Level offer | Graduate entry - degree required | AAA at A-level including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry |
| TrueScoreTrueScore is our prediction of the UCAT score required to be invited to interview at this school for the upcoming cycle. Built from multi-year FOI data and applicant trends. Click any badge to see the full breakdown. | 1820GEM | 1700 |
| UCAT home cut-off | - | ~1700+ /2700 with B1 SJT and 6× grade 9s at GCSE (combined ~51/60 target). Lower UCAT viable with stronger GCSE/SJT mix. |
| Interview format | Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) | Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) |
| Post-interview chance | - | All Students (2023): 159/229 = 69% |
| Decision date | March onwards | March onwards |
Chester
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Lincoln
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Chester Medical School (GEM) requires Graduate entry - degree required.
Lincoln Medical School requires AAB including Chemistry and Biology.
GCSE profile matters at both schools — Chester Medical School (GEM): Not applicable - graduate-entry programme. Requires a 2:1 honours degree. Lincoln Medical School: Min 6 GCSEs at grade 6 including Maths, English Language, Biology, Chemistry, Physics (or dual-award Science).
Both Chester Medical School (GEM) and Lincoln Medical School 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; Lincoln Medical School in December - March.
Chester Medical School (GEM) runs a PBL curriculum; Lincoln Medical School runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Chester Medical School (GEM) leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Lincoln Medical School uses a more traditional lecture-led structure.
Specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBChB. Cheshire-based with regional NHS placements. Five-year MBBChir partnered with Nottingham. Lincoln-based teaching with Lincolnshire NHS clinical placements (Lincoln County Hospital, Pilgrim Hospit
Intake size: Chester Medical School (GEM) — ~30-50 places per year (small newer cohort).; Lincoln Medical School — ~80 places per year (small cohort, focused on Lincolnshire placements).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.
Chester Medical School (GEM): Graduate entry programme with focus on serving local communities. Newer course with a regional commitment to north-west England.
Lincoln Medical School: Strong choice for low-UCAT, high-SJT applicants. SJT scored heavily (B1 = 15, B2 = 10, B3 = 5, B4 = 0). A band 1 SJT can offset a relatively modest UCAT score in the overall ranking.
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 Chester Medical School (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.
School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 4 August 2026.
