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

Chester Medical School (GEM) is in Chester, UK. Nottingham is in Nottingham, 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. Nottingham 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 Nottingham

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at Chester Medical School (GEM) vs Nottingham?

Chester Medical School (GEM) — GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade 4/C or above (or accepted equivalent). Nottingham — Minimum six GCSEs at grade 7/A including both Biology and Chemistry, plus at least grade 6/B in Mathematics and English Language (English and Maths do NOT need to be at grade 7). GCSEs feed the combined points score used for shortlisting alongside UCAT.

Chester Medical School (GEM) and Nottingham 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 Nottingham.
Comparison field	Chester Medical School (GEM)Chester	NottinghamNottingham
Quick comparison
Location	Chester, UK	Nottingham, UK
A-Level offer	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject (a Master's offsets a 2:2)	AAA at A-level including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.
TrueScore	Chester Medical School (GEM) TrueScore 1820GEM	Nottingham TrueScore 1850
UCAT home cut-off	-	No fixed score. Nottingham states that the threshold varies year by year, cannot be predicted in advance, and that it does not share previous years' thresholds.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	-	All Students (2024): 519/913 = 57% (or 336/911 = 37% from another source); A108 WP Foundation Year: 61/188 = 32%
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)	AAA at A-level including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.
Contextual A-Level offer	-	Two contextual tiers, both requiring at least an A in Biology or Chemistry: standard contextual AAB, enhanced contextual ABB.
Required A-Level subjects	-	Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry both required
A-Level resit policy	Not applicable to graduate entry.	Resits considered case-by-case; standard expectation is one-sitting AAA.
GCSE requirements	GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade 4/C or above (or accepted equivalent)	Minimum six GCSEs at grade 7/A including both Biology and Chemistry, plus at least grade 6/B in Mathematics and English Language (English and Maths do NOT need to be at grade 7).
GCSE scoring methodology	-	GCSEs feed the combined points score used for shortlisting alongside UCAT.
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	-	34 points overall including HL6 in Biology and HL6 in Chemistry; alternatively 6,6,6 across three HL Certificates with HL6 in Biology and HL6 in Chemistry.
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.	-
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	-	-
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'.	-
SJT band	-	Band 4 automatically rejected. SJT scored: B1=10, B2=6, B3=2, B4=0.
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.	Nottingham scores each UCAT component raw score rather than working from the total alone, and combines that with GCSE scoring to select for interview. An SJT of Band 4 means you will not be considered…

Degree awarded	MB ChB	BMBS
Course length	4 years (graduate entry)	5 years
Teaching style	Integrated	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	Imaging and models	-
First patient contact	-	Year 2
Placement geography	Cheshire, the Wirral, Shropshire and north Wales	Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire
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)	Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham City Hospital, Highbury Hospital, Royal Derby Hospital, King's Mill Hospital, Chesterfield Royal Hospital, Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust, Derbyshire Healthcare Trust
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	Open to graduates with a previous degree in any discipline, not just science.	The course was co-created with input from students, staff and practitioners.

Interview window	December - March	December - March
Interview details	Graduate-entry MMI format with stations covering clinical reasoning, communication, motivation and reflection on prior experiences.	An MMI of six scenarios, including at least one role play. Expect a strong emphasis on awareness of current NHS and healthcare issues alongside the usual motivation and ethics ground.

Specialities	Medicine, Community Medicine	Medicine, Medical Sciences, Graduate Entry Medicine
Established	2024	1948
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.	Scoring system is now distinct from Lincoln's, weighting GCSE (/32), UCAT (/40) and SJT (/10) - band 4 SJT auto-rejected. No use of predicted A-level grades.
Official course page	https://www.chester.ac.uk/study/graduate-entry-medicine/	https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/studywithus/ugstudy/courses/UG/2026/Medicine-BMBS.html

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

Nottingham

Quick comparison

Location: Nottingham, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.
TrueScore: Nottingham TrueScore 1850
UCAT home cut-off: No fixed score. Nottingham states that the threshold varies year by year, cannot be predicted in advance, and that it does not share previous years' thresholds.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: All Students (2024): 519/913 = 57% (or 336/911 = 37% from another source); A108 WP Foundation Year: 61/188 = 32%
Decision date: March onwards

Chester Medical School (GEM) vs Nottingham - 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).

Nottingham requires AAA at A-level including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Chester Medical School (GEM): GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade 4/C or above (or accepted equivalent). Nottingham: Minimum six GCSEs at grade 7/A including both Biology and Chemistry, plus at least grade 6/B in Mathematics and English Language (English and Maths do NOT need to be at grade 7). GCSEs feed the…

Interview formats

Both Chester Medical School (GEM) and Nottingham 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; Nottingham in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Chester Medical School (GEM) runs a PBL curriculum; Nottingham runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Chester Medical School (GEM) leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Nottingham uses a more traditional lecture-led structure.

Specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBChB. Cheshire-based with regional NHS placements. Five-year MBChB with compulsory intercalated BMedSci built into the course (one of few UK schools to embed BMedSci as standard).

Intake size: Chester Medical School (GEM) — ~30-50 places per year (small newer cohort).; Nottingham — ~250 home + ~30 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.

Nottingham: Scoring system is now distinct from Lincoln's, weighting GCSE (/32), UCAT (/40) and SJT (/10) - band 4 SJT auto-rejected. No use of predicted A-level grades.

Which is right for you?

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.

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.. Nottingham guidance: No fixed score. Nottingham states that the threshold varies year by year, cannot be predicted in advance, and that it does not share previous years' thresholds..

Chester Medical School (GEM) uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Nottingham 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 (Nottingham).

Chester Medical School (GEM) requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject (a Master's offsets a 2:2). Nottingham requires AAA including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. 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.. Nottingham — Resits considered case-by-case; standard expectation is one-sitting AAA..

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. Nottingham's selection methodology: Once you meet the academic entry requirements, Nottingham scores each of your UCAT component raw scores - not just the total - and combines that with GCSE scoring to select for interview. There is no fixed threshold: Nottingham says it varies year by year, cannot be predicted, and that it does not release previous years' figures. An SJT of Band 4 rules you out. 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. Nottingham runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Chester Medical School (GEM) specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBChB. Cheshire-based with regional NHS placements. Nottingham specifics: Five-year MBChB with compulsory intercalated BMedSci built into the course (one of few UK schools to embed BMedSci as standard).

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

NottinghamEntry 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 Nottingham

Side-by-side comparison

Chester Medical School (GEM) vs Nottingham - 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 Nottingham?

How do interviews differ between Chester Medical School (GEM) and Nottingham?

What A-Level grades do Chester Medical School (GEM) and Nottingham require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Chester Medical School (GEM) vs Nottingham?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

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

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Chester Medical School (GEM) and Nottingham use?

Should I apply to both Chester Medical School (GEM) and Nottingham?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons