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

Chester Medical School (GEM) is in Chester, UK. UCL is in London, 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. UCL releases medicine decisions Decisions are made after all the Interviews have been completed. 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 UCL

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

Chester Medical School (GEM) — GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade 4/C or above (or accepted equivalent). UCL — Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language and Mathematics. No score or assessment of other GCSEs. GCSE resits accepted. Used only as minimum threshold (Eng + Maths grade 6/B). Other GCSEs not scored or assessed.

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

UCL is the older institution (founded 1826); the other (founded 2024) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Chester Medical School (GEM) and UCL.
Comparison field	Chester Medical School (GEM)Chester	UCLLondon
Quick comparison
Location	Chester, UK	London, UK
A-Level offer	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject (a Master's offsets a 2:2)	AAA including AA in Chemistry and Biology in either order. The third subject is your own choice, other than General Studies or Critical Thinking.
TrueScore	Chester Medical School (GEM) TrueScore 1820GEM	UCL TrueScore 2190
UCAT home cut-off	-	2190+ /2700 (2026 entry threshold)
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	-	Reasonable. Around 1,000 applicants are interviewed for 313 home and 24 overseas places, and UCL makes more offers than places because not every offer is taken up. Offers rest purely on interview performance, and UCL reviews home, international and Access UCL interview scores separately rather than applying an uplift to any group.
Decision date	March onwards	Decisions are made after all the Interviews have been completed

A-Level offer	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject (a Master's offsets a 2:2)	AAA including AA in Chemistry and Biology in either order. The third subject is your own choice, other than General Studies or Critical Thinking.
Contextual A-Level offer	-	AAB at A-level for Access UCL contextual applicants - Biology and Chemistry both at grade A
Required A-Level subjects	-	Chemistry and Biology both required
A-Level resit policy	Not applicable to graduate entry.	Qualification resits are not accepted, including re-starting Year 12. GCSE resits are accepted.
GCSE requirements	GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade 4/C or above (or accepted equivalent)	Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language and Mathematics. No score or assessment of other GCSEs. GCSE resits accepted.
GCSE scoring methodology	-	Used only as minimum threshold (Eng + Maths grade 6/B). Other GCSEs not scored or assessed.
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	A1,A,A at Advanced Higher (or A1,A at Advanced Higher plus A,A,A at Higher), to include Chemistry and Biology at Advanced Higher with either at A1. Highers alone are not sufficient.
International Baccalaureate	-	39 points overall, 19 at Higher Level - including HL 7,6,6 with HL Chemistry and HL 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.	Graduates apply to the standard six-year MBBS BSc; there is no accelerated route. UCL expects at least ABB in A-levels taken before the first degree (or 34 IB points with 16 at Higher Level at 6,5,5). A graduate who meets the grade bar but lacks A-level Chemistry and/or Biology may sit them during or after the degree, at grade A* (or A*A if taking both).
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	-	2080+ /2700 (Access UCL, 2026 entry threshold)
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	2300+ /2700 (2026 entry threshold)
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	-	Only used where candidates are on the same UCAT score
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.	There is no fixed cut-off - UCL ranks candidates on total UCAT score and the threshold falls where the interview slots run out, so it moves every year with the applicant pool. Access UCL applicants ar…

Degree awarded	MB ChB	MBBS BSc
Course length	4 years (graduate entry)	6 years (integrated BSc built in)
Teaching style	Integrated	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	Imaging and models	-
First patient contact	-	-
Placement geography	Cheshire, the Wirral, Shropshire and north Wales	-
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	-	Built in — the six-year programme is inclusive of the integrated BSc. Graduate entrants with UK degrees are exempt.
Course highlight	Open to graduates with a previous degree in any discipline, not just science.	UCL offers one of the widest ranges of integrated BSc options of any UK medical school.

Interview window	December - March	December - March
Interview details	Graduate-entry MMI format with stations covering clinical reasoning, communication, motivation and reflection on prior experiences.	Up to eight MMI stations of five minutes each, with one minute beforehand to read the instructions and two or three questions per station - around 50 minutes in total. Home fee-paying candidates are i…

Specialities	Medicine, Community Medicine	Medicine, Medical Sciences, Global Health
Established	2024	1826
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.	Cut-offs differ from Imperial - UCL's home threshold is lower while its international threshold is higher, partly because UCL holds more interviews relative to offers. SJT is only used as a tie-breake…
Official course page	https://www.chester.ac.uk/study/graduate-entry-medicine/	https://www.ucl.ac.uk/study/prospective-students/undergraduate/courses/medicine-mbbs-bsc

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

UCL

London

Quick comparison

Location: London, UK
A-Level offer: A*AA including A*A in Chemistry and Biology in either order. The third subject is your own choice, other than General Studies or Critical Thinking.
TrueScore: UCL TrueScore 2190
UCAT home cut-off: 2190+ /2700 (2026 entry threshold)
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Reasonable. Around 1,000 applicants are interviewed for 313 home and 24 overseas places, and UCL makes more offers than places because not every offer is taken up. Offers rest purely on interview performance, and UCL reviews home, international and Access UCL interview scores separately rather than applying an uplift to any group.
Decision date: Decisions are made after all the Interviews have been completed

Chester Medical School (GEM) vs UCL - 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).

UCL requires A*AA including A*A in Chemistry and Biology in either order. The third subject is your own choice, other than General Studies or Critical Thinking.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Chester Medical School (GEM): GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade 4/C or above (or accepted equivalent). UCL: Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language and Mathematics. No score or assessment of other GCSEs. GCSE resits accepted. Used only as minimum threshold (Eng + Maths grade 6/B). Other GCSEs not scored…

Interview formats

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

Curriculum and teaching style

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

Specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBChB. Cheshire-based with regional NHS placements. Six-year MBBS BSc with compulsory intercalated BSc in Year 3. Clinical placements at UCL-affiliated NHS sites including UCLH, Royal Free, and Whitting

Intake size: Chester Medical School (GEM) — ~30-50 places per year (small newer cohort).; UCL — 313 home and 24 overseas fee-status places per year (337 in total).. 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.

UCL: Cut-offs differ from Imperial - UCL's home threshold is lower while its international threshold is higher, partly because UCL holds more interviews relative to offers. SJT is only used as a tie-breaker between equally scored candidates.

Which is right for you?

Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Chester Medical School (GEM) feeds into the England foundation programme network; UCL into the London network. 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.. UCL guidance: 2190+ /2700 (2026 entry threshold).

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

Chester Medical School (GEM) requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject (a Master's offsets a 2:2). UCL requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology. 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.. UCL — A-Level resits not accepted..

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. UCL's selection methodology: Beyond the minimum academic requirements, shortlisting is wholly by total UCAT score, with SJT as a tie-break only. UCL normally interviews around 1,000 applicants, sending invitations on a rolling basis from December through to March. Home, international and Access UCL candidates are reviewed in separate pools. 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. UCL 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. UCL specifics: Six-year MBBS BSc with compulsory intercalated BSc in Year 3. Clinical placements at UCL-affiliated NHS sites including UCLH, Royal Free, and Whittington.

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

UCLEntry 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 UCL

Side-by-side comparison

Chester Medical School (GEM) vs UCL - 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 UCL?

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

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

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

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

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

When does each school release decisions?

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

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

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons