Dundee vs Glasgow

Dundee requires AAA at A-level (minimum) - A*A*A or A*A*A* recommended for non-contextual RUK due to use in shortlisting algorithm.

Glasgow requires AAA including Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics. International A-level applicants need AAA including Chemistry, Biology and one of Physics or Mathematics.

Grades must be achieved at one sitting and at the first attempt - resits and extra time to sit qualifications are not permitted, and a mix of qualifications at the same level is not accepted.

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 — Dundee: Biology, English and Mathematics at minimum grade 6/B if not studied at A-level. GCSEs feed the academic score (60% of pre-interview ranking for school leavers); higher grades are essential due to… Glasgow: GCSE English Literature or English Language at grade 6/B or above.

GCSE Biology at grade 6/B if not studied at A-level. GCSE retakes are accepted.

Dundee uses Assessment day (Two-part group interview (about 1h40m including registration): an observed 30-minute group discussion, then an assessor-led discussion with the same group); Glasgow uses Panel (Panel interview). These two formats reward different skills — Assessment day emphasises academic reasoning and thinking aloud through unfamiliar problems, while Panel rewards depth and consistency.

If your strengths lie in conversational depth, Glasgow may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, either is the better fit.

Interview windows: Dundee interviews in January; Glasgow in December - February.

Dundee runs a Spiral curriculum; Glasgow runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Dundee delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while Glasgow centres learning around clinical cases.

Specifics: Five-year MBChB spiral curriculum - concepts revisited with increasing complexity. Clinical placements across NHS Tayside, NHS Fife, NHS Highland, and Five-year MBChB built around problem-based learning groups, with early clinical exposure from Year 1.

Intake size: Dundee — Home (Scottish + Contextual) ~825 places; RUK ~130; International ~156 (2025 entry); Glasgow — ~40-50 RUK + ~22 international + ~190 Scottish places per year (A100). A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Dundee: RUK Non-Contextual (2025): 73/130 = 56%; Scottish: 647/825 = 78%; International: 86/156 = 55%. Glasgow: Scottish: 473/565 = 84% (2025); RUK: 128/216 = 59%; International: 114/161 = 71%.

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.

Dundee: Scottish medical school renowned for anatomy teaching and medical research. Shortlisting weights 60% academic / 40% UCAT for school leavers (40/60 for graduates). Both A-level predictions and GCSEs feed the academic score.

Glasgow: One of the oldest medical schools in the English-speaking world. Your personal statement and reference are screened early, alongside achieved and predicted grades; UCAT scores arrive later in the cycle and are then used to allocate interviews among applicants who have already cleared that screen. Glasgow does not use the SJT at all.