Dundee vs Glasgow

Dundee requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology.

Glasgow requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology.

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 Maths required at GCSE grade 6/B (if not studied at A-Level). Higher GCSE/National 5 grades essential due to high academic weighting in shortlisting. Glasgow: GCSE English at grade 6/B; Biology at grade 6/B if not studied at A-Level. GCSE retakes accepted.

Dundee uses Traditional (Two-part selection (~1h40m): observed 30-minute group discussion, then a structured traditional one-to-one discussion with an assessor); Glasgow uses MMI (MMI Format for Dentistry, Panel Interview for Medicine). These two formats reward different skills — Traditional emphasises academic reasoning and thinking aloud through unfamiliar problems, while MMI rewards breadth and quick recovery.

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

Interview windows: Dundee interviews in December - February; 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. Personal statement and reference must meet minimum requirements but shortlisting is then driven by UCAT alone. Personal statement reviewed post-interview before offers.