Dundee vs Keele

Dundee's published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 2025, while Keele sits at approximately 1700.

That's a 325-point gap — large enough to put the two schools in completely different competitiveness tiers. An applicant scoring in the 1800-1900 band would be competitive at Keele but borderline at Dundee.

Contextual / widening-participation cut-offs differ — Dundee: not separately disclosed; Keele: ~1700+ /2700 with up to 3 contextual points (UCAT bursary, postcode, local school). Eligible applicants should weight this heavily when choosing.

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.

Keele requires A*AA at A-level (or AAA + grade A in EPQ as alternative).

Keele is the stricter A-Level offer; Dundee is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Dundee carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

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… Keele: Five GCSEs at grade 7/A or above, plus minimum grade 6 in English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (6-6 Combined Science accepted as equivalent).

Both Dundee and Keele use Traditional 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.

That said, the specifics differ slightly: Dundee runs two-part selection (~1h40m): observed 30-minute group discussion, then a structured traditional one-to-one discussion with an assessor; Keele runs two 15-minute structured online interviews (traditional format, not mmi; microsoft teams), usually around two hours apart. Mock practice tailored to each school's exact format is the highest-leverage prep.

Interview windows: Dundee interviews in December - February; Keele in December - March.

Both schools deliver a Spiral-style curriculum, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar across years 1-3.

Specifics: Five-year MBChB spiral curriculum - concepts revisited with increasing complexity. Clinical placements across NHS Tayside, NHS Fife, NHS Highland, and Five-year MBChB with spiral curriculum. Strong rural/community placement strand across Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire.

Intake size: Dundee — Home (Scottish + Contextual) ~825 places; RUK ~130; International ~156 (2025 entry).; Keele — ~150 home + ~10 international places per year (5-year MBChB) + ~30 Health Foundation Year places.. 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%. Keele: International: 23/54 = 43%; Home Non-Contextual: 167/491 = 34%.

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.

Keele: Personal statement is heavily weighted (/15 of the /25 total score) - Keele has very specific PS criteria. Strong PS with band 1-2 SJT can compensate for relatively low UCAT. International applicants selected on UCAT only.