Where are Dundee and Nottingham located, and how does that affect cost?

Dundee is in Dundee, UK. Nottingham is in Nottingham, UK. Scottish-domiciled applicants funded by SAAS pay no tuition fees at Scottish medical schools — a substantial funding advantage worth tens of thousands of pounds over the degree. Rest-of-UK applicants still pay £9,250/year.

When does each school release decisions?

Dundee 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

Dundee vs Nottingham

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

The interview formats diverge — Traditional vs MMI — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Dundee and Nottingham.
Comparison field	DundeeDundee	NottinghamNottingham
Quick comparison
Location	Dundee, UK	Nottingham, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (minimum) - AAA or AAA* recommended for non-contextual RUK due to use in shortlisting algorithm	AAA at A-level including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.
TrueScore	Dundee TrueScore 1700	Nottingham TrueScore 1850
UCAT home cut-off	No published threshold for the current scale. Dundee publishes admissions statistics by year of entry, but warns that because Abstract Reasoning was withdrawn in 2025 and the maximum moved from 3,600 to 2,700, the figures shown are not directly comparable with scores from 2025 onwards.	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	Two-part selection (~1h40m): observed 30-minute group discussion, then a structured traditional one-to-one discussion with an assessor	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	RUK Non-Contextual (2025): 73/130 = 56%; Scottish: 647/825 = 78%; International: 86/156 = 55%	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	AAA at A-level (minimum) - AAA or AAA* recommended for non-contextual RUK due to use in shortlisting algorithm	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	Chemistry plus another science from Biology, Physics or Mathematics	Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry both required
A-Level resit policy	Resits not accepted (exceptional circumstances only)	Resits considered case-by-case; standard expectation is one-sitting AAA.
GCSE requirements	Biology, English and Mathematics at minimum grade 6/B if not studied at A-level	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 academic score (60% of pre-interview ranking for school leavers); higher grades are essential due to high weighting	GCSEs feed the combined points score used for shortlisting alongside UCAT.
Scottish Highers	AAAAB at Higher in S5 with Chemistry plus another science from Biology, Physics or Mathematics	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	Recommended at AB or higher to be competitive for offer (used in academic ranking)	-
International Baccalaureate	37 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Chemistry and a second science	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 above in any honours degree. Graduate academic score is based only on undergraduate performance - A-level predictions/achieved grades not used in graduate ranking. Pre-interview shortlisting weights 40% academic + 60% UCAT for graduates.	-
Alternative qualifications	-	-

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	-
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	No use of SJT	Band 4 automatically rejected. SJT scored: B1=10, B2=6, B3=2, B4=0.
UCAT notes	Pre-interview shortlisting weights academic score 60% and UCAT 40% for school leavers, and 40%/60% for graduates. The SJT is not used. Scottish, RUK and international applicants are considered against…	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	MBChB	BMBS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Spiral	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	Full-body dissection	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 2
Placement geography	Dundee and across Scotland	Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire
Named placement sites	Ninewells Hospital, Dundee	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	Optional in year 3, leading to a BMSc.	-
Course highlight	Anatomy is taught on Thiel-embalmed cadavers, which retain life-like flexibility and joint mobility.	The course was co-created with input from students, staff and practitioners.

Interview window	December - February	December - March
Interview details	Dundee runs a two-part process (latest published: 2026 entry): a 30-minute group discussion with five other applicants observed by a silent assessor, followed by a structured one-to-one discussion led…	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, Dentistry, Life Sciences	Medicine, Medical Sciences, Graduate Entry Medicine
Established	1967	1948
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	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 fe…	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.dundee.ac.uk/undergraduate/medicine	https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/studywithus/ugstudy/courses/UG/2026/Medicine-BMBS.html

Dundee

Quick comparison

Location: Dundee, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level (minimum) - A*A*A or A*A*A* recommended for non-contextual RUK due to use in shortlisting algorithm
TrueScore: Dundee TrueScore 1700
UCAT home cut-off: No published threshold for the current scale. Dundee publishes admissions statistics by year of entry, but warns that because Abstract Reasoning was withdrawn in 2025 and the maximum moved from 3,600 to 2,700, the figures shown are not directly comparable with scores from 2025 onwards.
Interview format: Two-part selection (~1h40m): observed 30-minute group discussion, then a structured traditional one-to-one discussion with an assessor
Post-interview chance: RUK Non-Contextual (2025): 73/130 = 56%; Scottish: 647/825 = 78%; International: 86/156 = 55%
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

Dundee vs Nottingham - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

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.

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

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… 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

Dundee uses Traditional (Two-part selection (~1h40m): observed 30-minute group discussion, then a structured traditional one-to-one discussion with an assessor); Nottingham uses MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)). 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, Nottingham is the better fit.

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

Curriculum and teaching style

Dundee runs a Spiral curriculum; Nottingham runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Dundee delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while Nottingham uses a more traditional lecture-led structure.

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 compulsory intercalated BMedSci built into the course (one of few UK schools to embed BMedSci as standard).

Intake size: Dundee — Home (Scottish + Contextual) ~825 places; RUK ~130; International ~156 (2025 entry).; Nottingham — ~250 home + ~30 international places per year.. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

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.

What makes each distinctive

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.

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?

Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Dundee feeds into the Scotland foundation programme network; Nottingham into the England network. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Dundee; 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. Dundee guidance: No published threshold for the current scale. Dundee publishes admissions statistics by year of entry, but warns that because Abstract Reasoning was withdrawn in 2025 and the maximum moved from 3,600 to 2,700, the figures shown are not directly comparable with scores from 2025 onwards.. 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..

Dundee uses Assessment day: Two-part selection (~1h40m): observed 30-minute group discussion, then a structured traditional one-to-one discussion with an assessor. Nottingham uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). The two formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each, with at least 3 full mock interviews per format before sitting either. Interview windows: December - February (Dundee); December - March (Nottingham).

Dundee requires AAA (minimum) - A*A*A or A*A*A* recommended for non-contextual RUK due to use in shortlisting algorithm. 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: Dundee — Resits not accepted (one-sitting expectation for standard applicants).. Nottingham — Resits considered case-by-case; standard expectation is one-sitting AAA..

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 high weighting 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.

Dundee's selection methodology: 60% academic score (GCSE + predicted A-Level) + 40% UCAT for shortlisting. Personal statement not scored - may be discussed at interview. SJT not used. 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.

Dundee: RUK Non-Contextual (2025): 73/130 = 56%; Scottish: 647/825 = 78%; International: 86/156 = 55%. Nottingham: All Students (2024): 519/913 = 57% (or 336/911 = 37% from another source); A108 WP Foundation Year: 61/188 = 32%. Post-interview odds tell you how competitive each school is at the final stage. Two schools with similar UCAT thresholds can have very different post-interview rates — a school with a 60% post-interview success rate is structurally easier to convert than one at 25%.

Dundee runs a Spiral curriculum. Nottingham runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Dundee specifics: Five-year MBChB spiral curriculum - concepts revisited with increasing complexity. Clinical placements across NHS Tayside, NHS Fife, NHS Highland, and remote/rural Scottish sites. 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

DundeeEntry 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.

Dundee vs Nottingham

Side-by-side comparison

Dundee vs Nottingham - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

Post-interview offer rate

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What UCAT score do I need for Dundee vs Nottingham?

How do interviews differ between Dundee and Nottingham?

What A-Level grades do Dundee and Nottingham require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Dundee vs Nottingham?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Which has a higher post-interview offer rate, Dundee or Nottingham?

Where are Dundee and Nottingham located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Dundee and Nottingham use?

Should I apply to both Dundee and Nottingham?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons