Edge Hill vs Edinburgh

Edge Hill requires AAA at A-level including Biology and Chemistry, OR A*A*B / A*AB with Biology and Chemistry at grade A or above plus a third subject at grade B or above.

Edinburgh requires AAA at A-level (theoretically minimum, but A*A*A* predictions ideal for RUK/English applicants to maximise post-interview chances) including Chemistry plus one of Biology, Mathematics or Physics.

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 — Edge Hill: At least 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above (or equivalent), including Biology, Chemistry, English Language and Mathematics. Double Science 6-6 accepted in lieu of separate Bio/Chem. Used only as minimum… Edinburgh: Minimum grade 7/A in Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and English.

Edinburgh then scores your best 8 GCSEs as part of the academic component, applying proportional scoring where school policy meant…

Edge Hill uses MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)); Edinburgh uses Assessment day (Half-day assessment day, held at Edinburgh Medical School or online (Edinburgh describes it as 'not a typical MMI format')). These two formats reward different skills — MMI emphasises breadth, station-recovery and structured answers under time pressure, while Assessment day rewards malleability and intellectual honesty.

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

Interview windows: Edge Hill interviews in December - March; Edinburgh in December - February.

Edge Hill runs a PBL curriculum; Edinburgh runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Edge Hill leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Edinburgh uses a more traditional lecture-led structure.

Specifics: Five-year MBChB with PBL and case-based learning. Clinical placements across Lancashire NHS sites (Southport & Ormskirk, Wirral, Mersey Care). Six-year MBChB — the only six-year MBChB in Scotland — with a compulsory intercalated honours year in Year 3 (one of the largest intercalated cohorts

Intake size: Edge Hill — 63 places per year, up from 50 in 2024 and 30 in 2023.; Edinburgh — ~210 Scottish + RUK + ~22 international places per year.. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Edge Hill: Home Student (2023): 32/115 = 28% - chances may have improved with 63 places now (vs 30 in 2023, 50 in 2024). Edinburgh: Around 800 applicants reach the assessment day each cycle, competing for an intake in the low hundreds across the Scottish, RUK and international pools, so a substantial share of interviewees are unsuccessful.

Edinburgh publishes per-cycle admissions statistics with the current breakdown.

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.

Edge Hill: Significant proportional increase in places - now 63 places, up from 30 in 2023 and 50 in 2024. UCAT thresholds may have softened with growth. International students not accepted. Band 4 SJT auto-rejected.

Edinburgh: Shortlisting is dominated by the academic score: the UCAT total contributes 17.5% and the SJT band 7.5%, with the academic assessment carrying the rest. Every application is read independently by two admissions staff, and only your FIRST attempt at a required subject counts - retaking it in a different qualification does not help.

An SJT of Band 4 ends the application outright, with no widening-access exemption. Strong research focus and international reputation.