Edge Hill vs North Wales (Bangor)

Edge Hill's published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 2050, while North Wales (Bangor) sits at approximately 1700.

That's a 350-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 North Wales (Bangor) but borderline at Edge Hill.

Contextual / widening-participation cut-offs differ — Edge Hill: ~1900+ /2700 (Foundation Year); North Wales (Bangor): not separately disclosed. Eligible applicants should weight this heavily when choosing.

Edge Hill requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology.

North Wales (Bangor) 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 — Edge Hill: Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science. North Wales (Bangor): Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science. Welsh-language ability welcomed but not required.

Both Edge Hill and North Wales (Bangor) use MMI 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.

Interview windows: Edge Hill interviews in December - March; North Wales (Bangor) in December - March.

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

Specifics: Five-year MBChB with PBL and case-based learning. Clinical placements across Lancashire NHS sites (Southport & Ormskirk, Wirral, Mersey Care). Four-year accelerated MBBCh (Cardiff) for graduates, or 5-year route. Strong rural/community placement strand across North Wales (Betsi Cadwaladr UHB)

Intake size: Edge Hill — ~100 places per year (small cohort).; North Wales (Bangor) — ~30 places per year (small cohort, designed for local retention).. 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). North Wales (Bangor): Refused to disclose. New medical school, has been in clearing in past years.

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.

North Wales (Bangor): Refused to disclose UCAT cut-offs or shortlisting weighting. Anecdotally lower thresholds, particularly for Welsh applicants. Has entered clearing in past years.