Edinburgh vs Hull York (HYMS)

Edinburgh's published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 1850, while Hull York (HYMS) sits at approximately 2010.

The 160-point spread matters: Edinburgh offers slightly more headroom for an average-strong UCAT, while Hull York (HYMS) expects performance closer to the national 75th-90th percentile.

Contextual / widening-participation cut-offs differ — Edinburgh: Plus Flag applicants are exempt from the cut-off entirely and are considered with any UCAT total, and they receive a 10% uplift on their UCAT score.; Hull York (HYMS): ~1700+ /2700 with WP eligibility (4th decile minimum + minimum entry requirements). Eligible applicants should weight this heavily when choosing.

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.

Hull York (HYMS) requires AAA at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (3 A-levels studied and awarded concurrently).

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 — 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… Hull York (HYMS): Minimum 6 GCSEs at grade 4/C or equivalent, including English Language and Mathematics at grade 6/B or above.

GCSE resits accepted (including pending). Top 6 GCSEs scored /35 in points system. Mostly…

Edinburgh uses Assessment day (Half-day assessment day, held at Edinburgh Medical School or online (Edinburgh describes it as 'not a typical MMI format')); Hull York (HYMS) uses MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)). These two formats reward different skills — Assessment day 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, Hull York (HYMS) is the better fit.

Interview windows: Edinburgh interviews in December - February; Hull York (HYMS) in December - March.

Edinburgh runs a Integrated curriculum; Hull York (HYMS) runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Edinburgh delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while Hull York (HYMS) centres learning around clinical cases.

Specifics: 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 Five-year MBBS jointly run by Hull and York universities. Clinical placements across Hull, York, Scarborough, and Yorkshire NHS sites.

Intake size: Edinburgh — ~210 Scottish + RUK + ~22 international places per year.; Hull York (HYMS) — ~165 home + ~25 international places per year.. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

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. Hull York (HYMS): All (2024): 678/750 = 90%; Home: 655/695 = 94%; Overseas: 20/55 = 36%.

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.

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.

Hull York (HYMS): Points-based shortlisting: UCAT decile (/35) + SJT (/15) + GCSE top 6 subjects (/35) + contextual data (/15). The PBL group exercise is unusual among UK medical schools and reflects HYMS's problem-based curriculum.