Edinburgh vs Sunderland

Edinburgh requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology/Physics/Mathematics.

Sunderland 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 — Edinburgh: Strong GCSE/National 5 profile expected; not algorithmically scored. Sunderland: Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 including Maths, English Language, Biology, Chemistry (or dual-award Science).

Edinburgh uses Assessment day (Assessment day: three 12-minute individual stations plus a 45-minute group exercise (Edinburgh describes it as 'not a typical MMI format')); Sunderland 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, Sunderland is the better fit.

Interview windows: Edinburgh interviews in December - February; Sunderland in December - January.

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

Specifics: Six-year MBChB with compulsory intercalated honours degree in Year 3 (one of the largest intercalated cohorts in the UK). Five-year MBChB with PBL and case-based learning. Strong North-East NHS placement network.

Intake size: Edinburgh — ~210 Scottish + RUK + ~22 international places per year.; Sunderland — ~100 places per year (smaller cohort).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Edinburgh: RUK student: 166/300 = 68%; Scottish student: 424/432 = 98% (effectively not interviewed); Overseas student: 45/98 = 46%. Sunderland: All Home Applicants: 353/731 = 48% (2025). Not for international students - home only.

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: Around 50% academic, 35% UCAT and 15% SJT in shortlisting; SJT band 4 is rejected outright. Scottish applicants face a much lower bar than RUK and are effectively guaranteed an interview if they meet minimums. Strong research focus and international reputation.

Sunderland: No use of personal statement. The interview-selection tool reviews up to 4 examples of paid voluntary work or caring experience (shadowing doctors does not count). Numeracy test now part of the interview process.