Where are Exeter and University of Greater Manchester located, and how does that affect cost?

Exeter is in Exeter, Devon, England, UK, UK. University of Greater Manchester is in Bolton, UK. Tuition is £9,250/year at both for UK home applicants; the main cost difference is accommodation (London accommodation typically runs 30-50% above the national average).

When does each school release decisions?

Exeter typically releases medicine decisions March onwards / mid-May. University of Greater Manchester 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

Exeter vs University of Greater Manchester

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at Exeter vs University of Greater Manchester?

Exeter — Grade 6/B in English Language. No other GCSE requirements. University of Greater Manchester — Five GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including Mathematics, English Language and two science subjects. Resits accepted in GCSE English Language or Mathematics.

Exeter and University of Greater Manchester are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Both sit in England, so location and clinical-placement breadth are similar — the differentiation comes from selection methodology, interview style and curriculum philosophy. Their A-Level requirements (A*AA vs AAB) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Exeter and University of Greater Manchester.
Comparison field	ExeterExeter, Devon, England, UK	University of Greater ManchesterBolton
Quick comparison
Location	Exeter, Devon, England, UK, UK	Bolton, UK
A-Level offer	A*AA at A-level including A in Chemistry and A in Biology	Minimum AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years.
TrueScore	Exeter TrueScore 1900	University of Greater Manchester TrueScore 1700intl
UCAT home cut-off	~1880+ /2700 with AAA* (5th decile) OR ~2100+ /2700 with AAA (8th decile). Points cut-off 74+/100.	Not applicable - the course is not open to home applicants for 2026-27 entry
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	International (2026 policy): ~33% (10 places, ~30 interviews); UK Undergrad: 366/696 = 53%	-
Decision date	March onwards / mid-May	March onwards

A-Level offer	A*AA at A-level including A in Chemistry and A in Biology	Minimum AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years.
Contextual A-Level offer	AAB at A-level for contextual / WP-eligible applicants	-
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry and Biology both required at grade A or higher	Chemistry or Biology required, plus a further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics
A-Level resit policy	Resits accepted - predicted grades can still be considered in shortlisting scores	Resits may be considered
GCSE requirements	Grade 6/B in English Language. No other GCSE requirements.	Five GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including Mathematics, English Language and two science subjects. Resits accepted in GCSE English Language or Mathematics.
GCSE scoring methodology	-	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	38 points overall, 7,6,6 at Higher Level including HL 6 in Chemistry and HL 6 in Biology. Contextual: 34 points overall, 6,6,5 at Higher Level.	34 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Chemistry or Biology and one of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics
Graduate-entry degree requirement	Graduate applicants must sit GAMSAT (rather than UCAT) - no specific minimum degree class published; competitive applicants typically hold a 2:1 or above	-
Alternative qualifications	-	International students only for 2026-27 entry; the school has indicated home eligibility may change in future cycles, so confirm directly with admissions before applying. Applications are made directly to the school rather than through UCAS. UCAT required of all applicants from 2026 entry, with no published cut-off and no SJT use.

Contextual cut-off	~1820+ /2700 with AAA* (4th decile) OR ~2010+ /2700 with AAA (7th decile)	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	~2100+ /2700 (points cut-off 80+)	UCAT required from 2026 entry; no cut-off published
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	SJT is not used - band 4 is appropriate	No usage mentioned in any selection policy
UCAT notes	Points-based system combining A-level prediction (75% weight) + UCAT decile (25% weight). Achieved A-level grades scored more generously than predictions.	The school requires the UCAT of all applicants from 2026 entry but publishes no threshold, so no cut-off should be inferred. No SJT use stated. Applications are made directly to the school, outside th…

Degree awarded	BMBS	MBChB
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Problem-based learning	Integrated + Spiral
Anatomy teaching	Plastinated specimens	Mixed
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	Devon and Cornwall	North West England
Named placement sites	Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (Exeter), Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (Knowledge Spa, Truro), Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, Barnstaple (Year 5), GP practices across Devon and Cornwall	East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
Intercalation	Optional and competitive, between Years 3 and 4. Roughly the top quartile on Year 3 assessments get an automatic offer, and the second quartile compete for any remaining places. There are ten BSc and…	-
Course highlight	Every student spends at least one year based in Cornwall, at the Knowledge Spa in Truro.	£40 million of purpose-built facilities, in Bolton — around 20 minutes from Manchester.

Interview window	December – March	December - March
Interview details	Online MMI via Zoom breakout rooms - typically 4 stations of 5 minutes each, with a few minutes between stations. Strong focus on ethics, personal qualities and motivation. Fewer follow-up questions t…	Interviews are conducted online and run as a series of mini-interviews and tests. From 2026 entry every applicant must sit the UCAT; the school publishes no cut-off score.

Specialities	Primary Care, Hospital Medicine, Community Medicine, Clinical Science, Rural & Regional Health	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	2013	2025
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Focus on non-academic qualities including communication, empathy, role-play and realistic insight into the course and career. Points-based shortlisting combining A-level prediction + UCAT decile (75%…	For 2026-27 entry the MBChB is open to international students only. Applications are made directly to the school, so a place here costs you none of your four UCAS medical choices. Teaching is based at…
Official course page	https://www.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate-degrees/bmbs-medicine/	https://medicine.greatermanchester.ac.uk/undergraduate-medical-school/

Exeter

Exeter, Devon, England, UK

Quick comparison

Location: Exeter, Devon, England, UK, UK
A-Level offer: A*AA at A-level including A in Chemistry and A in Biology
TrueScore: Exeter TrueScore 1900
UCAT home cut-off: ~1880+ /2700 with A*A*A* (5th decile) OR ~2100+ /2700 with A*A*A (8th decile). Points cut-off 74+/100.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: International (2026 policy): ~33% (10 places, ~30 interviews); UK Undergrad: 366/696 = 53%
Decision date: March onwards / mid-May

University of Greater Manchester

Bolton

Quick comparison

Location: Bolton, UK
A-Level offer: Minimum AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years.
TrueScore: University of Greater Manchester TrueScore 1700intl
UCAT home cut-off: Not applicable - the course is not open to home applicants for 2026-27 entry
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March onwards

Exeter vs University of Greater Manchester - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Exeter requires A*AA at A-level including A in Chemistry and A in Biology.

University of Greater Manchester requires Minimum AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years.

Exeter is the stricter A-Level offer; University of Greater Manchester is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, University of Greater Manchester carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Exeter: Grade 6/B in English Language. No other GCSE requirements. University of Greater Manchester: Five GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including Mathematics, English Language and two science subjects. Resits accepted in GCSE English Language or Mathematics.

Interview formats

Both Exeter and University of Greater Manchester 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: Exeter interviews in December – March; University of Greater Manchester in December - March.

What makes each distinctive

Exeter: Focus on non-academic qualities including communication, empathy, role-play and realistic insight into the course and career. Points-based shortlisting combining A-level prediction + UCAT decile (75% academic / 25% UCAT). SJT not used - band 4 is fine.

University of Greater Manchester: For 2026-27 entry the MBChB is open to international students only. Applications are made directly to the school, so a place here costs you none of your four UCAS medical choices. Teaching is based at the Institute of Medical Sciences on the Royal Bolton Hospital site.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, University of Greater Manchester is the lower-risk academic option. Both schools sit in the same England foundation-programme catchment, so post-graduation training paths overlap heavily.

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

Exeter: home applicants — ~1880+ /2700 with A*A*A* (5th decile) OR ~2100+ /2700 with A*A*A (8th decile). University of Greater Manchester: home applicants — Not applicable - the course is not open to home applicants for 2026-27 entry. These are the figures on record for 2027-entry applicants. Schools without a fixed cut-off rank UCAT inside a composite shortlisting score, so thresholds move with each year's applicant pool — confirm the latest figure on each school's admissions page.

Exeter uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). University of Greater Manchester uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). The format is the same, so the same prep approach applies — practise ethics frameworks, NHS hot topics, and (for MMI) structured 5-7 minute station answers. Interview windows: December – March (Exeter); December - March (University of Greater Manchester).

Exeter requires A*AA at A-level including A in Chemistry and A in Biology. University of Greater Manchester requires Minimum AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years.. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school.

Exeter's selection methodology: shortlisting weight not fully disclosed; check the official admissions page. University of Greater Manchester's selection methodology: Academic entry requirements plus UCAT (required of all applicants from 2026 entry, with no published cut-off), then an online interview made up of a series of mini-interviews and tests. Direct application to the school rather than through UCAS. 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.

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

ExeterEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

University of Greater ManchesterEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Other medical school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 14 August 2026.