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Medical school comparison

Exeter vs Imperial College London

Exeter and Imperial College London are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Exeter is based in Exeter, Devon, England, UK (England) while Imperial College London sits in London (London), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination.

On UCAT alone there is roughly a 440-point gap between them — a substantial difference that should shape which you list as firm choice vs. insurance. Imperial College London is the older institution (founded 1907); the other (founded 2013) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

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
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

Imperial College London

London

Quick comparison

Location
London, UK
A-Level offer
A*AA at A-level with the A* in Chemistry or Biology
TrueScore
2340
UCAT home cut-off
2320+ /2700 (2026 entry official cut-off)
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance
All Applicants: 662/852 = 78% (2025). 280 international interviews, ~2130 international applicants.
Decision date
March onwards
Compare different schools

Exeter vs Imperial College London - in detail

UCAT thresholds compared

Exeter's published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 1880, while Imperial College London sits at approximately 2320.

That's a 440-point gap — large enough to put the two schools in completely different competitiveness tiers. An applicant scoring in the 2000-2200 band would be competitive at Exeter but borderline at Imperial College London.

Contextual / widening-participation cut-offs differ — Exeter: ~1820+ /2700 with A*A*A* (4th decile) OR ~2010+ /2700 with A*A*A (7th decile); Imperial College London: 2170+ /2700 (2026 entry official contextual cut-off). Eligible applicants should weight this heavily when choosing.

A-Level and academic profile

Exeter requires Applicants need to apply via UCAS by 15 October; academic profile + admissions test used to determine interview invite. Typical A-Level offer A*AA (contextual AAB) for 2026 entry.

Imperial College London requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology.

Interview formats

Both Exeter and Imperial College London 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; Imperial College London in December - February.

Post-interview offer rate

Exeter: International (2026 policy): ~33% (10 places, ~30 interviews); UK Undergrad: 366/696 = 53%. Imperial College London: All Applicants: 662/852 = 78% (2025). 280 international interviews, ~2130 international applicants.

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.

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.

Imperial College London: Heavy emphasis on scientific reasoning and the integrated London course structure. Around a quarter of places are now reserved for international applicants. UCAT is the primary shortlisting factor, with personal-statement use limited to exceptional cases.

Which is right for you?

If your UCAT lands below the UK median (~1880/2700), Exeter is the more realistic firm-choice option. Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Exeter feeds into the England foundation programme network; Imperial College London into the London network.

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

Where to go next

ExeterEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in fullImperial College LondonEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Other medical school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 4 August 2026.