How do interviews differ between Exeter and Leeds?

Exeter uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Leeds 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 - February (Leeds).

What A-Level grades do Exeter and Leeds require?

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.. Leeds requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology (predictions also AAA minimum). Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school.

Where are Exeter and Leeds located, and how does that affect cost?

Exeter is in Exeter, Devon, England, UK, UK. Leeds is in Leeds, 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. Leeds 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 Leeds

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at Exeter vs Leeds?

Exeter — Grade 6/B in English Language. No other GCSE requirements. Leeds — Minimum 6 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above including Mathematics, English Language, Biology and Chemistry (or 6-6 Dual Science). Meeting the minimum alone is unlikely to shortlist - scoring uses the top 8 GCSEs. Top 8 GCSEs scored as part of the ranking alongside UCAT.

Exeter and Leeds 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 AAA) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.

Leeds is the older institution (founded 1904); the other (founded 2013) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Exeter and Leeds.
Comparison field	ExeterExeter, Devon, England, UK	LeedsLeeds
Quick comparison
Location	Exeter, Devon, England, UK, UK	Leeds, UK
A-Level offer	A*AA at A-level including A in Chemistry and A in Biology	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (predictions also AAA minimum). An A* cannot compensate for a B in another subject.
TrueScore	Exeter TrueScore 1900	Leeds TrueScore 1950
UCAT home cut-off	~1880+ /2700 with AAA* (5th decile) OR ~2100+ /2700 with AAA (8th decile). Points cut-off 74+/100.	No cut-off. Leeds states plainly: "There is no fixed UCAT cut-off score."
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%	Home student: 300/742 = 40% (2024); International: 12/32 = 38%
Decision date	March onwards / mid-May	March onwards

A-Level offer	A*AA at A-level including A in Chemistry and A in Biology	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (predictions also AAA minimum). An A* cannot compensate for a B in another subject.
Contextual A-Level offer	AAB at A-level for contextual / WP-eligible applicants	ABB for Access to Leeds applicants. Chemistry and Biology must both be taken, with an A in either Chemistry or Biology.
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry and Biology both required at grade A or higher	Chemistry and Biology both required
A-Level resit policy	Resits accepted - predicted grades can still be considered in shortlisting scores	From 2026 entry: one A-Level resit attempt accepted without mitigating circumstances.
GCSE requirements	Grade 6/B in English Language. No other GCSE requirements.	Minimum 6 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above including Mathematics, English Language, Biology and Chemistry (or 6-6 Dual Science). Meeting the minimum alone is unlikely to shortlist - scoring uses the top 8 GCSEs.
GCSE scoring methodology	-	Top 8 GCSEs scored as part of the ranking alongside UCAT.
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.	36 points overall with a mark of 6 in three Higher Level subjects, which must include Chemistry and Biology.
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	-	-

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+)	-
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	SJT is not used - band 4 is appropriate	SJT not used or considered
UCAT notes	Points-based system combining A-level prediction (75% weight) + UCAT decile (25% weight). Achieved A-level grades scored more generously than predictions.	Your UCAT total is one of four inputs to a points-based ranking, alongside your top eight GCSEs, your top three predicted grades and contextual information. Because applicants are ranked rather than f…

Degree awarded	BMBS	MBChB
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Case-based learning	Case-based learning + Integrated
Anatomy teaching	Imaging and models	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	Devon and Cornwall	West Yorkshire
Named placement sites	Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust (Truro)	-
Intercalation	Between years 3 and 4 — ten bachelor's options and more than ten master's options.	Available after year 2, 3 or 4.
Course highlight	Every student spends at least one year based in Cornwall, at the Knowledge Spa in Truro.	The Patient, Carer Community (PCC) initiative provides learning alongside clinical placements.

Interview window	December – March	December - February
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…	Leeds uses a multiple mini-interview format but does not publish the number of stations or their timings, so treat any specific circuit description you see elsewhere as unofficial. Expect the usual MM…

Specialities	Primary Care, Hospital Medicine, Community Medicine, Clinical Science, Rural & Regional Health	Medicine, Dentistry, Healthcare Sciences
Established	2013	1904
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%…	Well-established medical school with strong community links and clinical training. Total shortlisting score combines UCAT, GCSE and A-level predictions. SJT is not used in selection.
Official course page	https://www.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate-degrees/bmbs-medicine/	https://courses.leeds.ac.uk/5580/medicine-and-surgery-mbchb

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

Leeds

Quick comparison

Location: Leeds, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (predictions also AAA minimum). An A* cannot compensate for a B in another subject.
TrueScore: Leeds TrueScore 1950
UCAT home cut-off: No cut-off. Leeds states plainly: "There is no fixed UCAT cut-off score."
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Home student: 300/742 = 40% (2024); International: 12/32 = 38%
Decision date: March onwards

Exeter vs Leeds - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

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

Leeds requires AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (predictions also AAA minimum). An A* cannot compensate for a B in another subject.

Exeter is the stricter A-Level offer; Leeds is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Leeds 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. Leeds: Minimum 6 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above including Mathematics, English Language, Biology and Chemistry (or 6-6 Dual Science). Meeting the minimum alone is unlikely to shortlist - scoring uses the top 8…

Interview formats

Both Exeter and Leeds 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; Leeds in December - February.

Post-interview offer rate

Exeter: International (2026 policy): ~33% (10 places, ~30 interviews); UK Undergrad: 366/696 = 53%. Leeds: Home student: 300/742 = 40% (2024); International: 12/32 = 38%.

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.

Leeds: Well-established medical school with strong community links and clinical training. Total shortlisting score combines UCAT, GCSE and A-level predictions. SJT is not used in selection.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Leeds 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

Neither school publishes a single fixed UCAT cut-off; both use UCAT as part of a composite shortlisting score alongside GCSE and personal-statement weighting. Exeter guidance: ~1880+ /2700 with A*A*A* (5th decile) OR ~2100+ /2700 with A*A*A (8th decile). Points cut-off 74+/100.. Leeds guidance: No cut-off. Leeds states plainly: "There is no fixed UCAT cut-off score.".

Exeter's selection methodology: shortlisting weight not fully disclosed; check the official admissions page. Leeds's selection methodology: Eligible applicants are shortlisted on a points-based system combining the top eight GCSE results (including any required subjects), the top three predicted grades (including any required subjects), the overall UCAT score and contextual information. Applications are then ranked on that combined score, with extra points for applicants meeting contextual criteria. There is no fixed UCAT cut-off, and the personal statement is not part of shortlisting. 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.

Exeter: International (2026 policy): ~33% (10 places, ~30 interviews); UK Undergrad: 366/696 = 53%. Leeds: Home student: 300/742 = 40% (2024); International: 12/32 = 38%. Post-interview odds tell you how competitive each school is at the final stage. Two schools with similar UCAT thresholds can have very different post-interview rates — a school with a 60% post-interview success rate is structurally easier to convert than one at 25%.

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

LeedsEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Other medical school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 19 September 2026.