How do interviews differ between Exeter and Norwich (UEA)?

Exeter uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Norwich (UEA) 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); November - February (Norwich (UEA)).

What A-Level grades do Exeter and Norwich (UEA) 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.. Norwich (UEA) requires AAA including Biology or Chemistry. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school.

Where are Exeter and Norwich (UEA) located, and how does that affect cost?

Exeter is in Exeter, Devon, England, UK, UK. Norwich (UEA) is in Norwich, 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. Norwich (UEA) releases medicine decisions March. 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 Norwich (UEA)

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at Exeter vs Norwich (UEA)?

Exeter — Grade 6/B in English Language. No other GCSE requirements. Norwich (UEA) — Six GCSEs at grade 7/A or above, including Mathematics and either two science subjects or Double Science. English Language at grade 5/B minimum. GCSE retakes tolerated. GCSE used only as minimum threshold - pre-interview shortlisting is wholly UCAT-based once GCSE met

Exeter and Norwich (UEA) 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.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Exeter and Norwich (UEA).
Comparison field	ExeterExeter, Devon, England, UK	Norwich (UEA)Norwich
Quick comparison
Location	Exeter, Devon, England, UK, UK	Norwich, UK
A-Level offer	A*AA at A-level including A in Chemistry and A in Biology	AAA at A-level including Biology or Chemistry
TrueScore	Exeter TrueScore 1900	Norwich (UEA) TrueScore 1700
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. UEA states it does not have a cut-off score: a high score is advantageous, and a low score does not disqualify an applicant from consideration.
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%	UK Undergraduate: 539/638 = 84%; UK Graduate: 29/39 = 74%; International: 24/69 = 35%
Decision date	March onwards / mid-May	March

A-Level offer	A*AA at A-level including A in Chemistry and A in Biology	AAA at A-level including Biology or Chemistry
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	Biology or Chemistry required (only one is essential)
A-Level resit policy	Resits accepted - predicted grades can still be considered in shortlisting scores	Resits permitted but require ABB or AAC at first sitting and at least one A* in subjects being resat
GCSE requirements	Grade 6/B in English Language. No other GCSE requirements.	Six GCSEs at grade 7/A or above, including Mathematics and either two science subjects or Double Science. English Language at grade 5/B minimum. GCSE retakes tolerated.
GCSE scoring methodology	-	GCSE used only as minimum threshold - pre-interview shortlisting is wholly UCAT-based once GCSE met
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, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Biology or Chemistry
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	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above in any honours degree. Graduate-entry candidates still required to sit UCAT.
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 is part of interview score. 27 students with band 3 got offers in 2024 out of total ~600.
UCAT notes	Points-based system combining A-level prediction (75% weight) + UCAT decile (25% weight). Achieved A-level grades scored more generously than predictions.	All on-time applications go through primary screening for the academic minimums, a satisfactory personal statement and reference, and a UCAT sat in the summer before applying. If applications exceed i…

Degree awarded	BMBS	MBBS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Case-based learning	Problem-based learning
Anatomy teaching	Imaging and models	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	Devon and Cornwall	Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire
Named placement sites	Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust (Truro)	Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital
Intercalation	Between years 3 and 4 — ten bachelor's options and more than ten master's options.	-
Course highlight	Every student spends at least one year based in Cornwall, at the Knowledge Spa in Truro.	The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital is just 100 metres from Norwich Medical School.

Interview window	December – March	November - 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…	An on-campus MMI, each station with a different interviewer and roughly 5 minutes per station with a short changeover between. Heavy focus on personal suitability for medicine - empathy, insight into…

Specialities	Primary Care, Hospital Medicine, Community Medicine, Clinical Science, Rural & Regional Health	Medicine, Medical Sciences, Problem-Based Learning
Established	2013	1963
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%…	UCAT plays a major role both pre- and post-interview (50/50 with interview score). SJT forms part of the interview score - band 3 students have received offers in past cycles. Strong focus on suitabil…
Official course page	https://www.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate-degrees/bmbs-medicine/	https://www.uea.ac.uk/course/undergraduate/mbbs-medicine

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

Norwich (UEA)

Norwich

Quick comparison

Location: Norwich, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Biology or Chemistry
TrueScore: Norwich (UEA) TrueScore 1700
UCAT home cut-off: No cut-off. UEA states it does not have a cut-off score: a high score is advantageous, and a low score does not disqualify an applicant from consideration.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: UK Undergraduate: 539/638 = 84%; UK Graduate: 29/39 = 74%; International: 24/69 = 35%
Decision date: March

Exeter vs Norwich (UEA) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

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

Norwich (UEA) requires AAA at A-level including Biology or Chemistry.

Exeter is the stricter A-Level offer; Norwich (UEA) is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Norwich (UEA) 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. Norwich (UEA): Six GCSEs at grade 7/A or above, including Mathematics and either two science subjects or Double Science. English Language at grade 5/B minimum. GCSE retakes tolerated. GCSE used only as minimum…

Interview formats

Both Exeter and Norwich (UEA) 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; Norwich (UEA) in November - February.

Post-interview offer rate

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.

Norwich (UEA): UCAT plays a major role both pre- and post-interview (50/50 with interview score). SJT forms part of the interview score - band 3 students have received offers in past cycles. Strong focus on suitability rather than academic ranking.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Norwich (UEA) 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.. Norwich (UEA) guidance: No cut-off. UEA states it does not have a cut-off score: a high score is advantageous, and a low score does not disqualify an applicant from consideration..

Exeter's selection methodology: shortlisting weight not fully disclosed; check the official admissions page. Norwich (UEA)'s selection methodology: UCAT-banded interview invites once the academic minimums are met. 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%. Norwich (UEA): UK Undergraduate: 539/638 = 84%; UK Graduate: 29/39 = 74%; International: 24/69 = 35%. 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

Norwich (UEA)Entry 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.