How do interviews differ between Exeter and Southampton?

Exeter uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Southampton uses Panel interview: Selection Day - Panel and Group. The two formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each, with at least 3 full mock interviews per format before sitting either. Interview windows: December – March (Exeter); January - March (Southampton).

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

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

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at Exeter vs Southampton?

Exeter — Grade 6/B in English Language. No other GCSE requirements. Southampton — Minimum 7 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, and either Biology + Chemistry or 6-6 Combined Science. GCSE retakes permitted. Used only as minimum threshold - pre-interview ranking is by UCAT score

Exeter and Southampton 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.

The interview formats diverge — MMI vs Panel — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Exeter and Southampton.
Comparison field	ExeterExeter, Devon, England, UK	SouthamptonSouthampton
Quick comparison
Location	Exeter, Devon, England, UK, UK	Southampton, UK
A-Level offer	A*AA at A-level including A in Chemistry and A in Biology	AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography
TrueScore	Exeter TrueScore 1900	Southampton TrueScore 2000
UCAT home cut-off	~1880+ /2700 with AAA* (5th decile) OR ~2100+ /2700 with AAA (8th decile). Points cut-off 74+/100.	No indication published. Southampton ranks applicants by UCAT and invites the top scorers, but states that the score needed varies year on year and that it is therefore not possible to tell applicants what it will be.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Selection Day - Panel and Group
Post-interview chance	International (2026 policy): ~33% (10 places, ~30 interviews); UK Undergrad: 366/696 = 53%	Home Students: 574/834 = 69%; International (2023): 17/59 = 30%
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 (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography
Contextual A-Level offer	AAB at A-level for contextual / WP-eligible applicants	AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) for contextual / WP applicants
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry and Biology both required at grade A or higher	Biology required, plus one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography
A-Level resit policy	Resits accepted - predicted grades can still be considered in shortlisting scores	Resits considered with standard AAA requirements in final exams
GCSE requirements	Grade 6/B in English Language. No other GCSE requirements.	Minimum 7 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, and either Biology + Chemistry or 6-6 Combined Science. GCSE retakes permitted.
GCSE scoring methodology	-	Used only as minimum threshold - pre-interview ranking is by UCAT score
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 HL Biology and a second subject from the accepted list
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. Southampton graduates applying for BM4 (Graduate Entry Medicine) get a lower UCAT threshold than non-Southampton graduates.
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	Situational judgement is not 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.	UCAT ranks you for a place at a Selection Day; after that, the offer rests on Selection Day performance, with UCAT used only to separate tied candidates.

Degree awarded	BMBS	BMBS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Case-based learning	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	Imaging and models	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	Devon and Cornwall	The Wessex region
Named placement sites	Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust (Truro)	Southampton General Hospital
Intercalation	Between years 3 and 4 — ten bachelor's options and more than ten master's options.	Between year 3 and year 4 you can apply for a Master of Medical Science or MSc at Southampton, or an iBSc or MSc at another university.
Course highlight	Every student spends at least one year based in Cornwall, at the Knowledge Spa in Truro.	-

Interview window	December – March	January - 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…	Two-part interview: a 20-minute panel based heavily on your personal statement (around half the questions come from it) and a separate 30-minute group task with about 8 candidates discussing a topic w…

Specialities	Primary Care, Hospital Medicine, Community Medicine, Clinical Science, Rural & Regional Health	Medicine, Cancer Sciences, Clinical Research
Established	2013	1952
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%…	Personal statement carries unusual weight - selectors use it to drive the panel section if you reach Selection Day. SJT is not considered. Course updated for 2025: the integrated BMedSc award is being…
Official course page	https://www.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate-degrees/bmbs-medicine/	https://www.southampton.ac.uk/courses/medicine-bm5-degree-bmbs

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

Southampton

Quick comparison

Location: Southampton, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography
TrueScore: Southampton TrueScore 2000
UCAT home cut-off: No indication published. Southampton ranks applicants by UCAT and invites the top scorers, but states that the score needed varies year on year and that it is therefore not possible to tell applicants what it will be.
Interview format: Selection Day - Panel and Group
Post-interview chance: Home Students: 574/834 = 69%; International (2023): 17/59 = 30%
Decision date: March onwards

Exeter vs Southampton - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

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

Southampton requires AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography.

Exeter is the stricter A-Level offer; Southampton is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Southampton 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. Southampton: Minimum 7 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, and either Biology + Chemistry or 6-6 Combined Science. GCSE retakes permitted. Used only as minimum threshold -…

Interview formats

Exeter uses MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)); Southampton uses Panel (Selection Day - Panel and Group). These two formats reward different skills — MMI emphasises breadth, station-recovery and structured answers under time pressure, while Panel rewards depth and consistency.

If your strengths lie in conversational depth, Southampton may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Exeter is the better fit.

Interview windows: Exeter interviews in December – March; Southampton in January - March.

Post-interview offer rate

Exeter: International (2026 policy): ~33% (10 places, ~30 interviews); UK Undergrad: 366/696 = 53%. Southampton: Home Students: 574/834 = 69%; International (2023): 17/59 = 30%.

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.

Southampton: Personal statement carries unusual weight - selectors use it to drive the panel section if you reach Selection Day. SJT is not considered. Course updated for 2025: the integrated BMedSc award is being removed in favour of more clinical learning time.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Southampton 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.. Southampton guidance: No indication published. Southampton ranks applicants by UCAT and invites the top scorers, but states that the score needed varies year on year and that it is therefore not possible to tell applicants what it will be..

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.. Southampton requires AAA including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography. 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. Southampton's selection methodology: UCAT-based shortlisting after academic minimums met. Historically uses a banding/decile-based UCAT approach. 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%. Southampton: Home Students: 574/834 = 69%; International (2023): 17/59 = 30%. 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

SouthamptonEntry 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.