Glasgow vs North Wales (Bangor)

Glasgow requires AAA including Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics. International A-level applicants need AAA including Chemistry, Biology and one of Physics or Mathematics.

Grades must be achieved at one sitting and at the first attempt - resits and extra time to sit qualifications are not permitted, and a mix of qualifications at the same level is not accepted.

North Wales (Bangor) requires AAA at A-level including Biology and one further science.

Both demand the same A-Level grade band, so academic prediction is unlikely to differentiate your application between them — provided you meet the required subject combination at each.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Glasgow: GCSE English Literature or English Language at grade 6/B or above. GCSE Biology at grade 6/B if not studied at A-level. GCSE retakes are accepted. North Wales (Bangor): English or Welsh Language at grade B/6, and Double Science at BB/66.

Glasgow uses Panel (Panel interview); North Wales (Bangor) uses MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)). These two formats reward different skills — Panel emphasises narrative coherence and the ability to develop a thread under follow-up questioning, while MMI rewards breadth and quick recovery.

If your strengths lie in conversational depth, Glasgow may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, North Wales (Bangor) is the better fit.

Interview windows: Glasgow interviews in December - February; North Wales (Bangor) in December - March.

Both schools deliver a PBL-style curriculum, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar across years 1-3.

Specifics: Five-year MBChB built around problem-based learning groups, with early clinical exposure from Year 1. Four-year accelerated MBBCh (Cardiff) for graduates, or 5-year route. Strong rural/community placement strand across North Wales (Betsi Cadwaladr UHB)

Intake size: Glasgow — ~40-50 RUK + ~22 international + ~190 Scottish places per year (A100).; North Wales (Bangor) — ~30 places per year (small cohort, designed for local retention).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Glasgow: Scottish: 473/565 = 84% (2025); RUK: 128/216 = 59%; International: 114/161 = 71%. North Wales (Bangor): Refused to disclose. New medical school, has been in clearing in past years.

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.

Glasgow: One of the oldest medical schools in the English-speaking world. Your personal statement and reference are screened early, alongside achieved and predicted grades; UCAT scores arrive later in the cycle and are then used to allocate interviews among applicants who have already cleared that screen. Glasgow does not use the SJT at all.

North Wales (Bangor): Bangor publishes no UCAT threshold and has declined FOI requests on its shortlisting weighting, so no cut-off can be quoted. A-level resits are not accepted. Welsh-speaking applicants (with a first-language Welsh GCSE) and other contextual applicants may receive an AAB offer.