Glasgow vs Nottingham

Glasgow requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology.

Nottingham requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology.

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 at grade 6/B; Biology at grade 6/B if not studied at A-Level. GCSE retakes accepted. Nottingham: GCSE results form part of the academic profile alongside A-Level predictions. Maths and English at minimum grade 6 typically expected.

Both Glasgow and Nottingham 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.

That said, the specifics differ slightly: Glasgow runs mmi format for dentistry, panel interview for medicine; Nottingham runs multiple mini interviews (mmi). Mock practice tailored to each school's exact format is the highest-leverage prep.

Interview windows: Glasgow interviews in December - February; Nottingham in December - March.

Glasgow runs a PBL curriculum; Nottingham runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Glasgow leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Nottingham uses a more traditional lecture-led structure.

Specifics: Five-year MBChB built around problem-based learning groups, with early clinical exposure from Year 1. Five-year MBChB with compulsory intercalated BMedSci built into the course (one of few UK schools to embed BMedSci as standard).

Intake size: Glasgow — ~40-50 RUK + ~22 international + ~190 Scottish places per year (A100).; Nottingham — ~250 home + ~30 international places per year.. 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%. Nottingham: All Students (2024): 519/913 = 57% (or 336/911 = 37% from another source); A108 WP Foundation Year: 61/188 = 32%.

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. Personal statement and reference must meet minimum requirements but shortlisting is then driven by UCAT alone. Personal statement reviewed post-interview before offers.

Nottingham: Scoring system is now distinct from Lincoln's, weighting GCSE (/32), UCAT (/40) and SJT (/10) - band 4 SJT auto-rejected. No use of predicted A-level grades.