Glasgow vs Oxford

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.

Oxford requires A*AA at A-level (and A*AA predictions) including Chemistry plus one of Biology, Mathematics, Further Mathematics or Physics.

Oxford is the stricter A-Level offer; Glasgow is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Glasgow carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

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. Oxford: No minimum is published.

2026 entry means: 10.1 grade A*/9/8 (96% of grades) for shortlisted applicants and 10.3 (97%) for offer-holders, against 8.9 (86%) across all applicants. Contextualised to…

Both Glasgow and Oxford use Panel 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 panel interview; Oxford runs traditional or panel interviews. Mock practice tailored to each school's exact format is the highest-leverage prep.

Interview windows: Glasgow interviews in December - February; Oxford in December.

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

Specifics: Five-year MBChB built around problem-based learning groups, with early clinical exposure from Year 1. Three years pre-clinical (Years 1-3 BMBCh first part) at Oxford, then three years clinical at Oxford-affiliated NHS hospitals. Tutorial system means s

Intake size: Glasgow — ~40-50 RUK + ~22 international + ~190 Scottish places per year (A100).; Oxford — Around 175 offers are made for roughly 165 A100 places; the realised intake averages about 155 students.

A government quota caps international-fee students at a maximum of fourteen per year across A100 and A101 combined - there is no separate 24-place overseas allocation.. 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%. Oxford: Strong. Of ~425 shortlisted for 2026 entry, 175 received offers - roughly 42% of home-fee interviewees (about 167 offers from ~393 interviews) and 8 of the 32 international interviewees (25%).

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.

Oxford: Pooling system means each applicant is assessed at two colleges, with a centralised shortlist - applying to a "less competitive" college gives no real advantage. GCSE performance is contextualised to your school. Tutors prize lateral reasoning and willingness to engage with the unfamiliar.