Where are University of Greater Manchester and Liverpool located, and how does that affect cost?

University of Greater Manchester is in Bolton, UK. Liverpool is in Liverpool, 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?

University of Greater Manchester typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Liverpool 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

University of Greater Manchester vs Liverpool

University of Greater Manchester and Liverpool 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 (AAB vs AAA) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.

Liverpool is the older institution (founded 1881); the other (founded 2025) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: University of Greater Manchester and Liverpool.
Comparison field	University of Greater ManchesterBolton	LiverpoolLiverpool
Quick comparison
Location	Bolton, UK	Liverpool, UK
A-Level offer	Minimum AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years.	AAA at A-level with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. AAB also accepted with AA including Chemistry plus one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics. No use of predicted grades.
TrueScore	University of Greater Manchester TrueScore 1700intl	Liverpool TrueScore 1900
UCAT home cut-off	Not applicable - the course is not open to home applicants for 2026-27 entry	No threshold published in advance. Liverpool ranks applicants on overall UCAT score and says the bar moves each cycle with the strength of the field.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	-	Home applicants (2024): 612/1870 = 33%; International: 22/138 = 16%. Low post-interview chances for both.
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	Minimum AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years.	AAA at A-level with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. AAB also accepted with AA including Chemistry plus one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics. No use of predicted grades.
Contextual A-Level offer	-	-
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry or Biology required, plus a further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics	Chemistry required, plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. (AAB pattern: A in Chemistry plus A in one of Bio/Phys/Maths; B in third subject.)
A-Level resit policy	Resits may be considered	Resits "may be considered" - must have achieved ABB on first sitting. Offer becomes A*AA on resit.
GCSE requirements	Five GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including Mathematics, English Language and two science subjects. Resits accepted in GCSE English Language or Mathematics.	Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science)
GCSE scoring methodology	-	Top 9 GCSEs scored /20: 2 pts per grade 7+, 1 pt per grade 6. Minimum 15/20 (12/20 with achieved A-levels). Limited number of BTECs counted. Higher GCSE scores break ties on borderline applicants.
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	34 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Chemistry or Biology and one of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Chemistry plus one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics
Graduate-entry degree requirement	-	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above. GAMSAT used for graduate applicants - overall score 55–56 with no section below 50 considered competitive.
Alternative qualifications	International students only for 2026-27 entry; the school has indicated home eligibility may change in future cycles, so confirm directly with admissions before applying. Applications are made directly to the school rather than through UCAS. UCAT required of all applicants from 2026 entry, with no published cut-off and no SJT use.	-

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	UCAT required from 2026 entry; no cut-off published	Home and overseas applications are assessed in completely separate pools, so the two can end up with different thresholds for invitation to interview.
Graduate cut-off	-	Graduate applicants to A100 sit the GAMSAT, not the UCAT - a genuine difference from most UK schools.
SJT band	No usage mentioned in any selection policy	Bands 1-3 accepted, band 4 rejected (home applicants). Any band accepted (international applicants).
UCAT notes	The school requires the UCAT of all applicants from 2026 entry but publishes no threshold, so no cut-off should be inferred. No SJT use stated. Applications are made directly to the school, outside th…	The UCAT is compulsory for all non-graduate applicants, including those on Access to Medicine routes, and must be sat in the same year as the application. Liverpool considers UCAT annotations as part…

Degree awarded	MBChB	MBChB
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Integrated	Spiral + Case-based learning
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	-	Year 2
Placement geography	The north west of England	The north west of England
Named placement sites	-	-
Intercalation	-	An additional undergraduate or master's degree by adding a year of intercalated study.
Course highlight	£40 million of purpose-built facilities, in Bolton — around 20 minutes from Manchester.	-

Interview window	December - March	December - February
Interview details	Interviews are conducted online and run as a series of mini-interviews and tests. From 2026 entry every applicant must sit the UCAT; the school publishes no cut-off score.	MMI with stations testing communication, ethical reasoning, motivation and global-health awareness. Two separate cut-offs (GCSE and UCAT) must both be met before invitations go out.

Specialities	Medicine, Community Medicine	Medicine, Dentistry, Tropical Medicine
Established	2025	1881
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	For 2026-27 entry the MBChB is open to international students only. Applications are made directly to the school, so a place here costs you none of your four UCAS medical choices. Teaching is based at…	Historic medical school known for tropical medicine and global health. GCSE-heavy scoring (top 9 GCSEs counted). Personal statement not normally used in shortlisting but reserved for borderline cases.…
Official course page	https://medicine.greatermanchester.ac.uk/undergraduate-medical-school/	https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/courses/medicine-and-surgery-mbchb

University of Greater Manchester

Bolton

Quick comparison

Location: Bolton, UK
A-Level offer: Minimum AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years.
TrueScore: University of Greater Manchester TrueScore 1700intl
UCAT home cut-off: Not applicable - the course is not open to home applicants for 2026-27 entry
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March onwards

Liverpool

Quick comparison

Location: Liverpool, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. A*AB also accepted with A*A including Chemistry plus one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics. No use of predicted grades.
TrueScore: Liverpool TrueScore 1900
UCAT home cut-off: No threshold published in advance. Liverpool ranks applicants on overall UCAT score and says the bar moves each cycle with the strength of the field.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Home applicants (2024): 612/1870 = 33%; International: 22/138 = 16%. Low post-interview chances for both.
Decision date: March onwards

University of Greater Manchester vs Liverpool - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

University of Greater Manchester requires Minimum AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one further subject from Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years.

Liverpool requires AAA at A-level with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. A*AB also accepted with A*A including Chemistry plus one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics. No use of predicted grades.

Liverpool is the stricter A-Level offer; University of Greater Manchester is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, University of Greater Manchester carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — University of Greater Manchester: Five GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including Mathematics, English Language and two science subjects. Resits accepted in GCSE English Language or Mathematics. Liverpool: Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science).

Top 9 GCSEs scored /20: 2 pts per grade 7+, 1 pt per grade 6. Minimum 15/20 (12/20…

Interview formats

Both University of Greater Manchester and Liverpool 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: University of Greater Manchester interviews in December - March; Liverpool in December - February.

Curriculum and teaching style

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

Specifics: Five-year MBChB taught at the Institute of Medical Sciences on the Royal Bolton Hospital site, with clinical placements through the school's own healt Five-year MBChB with integrated theory and clinical practice. Strong NHS placement breadth across Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Intake size: University of Greater Manchester — Not published by the school.; Liverpool — ~280 home + ~30 international places per year (A100 Standard Entry Medicine).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

What makes each distinctive

University of Greater Manchester: For 2026-27 entry the MBChB is open to international students only. Applications are made directly to the school, so a place here costs you none of your four UCAS medical choices. Teaching is based at the Institute of Medical Sciences on the Royal Bolton Hospital site.

Liverpool: Historic medical school known for tropical medicine and global health. GCSE-heavy scoring (top 9 GCSEs counted). Personal statement not normally used in shortlisting but reserved for borderline cases. Low post-interview success rate compared with peers.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, University of Greater Manchester is the lower-risk academic option. Both schools sit in the same England foundation-programme catchment, so post-graduation training paths overlap heavily. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer University of Greater Manchester; if you prefer lecture-led foundations, the other suits better.

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. University of Greater Manchester guidance: Not applicable - the course is not open to home applicants for 2026-27 entry. Liverpool guidance: No threshold published in advance. Liverpool ranks applicants on overall UCAT score and says the bar moves each cycle with the strength of the field..

University of Greater Manchester uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Liverpool 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 (University of Greater Manchester); December - February (Liverpool).

University of Greater Manchester requires Minimum AAB offer/prediction, must include chemistry or biology and one further subject from biology/chemistry/physics/maths. Completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years. May consider resits. GCSEs: 5 subjects at grade 6, must include maths, English language and two sciences; will consider resits in GCSE English language or maths.. Liverpool requires AAA with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: University of Greater Manchester — Resits may be considered.. Liverpool — No A-Level prediction requirement; resit applicants accepted. Achieved-grade applicants need only 12 GCSE points (vs 15 for predicted-grade .

University of Greater Manchester — Five GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including Mathematics, English Language and two science subjects. Resits accepted in GCSE English Language or Mathematics. Liverpool — Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science). Top 9 GCSEs scored /20: 2 pts per grade 7+, 1 pt per grade 6. Minimum 15/20 (12/20 with achieved A-levels). Limited number of BTECs counted. Higher GCSE scores break ties on borderline applicants.

University of Greater Manchester's selection methodology: Academic entry requirements plus UCAT (required of all applicants from 2026 entry, with no published cut-off), then an online interview made up of a series of mini-interviews and tests. Direct application to the school rather than through UCAS. Liverpool's selection methodology: Applicants must clear the academic criteria, then are ranked on overall UCAT score, with the top scorers progressing. Home and overseas applications are considered in separate pools because the competition within each differs, so the two can end up with different interview thresholds. Liverpool publishes no cut-off in advance. Around 3,350 people applied to A100 for 2026 entry. 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.

University of Greater Manchester runs a PBL curriculum. Liverpool runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. University of Greater Manchester specifics: Five-year MBChB taught at the Institute of Medical Sciences on the Royal Bolton Hospital site, with clinical placements through the school's own healthcare partners. Liverpool specifics: Five-year MBChB with integrated theory and clinical practice. Strong NHS placement breadth across Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Cheshire & Merseyside.

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

University of Greater ManchesterEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

LiverpoolEntry 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.

University of Greater Manchester vs Liverpool

Side-by-side comparison

University of Greater Manchester vs Liverpool - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What UCAT score do I need for University of Greater Manchester vs Liverpool?

How do interviews differ between University of Greater Manchester and Liverpool?

What A-Level grades do University of Greater Manchester and Liverpool require?

How are GCSEs weighted at University of Greater Manchester vs Liverpool?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Where are University of Greater Manchester and Liverpool located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do University of Greater Manchester and Liverpool use?

Should I apply to both University of Greater Manchester and Liverpool?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons