Where are Hertfordshire and Norwich (UEA) located, and how does that affect cost?

Hertfordshire is in Hatfield, UK. Norwich (UEA) is in Norwich, 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?

Hertfordshire typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Norwich (UEA) releases medicine decisions March. 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

Hertfordshire vs Norwich (UEA)

Hertfordshire and Norwich (UEA) 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.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Hertfordshire and Norwich (UEA).
Comparison field	HertfordshireHatfield	Norwich (UEA)Norwich
Quick comparison
Location	Hatfield, UK	Norwich, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (or Human Biology) at grade A plus a third subject at grade A, completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years. General Studies and Critical Thinking excluded.	AAA at A-level including Biology or Chemistry
TrueScore	Hertfordshire TrueScore 1700intl	Norwich (UEA) TrueScore 1700
UCAT home cut-off	-	No cut-off. UEA states it does not have a cut-off score: a high score is advantageous, and a low score does not disqualify an applicant from consideration.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	-	UK Undergraduate: 539/638 = 84%; UK Graduate: 29/39 = 74%; International: 24/69 = 35%
Decision date	March onwards	March

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (or Human Biology) at grade A plus a third subject at grade A, completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years. General Studies and Critical Thinking excluded.	AAA at A-level including Biology or Chemistry
Contextual A-Level offer	-	-
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry AND Biology (or Human Biology) both required, plus any third subject	Biology or Chemistry required (only one is essential)
A-Level resit policy	Resits accepted.	Resits permitted but require ABB or AAC at first sitting and at least one A* in subjects being resat
GCSE requirements	Minimum 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science)	Six GCSEs at grade 7/A or above, including Mathematics and either two science subjects or Double Science. English Language at grade 5/B minimum. GCSE retakes tolerated.
GCSE scoring methodology	-	GCSE used only as minimum threshold - pre-interview shortlisting is wholly UCAT-based once GCSE met
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall with Higher Level 6 in Chemistry or Biology and Higher Level 5 in a second science (Chemistry, Biology, Physics) or Mathematics	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Biology or Chemistry
Graduate-entry degree requirement	-	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above in any honours degree. Graduate-entry candidates still required to sit UCAT.
Alternative qualifications	Access to Medicine Diploma accepted: 39 credits at distinction plus six at merit, with all biology and chemistry credits at distinction. International applicants only for the first cohort, applying direct rather than through UCAS, so it costs none of your four UCAS choices. Applicants must be 18 by the start of the course.	-

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	No cut-off exists yet. Hertfordshire ranks applicants by UCAT and invites a fixed number to interview, but the first cohort is September 2026 so there is no historic lowest-invited score to quote.	-
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	No usage mentioned in any selection policy	SJT is part of interview score. 27 students with band 3 got offers in 2024 out of total ~600.
UCAT notes	International applicants only for the first intake. SJT not used. Any number circulating as a Hertfordshire 'cut-off' is guesswork - the school has not yet completed a cycle.	All on-time applications go through primary screening for the academic minimums, a satisfactory personal statement and reference, and a UCAT sat in the summer before applying. If applications exceed i…

Degree awarded	MBBS	MBBS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Case-based learning + Problem-based learning	Problem-based learning
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	-	Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire
Named placement sites	-	Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital
Intercalation	Available during the course, earning an additional qualification.	-
Course highlight	Initially open to international students only — around 70 places a year — with plans to admit UK fee-paying students soon after.	The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital is just 100 metres from Norwich Medical School.

Interview window	December - March	November - February
Interview details	Applicants are ranked by UCAT score and a fixed number invited to an Interview Day, provided they meet academic minimums. Interview format includes typical MMI-style stations.	An on-campus MMI, each station with a different interviewer and roughly 5 minutes per station with a short changeover between. Heavy focus on personal suitability for medicine - empathy, insight into…

Specialities	Medicine, International Medicine	Medicine, Medical Sciences, Problem-Based Learning
Established	2025	1963
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	International applicants only for the first intake, with home entry planned later. Delivered with support from City St George's, University of London, and still working toward GMC accreditation - conf…	UCAT plays a major role both pre- and post-interview (50/50 with interview score). SJT forms part of the interview score - band 3 students have received offers in past cycles. Strong focus on suitabil…
Official course page	https://www.herts.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/mbbs-medicine	https://www.uea.ac.uk/course/undergraduate/mbbs-medicine

Hertfordshire

Hatfield

Quick comparison

Location: Hatfield, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (or Human Biology) at grade A plus a third subject at grade A, completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years. General Studies and Critical Thinking excluded.
TrueScore: Hertfordshire TrueScore 1700intl
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March onwards

Norwich (UEA)

Norwich

Quick comparison

Location: Norwich, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Biology or Chemistry
TrueScore: Norwich (UEA) TrueScore 1700
UCAT home cut-off: No cut-off. UEA states it does not have a cut-off score: a high score is advantageous, and a low score does not disqualify an applicant from consideration.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: UK Undergraduate: 539/638 = 84%; UK Graduate: 29/39 = 74%; International: 24/69 = 35%
Decision date: March

Hertfordshire vs Norwich (UEA) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Hertfordshire requires AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (or Human Biology) at grade A plus a third subject at grade A, completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years. General Studies and Critical Thinking excluded.

Norwich (UEA) requires AAA at A-level including Biology or Chemistry.

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 — Hertfordshire: Minimum 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science). Norwich (UEA): Six GCSEs at grade 7/A or above, including Mathematics and either two science subjects or Double Science. English Language at grade 5/B minimum. GCSE retakes tolerated.

GCSE used only as minimum…

Interview formats

Both Hertfordshire and Norwich (UEA) 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: Hertfordshire interviews in December - March; Norwich (UEA) in November - February.

Curriculum and teaching style

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

Specifics: Five-year MBChB. Hertfordshire-based with East-of-England NHS placements. Five-year MBBS built around problem-based learning. Strong emphasis on consultation skills from Year 1. Clinical placements across Norfolk, Suffolk, a

Intake size: Hertfordshire — ~50-100 places per year (newer cohort).; Norwich (UEA) — ~167 home + ~22 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

Hertfordshire: International applicants only for the first intake, with home entry planned later. Delivered with support from City St George's, University of London, and still working toward GMC accreditation - confirm the accreditation position before accepting an offer. Applicants are ranked by UCAT with no published cut-off.

Norwich (UEA): UCAT plays a major role both pre- and post-interview (50/50 with interview score). SJT forms part of the interview score - band 3 students have received offers in past cycles. Strong focus on suitability rather than academic ranking.

Which is right for you?

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. Hertfordshire guidance: International applicants only for the first intake. SJT not used. Any number circulating as a Hertfordshire 'cut-off' is guesswork - the school has not yet completed a cycle.. Norwich (UEA) guidance: No cut-off. UEA states it does not have a cut-off score: a high score is advantageous, and a low score does not disqualify an applicant from consideration..

Hertfordshire uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Norwich (UEA) 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 (Hertfordshire); November - February (Norwich (UEA)).

Hertfordshire requires AAA including Chemistry AND Biology (or Human Biology), plus a third subject, completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years. Norwich (UEA) requires AAA including Biology or Chemistry. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Hertfordshire — Resits accepted.. Norwich (UEA) — Resits accepted with explanation..

Hertfordshire — Minimum 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science). Norwich (UEA) — Six GCSEs at grade 7/A or above, including Mathematics and either two science subjects or Double Science. English Language at grade 5/B minimum. GCSE retakes tolerated. GCSE used only as minimum threshold - pre-interview shortlisting is wholly UCAT-based once GCSE met

Hertfordshire's selection methodology: Newer programme. UCAT + academic + interview. Hertfordshire-based with strong widening-participation focus. Norwich (UEA)'s selection methodology: UCAT-banded interview invites once the academic minimums are met. 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.

Hertfordshire runs a PBL curriculum. Norwich (UEA) runs a PBL curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. Hertfordshire specifics: Five-year MBChB. Hertfordshire-based with East-of-England NHS placements. Norwich (UEA) specifics: Five-year MBBS built around problem-based learning. Strong emphasis on consultation skills from Year 1. Clinical placements across Norfolk, Suffolk, and the East of England.

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

HertfordshireEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Norwich (UEA)Entry 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.

Hertfordshire vs Norwich (UEA)

Side-by-side comparison

Hertfordshire vs Norwich (UEA) - 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 Hertfordshire vs Norwich (UEA)?

How do interviews differ between Hertfordshire and Norwich (UEA)?

What A-Level grades do Hertfordshire and Norwich (UEA) require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Hertfordshire vs Norwich (UEA)?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Where are Hertfordshire and Norwich (UEA) located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Hertfordshire and Norwich (UEA) use?

Should I apply to both Hertfordshire and Norwich (UEA)?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons