How do interviews differ between Hertfordshire and Southampton?

Hertfordshire uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Southampton uses Panel interview: Selection Day - Panel and Group. The two formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each, with at least 3 full mock interviews per format before sitting either. Interview windows: December - March (Hertfordshire); January - March (Southampton).

Where are Hertfordshire and Southampton located, and how does that affect cost?

Hertfordshire is in Hatfield, UK. Southampton is in Southampton, 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. Southampton 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

Hertfordshire vs Southampton

Hertfordshire and Southampton 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.

The interview formats diverge — MMI vs Panel — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Hertfordshire and Southampton.
Comparison field	HertfordshireHatfield	SouthamptonSouthampton
Quick comparison
Location	Hatfield, UK	Southampton, 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 (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography
TrueScore	Hertfordshire TrueScore 1700intl	Southampton TrueScore 2000
UCAT home cut-off	-	No indication published. Southampton ranks applicants by UCAT and invites the top scorers, but states that the score needed varies year on year and that it is therefore not possible to tell applicants what it will be.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Selection Day - Panel and Group
Post-interview chance	-	Home Students: 574/834 = 69%; International (2023): 17/59 = 30%
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

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 (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography
Contextual A-Level offer	-	AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) for contextual / WP applicants
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry AND Biology (or Human Biology) both required, plus any third subject	Biology required, plus one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography
A-Level resit policy	Resits accepted.	Resits considered with standard AAA requirements in final exams
GCSE requirements	Minimum 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science)	Minimum 7 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, and either Biology + Chemistry or 6-6 Combined Science. GCSE retakes permitted.
GCSE scoring methodology	-	Used only as minimum threshold - pre-interview ranking is by UCAT score
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 HL Biology and a second subject from the accepted list
Graduate-entry degree requirement	-	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above. Southampton graduates applying for BM4 (Graduate Entry Medicine) get a lower UCAT threshold than non-Southampton graduates.
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	Situational judgement is not considered
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.	UCAT ranks you for a place at a Selection Day; after that, the offer rests on Selection Day performance, with UCAT used only to separate tied candidates.

Degree awarded	MBBS	BMBS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Case-based learning + Problem-based learning	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	-	The Wessex region
Named placement sites	-	Southampton General Hospital
Intercalation	Available during the course, earning an additional qualification.	Between year 3 and year 4 you can apply for a Master of Medical Science or MSc at Southampton, or an iBSc or MSc at another university.
Course highlight	Initially open to international students only — around 70 places a year — with plans to admit UK fee-paying students soon after.	-

Interview window	December - March	January - March
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.	Two-part interview: a 20-minute panel based heavily on your personal statement (around half the questions come from it) and a separate 30-minute group task with about 8 candidates discussing a topic w…

Specialities	Medicine, International Medicine	Medicine, Cancer Sciences, Clinical Research
Established	2025	1952
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…	Personal statement carries unusual weight - selectors use it to drive the panel section if you reach Selection Day. SJT is not considered. Course updated for 2025: the integrated BMedSc award is being…
Official course page	https://www.herts.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/mbbs-medicine	https://www.southampton.ac.uk/courses/medicine-bm5-degree-bmbs

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

Southampton

Quick comparison

Location: Southampton, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography
TrueScore: Southampton TrueScore 2000
UCAT home cut-off: No indication published. Southampton ranks applicants by UCAT and invites the top scorers, but states that the score needed varies year on year and that it is therefore not possible to tell applicants what it will be.
Interview format: Selection Day - Panel and Group
Post-interview chance: Home Students: 574/834 = 69%; International (2023): 17/59 = 30%
Decision date: March onwards

Hertfordshire vs Southampton - 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.

Southampton requires AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography.

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). Southampton: Minimum 7 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, and either Biology + Chemistry or 6-6 Combined Science. GCSE retakes permitted. Used only as minimum threshold -…

Interview formats

Hertfordshire uses MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)); Southampton uses Panel (Selection Day - Panel and Group). These two formats reward different skills — MMI emphasises breadth, station-recovery and structured answers under time pressure, while Panel rewards depth and consistency.

If your strengths lie in conversational depth, Southampton may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Hertfordshire is the better fit.

Interview windows: Hertfordshire interviews in December - March; Southampton in January - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

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

Specifics: Five-year MBChB. Hertfordshire-based with East-of-England NHS placements. Five-year BM5 integrated programme with strong emphasis on research methodology. Clinical placements across Southampton, Portsmouth, Winchester, Salis

Intake size: Hertfordshire — ~50-100 places per year (newer cohort).; Southampton — ~210 home + ~25 international places per year (BM5 standard programme).. 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.

Southampton: Personal statement carries unusual weight - selectors use it to drive the panel section if you reach Selection Day. SJT is not considered. Course updated for 2025: the integrated BMedSc award is being removed in favour of more clinical learning time.

Which is right for you?

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 Hertfordshire; 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. 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.. Southampton guidance: No indication published. Southampton ranks applicants by UCAT and invites the top scorers, but states that the score needed varies year on year and that it is therefore not possible to tell applicants what it will be..

Hertfordshire requires AAA including Chemistry AND Biology (or Human Biology), plus a third subject, completed in one sitting across a maximum of two years. Southampton requires AAA including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Hertfordshire — Resits accepted.. Southampton — Resits considered case-by-case; achieved-grade route also available..

Hertfordshire — Minimum 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science). Southampton — Minimum 7 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, and either Biology + Chemistry or 6-6 Combined Science. GCSE retakes permitted. Used only as minimum threshold - pre-interview ranking is by UCAT score

Hertfordshire's selection methodology: Newer programme. UCAT + academic + interview. Hertfordshire-based with strong widening-participation focus. Southampton's selection methodology: UCAT-based shortlisting after academic minimums met. Historically uses a banding/decile-based UCAT approach. 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. Southampton runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Hertfordshire specifics: Five-year MBChB. Hertfordshire-based with East-of-England NHS placements. Southampton specifics: Five-year BM5 integrated programme with strong emphasis on research methodology. Clinical placements across Southampton, Portsmouth, Winchester, Salisbury, and Isle of Wight NHS sites.

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

SouthamptonEntry 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.