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Medical school comparison

Hull York (HYMS) vs Imperial College London

Hull York (HYMS) and Imperial College London are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Hull York (HYMS) is based in Hull/York (England) while Imperial College London sits in London (London), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination.

On UCAT alone there is roughly a 310-point gap between them — a substantial difference that should shape which you list as firm choice vs. insurance. Their A-Level requirements (AAA vs A*AA) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.

Side-by-side comparison

Hull York (HYMS)

Hull/York

Quick comparison

Location
Hull/York, UK
A-Level offer
AAA at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (3 A-levels studied and awarded concurrently)
TrueScore
Hull York (HYMS) TrueScore 1980
UCAT home cut-off
~2010+ /2700 with B1 SJT and 6× grade 9s safest (~7th decile UCAT); ~1950+ consider with strong GCSE/SJT mix
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance
All (2024): 678/750 = 90%; Home: 655/695 = 94%; Overseas: 20/55 = 36%
Decision date
March onwards

Imperial College London

London

Quick comparison

Location
London, UK
A-Level offer
A*AA including A* and A in Biology and Chemistry (A* in either) plus A in a third subject. All qualifications must be taken in the same sitting; General Studies and Critical Thinking are not accepted, and a pass in the science practical endorsement is required.
TrueScore
Imperial College London TrueScore 2340
UCAT home cut-off
2320+ /2700 (2026 entry official cut-off)
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance
Good. Imperial interviews only about the top third of applicants, then makes offers against 345 places from the 852 (2025 entry) and 870 (2026 entry) candidates it invited - so well over half of interviewees receive an offer. The offer threshold moves each year and is set separately for widening-participation applicants.
Decision date
March onwards

Hull York (HYMS) vs Imperial College London - in detail

UCAT thresholds compared

Hull York (HYMS)'s published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 2010, while Imperial College London sits at approximately 2320.

That's a 310-point gap — large enough to put the two schools in completely different competitiveness tiers. An applicant scoring in the 2100-2200 band would be competitive at Hull York (HYMS) but borderline at Imperial College London.

Contextual / widening-participation cut-offs differ — Hull York (HYMS): ~1700+ /2700 with WP eligibility (4th decile minimum + minimum entry requirements); Imperial College London: 2170+ /2700 (2026 entry official contextual cut-off). Eligible applicants should weight this heavily when choosing.

A-Level and academic profile

Hull York (HYMS) requires AAA at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (3 A-levels studied and awarded concurrently).

Imperial College London requires A*AA including A* and A in Biology and Chemistry (A* in either) plus A in a third subject. All qualifications must be taken in the same sitting; General Studies and Critical Thinking are not accepted, and a pass in the science practical endorsement is required.

Imperial College London is the stricter A-Level offer; Hull York (HYMS) is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Hull York (HYMS) carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Hull York (HYMS): Minimum 6 GCSEs at grade 4/C or equivalent, including English Language and Mathematics at grade 6/B or above. GCSE resits accepted (including pending). Top 6 GCSEs scored /35 in points system. Mostly… Imperial College London: Grade 6/B in GCSE English Language. No further GCSE requirements.

GCSE used only as minimum threshold - not used to rank applicants beyond meeting the floor

Interview formats

Both Hull York (HYMS) and Imperial College London 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: Hull York (HYMS) interviews in December - March; Imperial College London in December - February.

Curriculum and teaching style

Hull York (HYMS) runs a PBL curriculum; Imperial College London runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Hull York (HYMS) leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Imperial College London uses a more traditional lecture-led structure.

Specifics: Five-year MBBS jointly run by Hull and York universities. Clinical placements across Hull, York, Scarborough, and Yorkshire NHS sites. Six-year MBBS BSc with integrated science teaching from Year 1. Compulsory intercalated BSc in Year 4. Clinical placements from Year 3 across Imperial

Intake size: Hull York (HYMS) — ~165 home + ~25 international places per year.; Imperial College London — A government-capped target intake of 345: 271 home places and 74 overseas, one of the largest international intakes in the UK.. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

Hull York (HYMS): All (2024): 678/750 = 90%; Home: 655/695 = 94%; Overseas: 20/55 = 36%. Imperial College London: Good. Imperial interviews only about the top third of applicants, then makes offers against 345 places from the 852 (2025 entry) and 870 (2026 entry) candidates it invited - so well over half of interviewees receive an offer.

The offer threshold moves each year and is set separately for widening-participation applicants.

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.

What makes each distinctive

Hull York (HYMS): Points-based shortlisting: UCAT decile (/35) + SJT (/15) + GCSE top 6 subjects (/35) + contextual data (/15). The PBL group exercise is unusual among UK medical schools and reflects HYMS's problem-based curriculum.

Imperial College London: Heavy emphasis on scientific reasoning and the integrated London course structure. Around a quarter of places are now reserved for international applicants. UCAT is the primary shortlisting factor, with personal-statement use limited to exceptional cases.

Which is right for you?

If your UCAT lands below the UK median (~1880/2700), Hull York (HYMS) is the more realistic firm-choice option. For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Hull York (HYMS) is the lower-risk academic option.

Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Hull York (HYMS) feeds into the England foundation programme network; Imperial College London into the London network. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Hull York (HYMS); 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

Hull York (HYMS)'s typical home cut-off is around 2010, while Imperial College London sits at approximately 2320 — a 310-point spread. That's a meaningful gap; Hull York (HYMS) is materially more accessible for an average-to-good UCAT, while Imperial College London expects performance closer to the top 14% of test-takers. Cut-offs change year on year and vary by tier — check each school's latest published threshold before submitting your UCAS form.

Where to go next

Hull York (HYMS)Entry requirements, interview format and key dates in full
Imperial College LondonEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Other medical school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed .