Hull York (HYMS) vs Newcastle

Hull York (HYMS)'s published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 2010, while Newcastle sits at approximately 1900.

The 110-point spread is within year-on-year noise — for most applicants the two thresholds are effectively interchangeable, and other selection factors (GCSE weighting, interview score) will dominate.

Contextual / widening-participation cut-offs differ — Hull York (HYMS): ~1700+ /2700 with WP eligibility (4th decile minimum + minimum entry requirements); Newcastle: ~1900+ /2700 (Partners - same cut-off as home). Eligible applicants should weight this heavily when choosing.

Hull York (HYMS) requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology.

Newcastle requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology.

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 — Hull York (HYMS): Min 6 GCSEs at grade 6 including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science. Newcastle: Top 8 GCSE grades scored; not used if A-Level academic criteria already met. Bio/Chem/Physics A-Levels need pass in practical element.

Both Hull York (HYMS) and Newcastle 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; Newcastle in December - January.

Hull York (HYMS) runs a PBL curriculum; Newcastle runs a Case-based curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Hull York (HYMS) leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Newcastle centres learning around clinical cases.

Specifics: Five-year MBBS jointly run by Hull and York universities. Clinical placements across Hull, York, Scarborough, and Yorkshire NHS sites. Five-year MBBS with case-based learning. Clinical placements across Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust and partner sites in the North East.

Intake size: Hull York (HYMS) — ~165 home + ~25 international places per year.; Newcastle — ~270 home + ~25 international places per year across Newcastle and Malaysia campuses.. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Hull York (HYMS): All (2024): 678/750 = 90%; Home: 655/695 = 94%; Overseas: 20/55 = 36%. Newcastle: International: 82/88 = 93% (2025); Graduate Entry: 46/86 = 53%; Home Non-Contextual: 418/577 = 72%; Home Widening Participation: 194/350 = 55%.

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.

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.

Newcastle: Heavy use of UCAT post-interview - high scorers are rewarded disproportionately by Newcastle's scoring system. The Partners contextual programme has generous eligibility (e.g. all Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage applicants including those at private school).