Where are Imperial College London and Nottingham located, and how does that affect cost?

Imperial College London is in London, UK. Nottingham is in Nottingham, 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?

Imperial College London typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Nottingham 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

Imperial College London vs Nottingham

Imperial College London and Nottingham are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Imperial College London is based in London (London) while Nottingham sits in Nottingham (England), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination. Their A-Level requirements (A*AA vs AAA) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Imperial College London and Nottingham.
Comparison field	Imperial College LondonLondon	NottinghamNottingham
Quick comparison
Location	London, UK	Nottingham, UK
A-Level offer	AAA 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.	AAA at A-level including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.
TrueScore	Imperial College London TrueScore 2340	Nottingham TrueScore 1850
UCAT home cut-off	2320+ /2700 (2026 entry official cut-off)	No fixed score. Nottingham states that the threshold varies year by year, cannot be predicted in advance, and that it does not share previous years' thresholds.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	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.	All Students (2024): 519/913 = 57% (or 336/911 = 37% from another source); A108 WP Foundation Year: 61/188 = 32%
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA 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.	AAA at A-level including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.
Contextual A-Level offer	AAA - the same grades as the standard offer, but the A may be in any subject rather than in Biology or Chemistry	Two contextual tiers, both requiring at least an A in Biology or Chemistry: standard contextual AAB, enhanced contextual ABB.
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry and Biology both required	Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry both required
A-Level resit policy	Resit qualifications not accepted	Resits considered case-by-case; standard expectation is one-sitting AAA.
GCSE requirements	Grade 6/B in GCSE English Language. No further GCSE requirements.	Minimum six GCSEs at grade 7/A including both Biology and Chemistry, plus at least grade 6/B in Mathematics and English Language (English and Maths do NOT need to be at grade 7).
GCSE scoring methodology	GCSE used only as minimum threshold - not used to rank applicants beyond meeting the floor	GCSEs feed the combined points score used for shortlisting alongside UCAT.
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	38 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Chemistry and Biology	34 points overall including HL6 in Biology and HL6 in Chemistry; alternatively 6,6,6 across three HL Certificates with HL6 in Biology and HL6 in Chemistry.
Graduate-entry degree requirement	Graduate applicants accepted on the standard 6-year MBBS - typically holding 2:1 or higher in any subject, plus required A-level Chemistry and Biology grades	-
Alternative qualifications	-	-

Contextual cut-off	2170+ /2700 (2026 entry official contextual cut-off)	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	2310+ /2700 (2026 entry official cut-off)	-
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	Band 4 rejected, otherwise B1, B2 & B3 equal	Band 4 automatically rejected. SJT scored: B1=10, B2=6, B3=2, B4=0.
UCAT notes	Imperial sets the threshold each year by ranking candidate UCAT scores against the number of interview slots, so it moves annually. The personal statement is not graded in shortlisting, but it is hand…	Nottingham scores each UCAT component raw score rather than working from the total alone, and combines that with GCSE scoring to select for interview. An SJT of Band 4 means you will not be considered…

Degree awarded	MBBS/BSc	BMBS
Course length	6 years (BSc built in)	5 years
Teaching style	Case-based learning + Team-based learning	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 2
Placement geography	West and central London	Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire
Named placement sites	Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (Charing Cross, Hammersmith, St Mary’s, Western Eye), Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London North West Healthcare NHS Trust (Ealing, Northwick Park), Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust, Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust, West Middlesex University Hospital	Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham City Hospital, Highbury Hospital, Royal Derby Hospital, King's Mill Hospital, Chesterfield Royal Hospital, Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust, Derbyshire Healthcare Trust
Intercalation	Not a separate option — the BSc is integral to the six-year course.	-
Course highlight	Exceptional students may be offered the opportunity to include a PhD as part of their studies.	The course was co-created with input from students, staff and practitioners.

Interview window	December - February	December - March
Interview details	A single live MMI. Imperial ran six stations for 2026 entry, each scored out of 6 and combined into one interview total. Published station themes are teamwork and leadership, motivation to study medic…	An MMI of six scenarios, including at least one role play. Expect a strong emphasis on awareness of current NHS and healthcare issues alongside the usual motivation and ethics ground.

Specialities	Medicine, Bioengineering, Public Health	Medicine, Medical Sciences, Graduate Entry Medicine
Established	1907	1948
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	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, wi…	Scoring system is now distinct from Lincoln's, weighting GCSE (/32), UCAT (/40) and SJT (/10) - band 4 SJT auto-rejected. No use of predicted A-level grades.
Official course page	https://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/courses/undergraduate/medicine/	https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/studywithus/ugstudy/courses/UG/2026/Medicine-BMBS.html

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

Nottingham

Quick comparison

Location: Nottingham, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.
TrueScore: Nottingham TrueScore 1850
UCAT home cut-off: No fixed score. Nottingham states that the threshold varies year by year, cannot be predicted in advance, and that it does not share previous years' thresholds.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: All Students (2024): 519/913 = 57% (or 336/911 = 37% from another source); A108 WP Foundation Year: 61/188 = 32%
Decision date: March onwards

Imperial College London vs Nottingham - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

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.

Nottingham requires AAA at A-level including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.

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

GCSE profile matters at both schools — 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 Nottingham: Minimum six GCSEs at grade 7/A including both Biology and Chemistry, plus at least grade 6/B in Mathematics and English Language (English and Maths do NOT need to be at grade 7). GCSEs feed the…

Interview formats

Both Imperial College London and Nottingham 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: Imperial College London interviews in December - February; Nottingham in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

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

Specifics: Six-year MBBS BSc with integrated science teaching from Year 1. Compulsory intercalated BSc in Year 4. Clinical placements from Year 3 across Imperial Five-year MBChB with compulsory intercalated BMedSci built into the course (one of few UK schools to embed BMedSci as standard).

Intake size: 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.; Nottingham — ~250 home + ~30 international places per year.. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

Nottingham: All Students (2024): 519/913 = 57% (or 336/911 = 37% from another source); A108 WP Foundation Year: 61/188 = 32%.

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

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.

Nottingham: Scoring system is now distinct from Lincoln's, weighting GCSE (/32), UCAT (/40) and SJT (/10) - band 4 SJT auto-rejected. No use of predicted A-level grades.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Nottingham is the lower-risk academic option. Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Imperial College London feeds into the London foundation programme network; Nottingham into the England network.

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. Imperial College London guidance: 2320+ /2700 (2026 entry official cut-off). Nottingham guidance: No fixed score. Nottingham states that the threshold varies year by year, cannot be predicted in advance, and that it does not share previous years' thresholds..

Imperial College London uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Nottingham 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 - February (Imperial College London); December - March (Nottingham).

Imperial College London requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology, with the A* in Chemistry or Biology. Nottingham requires AAA including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Imperial College London — Resits not generally accepted for first-attempt A-Levels.. Nottingham — Resits considered case-by-case; standard expectation is one-sitting AAA..

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 Nottingham — Minimum six GCSEs at grade 7/A including both Biology and Chemistry, plus at least grade 6/B in Mathematics and English Language (English and Maths do NOT need to be at grade 7). GCSEs feed the combined points score used for shortlisting alongside UCAT.

Imperial College London's selection methodology: Around top ⅓ of applicants interviewed. Mainly UCAT-based shortlisting (special-circumstances applicants reviewed case-by-case). SJT band 4 rejected; B1/B2/B3 treated equally. Nottingham's selection methodology: Once you meet the academic entry requirements, Nottingham scores each of your UCAT component raw scores - not just the total - and combines that with GCSE scoring to select for interview. There is no fixed threshold: Nottingham says it varies year by year, cannot be predicted, and that it does not release previous years' figures. An SJT of Band 4 rules you out. 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.

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.. Nottingham: All Students (2024): 519/913 = 57% (or 336/911 = 37% from another source); A108 WP Foundation Year: 61/188 = 32%. Post-interview odds tell you how competitive each school is at the final stage. Two schools with similar UCAT thresholds can have very different post-interview rates — a school with a 60% post-interview success rate is structurally easier to convert than one at 25%.

Imperial College London runs a Integrated curriculum. Nottingham runs a Integrated curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. Imperial College London specifics: Six-year MBBS BSc with integrated science teaching from Year 1. Compulsory intercalated BSc in Year 4. Clinical placements from Year 3 across Imperial-affiliated NHS Trusts in west London. Nottingham specifics: Five-year MBChB with compulsory intercalated BMedSci built into the course (one of few UK schools to embed BMedSci as standard).

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

Imperial College LondonEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

NottinghamEntry 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.

Imperial College London vs Nottingham

Side-by-side comparison

Imperial College London vs Nottingham - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

Post-interview offer rate

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What UCAT score do I need for Imperial College London vs Nottingham?

How do interviews differ between Imperial College London and Nottingham?

What A-Level grades do Imperial College London and Nottingham require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Imperial College London vs Nottingham?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Which has a higher post-interview offer rate, Imperial College London or Nottingham?

Where are Imperial College London and Nottingham located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Imperial College London and Nottingham use?

Should I apply to both Imperial College London and Nottingham?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons