Imperial College London vs Queen's University Belfast (QUB)

Imperial College London's published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 2320, while Queen's University Belfast (QUB) sits at approximately 700.

That's a 1620-point gap — large enough to put the two schools in completely different competitiveness tiers. An applicant scoring in the 1200-1800 band would be competitive at Queen's University Belfast (QUB) but borderline at Imperial College London.

Contextual / widening-participation cut-offs differ — Imperial College London: 2170+ /2700 (2026 entry official contextual cut-off); Queen's University Belfast (QUB): not separately disclosed. Eligible applicants should weight this heavily when choosing.

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.

Queen's University Belfast (QUB) requires A*AA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (or Maths/Physics - see subject rules).

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 — 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 Queen's University Belfast (QUB): Minimum grade C/4 in GCSE Mathematics, English and Physics (or 4-4 in Double Science) if not offered at AS-level or A-level. Top 9 GCSEs scored /36: A*/9 = 4 pts, A/7-8 = 3 pts, B/6 = 2 pts, C/4-5 =…

Both Imperial College London and Queen's University Belfast (QUB) 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; Queen's University Belfast (QUB) in January - February.

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. Queen's University Belfast (QUB): Good.

Queen's states that once you reach interview it anticipates at least a one-in-two chance of an offer, so the hard part is being among the roughly 700 selected.

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.

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.

Queen's University Belfast (QUB): Less weight on NHS hot topics than most schools. Stronger emphasis on reflective examples of personal qualities. SJT may be used if borderline before or after interview, but in 2025 anyone with 30/42 received an interview regardless.