Where are Kent and Medway (KMMS) and North Wales (Bangor) located, and how does that affect cost?

Kent and Medway (KMMS) is in Canterbury/Medway, UK. North Wales (Bangor) is in Bangor, 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?

Kent and Medway (KMMS) typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. North Wales (Bangor) 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

Kent and Medway (KMMS) vs North Wales (Bangor)

Kent and Medway (KMMS) and North Wales (Bangor) 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. Their A-Level requirements (AAB vs AAA) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Kent and Medway (KMMS) and North Wales (Bangor).
Comparison field	Kent and Medway (KMMS)Canterbury/Medway	North Wales (Bangor)Bangor
Quick comparison
Location	Canterbury/Medway, UK	Bangor, UK
A-Level offer	AAB minimum for applicants already holding their A-levels (Group B). Pre-A-level applicants (Group A) get a conditional offer set from their school's average attainment - typically AAA or AAB. Normally completed in two years.	AAA at A-level including Biology and one further science.
TrueScore	Kent and Medway (KMMS) TrueScore 1900	North Wales (Bangor) TrueScore 1700
UCAT home cut-off	47th centile or above with SJT band 3 or better (2025-26 threshold was a 2490 total). KMMS explicitly does not commit to the same threshold for 2027 entry.	-
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	Home Fee Status: 176/404 = 44%; International: 14/32 = 44% (only 113 applicants); Graduate (2023): 52/83 = 63%	Refused to disclose. New medical school, has been in clearing in past years.
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAB minimum for applicants already holding their A-levels (Group B). Pre-A-level applicants (Group A) get a conditional offer set from their school's average attainment - typically AAA or AAB. Normally completed in two years.	AAA at A-level including Biology and one further science.
Contextual A-Level offer	-	AAB for Welsh-speaking applicants (who must also hold a first-language Welsh GCSE) and for others meeting Bangor's contextual criteria.
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry and/or Biology. If only one of the two is offered, one further subject from Physics, Mathematics, Psychology or Computer Science is required. Critical Thinking and General Studies are not accepted.	Biology required, plus one further science
A-Level resit policy	KMMS does not use predicted A-level or AS grades - selection is on achieved grades. Resit applicants are assessed on final achieved grades only.	A-level resits are NOT accepted. GCSE resits are accepted only if completed within 12 months of the original sitting and before application.
GCSE requirements	Five GCSEs at grade 9-6 (A*-B) including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Double Science plus one other). GCSE resits accepted.	English or Welsh Language at grade B/6, and Double Science at BB/66.
GCSE scoring methodology	Selection driven by a contextualised GCSE Attainment 8 score /90 (Maths /18, English Language /9, English Literature /9, three EBacc subjects /27, three other subjects /27) benchmarked against the app…	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Chemistry and/or Biology	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Biology and one further science
Graduate-entry degree requirement	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or higher in any honours degree. Graduate applicants need SJT band 2 or better.	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above in any honours degree (A101 graduate-entry route)
Alternative qualifications	-	-

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	Same admission-test threshold as home applicants; personal statement replaces GCSE in the scoring.	-
Graduate cut-off	47th centile or above, but graduates need SJT band 2 or better.	-
SJT band	Band 4 automatically rejected. Other bands treated equally for school leavers; graduates need B1 or B2.	Refused to disclose how SJT is used (avoid with B4)
UCAT notes	The centile matters more than the raw number here - KMMS republishes the threshold each cycle. Once it is met, selection is driven by a contextualised GCSE Attainment 8 score.	Bangor requires the UCAT but publishes NO minimum threshold - it states only that the score is used in selection. No cut-off should be inferred or estimated.

Degree awarded	BM BS	BMBS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Integrated	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	Kent and Medway	North Wales
Named placement sites	-	-
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	The degree is awarded jointly by the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University.	The programme is bilingual — most components can be studied in Welsh as well as English, and students use Welsh on placement.

Interview window	December - March	December - March
Interview details	Multi-station interview that differs significantly from standard UK MMIs. Stations of about 7 minutes covering data handling, situational judgement, role-play and values-based tasks, followed by a 40-…	MMI format spread across several stations. Each station gives 3 minutes' preparation for two questions and 3 minutes to answer each. Topics include motivation, ethics and reflection on experiences.

Specialities	Medicine, Community Medicine	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	2020	2020
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Selection by contextualised GCSE 'Attainment 8' score (/90) after UCAT minimum met - strong choice for high-GCSE / low-UCAT applicants. School performance averaged in to contextualise GCSE scoring (na…	Bangor publishes no UCAT threshold and has declined FOI requests on its shortlisting weighting, so no cut-off can be quoted. A-level resits are not accepted. Welsh-speaking applicants (with a first-la…
Official course page	https://kmms.ac.uk/study/	https://www.bangor.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/a100-medicine-bmbs

Kent and Medway (KMMS)

Canterbury/Medway

Quick comparison

Location: Canterbury/Medway, UK
A-Level offer: AAB minimum for applicants already holding their A-levels (Group B). Pre-A-level applicants (Group A) get a conditional offer set from their school's average attainment - typically AAA or AAB. Normally completed in two years.
TrueScore: Kent and Medway (KMMS) TrueScore 1900
UCAT home cut-off: 47th centile or above with SJT band 3 or better (2025-26 threshold was a 2490 total). KMMS explicitly does not commit to the same threshold for 2027 entry.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Home Fee Status: 176/404 = 44%; International: 14/32 = 44% (only 113 applicants); Graduate (2023): 52/83 = 63%
Decision date: March onwards

North Wales (Bangor)

Bangor

Quick comparison

Location: Bangor, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Biology and one further science.
TrueScore: North Wales (Bangor) TrueScore 1700
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Refused to disclose. New medical school, has been in clearing in past years.
Decision date: March onwards

Kent and Medway (KMMS) vs North Wales (Bangor) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Kent and Medway (KMMS) requires AAB minimum for applicants already holding their A-levels (Group B). Pre-A-level applicants (Group A) get a conditional offer set from their school's average attainment - typically AAA or AAB. Normally completed in two years.

North Wales (Bangor) requires AAA at A-level including Biology and one further science.

North Wales (Bangor) is the stricter A-Level offer; Kent and Medway (KMMS) is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Kent and Medway (KMMS) carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Kent and Medway (KMMS): Five GCSEs at grade 9-6 (A*-B) including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Double Science plus one other). GCSE resits accepted. Selection driven by a contextualised… North Wales (Bangor): English or Welsh Language at grade B/6, and Double Science at BB/66.

Interview formats

Both Kent and Medway (KMMS) and North Wales (Bangor) 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: Kent and Medway (KMMS) interviews in December - March; North Wales (Bangor) in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

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

Specifics: Five-year MBBS jointly run by University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University. Strong rural/community placement strand across Kent and Medw Four-year accelerated MBBCh (Cardiff) for graduates, or 5-year route. Strong rural/community placement strand across North Wales (Betsi Cadwaladr UHB)

Intake size: Kent and Medway (KMMS) — ~125 home + ~25 international places per year.; North Wales (Bangor) — ~30 places per year (small cohort, designed for local retention).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

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

Kent and Medway (KMMS): Selection by contextualised GCSE 'Attainment 8' score (/90) after UCAT minimum met - strong choice for high-GCSE / low-UCAT applicants. School performance averaged in to contextualise GCSE scoring (national average 45.9; ~25% above school average likely required).

North Wales (Bangor): Bangor publishes no UCAT threshold and has declined FOI requests on its shortlisting weighting, so no cut-off can be quoted. A-level resits are not accepted. Welsh-speaking applicants (with a first-language Welsh GCSE) and other contextual applicants may receive an AAB offer.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Kent and Medway (KMMS) is the lower-risk academic option. Both schools sit in the same England foundation-programme catchment, so post-graduation training paths overlap heavily.

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. Kent and Medway (KMMS) guidance: 47th centile or above with SJT band 3 or better (2025-26 threshold was a 2490 total). KMMS explicitly does not commit to the same threshold for 2027 entry.. North Wales (Bangor) guidance: Bangor requires the UCAT but publishes NO minimum threshold - it states only that the score is used in selection. No cut-off should be inferred or estimated..

Kent and Medway (KMMS) uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). North Wales (Bangor) 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 - March (Kent and Medway (KMMS)); December - March (North Wales (Bangor)).

Kent and Medway (KMMS) requires AAB minimum including Chemistry and/or Biology - if only one is offered, a further subject from Physics, Maths, Psychology or Computer Science is required. North Wales (Bangor) requires AAA including Biology and one further science. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Kent and Medway (KMMS) — Resits considered.. North Wales (Bangor) — Resits considered..

Kent and Medway (KMMS) — Five GCSEs at grade 9-6 (A*-B) including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Double Science plus one other). GCSE resits accepted. Selection driven by a contextualised GCSE Attainment 8 score /90 (Maths /18, English Language /9, English Literature /9, three EBacc subjects /27, three other subjects /27) benchmarked against the applicant's school average. IGCSE treated equivalently to GCSE. North Wales (Bangor) — English or Welsh Language at grade B/6, and Double Science at BB/66.

Kent and Medway (KMMS)'s selection methodology: KMMS does NOT use predicted A-Level grades or BMAT in selection. Does NOT use percentage weighting. Offers made in batches based on UCAT + academic minimums + MMI performance. Does not use AS levels. North Wales (Bangor)'s selection methodology: AAA including Biology and a second science, plus UCAT with no published threshold, then MMI. Cardiff University School of Medicine is the contingency partner during GMC accreditation, so students would graduate from Cardiff if required. 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.

Kent and Medway (KMMS): Home Fee Status: 176/404 = 44%; International: 14/32 = 44% (only 113 applicants); Graduate (2023): 52/83 = 63%. North Wales (Bangor): Refused to disclose. New medical school, has been in clearing in past years.. 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%.

Kent and Medway (KMMS) runs a PBL curriculum. North Wales (Bangor) runs a PBL curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. Kent and Medway (KMMS) specifics: Five-year MBBS jointly run by University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University. Strong rural/community placement strand across Kent and Medway NHS sites. North Wales (Bangor) specifics: Four-year accelerated MBBCh (Cardiff) for graduates, or 5-year route. Strong rural/community placement strand across North Wales (Betsi Cadwaladr UHB).

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

Kent and Medway (KMMS)Entry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

North Wales (Bangor)Entry 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.

Kent and Medway (KMMS) vs North Wales (Bangor)

Side-by-side comparison

Kent and Medway (KMMS) vs North Wales (Bangor) - 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 Kent and Medway (KMMS) vs North Wales (Bangor)?

How do interviews differ between Kent and Medway (KMMS) and North Wales (Bangor)?

What A-Level grades do Kent and Medway (KMMS) and North Wales (Bangor) require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Kent and Medway (KMMS) vs North Wales (Bangor)?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Which has a higher post-interview offer rate, Kent and Medway (KMMS) or North Wales (Bangor)?

Where are Kent and Medway (KMMS) and North Wales (Bangor) located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Kent and Medway (KMMS) and North Wales (Bangor) use?

Should I apply to both Kent and Medway (KMMS) and North Wales (Bangor)?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons