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

Kent and Medway (KMMS) is in Canterbury/Medway, 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?

Kent and Medway (KMMS) 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

Kent and Medway (KMMS) vs Nottingham

Kent and Medway (KMMS) and Nottingham 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 Nottingham.
Comparison field	Kent and Medway (KMMS)Canterbury/Medway	NottinghamNottingham
Quick comparison
Location	Canterbury/Medway, UK	Nottingham, 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 (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.
TrueScore	Kent and Medway (KMMS) TrueScore 1900	Nottingham TrueScore 1850
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.	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	Home Fee Status: 176/404 = 44%; International: 14/32 = 44% (only 113 applicants); Graduate (2023): 52/83 = 63%	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	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 (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.
Contextual A-Level offer	-	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/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 (or Human Biology) and Chemistry both required
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.	Resits considered case-by-case; standard expectation is one-sitting AAA.
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.	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	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…	GCSEs feed the combined points score used for shortlisting alongside UCAT.
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Chemistry and/or 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	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or higher in any honours degree. Graduate applicants need SJT band 2 or better.	-
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.	Band 4 automatically rejected. SJT scored: B1=10, B2=6, B3=2, B4=0.
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.	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	BM BS	BMBS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Integrated	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 2
Placement geography	Kent and Medway	Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire
Named placement sites	-	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	-	-
Course highlight	The degree is awarded jointly by the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University.	The course was co-created with input from students, staff and practitioners.

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-…	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, Community Medicine	Medicine, Medical Sciences, Graduate Entry Medicine
Established	2020	1948
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…	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://kmms.ac.uk/study/	https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/studywithus/ugstudy/courses/UG/2026/Medicine-BMBS.html

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

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

Kent and Medway (KMMS) vs Nottingham - 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.

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

Nottingham 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… 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 Kent and Medway (KMMS) 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: Kent and Medway (KMMS) interviews in December - March; Nottingham in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Kent and Medway (KMMS) runs a PBL curriculum; Nottingham runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Kent and Medway (KMMS) leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Nottingham uses a more traditional lecture-led structure.

Specifics: Five-year MBBS jointly run by University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University. Strong rural/community placement strand across Kent and Medw Five-year MBChB with compulsory intercalated BMedSci built into the course (one of few UK schools to embed BMedSci as standard).

Intake size: Kent and Medway (KMMS) — ~125 home + ~25 international places per year.; 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

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).

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, 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. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Kent and Medway (KMMS); 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

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.. 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..

Kent and Medway (KMMS) 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 - March (Kent and Medway (KMMS)); December - March (Nottingham).

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. 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: Kent and Medway (KMMS) — Resits considered.. Nottingham — Resits considered case-by-case; standard expectation is one-sitting AAA..

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. 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.

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. 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.

Kent and Medway (KMMS): Home Fee Status: 176/404 = 44%; International: 14/32 = 44% (only 113 applicants); Graduate (2023): 52/83 = 63%. 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%.

Kent and Medway (KMMS) runs a PBL curriculum. Nottingham runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. 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. 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

Kent and Medway (KMMS)Entry 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.

Kent and Medway (KMMS) vs Nottingham

Side-by-side comparison

Kent and Medway (KMMS) 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 Kent and Medway (KMMS) vs Nottingham?

How do interviews differ between Kent and Medway (KMMS) and Nottingham?

What A-Level grades do Kent and Medway (KMMS) and Nottingham require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Kent and Medway (KMMS) vs Nottingham?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

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

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

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Kent and Medway (KMMS) and Nottingham use?

Should I apply to both Kent and Medway (KMMS) and Nottingham?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons