What A-Level grades do King's College London (KCL) and Sheffield require?

King's College London (KCL) requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology. Sheffield requires AAA including Chemistry or Biology, plus one of Biology / Chemistry / Mathematics / Physics / Psychology. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school.

Where are King's College London (KCL) and Sheffield located, and how does that affect cost?

King's College London (KCL) is in London, UK. Sheffield is in Sheffield, 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?

King's College London (KCL) typically releases medicine decisions By the end of May. Sheffield 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

King's College London (KCL) vs Sheffield

King's College London (KCL) and Sheffield are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. King's College London (KCL) is based in London (London) while Sheffield sits in Sheffield (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: King's College London (KCL) and Sheffield.
Comparison field	King's College London (KCL)London	SheffieldSheffield
Quick comparison
Location	London, UK	Sheffield, UK
A-Level offer	A*AA including grade A in Biology and Chemistry. General Studies, Critical Thinking, Thinking Skills and Global Perspectives are not accepted, and a pass in the science practical endorsement is required. The EPQ is not considered at any point in the assessment process.	AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science. A pass in the practical element is required for science A-levels.
TrueScore	King's College London (KCL) TrueScore 2150	Sheffield TrueScore 2150
UCAT home cut-off	No cut-off published. King's states that the minimum scores of interviewees and offer-holders "are not cut-off scores".	1800+ /2700 is the published minimum for 2027 entry; the actual cut-off runs well above it (2120 for 2026 entry) because applicants above the minimum are then ranked by UCAT.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	Strong. In the 2024 cycle King's interviewed 982 applicants and made 762 offers (78%) - 609 offers from 796 UK interviews (77%) and 153 from 186 non-UK interviews (82%). The 2023 cycle was tighter at 645 offers from 1,116 interviews (58%).	All Students (2024): 722/1029 = 70%; International: 55/104 = 53%
Decision date	By the end of May	March onwards

A-Level offer	A*AA including grade A in Biology and Chemistry. General Studies, Critical Thinking, Thinking Skills and Global Perspectives are not accepted, and a pass in the science practical endorsement is required. The EPQ is not considered at any point in the assessment process.	AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science. A pass in the practical element is required for science A-levels.
Contextual A-Level offer	-	AAB for Access Sheffield (widening-access) applicants, including Chemistry or Biology at grade A plus a second science. AAB with an EPQ at grade A is also accepted.
Required A-Level subjects	Biology and Chemistry both required	Chemistry or Biology required, plus a second science
A-Level resit policy	Resits accepted - KCL has clarified via FOI that "a first resit is considered equally to applicants taking their first sittings" (19 resit applicants received an interview in 2024, 16 received offers)	Resit accepted with achieved BBB at first sitting; otherwise apply with achieved results.
GCSE requirements	Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language and Mathematics	Minimum five GCSEs at grade 7/A, plus grade 6/B or above in Mathematics, English Language and at least one science subject.
GCSE scoring methodology	GCSEs are one of the four factors King's names in shortlisting, alongside A-level grades, UCAT and the personal statement, and performance is read in the context of your educational background. King's…	Used as a minimum threshold only - once met, shortlisting is by UCAT rank.
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	38 points overall (including TOK/EE), or an aggregate of 19 from three Higher Levels, and must include grade 6 in Higher Level Biology and Higher Level Chemistry	36 points overall with 6 in three Higher Level subjects including Chemistry or Biology and a second science, and no less than 4 in any Standard Level subject.
Graduate-entry degree requirement	Graduate applicants typically hold 2:1 or above in any honours degree, plus required A-level Chemistry and Biology grades. KCL accepts graduates onto the standard 6-year MBBS A100.	-
Alternative qualifications	-	-

Contextual cut-off	-	1800+ /2700 - Access to Sheffield (Medicine) and university pathway students who clear the minimum go straight to interview.
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	No separate cut-off published.	2070+ /2700 (2026 entry)
Graduate cut-off	-	1800+ /2700 (A101, contextual only)
SJT band	Band 4 automatically rejected. Band 3 riskier - only 37/360 band 3 applicants received interview in 2024.	Band 1/2 appropriate, band 3 may consider, band 4 deprioritised
UCAT notes	King's shortlists on A-level grades, UCAT, personal statement and GCSE grades together, and says exam results and UCAT are "perhaps the most important factors". Its published UCAT statistics stop at t…	Two numbers matter and they are not the same: the published MINIMUM (1800 for 2027) only makes you eligible, after which shortlisting is wholly by UCAT rank. Large year-on-year variation.

Degree awarded	MBBS	MBChB
Course length	5 years (6 with intercalation)	5 years
Teaching style	Integrated	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	Imaging and models
First patient contact	-	Year 1
Placement geography	London and the south east of England	South Yorkshire and north Derbyshire
Named placement sites	Guy's Hospital, King's College Hospital, St Thomas' Hospital	-
Intercalation	Optional one-year BSc between Stages 2 and 3, spanning clinical and biomedical sciences and the humanities.	An intercalated year is available.
Course highlight	Twinned with medical schools around the world, offering clinical exchanges.	The Patients as Educators programme is the largest of its kind.

Interview window	November - May	November - February
Interview details	MMI format with stations covering ethical scenarios, communication and clinical problem-solving. No offer is made without an interview, and King's runs them across an unusually long window - November…	An MMI of eight stations, each typically 8 minutes, covering communication, breadth of interests, empathy, knowledge of and interest in studying at Sheffield, work experience, motivation, numeracy, cr…

Specialities	Medicine, Dentistry, Biomedical Sciences	Medicine, Dentistry, Biomedical Sciences
Established	1829	1828
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Strong clinical focus with emphasis on London healthcare system.	SJT used post-interview as a virtual MMI station rather than in shortlisting. Sheffield prioritises balanced performance - applicants achieving 3/5 or more in every section are favoured over those who…
Official course page	https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/medicine-mbbs	https://sheffield.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/2027/medicine-mbchb

King's College London (KCL)

London

Quick comparison

Location: London, UK
A-Level offer: A*AA including grade A in Biology and Chemistry. General Studies, Critical Thinking, Thinking Skills and Global Perspectives are not accepted, and a pass in the science practical endorsement is required. The EPQ is not considered at any point in the assessment process.
TrueScore: King's College London (KCL) TrueScore 2150
UCAT home cut-off: No cut-off published. King's states that the minimum scores of interviewees and offer-holders "are not cut-off scores".
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Strong. In the 2024 cycle King's interviewed 982 applicants and made 762 offers (78%) - 609 offers from 796 UK interviews (77%) and 153 from 186 non-UK interviews (82%). The 2023 cycle was tighter at 645 offers from 1,116 interviews (58%).
Decision date: By the end of May

Sheffield

Quick comparison

Location: Sheffield, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science. A pass in the practical element is required for science A-levels.
TrueScore: Sheffield TrueScore 2150
UCAT home cut-off: 1800+ /2700 is the published minimum for 2027 entry; the actual cut-off runs well above it (2120 for 2026 entry) because applicants above the minimum are then ranked by UCAT.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: All Students (2024): 722/1029 = 70%; International: 55/104 = 53%
Decision date: March onwards

King's College London (KCL) vs Sheffield - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

King's College London (KCL) requires A*AA including grade A in Biology and Chemistry. General Studies, Critical Thinking, Thinking Skills and Global Perspectives are not accepted, and a pass in the science practical endorsement is required. The EPQ is not considered at any point in the assessment process.

Sheffield requires AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science. A pass in the practical element is required for science A-levels.

King's College London (KCL) is the stricter A-Level offer; Sheffield is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Sheffield carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — King's College London (KCL): Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language and Mathematics.

GCSEs are one of the four factors King's names in shortlisting, alongside A-level grades, UCAT and the personal statement, and performance… Sheffield: Minimum five GCSEs at grade 7/A, plus grade 6/B or above in Mathematics, English Language and at least one science subject. Used as a minimum threshold only - once met, shortlisting is by UCAT rank.

Interview formats

Both King's College London (KCL) and Sheffield 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: King's College London (KCL) interviews in November - May; Sheffield in November - February.

Curriculum and teaching style

Intake size: King's College London (KCL) — Around 300 places on A100, within roughly 410 across all of King's medicine programmes.; Sheffield — Plans to invite ~1,150 home + ~100 international applicants for 2026 entry. ~250 places.. 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

King's College London (KCL): Strong clinical focus with emphasis on London healthcare system.

Sheffield: SJT used post-interview as a virtual MMI station rather than in shortlisting. Sheffield prioritises balanced performance - applicants achieving 3/5 or more in every section are favoured over those who peak in some and dip in others.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Sheffield is the lower-risk academic option. Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — King's College London (KCL) feeds into the London foundation programme network; Sheffield 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. King's College London (KCL) guidance: No cut-off published. King's states that the minimum scores of interviewees and offer-holders "are not cut-off scores".. Sheffield guidance: 1800+ /2700 is the published minimum for 2027 entry; the actual cut-off runs well above it (2120 for 2026 entry) because applicants above the minimum are then ranked by UCAT..

King's College London (KCL) uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Sheffield 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: November - May (King's College London (KCL)); November - February (Sheffield).

King's College London (KCL) — Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language and Mathematics. GCSEs are one of the four factors King's names in shortlisting, alongside A-level grades, UCAT and the personal statement, and performance is read in the context of your educational background. King's does not publish a points tariff for GCSEs. Sheffield — Minimum five GCSEs at grade 7/A, plus grade 6/B or above in Mathematics, English Language and at least one science subject. Used as a minimum threshold only - once met, shortlisting is by UCAT rank.

King's College London (KCL)'s selection methodology: shortlisting weight not fully disclosed; check the official admissions page. Sheffield's selection methodology: Three consecutive stages. Stage 1 checks that you meet BOTH the academic and the UCAT threshold - miss either and the application ends there. Stage 2 ranks everyone who cleared both by UCAT score, with Home/EU and Overseas ranked in separate pools, and only the highest scorers go through. Stage 3 is the MMI. Sheffield typically interviews around 1,150 Home/EU and 150 Overseas applicants, and warns that clearing the minimum threshold is not an assurance of an interview. Access Sheffield (Medicine) participants and Sheffield biosciences students are exempt from the UCAT ranking and progress straight to interview once they meet both thresholds. 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.

King's College London (KCL): Strong. In the 2024 cycle King's interviewed 982 applicants and made 762 offers (78%) - 609 offers from 796 UK interviews (77%) and 153 from 186 non-UK interviews (82%). The 2023 cycle was tighter at 645 offers from 1,116 interviews (58%).. Sheffield: All Students (2024): 722/1029 = 70%; International: 55/104 = 53%. 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%.

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

King's College London (KCL)Entry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

SheffieldEntry 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.