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Medical school comparison

King's College London (KCL) vs UCL

King's College London (KCL) and UCL are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Both sit in London, so location and clinical-placement breadth are similar — the differentiation comes from selection methodology, interview style and curriculum philosophy.

Their UCAT thresholds are remarkably close (within ~30 points), so the deciding factors are GCSE weighting, interview format and personal-statement use.

Side-by-side comparison

King's College London (KCL)

London

Quick comparison

Location
London, UK
A-Level offer
A*AA at A-level including A in Biology and Chemistry
TrueScore
2150
UCAT home cut-off
~2130+ /2700 (non-contextual) with B1 SJT and 8× grade 8s at GCSE; mean offer holder ≈ 2250
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance
All Students: 760/981 = 77% (2024); Overall undergraduate (2023): 645/1115 = 58%
Decision date
March onwards

UCL

London

Quick comparison

Location
London, UK
A-Level offer
A*AA at A-level (offer and prediction) with the A* in Chemistry or Biology
TrueScore
2120
UCAT home cut-off
~2100+ /2700 (2025 entry cut-off ≈ 2100, first UCAT cycle replacing BMAT)
Interview format
MMI (Home), Traditional (International)
Post-interview chance
Home Fee Status (2024): 562/1032 = 54%; Contextual (2025): 58%; International (2023): 55/131 = 42%
Decision date
Decisions are made after all the Interviews have been completed
Compare different schools

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

UCAT thresholds compared

King's College London (KCL)'s published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 2130, while UCL sits at approximately 2100.

Their UCAT bars are statistically indistinguishable (within 30 points), so the UCAT is unlikely to be your differentiator between them.

Contextual / widening-participation cut-offs differ — King's College London (KCL): ~1900+ /2700 with WP flags (POLAR/ACORN/IMD, care experienced, K+ participation); UCL: ~1950+ /2700 (Access UCL - 2025 cut-off ≈ 1950). Eligible applicants should weight this heavily when choosing.

A-Level and academic profile

King's College London (KCL) requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology.

UCL requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology.

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.

Interview formats

Both King's College London (KCL) and UCL 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.

That said, the specifics differ slightly: King's College London (KCL) runs multiple mini interviews (mmi); UCL runs mmi (home), traditional (international). Mock practice tailored to each school's exact format is the highest-leverage prep.

Interview windows: King's College London (KCL) interviews in December - February; UCL in December - March.

Post-interview offer rate

King's College London (KCL): All Students: 760/981 = 77% (2024); Overall undergraduate (2023): 645/1115 = 58%. UCL: Home Fee Status (2024): 562/1032 = 54%; Contextual (2025): 58%; International (2023): 55/131 = 42%.

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.

UCL: Cut-offs differ from Imperial - UCL's home threshold is lower while its international threshold is higher, partly because UCL holds more interviews relative to offers. SJT is only used as a tie-breaker between equally scored candidates.

Which is right for you?

Both schools sit in the same London 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

Where to go next

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

Other medical school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 4 August 2026.