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Medical school comparison

King's College London (KCL) vs University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)

King's College London (KCL) and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) 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 University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) sits in Preston (England), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination. Their A-Level requirements (A*AA vs AAB) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers. King's College London (KCL) is the older institution (founded 1829); the other (founded 2014) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

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

University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)

Preston

Quick comparison

Location
Preston, UK
A-Level offer
AAB at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (home applicants)
TrueScore
-
UCAT home cut-off
UCAT used for home applicant shortlisting; no published cut-off
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance
-
Decision date
March - April
Compare different schools

King's College London (KCL) vs University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

King's College London (KCL) requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) requires AAB at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (home applicants). King's College London (KCL) is the stricter A-Level offer; University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

Interview formats

Both King's College London (KCL) and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) 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 December - February; University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in December - February.

What makes each distinctive

King's College London (KCL): Strong clinical focus with emphasis on London healthcare system. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan): One of the first UK universities to run a privately-funded medical school open to international students; substantial international cohort blended with a smaller home intake. Strong Lancashire regional placement network.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) 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; University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) 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

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 3 July 2026.