Where are King's College London (KCL) and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) located, and how does that affect cost?

King's College London (KCL) is in London, UK. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) is in Preston, 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 March onwards. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) releases medicine decisions March - April. 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.

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Medical school comparison

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

Q: What A-Level grades do King's College London (KCL) and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) require?

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). Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school.

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

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: King's College London (KCL) and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).
Comparison field	King's College London (KCL)London	University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)Preston
Quick comparison
Location	London, UK	Preston, UK
A-Level offer	A*AA at A-level including A in Biology and Chemistry	AAB at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (home applicants)
TrueScore	2150	-
UCAT home cut-off	~2130+ /2700 (non-contextual) with B1 SJT and 8× grade 8s at GCSE; mean offer holder ≈ 2250	UCAT used for home applicant shortlisting; no published cut-off
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	All Students: 760/981 = 77% (2024); Overall undergraduate (2023): 645/1115 = 58%	-
Decision date	March onwards	March - April

A-Level offer	A*AA at A-level including A in Biology and Chemistry	AAB at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (home applicants)
Contextual A-Level offer	-	-
Required A-Level subjects	Biology and Chemistry both required	-
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)	-
GCSE requirements	Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language and Mathematics	-
GCSE scoring methodology	GCSE used heavily in shortlisting: scored /40 - 8/8+/A* = 5 pts each, 7 = 3.75 pts, 6 = 2.5 pts. (KCL's "A-as-A*" rule may apply depending on school performance.)	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	35 points overall, 7,6,6 at Higher Level including Biology and Chemistry	-
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	~1900+ /2700 with WP flags (POLAR/ACORN/IMD, care experienced, K+ participation)	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	~2200+ /2700; mean offer holder ≈ 2310 (2023)	Cognitive subtests considered alongside academic and personal-statement assessment
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	Band 4 automatically rejected. Band 3 riskier - only 37/360 band 3 applicants received interview in 2024.	-
UCAT notes	Points system /150 (+ up to 20 contextual). UCAT /100 (KCL percentile, often higher than national); GCSE /40; SJT /10. Interview threshold ~135-140 standard.	UCLan publishes limited shortlisting detail. Threshold varies year-on-year; check the official course page closer to your application year.

Interview window	December - February	December - February
Interview details	MMI format with stations covering ethical scenarios, communication, and clinical problem-solving.	MMI of approximately 7-9 timed stations covering motivation, ethics, communication, role-play and data interpretation. Home and international applicants are interviewed on the same MMI structure.

Specialities	Medicine, Dentistry, Biomedical Sciences	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	1829	2014
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Strong clinical focus with emphasis on London healthcare system.	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 regiona…
Official course page	https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/medicine-mbbs	https://www.lancashire.ac.uk/

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 at A-level including A in Biology and Chemistry.

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

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: ~2130+ /2700 (non-contextual) with B1 SJT and 8× grade 8s at GCSE; mean offer holder ≈ 2250. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) guidance: UCAT used for home applicant shortlisting; no published cut-off.

King's College London (KCL) uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) 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 - February (King's College London (KCL)); December - February (University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)).

King's College London (KCL) — Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language and Mathematics. GCSE used heavily in shortlisting: scored /40 - 8/8+/A* = 5 pts each, 7 = 3.75 pts, 6 = 2.5 pts. (KCL's "A-as-A*" rule may apply depending on school performance.) University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) — GCSE performance considered as part of the broader academic profile; specific scoring not published.

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 University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)Entry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

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School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 18 August 2026.