Leeds vs St Mary's Twickenham

Leeds requires AAA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (predictions also AAA minimum). An A* cannot compensate for a B in another subject.

St Mary's Twickenham requires AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics.

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.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Leeds: Minimum 6 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above including Mathematics, English Language, Biology and Chemistry (or 6-6 Dual Science). Meeting the minimum alone is unlikely to shortlist - scoring uses the top 8… St Mary's Twickenham: Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE Mathematics, English Language, Biology and Chemistry (or Dual Award Science).

Both Leeds and St Mary's Twickenham 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: Leeds interviews in December - February; St Mary's Twickenham in December - March.

Leeds: Well-established medical school with strong community links and clinical training. Total shortlisting score combines UCAT, GCSE and A-level predictions. SJT is not used in selection.

St Mary's Twickenham: International (non-UK/Irish) applicants only, applying direct rather than through UCAS, so it costs none of your four UCAS medical choices. Weigh that against the accreditation risk: the MBBS is not yet GMC-accredited, and St Mary's contingency is that students would transfer to the University of Lancashire if accreditation is not achieved.