Where are Liverpool and Ulster University Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

Liverpool is in Liverpool, UK. Ulster University Medical School is in Londonderry, 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?

Liverpool typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Ulster University Medical School 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

Liverpool vs Ulster University Medical School

Liverpool and Ulster University Medical School are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Liverpool is based in Liverpool (England) while Ulster University Medical School sits in Londonderry (London), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination.

Liverpool is the older institution (founded 1881); the other (founded 2021) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Liverpool and Ulster University Medical School.
Comparison field	LiverpoolLiverpool	Ulster University Medical SchoolLondonderry
Quick comparison
Location	Liverpool, UK	Londonderry, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. AAB also accepted with AA including Chemistry plus one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics. No use of predicted grades.	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
TrueScore	Liverpool TrueScore 1900	-
UCAT home cut-off	No threshold published in advance. Liverpool ranks applicants on overall UCAT score and says the bar moves each cycle with the strength of the field.	-
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	Home applicants (2024): 612/1870 = 33%; International: 22/138 = 16%. Low post-interview chances for both.	-
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. AAB also accepted with AA including Chemistry plus one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics. No use of predicted grades.	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
Contextual A-Level offer	-	-
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry required, plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. (AAB pattern: A in Chemistry plus A in one of Bio/Phys/Maths; B in third subject.)	-
A-Level resit policy	Resits "may be considered" - must have achieved ABB on first sitting. Offer becomes A*AA on resit.	Resits accepted.
GCSE requirements	Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science)	-
GCSE scoring methodology	Top 9 GCSEs scored /20: 2 pts per grade 7+, 1 pt per grade 6. Minimum 15/20 (12/20 with achieved A-levels). Limited number of BTECs counted. Higher GCSE scores break ties on borderline applicants.	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Chemistry plus one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics	-
Graduate-entry degree requirement	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above. GAMSAT used for graduate applicants - overall score 55–56 with no section below 50 considered competitive.	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above in any honours degree (Arts, Science, Humanities all accepted)
Alternative qualifications	-	Graduate-entry only. UCAT NOT used - Ulster uses GAMSAT (Graduate Medical School Admissions Test). Recent GAMSAT thresholds have been ~61. Plus 2:1 honours degree and MMI interview. Strong Northern Ireland regional focus.

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	Home and overseas applications are assessed in completely separate pools, so the two can end up with different thresholds for invitation to interview.	-
Graduate cut-off	Graduate applicants to A100 sit the GAMSAT, not the UCAT - a genuine difference from most UK schools.	Not applicable - Ulster uses GAMSAT, not the UCAT. Recent thresholds have been around 61.
SJT band	Bands 1-3 accepted, band 4 rejected (home applicants). Any band accepted (international applicants).	-
UCAT notes	The UCAT is compulsory for all non-graduate applicants, including those on Access to Medicine routes, and must be sat in the same year as the application. Liverpool considers UCAT annotations as part…	GAMSAT is scored out of 100. Do not sit the UCAT for this course.

Degree awarded	MBChB	MBBS
Course length	5 years	4 years (graduate entry)
Teaching style	Spiral + Case-based learning	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	Imaging and models
First patient contact	Year 2	-
Placement geography	The north west of England	Across Northern Ireland
Named placement sites	-	-
Intercalation	An additional undergraduate or master's degree by adding a year of intercalated study.	-
Course highlight	-	Based at the Magee campus in Derry~Londonderry, alongside other healthcare programmes.

Interview window	December - February	December - March
Interview details	MMI with stations testing communication, ethical reasoning, motivation and global-health awareness. Two separate cut-offs (GCSE and UCAT) must both be met before invitations go out.	MMI format with multiple stations. Focus on serving Northern Ireland's healthcare needs alongside standard motivation, ethics and communication content.

Specialities	Medicine, Dentistry, Tropical Medicine	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	1881	2021
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Historic medical school known for tropical medicine and global health. GCSE-heavy scoring (top 9 GCSEs counted). Personal statement not normally used in shortlisting but reserved for borderline cases.…	New medical school serving Northern Ireland. Strong regional focus, with the course oriented around local workforce needs. Cut-offs have not yet stabilised.
Official course page	https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/courses/medicine-and-surgery-mbchb	https://www.ulster.ac.uk/courses/202627/medicine-41407

Liverpool

Quick comparison

Location: Liverpool, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. A*AB also accepted with A*A including Chemistry plus one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics. No use of predicted grades.
TrueScore: Liverpool TrueScore 1900
UCAT home cut-off: No threshold published in advance. Liverpool ranks applicants on overall UCAT score and says the bar moves each cycle with the strength of the field.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Home applicants (2024): 612/1870 = 33%; International: 22/138 = 16%. Low post-interview chances for both.
Decision date: March onwards

Ulster University Medical School

Londonderry

Quick comparison

Location: Londonderry, UK
A-Level offer: Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
TrueScore: -
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March onwards

Liverpool vs Ulster University Medical School - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Liverpool requires AAA at A-level with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. A*AB also accepted with A*A including Chemistry plus one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics. No use of predicted grades.

Ulster University Medical School requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Liverpool: Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science). Top 9 GCSEs scored /20: 2 pts per grade 7+, 1 pt per grade 6. Minimum 15/20 (12/20… Ulster University Medical School: Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

Interview formats

Both Liverpool and Ulster University Medical School 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: Liverpool interviews in December - February; Ulster University Medical School in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Both schools deliver a Integrated-style curriculum, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar across years 1-3.

Specifics: Five-year MBChB with integrated theory and clinical practice. Strong NHS placement breadth across Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Four-year accelerated MBBS for graduates. Clinical placements across Northern Ireland NHS sites (Magee Campus, Western HSC, Northern HSC).

Intake size: Liverpool — ~280 home + ~30 international places per year (A100 Standard Entry Medicine).; Ulster University Medical School — ~70 places per year (small cohort, NI-focused).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

What makes each distinctive

Liverpool: Historic medical school known for tropical medicine and global health. GCSE-heavy scoring (top 9 GCSEs counted). Personal statement not normally used in shortlisting but reserved for borderline cases. Low post-interview success rate compared with peers.

Ulster University Medical School: New medical school serving Northern Ireland. Strong regional focus, with the course oriented around local workforce needs. Cut-offs have not yet stabilised.

Which is right for you?

Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Liverpool feeds into the England foundation programme network; Ulster University Medical School into the London 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. Liverpool guidance: No threshold published in advance. Liverpool ranks applicants on overall UCAT score and says the bar moves each cycle with the strength of the field.. Ulster University Medical School guidance: GAMSAT is scored out of 100. Do not sit the UCAT for this course..

Liverpool uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Ulster University Medical School 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 (Liverpool); December - March (Ulster University Medical School).

Liverpool requires AAA with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. Ulster University Medical School requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Liverpool — No A-Level prediction requirement; resit applicants accepted. Achieved-grade applicants need only 12 GCSE points (vs 15 for predicted-grade . Ulster University Medical School — Resits accepted..

Liverpool — Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science). Top 9 GCSEs scored /20: 2 pts per grade 7+, 1 pt per grade 6. Minimum 15/20 (12/20 with achieved A-levels). Limited number of BTECs counted. Higher GCSE scores break ties on borderline applicants. Ulster University Medical School — Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

Liverpool's selection methodology: Applicants must clear the academic criteria, then are ranked on overall UCAT score, with the top scorers progressing. Home and overseas applications are considered in separate pools because the competition within each differs, so the two can end up with different interview thresholds. Liverpool publishes no cut-off in advance. Around 3,350 people applied to A100 for 2026 entry. Ulster University Medical School's selection methodology: Graduate-entry only: a 2:1 honours degree in any discipline plus GAMSAT (recent threshold ~61 out of 100), then MMI. Strong Northern Ireland regional focus. 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.

Liverpool runs a Integrated curriculum. Ulster University Medical School runs a Integrated curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. Liverpool specifics: Five-year MBChB with integrated theory and clinical practice. Strong NHS placement breadth across Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Cheshire & Merseyside. Ulster University Medical School specifics: Four-year accelerated MBBS for graduates. Clinical placements across Northern Ireland NHS sites (Magee Campus, Western HSC, Northern HSC).

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

LiverpoolEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Ulster University Medical SchoolEntry 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.

Liverpool vs Ulster University Medical School

Side-by-side comparison

Liverpool vs Ulster University Medical School - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What UCAT score do I need for Liverpool vs Ulster University Medical School?

How do interviews differ between Liverpool and Ulster University Medical School?

What A-Level grades do Liverpool and Ulster University Medical School require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Liverpool vs Ulster University Medical School?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Where are Liverpool and Ulster University Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Liverpool and Ulster University Medical School use?

Should I apply to both Liverpool and Ulster University Medical School?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons