Where are Liverpool and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) located, and how does that affect cost?

Liverpool is in Liverpool, 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?

Liverpool 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.

Medical school comparison

Liverpool vs University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)

Liverpool and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Both sit in England, so location and clinical-placement breadth are similar — the differentiation comes from selection methodology, interview style and curriculum philosophy. Their A-Level requirements (AAA vs AAB) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.

Liverpool is the older institution (founded 1881); 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: Liverpool and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).
Comparison field	LiverpoolLiverpool	University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)Preston
Quick comparison
Location	Liverpool, UK	Preston, 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.	AAB at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (home applicants)
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.	UCAT used for home applicant shortlisting; no published cut-off
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 - April

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.	AAB at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (home applicants)
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.	-
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.	-
Alternative qualifications	-	-

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.	Cognitive subtests considered alongside academic and personal-statement assessment
Graduate cut-off	Graduate applicants to A100 sit the GAMSAT, not the UCAT - a genuine difference from most UK schools.	-
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…	UCLan publishes limited shortlisting detail. Threshold varies year-on-year; check the official course page closer to your application year.

Degree awarded	MBChB	MBBS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Spiral + Integrated + Case-based learning	Spiral
Anatomy teaching	Prosection	-
First patient contact	Year 2	Year 1
Placement geography	Merseyside, Cheshire and Warrington, with some placements in the Blackpool area and north Wales	Lancashire and Cumbria
Named placement sites	Royal Liverpool Hospital, Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital, Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital (Year 5 only), Liverpool Women's Hospital, The Walton Centre, Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Arrowe Park Hospital, Countess of Chester Hospital, Warrington Hospital, Halton Hospital, Whiston Hospital, St Helens Hospital, Southport Hospital, Ormskirk Hospital, Blackpool Teaching Hospitals	East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust
Intercalation	Optional, usually between years 3 and 4: a BSc, a taught master's or a research master's, at Liverpool or elsewhere.	Optional and selective: after year 4, high-performing students may be offered an additional year to gain a master’s degree.
Course highlight	-	-

Interview window	December - February	December - February
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 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, Tropical Medicine	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	1881	2014
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.…	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.liverpool.ac.uk/courses/medicine-and-surgery-mbchb	https://www.lancashire.ac.uk/

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

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

Liverpool vs University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) requires AAB at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (home applicants).

Liverpool 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 Liverpool 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: Liverpool interviews in December - February; University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in December - February.

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.

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. Both schools sit in the same England 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

Liverpool: no threshold published in advance. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan): home applicants — no published cut-off. These are the figures on record for 2027-entry applicants. Schools without a fixed cut-off rank UCAT inside a composite shortlisting score, so thresholds move with each year's applicant pool — confirm the latest figure on each school's admissions page.

Liverpool 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 (Liverpool); December - February (University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)).

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.. 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.

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. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) — GCSE performance considered as part of the broader academic profile; specific scoring not published.

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. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)'s selection methodology: shortlisting weight not fully disclosed; check the official admissions page. 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.

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

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

Other medical school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 11 September 2026.