How do interviews differ between Newcastle and Southampton?

Newcastle uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Southampton uses Panel interview: Selection Day - Panel and Group. The two formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each, with at least 3 full mock interviews per format before sitting either. Interview windows: December - January (Newcastle); January - March (Southampton).

Where are Newcastle and Southampton located, and how does that affect cost?

Newcastle is in Newcastle, UK. Southampton is in Southampton, 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?

Newcastle typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Southampton 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

Newcastle vs Southampton

Newcastle and Southampton 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.

The interview formats diverge — MMI vs Panel — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different. Newcastle is the older institution (founded 1834); the other (founded 1952) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Newcastle and Southampton.
Comparison field	NewcastleNewcastle	SouthamptonSouthampton
Quick comparison
Location	Newcastle, UK	Southampton, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (excluding Use of Mathematics, World Development, Communication and Culture). Practical pass required for Biology, Chemistry and Physics.	AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography
TrueScore	Newcastle TrueScore 1950	Southampton TrueScore 2000
UCAT home cut-off	No cut-off - UCAT is converted to points on a published table and added to your academic score. 2,400 and above scores the maximum 60 points, falling by one point per 10 UCAT points down to 1 point at 1,810 and below.	No indication published. Southampton ranks applicants by UCAT and invites the top scorers, but states that the score needed varies year on year and that it is therefore not possible to tell applicants what it will be.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Selection Day - Panel and Group
Post-interview chance	International: 82/88 = 93% (2025); Graduate Entry: 46/86 = 53%; Home Non-Contextual: 418/577 = 72%; Home Widening Participation: 194/350 = 55%	Home Students: 574/834 = 69%; International (2023): 17/59 = 30%
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (excluding Use of Mathematics, World Development, Communication and Culture). Practical pass required for Biology, Chemistry and Physics.	AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography
Contextual A-Level offer	ABB at A-level for contextual / Partners applicants. BBB for those entering through supported entry programmes.	AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) for contextual / WP applicants
Required A-Level subjects	Subjects including Maths and sciences considered in scoring (no specific science requirement; AAA must come from accepted subjects)	Biology required, plus one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography
A-Level resit policy	Resits acceptable if the score increases	Resits considered with standard AAA requirements in final exams
GCSE requirements	Best 8 GCSEs scored - applicant must have achieved at this level for academic competitiveness. Not used if academic A-level criteria are met.	Minimum 7 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, and either Biology + Chemistry or 6-6 Combined Science. GCSE retakes permitted.
GCSE scoring methodology	Best 8 achieved GCSEs scored out of 40 - Newcastle names no compulsory GCSE subjects. 9/A* = 5 pts, 8 = 4 pts, 7/A = 3 pts, 6/B = 1 pt, 5/C = 0 pts. National 5: A = 5, B = 1, C = 0. Resat GCSEs are sc…	Used only as minimum threshold - pre-interview ranking is by UCAT score
Scottish Highers	Scottish qualifications are accepted and may be taken in more than one sitting; National 5s are scored on the same Level 2 table (A = 5 points, B = 1, C = 0). Confirm the current Higher grade profile directly with the School of Medicine, as Newcastle publishes only its A-level and IB headline offers.	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	AA at Advanced Higher Grade	-
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall. Newcastle publishes only this headline figure; because its A-level rule requires Biology or Chemistry plus a second science, IB applicants should confirm the required Higher Level subjects with the School of Medicine before choosing their subjects.	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level - including HL Biology and a second subject from the accepted list
Graduate-entry degree requirement	A 2:1 honours degree at minimum. Predicted or achieved classifications are scored as part of the academic screen: a first class scores 40 points and a 2:1 scores 36. Applicants whose degree was awarded more than five years ago must show continued engagement with education, such as postgraduate study, or they will not be considered; Masters and PhD qualifications are not themselves scored.	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above. Southampton graduates applying for BM4 (Graduate Entry Medicine) get a lower UCAT threshold than non-Southampton graduates.
Alternative qualifications	-	-

Contextual cut-off	Same points table, but contextual applicants are ranked as a separate stream from standard applicants.	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	International and A101 applicants are ranked on total UCAT score alone - their academic results are not scored.	-
Graduate cut-off	A101 applicants are ranked on total UCAT score alone, like international applicants.	-
SJT band	SJT band 4 is rejected; SJT band contributes to interview score (B1=5, B2=3, B3=1)	Situational judgement is not considered
UCAT notes	Academic screen = academic points (max 40) + UCAT points (max 60). The academic score uses your MOST RECENT achieved qualification, so achieved A-levels replace GCSEs in the calculation; degrees score…	UCAT ranks you for a place at a Selection Day; after that, the offer rests on Selection Day performance, with UCAT used only to separate tied candidates.

Degree awarded	MB BS	BMBS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Case-based learning	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	Year 3	Year 1
Placement geography	The north east of England	The Wessex region
Named placement sites	-	Southampton General Hospital
Intercalation	A broad range of Biomedical Science BSc degrees and master's degrees.	Between year 3 and year 4 you can apply for a Master of Medical Science or MSc at Southampton, or an iBSc or MSc at another university.
Course highlight	Year 2 students can take a Malaysia exchange at the NUMed campus.	-

Interview window	December - January	January - March
Interview details	Home A100 and A101 applicants generally sit Multiple Mini Interviews on campus, assessed by an individual selector at each station using a mix of role play and interview questions. Applicants classed…	Two-part interview: a 20-minute panel based heavily on your personal statement (around half the questions come from it) and a separate 30-minute group task with about 8 candidates discussing a topic w…

Specialities	Medicine, Dentistry, Biomedical Sciences	Medicine, Cancer Sciences, Clinical Research
Established	1834	1952
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Newcastle publishes an unusually explicit scoring model: academic points out of 40 plus UCAT points out of 60, combined into one ranked academic-screen score. The UCAT table is published in full, so y…	Personal statement carries unusual weight - selectors use it to drive the panel section if you reach Selection Day. SJT is not considered. Course updated for 2025: the integrated BMedSc award is being…
Official course page	https://www.ncl.ac.uk/undergraduate/degrees/a100/	https://www.southampton.ac.uk/courses/medicine-bm5-degree-bmbs

Newcastle

Quick comparison

Location: Newcastle, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level (excluding Use of Mathematics, World Development, Communication and Culture). Practical pass required for Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
TrueScore: Newcastle TrueScore 1950
UCAT home cut-off: No cut-off - UCAT is converted to points on a published table and added to your academic score. 2,400 and above scores the maximum 60 points, falling by one point per 10 UCAT points down to 1 point at 1,810 and below.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: International: 82/88 = 93% (2025); Graduate Entry: 46/86 = 53%; Home Non-Contextual: 418/577 = 72%; Home Widening Participation: 194/350 = 55%
Decision date: March onwards

A-Level offer: AAA at A-level (excluding Use of Mathematics, World Development, Communication and Culture). Practical pass required for Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
Contextual A-Level offer: ABB at A-level for contextual / Partners applicants. BBB for those entering through supported entry programmes.
Required A-Level subjects: Subjects including Maths and sciences considered in scoring (no specific science requirement; AAA must come from accepted subjects)
A-Level resit policy: Resits acceptable if the score increases
GCSE requirements: Best 8 GCSEs scored - applicant must have achieved at this level for academic competitiveness. Not used if academic A-level criteria are met.
GCSE scoring methodology: Best 8 achieved GCSEs scored out of 40 - Newcastle names no compulsory GCSE subjects. 9/A* = 5 pts, 8 = 4 pts, 7/A = 3 pts, 6/B = 1 pt, 5/C = 0 pts. National 5: A = 5, B = 1, C = 0. Resat GCSEs are sc…
Scottish Highers: Scottish qualifications are accepted and may be taken in more than one sitting; National 5s are scored on the same Level 2 table (A = 5 points, B = 1, C = 0). Confirm the current Higher grade profile directly with the School of Medicine, as Newcastle publishes only its A-level and IB headline offers.
Scottish Advanced Highers: AA at Advanced Higher Grade
International Baccalaureate: 36 points overall. Newcastle publishes only this headline figure; because its A-level rule requires Biology or Chemistry plus a second science, IB applicants should confirm the required Higher Level subjects with the School of Medicine before choosing their subjects.
Graduate-entry degree requirement: A 2:1 honours degree at minimum. Predicted or achieved classifications are scored as part of the academic screen: a first class scores 40 points and a 2:1 scores 36. Applicants whose degree was awarded more than five years ago must show continued engagement with education, such as postgraduate study, or they will not be considered; Masters and PhD qualifications are not themselves scored.
Alternative qualifications: -

Southampton

Quick comparison

Location: Southampton, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography
TrueScore: Southampton TrueScore 2000
UCAT home cut-off: No indication published. Southampton ranks applicants by UCAT and invites the top scorers, but states that the score needed varies year on year and that it is therefore not possible to tell applicants what it will be.
Interview format: Selection Day - Panel and Group
Post-interview chance: Home Students: 574/834 = 69%; International (2023): 17/59 = 30%
Decision date: March onwards

Newcastle vs Southampton - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Newcastle requires AAA at A-level (excluding Use of Mathematics, World Development, Communication and Culture). Practical pass required for Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

Southampton requires AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography.

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 — Newcastle: Best 8 GCSEs scored - applicant must have achieved at this level for academic competitiveness. Not used if academic A-level criteria are met.

Best 8 achieved GCSEs scored out of 40 - Newcastle names… Southampton: Minimum 7 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, and either Biology + Chemistry or 6-6 Combined Science. GCSE retakes permitted. Used only as minimum threshold -…

Interview formats

Newcastle uses MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)); Southampton uses Panel (Selection Day - Panel and Group). These two formats reward different skills — MMI emphasises breadth, station-recovery and structured answers under time pressure, while Panel rewards depth and consistency.

If your strengths lie in conversational depth, Southampton may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Newcastle is the better fit.

Interview windows: Newcastle interviews in December - January; Southampton in January - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Newcastle runs a Case-based curriculum; Southampton runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Newcastle leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Southampton uses a more traditional lecture-led structure.

Specifics: Five-year MBBS with case-based learning. Clinical placements across Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust and partner sites in the North East. Five-year BM5 integrated programme with strong emphasis on research methodology. Clinical placements across Southampton, Portsmouth, Winchester, Salis

Intake size: Newcastle — Newcastle does not publish an A100 intake figure in its admissions policy. Note that NUMed Malaysia, the branch campus teaching the same MBBS, runs its own separate admissions route and is not part of the Newcastle intake.; Southampton — ~210 home + ~25 international places per year (BM5 standard programme)..

A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

Post-interview odds give you the clearest signal of how competitive each school is at the final stage — a school with a 60% post-interview success rate is structurally easier to convert than one at 25%, even if the interview thresholds look identical on paper.

What makes each distinctive

Newcastle: Newcastle publishes an unusually explicit scoring model: academic points out of 40 plus UCAT points out of 60, combined into one ranked academic-screen score. The UCAT table is published in full, so you can read your own score straight off it.

Standard and contextual applicants are ranked as separate streams, and PARTNERS is Newcastle's supported-entry route with its own eligibility conditions and a compulsory summer school.

Southampton: Personal statement carries unusual weight - selectors use it to drive the panel section if you reach Selection Day. SJT is not considered. Course updated for 2025: the integrated BMedSc award is being removed in favour of more clinical learning time.

Which is right for you?

Both schools sit in the same England foundation-programme catchment, so post-graduation training paths overlap heavily. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Newcastle; if you prefer lecture-led foundations, the other suits better.

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. Newcastle guidance: No cut-off - UCAT is converted to points on a published table and added to your academic score. 2,400 and above scores the maximum 60 points, falling by one point per 10 UCAT points down to 1 point at 1,810 and below.. Southampton guidance: No indication published. Southampton ranks applicants by UCAT and invites the top scorers, but states that the score needed varies year on year and that it is therefore not possible to tell applicants what it will be..

Newcastle requires AAA (excluding Use of Mathematics, World Development, Communication and Culture). Southampton requires AAA including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Newcastle — Resits accepted if A-Level score increases.. Southampton — Resits considered case-by-case; achieved-grade route also available..

Newcastle — Best 8 GCSEs scored - applicant must have achieved at this level for academic competitiveness. Not used if academic A-level criteria are met. Best 8 achieved GCSEs scored out of 40 - Newcastle names no compulsory GCSE subjects. 9/A* = 5 pts, 8 = 4 pts, 7/A = 3 pts, 6/B = 1 pt, 5/C = 0 pts. National 5: A = 5, B = 1, C = 0. Resat GCSEs are scored on the most recent grade. Southampton — Minimum 7 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, and either Biology + Chemistry or 6-6 Combined Science. GCSE retakes permitted. Used only as minimum threshold - pre-interview ranking is by UCAT score

Newcastle's selection methodology: Three stages: academic screen, interview, offers. The academic screen scores your most recent achieved qualification out of 40 and your UCAT out of 60, combines them, and ranks applicants - standard and contextual as separate streams. International and A101 applicants are ranked on UCAT alone. Those above the points threshold are invited to interview. Southampton's selection methodology: UCAT-based shortlisting after academic minimums met. Historically uses a banding/decile-based UCAT approach. 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.

Newcastle: International: 82/88 = 93% (2025); Graduate Entry: 46/86 = 53%; Home Non-Contextual: 418/577 = 72%; Home Widening Participation: 194/350 = 55%. Southampton: Home Students: 574/834 = 69%; International (2023): 17/59 = 30%. Post-interview odds tell you how competitive each school is at the final stage. Two schools with similar UCAT thresholds can have very different post-interview rates — a school with a 60% post-interview success rate is structurally easier to convert than one at 25%.

Newcastle runs a Case-based curriculum. Southampton runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Newcastle specifics: Five-year MBBS with case-based learning. Clinical placements across Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust and partner sites in the North East. Southampton specifics: Five-year BM5 integrated programme with strong emphasis on research methodology. Clinical placements across Southampton, Portsmouth, Winchester, Salisbury, and Isle of Wight NHS sites.

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

NewcastleEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

SouthamptonEntry 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.

Newcastle vs Southampton

Side-by-side comparison

Newcastle vs Southampton - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

Post-interview offer rate

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What UCAT score do I need for Newcastle vs Southampton?

How do interviews differ between Newcastle and Southampton?

What A-Level grades do Newcastle and Southampton require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Newcastle vs Southampton?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Which has a higher post-interview offer rate, Newcastle or Southampton?

Where are Newcastle and Southampton located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Newcastle and Southampton use?

Should I apply to both Newcastle and Southampton?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons