How do interviews differ between Newcastle and St George's?

Newcastle uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). St George's 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 - January (Newcastle); November - February (St George's).

What A-Level grades do Newcastle and St George's require?

Newcastle requires AAA (excluding Use of Mathematics, World Development, Communication and Culture). St George's requires A*AA or AAA including Chemistry and Biology/Human Biology (offer depends on cohort strength). Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school.

Where are Newcastle and St George's located, and how does that affect cost?

Newcastle is in Newcastle, UK. St George's is in London, 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. St George's releases medicine decisions Rolling-basis after Interviews have finished. 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

Newcastle vs St George's

Newcastle and St George's are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Newcastle is based in Newcastle (England) while St George's sits in London (London), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination.

Their UCAT thresholds are remarkably close (within ~50 points), so the deciding factors are GCSE weighting, interview format and personal-statement use. Their A-Level requirements (AAA vs A*AA) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers. St George's is the older institution (founded 1733); the other (founded 1834) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Newcastle and St George's.
Comparison field	NewcastleNewcastle	St George'sLondon
Quick comparison
Location	Newcastle, UK	London, 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.	A*AA or AAA at A-level (offer depends on cohort strength). Predicted AAA required including Chemistry and Biology / Human Biology.
TrueScore	1950	1950
UCAT home cut-off	~1900+ /2700 achieves the 50/100 cut-off with 40/40 GCSE (Newcastle publishes explicit /2700 UCAT scoring table)	~1950+ /2700 (2025 entry cut-off ≈ 1950; 2024 entry was 2018)
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	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%	Home Undergrad (2024): 247/677 = 36% (or 423/686 = 62% inc. deferred); Overseas Undergrad: 25/146 = 17% (or 58/152 = 38% inc. deferred)
Decision date	March onwards	Rolling-basis after Interviews have finished

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (excluding Use of Mathematics, World Development, Communication and Culture). Practical pass required for Biology, Chemistry and Physics.	A*AA or AAA at A-level (offer depends on cohort strength). Predicted AAA required including Chemistry and Biology / Human Biology.
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)	Chemistry and Biology (or Human Biology) both required
A-Level resit policy	Resits acceptable if the score increases	Resits or third year of study accepted with extenuating circumstances only
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 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or 6-6 Dual Award Science). GCSE resits accepted.
GCSE scoring methodology	Best 8 GCSEs (must include English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, sciences) scored /40: 9 = 5 pts, 8 = 4 pts, 7 = 3 pts, 6 = 1 pt, 5 = 0 pts. National 5: A = 5 pts, B = 1 pt, C = 0 pts.	Used only as minimum threshold - wholly UCAT-based shortlisting once met
Scottish Highers	AAAAA at Higher Grade. Scottish qualifications can be taken in more than one sitting.	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	AA at Advanced Higher Grade	-
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall, no subject graded less than 5. No requirement for science subjects at HL.	37 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including HL Chemistry and HL Biology
Graduate-entry degree requirement	2:1 Honours degree at minimum, or integrated Master's degree. Degree applicants scored 40/40 (1st class) or 40/40 (2:1) in academic shortlist.	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above in any discipline. Graduate for Undergraduate Programme available - UCAT cut-off applies (~2100+ /2700).
Alternative qualifications	-	-

Contextual cut-off	~1900+ /2700 (Partners - same cut-off as home)	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	~2210+ /2700	~2050+ /2700 (2025 entry cut-off ≈ 2063)
Graduate cut-off	~2050+ /2700 (A101 GEM)	~2100+ /2700 (Graduate for Undergraduate Programme)
SJT band	SJT band 4 is rejected; SJT band contributes to interview score (B1=5, B2=3, B3=1)	SJT used post-interview in offer making. Combined with MMI score → B1=15 pts, B2=10, B3=5, B4=none.
UCAT notes	Score /100: GCSE (or A-level/degree) /40 + UCAT /60. Cut-off 50/100. UCAT scored on explicit /2700 table (60pts for 2400+, descending 1pt per 10 score points). SJT B4 auto-rejected.	Wholly UCAT-based shortlisting once GCSE met. Minimum 500/900 in each individual UCAT subsection required.

Interview window	December - January	November - February
Interview details	Seven-station MMI for home A100 and all A101 applicants, each station 7 minutes with 2 minutes' warm-up. Includes role-play and reflection stations. Designed with deliberately excess questions to test…	Six-station MMI of 4 minutes per station - fast-paced. Stations cover scenarios, work experience and role-play, with several including multiple questions to handle inside the time.

Specialities	Medicine, Dentistry, Biomedical Sciences	Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, Healthcare Sciences
Established	1834	1733
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Heavy use of UCAT post-interview - high scorers are rewarded disproportionately by Newcastle's scoring system. The Partners contextual programme has generous eligibility (e.g. all Indian, Pakistani an…	Strong holistic-care and soft-skills emphasis. SJT used post-interview in offer making (B1 = 15 pts, B2 = 10, B3 = 5, B4 = nothing). St George's is also generous with deferred-entry offers, often made…
Official course page	https://www.ncl.ac.uk/undergraduate/degrees/a100/	https://www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/prospective-students/courses/undergraduate/medicine

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: 1950
UCAT home cut-off: ~1900+ /2700 achieves the 50/100 cut-off with 40/40 GCSE (Newcastle publishes explicit /2700 UCAT scoring table)
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

St George's

London

Quick comparison

Location: London, UK
A-Level offer: A*AA or AAA at A-level (offer depends on cohort strength). Predicted AAA required including Chemistry and Biology / Human Biology.
TrueScore: 1950
UCAT home cut-off: ~1950+ /2700 (2025 entry cut-off ≈ 1950; 2024 entry was 2018)
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Home Undergrad (2024): 247/677 = 36% (or 423/686 = 62% inc. deferred); Overseas Undergrad: 25/146 = 17% (or 58/152 = 38% inc. deferred)
Decision date: Rolling-basis after Interviews have finished

Compare different schools

Newcastle vs St George's - in detail

UCAT thresholds compared

Newcastle's published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 1900, while St George's sits at approximately 1950.

Their UCAT bars are statistically indistinguishable (within 50 points), so the UCAT is unlikely to be your differentiator between them.

Contextual / widening-participation cut-offs differ — Newcastle: ~1900+ /2700 (Partners - same cut-off as home); St George's: not separately disclosed. Eligible applicants should weight this heavily when choosing.

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.

St George's requires A*AA or AAA at A-level (offer depends on cohort strength). Predicted AAA required including Chemistry and Biology / Human Biology.

St George's is the stricter A-Level offer; Newcastle is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Newcastle carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

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 GCSEs (must include English Language, English… St George's: Minimum 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or 6-6 Dual Award Science). GCSE resits accepted. Used only as minimum threshold -…

Interview formats

Both Newcastle and St George's 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: Newcastle interviews in December - January; St George's in November - February.

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: Heavy use of UCAT post-interview - high scorers are rewarded disproportionately by Newcastle's scoring system. The Partners contextual programme has generous eligibility (e.g. all Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage applicants including those at private school).

St George's: Strong holistic-care and soft-skills emphasis. SJT used post-interview in offer making (B1 = 15 pts, B2 = 10, B3 = 5, B4 = nothing). St George's is also generous with deferred-entry offers, often made to borderline applicants in lieu of rejection.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Newcastle is the lower-risk academic option. Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Newcastle feeds into the England foundation programme network; St George's 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

Newcastle's typical home cut-off is around 1900, while St George's sits at approximately 1950 — a 50-point spread. The spread is small enough that other factors (GCSE weighting, interview score, contextual flags) usually dominate the firm/insurance decision. Cut-offs change year on year and vary by tier — check each school's latest published threshold before submitting your UCAS form.

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 GCSEs (must include English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, sciences) scored /40: 9 = 5 pts, 8 = 4 pts, 7 = 3 pts, 6 = 1 pt, 5 = 0 pts. National 5: A = 5 pts, B = 1 pt, C = 0 pts. St George's — Minimum 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or 6-6 Dual Award Science). GCSE resits accepted. Used only as minimum threshold - wholly UCAT-based shortlisting once met

Newcastle's selection methodology: Step 1 academic screening (out of 100), then UCAT used for ranking. New process from 2025 entry. Resits acceptable if score increases. St George's'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.

Newcastle: International: 82/88 = 93% (2025); Graduate Entry: 46/86 = 53%; Home Non-Contextual: 418/577 = 72%; Home Widening Participation: 194/350 = 55%. St George's: Home Undergrad (2024): 247/677 = 36% (or 423/686 = 62% inc. deferred); Overseas Undergrad: 25/146 = 17% (or 58/152 = 38% inc. deferred). 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%.

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 St George'sEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

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School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 7 September 2026.