North Wales (Bangor) vs Nottingham

North Wales (Bangor)'s published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 1700, while Nottingham sits at approximately 1850.

The 150-point spread matters: North Wales (Bangor) offers slightly more headroom for an average-strong UCAT, while Nottingham expects performance closer to the national 75th-90th percentile.

Contextual / widening-participation cut-offs differ — North Wales (Bangor): not separately disclosed; Nottingham: ~1700+ /2700 (A108 Foundation Year - lower threshold). Eligible applicants should weight this heavily when choosing.

North Wales (Bangor) requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology.

Nottingham requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology.

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 — North Wales (Bangor): Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science. Welsh-language ability welcomed but not required. Nottingham: GCSE results form part of the academic profile alongside A-Level predictions. Maths and English at minimum grade 6 typically expected.

Both North Wales (Bangor) and Nottingham 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: North Wales (Bangor) interviews in December - March; Nottingham in December - March.

North Wales (Bangor) runs a PBL curriculum; Nottingham runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — North Wales (Bangor) leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Nottingham uses a more traditional lecture-led structure.

Specifics: Four-year accelerated MBBCh (Cardiff) for graduates, or 5-year route. Strong rural/community placement strand across North Wales (Betsi Cadwaladr UHB) Five-year MBChB with compulsory intercalated BMedSci built into the course (one of few UK schools to embed BMedSci as standard).

Intake size: North Wales (Bangor) — ~30 places per year (small cohort, designed for local retention).; Nottingham — ~250 home + ~30 international places per year.. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

North Wales (Bangor): Refused to disclose. New medical school, has been in clearing in past years. Nottingham: All Students (2024): 519/913 = 57% (or 336/911 = 37% from another source); A108 WP Foundation Year: 61/188 = 32%.

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.

North Wales (Bangor): Refused to disclose UCAT cut-offs or shortlisting weighting. Anecdotally lower thresholds, particularly for Welsh applicants. Has entered clearing in past years.

Nottingham: Scoring system is now distinct from Lincoln's, weighting GCSE (/32), UCAT (/40) and SJT (/10) - band 4 SJT auto-rejected. No use of predicted A-level grades.