Where are North Wales (Bangor) and Ulster University Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

North Wales (Bangor) is in Bangor, 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?

North Wales (Bangor) 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

North Wales (Bangor) vs Ulster University Medical School

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at North Wales (Bangor) vs Ulster University Medical School?

North Wales (Bangor) — English or Welsh Language at grade B/6, and Double Science at BB/66. Ulster University Medical School — Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

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

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: North Wales (Bangor) and Ulster University Medical School.
Comparison field	North Wales (Bangor)Bangor	Ulster University Medical SchoolLondonderry
Quick comparison
Location	Bangor, UK	Londonderry, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Biology and one further science.	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
TrueScore	North Wales (Bangor) TrueScore 1700	-
UCAT home cut-off	-	-
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	Refused to disclose. New medical school, has been in clearing in past years.	-
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Biology and one further science.	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
Contextual A-Level offer	AAB for Welsh-speaking applicants (who must also hold a first-language Welsh GCSE) and for others meeting Bangor's contextual criteria.	-
Required A-Level subjects	Biology required, plus one further science	-
A-Level resit policy	A-level resits are NOT accepted. GCSE resits are accepted only if completed within 12 months of the original sitting and before application.	Resits accepted.
GCSE requirements	English or Welsh Language at grade B/6, and Double Science at BB/66.	-
GCSE scoring methodology	-	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Biology and one further science	-
Graduate-entry degree requirement	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above in any honours degree (A101 graduate-entry route)	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	-	-
Graduate cut-off	-	Not applicable - Ulster uses GAMSAT, not the UCAT. Recent thresholds have been around 61.
SJT band	Refused to disclose how SJT is used (avoid with B4)	-
UCAT notes	Bangor requires the UCAT but publishes NO minimum threshold - it states only that the score is used in selection. No cut-off should be inferred or estimated.	GAMSAT is scored out of 100. Do not sit the UCAT for this course.

Degree awarded	BMBS	MBBS
Course length	5 years	4 years (graduate entry)
Teaching style	Integrated	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	Imaging and models
First patient contact	Year 1	-
Placement geography	North Wales	Across Northern Ireland
Named placement sites	-	-
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	The programme is bilingual — most components can be studied in Welsh as well as English, and students use Welsh on placement.	Based at the Magee campus in Derry~Londonderry, alongside other healthcare programmes.

Interview window	December - March	December - March
Interview details	MMI format spread across several stations. Each station gives 3 minutes' preparation for two questions and 3 minutes to answer each. Topics include motivation, ethics and reflection on experiences.	MMI format with multiple stations. Focus on serving Northern Ireland's healthcare needs alongside standard motivation, ethics and communication content.

Specialities	Medicine, Community Medicine	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	2020	2021
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Bangor publishes no UCAT threshold and has declined FOI requests on its shortlisting weighting, so no cut-off can be quoted. A-level resits are not accepted. Welsh-speaking applicants (with a first-la…	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.bangor.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/a100-medicine-bmbs	https://www.ulster.ac.uk/courses/202627/medicine-41407

North Wales (Bangor)

Bangor

Quick comparison

Location: Bangor, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Biology and one further science.
TrueScore: North Wales (Bangor) TrueScore 1700
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Refused to disclose. New medical school, has been in clearing in past years.
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

North Wales (Bangor) vs Ulster University Medical School - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

North Wales (Bangor) requires AAA at A-level including Biology and one further science.

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

GCSE profile matters at both schools — North Wales (Bangor): English or Welsh Language at grade B/6, and Double Science at BB/66. Ulster University Medical School: Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

Interview formats

Both North Wales (Bangor) 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: North Wales (Bangor) interviews in December - March; Ulster University Medical School in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

North Wales (Bangor) runs a PBL curriculum; Ulster University Medical School runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — North Wales (Bangor) leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Ulster University Medical School 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) Four-year accelerated MBBS for graduates. Clinical placements across Northern Ireland NHS sites (Magee Campus, Western HSC, Northern HSC).

Intake size: North Wales (Bangor) — ~30 places per year (small cohort, designed for local retention).; 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

North Wales (Bangor): Bangor publishes no UCAT threshold and has declined FOI requests on its shortlisting weighting, so no cut-off can be quoted. A-level resits are not accepted. Welsh-speaking applicants (with a first-language Welsh GCSE) and other contextual applicants may receive an AAB offer.

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 — North Wales (Bangor) feeds into the England foundation programme network; Ulster University Medical School into the London network. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer North Wales (Bangor); 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. North Wales (Bangor) guidance: Bangor requires the UCAT but publishes NO minimum threshold - it states only that the score is used in selection. No cut-off should be inferred or estimated.. Ulster University Medical School guidance: GAMSAT is scored out of 100. Do not sit the UCAT for this course..

North Wales (Bangor) 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 - March (North Wales (Bangor)); December - March (Ulster University Medical School).

North Wales (Bangor) requires AAA including Biology and one further science. 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: North Wales (Bangor) — Resits considered.. Ulster University Medical School — Resits accepted..

North Wales (Bangor)'s selection methodology: AAA including Biology and a second science, plus UCAT with no published threshold, then MMI. Cardiff University School of Medicine is the contingency partner during GMC accreditation, so students would graduate from Cardiff if required. 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.

North Wales (Bangor) runs a PBL curriculum. Ulster University Medical School runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. North Wales (Bangor) specifics: Four-year accelerated MBBCh (Cardiff) for graduates, or 5-year route. Strong rural/community placement strand across North Wales (Betsi Cadwaladr UHB). 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

North Wales (Bangor)Entry 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.

North Wales (Bangor) vs Ulster University Medical School

Side-by-side comparison

North Wales (Bangor) 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 North Wales (Bangor) vs Ulster University Medical School?

How do interviews differ between North Wales (Bangor) and Ulster University Medical School?

What A-Level grades do North Wales (Bangor) and Ulster University Medical School require?

How are GCSEs weighted at North Wales (Bangor) vs Ulster University Medical School?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Where are North Wales (Bangor) and Ulster University Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do North Wales (Bangor) and Ulster University Medical School use?

Should I apply to both North Wales (Bangor) and Ulster University Medical School?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons