Where are North Wales (Bangor) and Warwick (GEM) located, and how does that affect cost?

North Wales (Bangor) is in Bangor, UK. Warwick (GEM) is in Coventry, 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. Warwick (GEM) releases medicine decisions January 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 Warwick (GEM)

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at North Wales (Bangor) vs Warwick (GEM)?

North Wales (Bangor) — English or Welsh Language at grade B/6, and Double Science at BB/66. Warwick (GEM) — No specific GCSE requirements published for graduate-entry - applicant academic competence shown through degree.

North Wales (Bangor) and Warwick (GEM) 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.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: North Wales (Bangor) and Warwick (GEM).
Comparison field	North Wales (Bangor)Bangor	Warwick (GEM)Coventry
Quick comparison
Location	Bangor, UK	Coventry, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Biology and one further science.	Graduate entry only - minimum 2:1 honours degree. Warwick runs no undergraduate (A100) route.
TrueScore	North Wales (Bangor) TrueScore 1700	Warwick (GEM) TrueScore 2150intl
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	January onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Biology and one further science.	Graduate entry only - minimum 2:1 honours degree. Warwick runs no undergraduate (A100) route.
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.	Not applicable to graduate entry - degree class is the academic measure.
GCSE requirements	English or Welsh Language at grade B/6, and Double Science at BB/66.	No specific GCSE requirements published for graduate-entry - applicant academic competence shown through degree
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, etc.) - completed by entry
Alternative qualifications	-	Graduate-entry only (4-year accelerated MBChB). UCAT used to rank applicants. CRITICAL: Verbal Reasoning must be at-or-above the cohort mean regardless of overall score; high overall UCAT will not be considered if VR is below mean. Selection-centre format (2 hours of timed exercises) means UCAT is one factor among several - group performance and individual stations matter.

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	~2170+ /2700
Graduate cut-off	-	~2080+ /2700 minimum (typically 2170+ for safer chances). Graduate-entry only.
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.	Graduate entry only. UCAT used to rank graduate applicants. SJT considered.

Degree awarded	BMBS	MB ChB
Course length	5 years	4 years (graduate entry)
Teaching style	Integrated	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	-	Plastinated specimens
First patient contact	Year 1	-
Placement geography	North Wales	Coventry and Warwickshire
Named placement sites	-	University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire, Warwick Hospital, George Eliot Hospital, Alexandra Hospital
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	The programme is bilingual — most components can be studied in Welsh as well as English, and students use Welsh on placement.	The UK’s largest graduate-entry medical programme, with around 203 graduates a year.

Interview window	December - March	December
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.	Selection-centre format lasting about two hours with several timed exercises observed by assessors. Tasks cover team working, communication, empathy and clinical reasoning. Group exercises sit alongsi…

Specialities	Medicine, Community Medicine	Medicine, Graduate Entry Medicine, Medical Research
Established	2020	2000
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…	Graduate entry ONLY - there is no A100 school-leaver route at Warwick, so A-level grades are not the entry currency here. All applicants sit the UCAT (not GAMSAT) and need a 2:1 or above.
Official course page	https://www.bangor.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/a100-medicine-bmbs	https://warwick.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/courses/mbchb-medicine/

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

Warwick (GEM)

Coventry

Quick comparison

Location: Coventry, UK
A-Level offer: Graduate entry only - minimum 2:1 honours degree. Warwick runs no undergraduate (A100) route.
TrueScore: Warwick (GEM) TrueScore 2150intl
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: January onwards

North Wales (Bangor) vs Warwick (GEM) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

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

Warwick (GEM) requires Graduate entry only - minimum 2:1 honours degree. Warwick runs no undergraduate (A100) route.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — North Wales (Bangor): English or Welsh Language at grade B/6, and Double Science at BB/66. Warwick (GEM): No specific GCSE requirements published for graduate-entry - applicant academic competence shown through degree.

Interview formats

Both North Wales (Bangor) and Warwick (GEM) 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; Warwick (GEM) in December.

Curriculum and teaching style

Both schools deliver a PBL-style curriculum, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar across years 1-3.

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 MBChB for graduate entrants. Problem-based learning with significant clinical exposure from Year 1.

Intake size: North Wales (Bangor) — ~30 places per year (small cohort, designed for local retention).; Warwick (GEM) — ~190 home + ~15 international places per year (4-year accelerated MBChB).. 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.

Warwick (GEM): Graduate entry ONLY - there is no A100 school-leaver route at Warwick, so A-level grades are not the entry currency here. All applicants sit the UCAT (not GAMSAT) and need a 2:1 or above.

Which is right for you?

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

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.. Warwick (GEM) guidance: Graduate entry only. UCAT used to rank graduate applicants. SJT considered..

North Wales (Bangor) uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Warwick (GEM) 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 (Warwick (GEM)).

North Wales (Bangor) requires AAA including Biology and one further science. Warwick (GEM) requires Graduate entry only - minimum 2:1 honours degree. Warwick runs no undergraduate (A100) route.. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: North Wales (Bangor) — Resits considered.. Warwick (GEM) — Not applicable to graduate entry - degree class is the academic measure..

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. Warwick (GEM)'s selection methodology: UCAT + degree class + work experience for shortlisting. Personal statement assessed. Multiple Mini Interview format. 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. Warwick (GEM) runs a PBL curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. 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). Warwick (GEM) specifics: Four-year accelerated MBChB for graduate entrants. Problem-based learning with significant clinical exposure from Year 1.

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

Warwick (GEM)Entry 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 Warwick (GEM)

Side-by-side comparison

North Wales (Bangor) vs Warwick (GEM) - 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 Warwick (GEM)?

How do interviews differ between North Wales (Bangor) and Warwick (GEM)?

What A-Level grades do North Wales (Bangor) and Warwick (GEM) require?

How are GCSEs weighted at North Wales (Bangor) vs Warwick (GEM)?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Where are North Wales (Bangor) and Warwick (GEM) located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do North Wales (Bangor) and Warwick (GEM) use?

Should I apply to both North Wales (Bangor) and Warwick (GEM)?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons