Nottingham vs Peninsula (Plymouth)

Nottingham's published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 1850, while Peninsula (Plymouth) sits at approximately 1900.

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 — Nottingham: ~1700+ /2700 (A108 Foundation Year - lower threshold); Peninsula (Plymouth): ~1700+ /2700 (UKWPMED or AAB; 2024 entry contextual lowest invited ≈ 1658). Eligible applicants should weight this heavily when choosing.

Nottingham requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology.

Peninsula (Plymouth) 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 — Nottingham: GCSE results form part of the academic profile alongside A-Level predictions. Maths and English at minimum grade 6 typically expected. Peninsula (Plymouth): Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

Both Nottingham and Peninsula (Plymouth) 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: Nottingham interviews in December - March; Peninsula (Plymouth) in Not available.

Nottingham runs a Integrated curriculum; Peninsula (Plymouth) runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Nottingham delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while Peninsula (Plymouth) centres learning around clinical cases.

Specifics: Five-year MBChB with compulsory intercalated BMedSci built into the course (one of few UK schools to embed BMedSci as standard). Five-year MBBS with PBL and case-based learning. Distinctive rural/coastal placement strand across Devon, Cornwall, Somerset.

Intake size: Nottingham — ~250 home + ~30 international places per year.; Peninsula (Plymouth) — ~140 home + ~25 international places per year (Plymouth University Peninsula MBChB).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Nottingham: All Students (2024): 519/913 = 57% (or 336/911 = 37% from another source); A108 WP Foundation Year: 61/188 = 32%. Peninsula (Plymouth): All Applicants: 434/761 = 57% (2025).

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.

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.

Peninsula (Plymouth): Plymouth publishes the qualities they assess: communication, decision making, reflection and self-insight, motivation and commitment, integrity and inclusivity, resilience and adaptability, and teamwork. Personal statement and work experience are NOT considered in interview selection.