How do interviews differ between Nottingham and Sunderland?

Nottingham uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Sunderland 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 (Nottingham); December - January (Sunderland).

Where are Nottingham and Sunderland located, and how does that affect cost?

Nottingham is in Nottingham, UK. Sunderland is in Sunderland, 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?

Nottingham typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Sunderland releases medicine decisions Until May. 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

Nottingham vs Sunderland

Nottingham and Sunderland 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: Nottingham and Sunderland.
Comparison field	NottinghamNottingham	SunderlandSunderland
Quick comparison
Location	Nottingham, UK	Sunderland, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.	AAA at A-level including Biology or Chemistry, plus another designated science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics/Further Mathematics/Statistics) and a third academic subject. No use of predicted grades - Sunderland considers achieved grades only.
TrueScore	Nottingham TrueScore 1850	Sunderland TrueScore 1700
UCAT home cut-off	No fixed score. Nottingham states that the threshold varies year by year, cannot be predicted in advance, and that it does not share previous years' thresholds.	Expressed in deciles: your score must fall within the top 8 deciles of the cohort, with an SJT in Bands 1-3.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	All Students (2024): 519/913 = 57% (or 336/911 = 37% from another source); A108 WP Foundation Year: 61/188 = 32%	All Home Applicants: 353/731 = 48% (2025). Not for international students - home only.
Decision date	March onwards	Until May

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.	AAA at A-level including Biology or Chemistry, plus another designated science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics/Further Mathematics/Statistics) and a third academic subject. No use of predicted grades - Sunderland considers achieved grades only.
Contextual A-Level offer	Two contextual tiers, both requiring at least an A in Biology or Chemistry: standard contextual AAB, enhanced contextual ABB.	-
Required A-Level subjects	Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry both required	Biology or Chemistry required, plus a second designated science, plus a third academic subject
A-Level resit policy	Resits considered case-by-case; standard expectation is one-sitting AAA.	Resits accepted.
GCSE requirements	Minimum six GCSEs at grade 7/A including both Biology and Chemistry, plus at least grade 6/B in Mathematics and English Language (English and Maths do NOT need to be at grade 7).	Five GCSEs at grade 7/A or above, with a minimum of grade 6/B in Mathematics, English Language, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Dual Science may not be accepted - confirm with the school. GCSE resits permitted before application (up to 2 attempts).
GCSE scoring methodology	GCSEs feed the combined points score used for shortlisting alongside UCAT.	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	34 points overall including HL6 in Biology and HL6 in Chemistry; alternatively 6,6,6 across three HL Certificates with HL6 in Biology and HL6 in Chemistry.	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including HL Biology or Chemistry plus a second science / Maths (not published on the course page - treat as unconfirmed).
Graduate-entry degree requirement	-	-
Alternative qualifications	-	Sunderland does NOT accept international students - UK applicants only.

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	-
Graduate cut-off	-	-
SJT band	Band 4 automatically rejected. SJT scored: B1=10, B2=6, B3=2, B4=0.	Band 4 is automatically rejected, no further use of SJT
UCAT notes	Nottingham scores each UCAT component raw score rather than working from the total alone, and combines that with GCSE scoring to select for interview. An SJT of Band 4 means you will not be considered…	Sunderland shortlists on three things together - the interview selection tool, the academic requirements and the UCAT. The selection tool is a survey you must complete by the published October deadlin…

Degree awarded	BMBS	MBChB
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Integrated	Problem-based learning + Case-based learning
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	Year 2	Year 3
Placement geography	Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire	The north east of England
Named placement sites	Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham City Hospital, Highbury Hospital, Royal Derby Hospital, King's Mill Hospital, Chesterfield Royal Hospital, Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust, Derbyshire Healthcare Trust	-
Intercalation	-	Available after year 2 as a BSc, or after year 4 as an MSc.
Course highlight	The course was co-created with input from students, staff and practitioners.	-

Interview window	December - March	December - January
Interview details	An MMI of six scenarios, including at least one role play. Expect a strong emphasis on awareness of current NHS and healthcare issues alongside the usual motivation and ethics ground.	Series of short interview stations covering motivation, communication, reflection on work experience and reasoning. Includes a 30-minute online numeracy test as part of the selection day.

Specialities	Medicine, Medical Sciences, Graduate Entry Medicine	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	1948	2019
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	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.	No use of personal statement. The interview-selection tool reviews up to 4 examples of paid voluntary work or caring experience (shadowing doctors does not count). Numeracy test now part of the interv…
Official course page	https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/studywithus/ugstudy/courses/UG/2026/Medicine-BMBS.html	https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/study/medicine/mbchb-medicine/

Nottingham

Quick comparison

Location: Nottingham, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.
TrueScore: Nottingham TrueScore 1850
UCAT home cut-off: No fixed score. Nottingham states that the threshold varies year by year, cannot be predicted in advance, and that it does not share previous years' thresholds.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: All Students (2024): 519/913 = 57% (or 336/911 = 37% from another source); A108 WP Foundation Year: 61/188 = 32%
Decision date: March onwards

Sunderland

Quick comparison

Location: Sunderland, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Biology or Chemistry, plus another designated science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics/Further Mathematics/Statistics) and a third academic subject. No use of predicted grades - Sunderland considers achieved grades only.
TrueScore: Sunderland TrueScore 1700
UCAT home cut-off: Expressed in deciles: your score must fall within the top 8 deciles of the cohort, with an SJT in Bands 1-3.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: All Home Applicants: 353/731 = 48% (2025). Not for international students - home only.
Decision date: Until May

Nottingham vs Sunderland - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Nottingham requires AAA at A-level including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.

Sunderland requires AAA at A-level including Biology or Chemistry, plus another designated science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics/Further Mathematics/Statistics) and a third academic subject. No use of predicted grades - Sunderland considers achieved grades only.

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: Minimum six GCSEs at grade 7/A including both Biology and Chemistry, plus at least grade 6/B in Mathematics and English Language (English and Maths do NOT need to be at grade 7).

GCSEs feed the… Sunderland: Five GCSEs at grade 7/A or above, with a minimum of grade 6/B in Mathematics, English Language, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Dual Science may not be accepted - confirm with the school. GCSE resits…

Interview formats

Both Nottingham and Sunderland 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; Sunderland in December - January.

Curriculum and teaching style

Nottingham runs a Integrated curriculum; Sunderland runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Nottingham delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while Sunderland 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 MBChB with PBL and case-based learning. Strong North-East NHS placement network.

Intake size: Nottingham — ~250 home + ~30 international places per year.; Sunderland — ~100 places per year (smaller cohort).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

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

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.

Sunderland: No use of personal statement. The interview-selection tool reviews up to 4 examples of paid voluntary work or caring experience (shadowing doctors does not count). Numeracy test now part of the interview process.

Which is right for you?

Both schools sit in the same England foundation-programme catchment, so post-graduation training paths overlap heavily. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Sunderland; 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. Nottingham guidance: No fixed score. Nottingham states that the threshold varies year by year, cannot be predicted in advance, and that it does not share previous years' thresholds.. Sunderland guidance: Expressed in deciles: your score must fall within the top 8 deciles of the cohort, with an SJT in Bands 1-3..

Nottingham requires AAA including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. Sunderland requires AAA including Biology or Chemistry, plus another designated science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths/Further Maths/Statistics) and a third academic subject. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Nottingham — Resits considered case-by-case; standard expectation is one-sitting AAA.. Sunderland — Resits accepted..

Nottingham — Minimum six GCSEs at grade 7/A including both Biology and Chemistry, plus at least grade 6/B in Mathematics and English Language (English and Maths do NOT need to be at grade 7). GCSEs feed the combined points score used for shortlisting alongside UCAT. Sunderland — Five GCSEs at grade 7/A or above, with a minimum of grade 6/B in Mathematics, English Language, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Dual Science may not be accepted - confirm with the school. GCSE resits permitted before application (up to 2 attempts).

Nottingham's selection methodology: Once you meet the academic entry requirements, Nottingham scores each of your UCAT component raw scores - not just the total - and combines that with GCSE scoring to select for interview. There is no fixed threshold: Nottingham says it varies year by year, cannot be predicted, and that it does not release previous years' figures. An SJT of Band 4 rules you out. Sunderland's selection methodology: UCAT + academic + interview. Newer programme (intake from 2019) - selection algorithm being refined annually. 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.

Nottingham: All Students (2024): 519/913 = 57% (or 336/911 = 37% from another source); A108 WP Foundation Year: 61/188 = 32%. Sunderland: All Home Applicants: 353/731 = 48% (2025). Not for international students - home only.. 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%.

Nottingham runs a Integrated curriculum. Sunderland runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Nottingham specifics: Five-year MBChB with compulsory intercalated BMedSci built into the course (one of few UK schools to embed BMedSci as standard). Sunderland specifics: Five-year MBChB with PBL and case-based learning. Strong North-East NHS placement network.

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

NottinghamEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

SunderlandEntry 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.

Nottingham vs Sunderland

Side-by-side comparison

Nottingham vs Sunderland - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

Post-interview offer rate

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What UCAT score do I need for Nottingham vs Sunderland?

How do interviews differ between Nottingham and Sunderland?

What A-Level grades do Nottingham and Sunderland require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Nottingham vs Sunderland?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Which has a higher post-interview offer rate, Nottingham or Sunderland?

Where are Nottingham and Sunderland located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Nottingham and Sunderland use?

Should I apply to both Nottingham and Sunderland?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons