How are GCSEs weighted at Nottingham vs Ulster University Medical School?

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. Ulster University Medical School — Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

Where are Nottingham and Ulster University Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

Nottingham is in Nottingham, 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?

Nottingham 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

Nottingham vs Ulster University Medical School

Nottingham and Ulster University Medical School are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Nottingham is based in Nottingham (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: Nottingham and Ulster University Medical School.
Comparison field	NottinghamNottingham	Ulster University Medical SchoolLondonderry
Quick comparison
Location	Nottingham, UK	Londonderry, 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.	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
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)	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	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. No use of predicted grades - Nottingham considers achieved grades only.	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
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	-
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).	-
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.	-
Graduate-entry degree requirement	-	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	Band 4 automatically rejected. SJT scored: B1=10, B2=6, B3=2, B4=0.	-
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…	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 2	-
Placement geography	Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire	Across Northern Ireland
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	-	-
Course highlight	The course was co-created with input from students, staff and practitioners.	Based at the Magee campus in Derry~Londonderry, alongside other healthcare programmes.

Interview window	December - March	December - March
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.	MMI format with multiple stations. Focus on serving Northern Ireland's healthcare needs alongside standard motivation, ethics and communication content.

Specialities	Medicine, Medical Sciences, Graduate Entry Medicine	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	1948	2021
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.	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.nottingham.ac.uk/studywithus/ugstudy/courses/UG/2026/Medicine-BMBS.html	https://www.ulster.ac.uk/courses/202627/medicine-41407

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

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

Nottingham vs Ulster University Medical School - 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.

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

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… Ulster University Medical School: Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

Interview formats

Both Nottingham 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: Nottingham interviews in December - March; Ulster University Medical School in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

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

Specifics: Five-year MBChB with compulsory intercalated BMedSci built into the course (one of few UK schools to embed BMedSci as standard). Four-year accelerated MBBS for graduates. Clinical placements across Northern Ireland NHS sites (Magee Campus, Western HSC, Northern HSC).

Intake size: Nottingham — ~250 home + ~30 international places per year.; 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

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.

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 — Nottingham feeds into the England foundation programme network; Ulster University Medical School into the London network.

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.. Ulster University Medical School guidance: GAMSAT is scored out of 100. Do not sit the UCAT for this course..

Nottingham 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 (Nottingham); December - March (Ulster University Medical School).

Nottingham requires AAA including Biology (or Human Biology) and Chemistry. 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: Nottingham — Resits considered case-by-case; standard expectation is one-sitting AAA.. Ulster University Medical School — Resits accepted..

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. 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.

Nottingham runs a Integrated curriculum. Ulster University Medical School runs a Integrated curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. Nottingham specifics: Five-year MBChB with compulsory intercalated BMedSci built into the course (one of few UK schools to embed BMedSci as standard). 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

NottinghamEntry 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.