Pears Cumbria (GEM) and Surrey (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. Their A-Level requirements (Graduate vs AAA) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.
| Comparison field | Pears Cumbria (GEM)Carlisle | Surrey (GEM)Guildford |
|---|---|---|
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| Location | Carlisle, UK | Guildford, UK |
| A-Level offer | Graduate entry - degree required | AAA including Chemistry and Biology |
| TrueScoreTrueScore is our prediction of the UCAT score required to be invited to interview at this school for the upcoming cycle. Built from multi-year FOI data and applicant trends. Click any badge to see the full breakdown. | 1700GEM | 1700GEM |
| UCAT home cut-off | - | - |
| Interview format | Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) | Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) |
| Post-interview chance | - | - |
| Decision date | March onwards | March onwards |
Carlisle
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Guildford
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Pears Cumbria (GEM) requires Graduate entry - degree required. Surrey (GEM) requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology. Surrey (GEM) is the stricter A-Level offer; Pears Cumbria (GEM) is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Pears Cumbria (GEM) carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview. GCSE profile matters at both schools — Pears Cumbria (GEM): Not applicable - graduate-entry programme. Requires a 2:1 honours degree. Surrey (GEM): Not applicable - graduate-entry programme. Requires a 2:1 honours degree.
Both Pears Cumbria (GEM) and Surrey (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: Pears Cumbria (GEM) interviews in December - March; Surrey (GEM) in December - March.
Both schools deliver a PBL-style curriculum, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar across years 1-3. Specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry programme. Imperial College London partner. Clinical placements across Cumbria NHS sites (UHMBT, North Cumbria In Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBChB. Surrey-based with South-East NHS placements. Intake size: Pears Cumbria (GEM) — ~50 places per year (small newer cohort).; Surrey (GEM) — ~30-50 places per year (small newer cohort).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.
Pears Cumbria (GEM): Graduate entry programme focusing on rural and community healthcare. Newer course oriented around regional workforce needs in Cumbria. Surrey (GEM): New graduate-entry medical school with focus on innovative teaching methods and the use of technology in healthcare delivery.
For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Pears Cumbria (GEM) is the lower-risk academic option. 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.
School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 20 June 2026.
