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Medical school comparison

Peninsula (Plymouth) vs Sunderland

Peninsula (Plymouth) 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. Their A-Level requirements (A*AA vs AAA) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.

Side-by-side comparison

Peninsula (Plymouth)

Plymouth

Quick comparison

Location
Plymouth, UK
A-Level offer
A*AA or AAA at A-level (offer depends on strength of applicant pool - historically usually AAA prediction required) including A in Biology and A in a second science from Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics or Psychology
TrueScore
Peninsula (Plymouth) TrueScore 1900
UCAT home cut-off
Not published in advance. Peninsula states the threshold alters each year with the number and quality of applications, and that it cannot confirm the cut-off until all applications have been received and assessed.
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance
All Applicants: 434/761 = 57% (2025)
Decision date
Not available

Sunderland

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

Peninsula (Plymouth) vs Sunderland - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Peninsula (Plymouth) requires A*AA or AAA at A-level (offer depends on strength of applicant pool - historically usually AAA prediction required) including A in Biology and A in a second science from Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics or Psychology.

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.

Peninsula (Plymouth) is the stricter A-Level offer; Sunderland is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Sunderland carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Peninsula (Plymouth): Seven GCSEs at grade 4/C or above, including English Language, Mathematics and two science subjects (or Dual Award). Used only as minimum threshold - wholly UCAT-based shortlisting once academic… 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 Peninsula (Plymouth) 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: Peninsula (Plymouth) interviews in Not available; Sunderland in December - January.

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: Five-year MBBS with PBL and case-based learning. Distinctive rural/coastal placement strand across Devon, Cornwall, Somerset. Five-year MBChB with PBL and case-based learning. Strong North-East NHS placement network.

Intake size: Peninsula (Plymouth) — ~140 home + ~25 international places per year (Plymouth University Peninsula MBChB).; 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

Peninsula (Plymouth): All Applicants: 434/761 = 57% (2025). Sunderland: All Home Applicants: 353/731 = 48% (2025). Not for international students - home only.

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

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.

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?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Sunderland 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.

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. Peninsula (Plymouth) guidance: Not published in advance. Peninsula states the threshold alters each year with the number and quality of applications, and that it cannot confirm the cut-off until all applications have been received and assessed.. Sunderland guidance: Expressed in deciles: your score must fall within the top 8 deciles of the cohort, with an SJT in Bands 1-3..

Where to go next

Peninsula (Plymouth)Entry 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 .