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Medical school comparison

Queen's University Belfast (QUB) vs St Andrews

Queen's University Belfast (QUB) and St Andrews are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Queen's University Belfast (QUB) is based in Belfast (Northern Ireland) while St Andrews sits in St Andrews (Scotland), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination. St Andrews is the older institution (founded 1413); the other (founded 1849) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Queen's University Belfast (QUB)

Belfast

Quick comparison

Location
Belfast, UK
A-Level offer
A*AA at A-level including Chemistry and Biology (or Maths/Physics - see subject rules)
TrueScore
1700
UCAT home cut-off
~1700+ /2700 with 9× grade 9s GCSE (~35/45 target). Lower UCAT viable with stronger GCSE.
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance
Home: 332/778 = 43%; International: 51/214 = 24%
Decision date
April onwards

St Andrews

St Andrews

Quick comparison

Location
St Andrews, UK
A-Level offer
AAA at A-level (offer and predicted) including Chemistry and one of Biology, Mathematics or Physics
TrueScore
1850
UCAT home cut-off
-
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance
RUK Student (2025): 123/162 = 74%; Scottish + RUK: 411/505 = 81%; International (2023): 56/82 = 68%
Decision date
March onwards
Compare different schools

Queen's University Belfast (QUB) vs St Andrews - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Queen's University Belfast (QUB) requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology. St Andrews 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.

Interview formats

Both Queen's University Belfast (QUB) and St Andrews 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: Queen's University Belfast (QUB) interviews in January - February; St Andrews in December - March.

Post-interview offer rate

Queen's University Belfast (QUB): Home: 332/778 = 43%; International: 51/214 = 24%. St Andrews: RUK Student (2025): 123/162 = 74%; Scottish + RUK: 411/505 = 81%; International (2023): 56/82 = 68%. 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

Queen's University Belfast (QUB): Less weight on NHS hot topics than most schools. Stronger emphasis on reflective examples of personal qualities. SJT may be used if borderline before or after interview, but in 2025 anyone with 30/42 received an interview regardless. St Andrews: Three-year pre-clinical course at St Andrews followed by transfer to a partner medical school for clinical years. SJT not used (was used many years ago, not now or in future). Scottish students face much lower cut-offs than RUK applicants.

Which is right for you?

Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Queen's University Belfast (QUB) feeds into the Northern Ireland foundation programme network; St Andrews into the Scotland 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. Queen's University Belfast (QUB) guidance: ~1700+ /2700 with 9× grade 9s GCSE (~35/45 target). Lower UCAT viable with stronger GCSE.. St Andrews guidance: Top ~500 ranked applicants invited to interview. WP applicants get 10% UCAT uplift. SJT not used. A990 Canadian Programme ~1950+..

Queen's University Belfast (QUB) uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). St Andrews 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: January - February (Queen's University Belfast (QUB)); December - March (St Andrews).

Queen's University Belfast (QUB) requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology. St Andrews requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school.

Queen's University Belfast (QUB) — GCSE performance considered as part of the broader academic profile; specific scoring not published. St Andrews — Strong National 5 / GCSE profile. Biology required if not studied at A-Level (per Glasgow partnership rules).

Queen's University Belfast (QUB)'s selection methodology: shortlisting weight not fully disclosed; check the official admissions page. St Andrews's selection methodology: RUK 2024 entry: lowest UCAT for interview was 2500/3600, average 2892. Lowest UCAT given offer 2500, average ~2892. St Andrews delivers the first 3 years (BSc Medicine), then transfers most students to a clinical school (Glasgow, Manchester, Dundee, etc.). 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.

Queen's University Belfast (QUB): Home: 332/778 = 43%; International: 51/214 = 24%. St Andrews: RUK Student (2025): 123/162 = 74%; Scottish + RUK: 411/505 = 81%; International (2023): 56/82 = 68%. 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%.

Queen's University Belfast (QUB) is in Belfast, UK. St Andrews is in St Andrews, UK. Scottish-domiciled applicants funded by SAAS pay no tuition fees at Scottish medical schools — a substantial funding advantage worth tens of thousands of pounds over the degree. Rest-of-UK applicants still pay £9,250/year.

Queen's University Belfast (QUB) typically releases medicine decisions April onwards. St Andrews 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.

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.

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 20 June 2026.