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Medical school comparison

Queen's University Belfast (QUB) vs Sunderland

Queen's University Belfast (QUB) and Sunderland 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 Sunderland sits in Sunderland (England), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination.

Their UCAT thresholds are remarkably close (within ~0 points), so the deciding factors are GCSE weighting, interview format and personal-statement use. Queen's University Belfast (QUB) is the older institution (founded 1849); the other (founded 2019) 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

Sunderland

Sunderland

Quick comparison

Location
Sunderland, UK
A-Level offer
AAA at A-level (no use of predicted grades - Sunderland considers achieved grades only)
TrueScore
1700
UCAT home cut-off
~1700+ /2700 (2nd decile cut-off; 2025 entry lowest invited ≈ 1695). Stable around 1695-1710 for past 4 cycles.
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
Compare different schools

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

UCAT thresholds compared

Queen's University Belfast (QUB)'s published UCAT threshold for home applicants is around 1700, while Sunderland sits at approximately 1700.

Their UCAT bars are statistically indistinguishable (within 0 points), so the UCAT is unlikely to be your differentiator between them.

Contextual / widening-participation cut-offs differ — Queen's University Belfast (QUB): ~1500+ /2700 (with strong GCSE); Sunderland: ~1680+ /2700 (top 8 deciles required; AAB offer with local + contextual). Eligible applicants should weight this heavily when choosing.

A-Level and academic profile

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

Sunderland 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 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: Queen's University Belfast (QUB) interviews in January - February; Sunderland in December - January.

Post-interview offer rate

Queen's University Belfast (QUB): Home: 332/778 = 43%; International: 51/214 = 24%. 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

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.

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?

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; Sunderland into the England 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

Where to go next

Queen's University Belfast (QUB)Entry requirements, interview format and key dates in fullSunderlandEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Other medical school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 4 August 2026.