Skip to main content
NextGen MedPrep logoNextGenMedPrep
Back to Medical School Compare
Medical school comparison

Queen's University Belfast (QUB) vs Warwick (GEM)

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

Their A-Level requirements (AAA vs A*AA) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers. Queen's University Belfast (QUB) is the older institution (founded 1849); the other (founded 2000) 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

Warwick (GEM)

Coventry

Quick comparison

Location
Coventry, UK
A-Level offer
A*AA (for undergraduate) - Graduate entry also available
TrueScore
2150intl
UCAT home cut-off
-
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance
-
Decision date
January onwards
Compare different schools

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

A-Level and academic profile

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

Warwick (GEM) requires A*AA (for undergraduate) - Graduate entry also available.

Warwick (GEM) is the stricter A-Level offer; Queen's University Belfast (QUB) is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Queen's University Belfast (QUB) carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

Interview formats

Both Queen's University Belfast (QUB) and Warwick (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: Queen's University Belfast (QUB) interviews in January - February; Warwick (GEM) in December.

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.

Warwick (GEM): Graduate entry programme with selection-centre structure rather than traditional MMI. Strong emphasis on team working and observed group behaviour. Interviewers score across the full range of activities.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Queen's University Belfast (QUB) is the lower-risk academic option. 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; Warwick (GEM) 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 fullWarwick (GEM)Entry 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.