Where are Sheffield and St Mary's Twickenham located, and how does that affect cost?

Sheffield is in Sheffield, UK. St Mary's Twickenham is in Twickenham, London, UK. Tuition is £9,250/year at both for UK home applicants; the main cost difference is accommodation (London accommodation typically runs 30-50% above the national average).

When does each school release decisions?

Sheffield typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. St Mary's Twickenham 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.

Medical school comparison

Sheffield vs St Mary's Twickenham

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at Sheffield vs St Mary's Twickenham?

Sheffield — Minimum five GCSEs at grade 7/A, plus grade 6/B or above in Mathematics, English Language and at least one science subject. Used as a minimum threshold only - once met, shortlisting is by UCAT rank. St Mary's Twickenham — Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE Mathematics, English Language, Biology and Chemistry (or Dual Award Science).

Sheffield and St Mary's Twickenham are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Sheffield is based in Sheffield (England) while St Mary's Twickenham sits in Twickenham, London (London), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination.

Sheffield is the older institution (founded 1828); the other (founded 2025) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Sheffield and St Mary's Twickenham.
Comparison field	SheffieldSheffield	St Mary's TwickenhamTwickenham, London
Quick comparison
Location	Sheffield, UK	Twickenham, London, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science. A pass in the practical element is required for science A-levels.	AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics
TrueScore	Sheffield TrueScore 2150	St Mary's Twickenham TrueScore 1700intl
UCAT home cut-off	1800+ /2700 is the published minimum for 2027 entry; the actual cut-off runs well above it (2120 for 2026 entry) because applicants above the minimum are then ranked by UCAT.	-
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	All Students (2024): 722/1029 = 70%; International: 55/104 = 53%	-
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science. A pass in the practical element is required for science A-levels.	AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics
Contextual A-Level offer	AAB for Access Sheffield (widening-access) applicants, including Chemistry or Biology at grade A plus a second science. AAB with an EPQ at grade A is also accepted.	-
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry or Biology required, plus a second science	Chemistry or Biology required, plus one of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics
A-Level resit policy	Resit accepted with achieved BBB at first sitting; otherwise apply with achieved results.	Resits only considered in exceptional circumstances
GCSE requirements	Minimum five GCSEs at grade 7/A, plus grade 6/B or above in Mathematics, English Language and at least one science subject.	Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE Mathematics, English Language, Biology and Chemistry (or Dual Award Science)
GCSE scoring methodology	Used as a minimum threshold only - once met, shortlisting is by UCAT rank.	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall with 6 in three Higher Level subjects including Chemistry or Biology and a second science, and no less than 4 in any Standard Level subject.	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Chemistry or Biology and a second science / Maths
Graduate-entry degree requirement	-	-
Alternative qualifications	-	New international-only medicine course for 2026 entry - first cohort. Applied to directly outside standard UCAS medicine route. UCAT contributes to combined admissions test + academic ranking. No SJT use.

Contextual cut-off	1800+ /2700 - Access to Sheffield (Medicine) and university pathway students who clear the minimum go straight to interview.	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	2070+ /2700 (2026 entry)	No cut-off exists yet. UCAT contributes to the shortlisting rank, but the first cohort is September 2026 so no historic threshold exists.
Graduate cut-off	1800+ /2700 (A101, contextual only)	-
SJT band	Band 1/2 appropriate, band 3 may consider, band 4 deprioritised	No usage mentioned in any selection policy
UCAT notes	Two numbers matter and they are not the same: the published MINIMUM (1800 for 2027) only makes you eligible, after which shortlisting is wholly by UCAT rank. Large year-on-year variation.	International (non-UK/Irish) applicants only. No SJT use stated. Any quoted 'cut-off' for this school is guesswork - it has not yet completed an admissions cycle.

Degree awarded	MBChB	MBBS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Integrated	Case-based learning
Anatomy teaching	Imaging and models	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	South Yorkshire and north Derbyshire	London, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire
Named placement sites	-	West London Trust, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Basingstoke), Practice Plus Group (Ilford), Royal Trinity Hospice, Princess Alice Hospice, Meadow House
Intercalation	An intercalated year is available.	-
Course highlight	The Patients as Educators programme is the largest of its kind.	Currently accepts international students only.

Interview window	November - February	December - March
Interview details	An MMI of eight stations, each typically 8 minutes, covering communication, breadth of interests, empathy, knowledge of and interest in studying at Sheffield, work experience, motivation, numeracy, cr…	Applications are scored on academic record and admissions tests to produce a shortlisting rank. Interviews are online Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs).

Specialities	Medicine, Dentistry, Biomedical Sciences	Medicine, International Medicine
Established	1828	2025
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	SJT used post-interview as a virtual MMI station rather than in shortlisting. Sheffield prioritises balanced performance - applicants achieving 3/5 or more in every section are favoured over those who…	International (non-UK/Irish) applicants only, applying direct rather than through UCAS, so it costs none of your four UCAS medical choices. Weigh that against the accreditation risk: the MBBS is not y…
Official course page	https://sheffield.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/2027/medicine-mbchb	https://www.stmarys.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/mbbs-medicine-degree

Sheffield

Quick comparison

Location: Sheffield, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science. A pass in the practical element is required for science A-levels.
TrueScore: Sheffield TrueScore 2150
UCAT home cut-off: 1800+ /2700 is the published minimum for 2027 entry; the actual cut-off runs well above it (2120 for 2026 entry) because applicants above the minimum are then ranked by UCAT.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: All Students (2024): 722/1029 = 70%; International: 55/104 = 53%
Decision date: March onwards

St Mary's Twickenham

Twickenham, London

Quick comparison

Location: Twickenham, London, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics
TrueScore: St Mary's Twickenham TrueScore 1700intl
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March onwards

Sheffield vs St Mary's Twickenham - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Sheffield requires AAA at A-level including Chemistry or Biology, plus a second science. A pass in the practical element is required for science A-levels.

St Mary's Twickenham requires AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics.

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.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Sheffield: Minimum five GCSEs at grade 7/A, plus grade 6/B or above in Mathematics, English Language and at least one science subject. Used as a minimum threshold only - once met, shortlisting is by UCAT rank.

St Mary's Twickenham: Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE Mathematics, English Language, Biology and Chemistry (or Dual Award Science).

Interview formats

Both Sheffield and St Mary's Twickenham 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: Sheffield interviews in November - February; St Mary's Twickenham in December - March.

What makes each distinctive

Sheffield: SJT used post-interview as a virtual MMI station rather than in shortlisting. Sheffield prioritises balanced performance - applicants achieving 3/5 or more in every section are favoured over those who peak in some and dip in others.

St Mary's Twickenham: International (non-UK/Irish) applicants only, applying direct rather than through UCAS, so it costs none of your four UCAS medical choices. Weigh that against the accreditation risk: the MBBS is not yet GMC-accredited, and St Mary's contingency is that students would transfer to the University of Lancashire if accreditation is not achieved.

Which is right for you?

Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Sheffield feeds into the England foundation programme network; St Mary's Twickenham into the London 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. Sheffield guidance: 1800+ /2700 is the published minimum for 2027 entry; the actual cut-off runs well above it (2120 for 2026 entry) because applicants above the minimum are then ranked by UCAT.. St Mary's Twickenham guidance: International (non-UK/Irish) applicants only. No SJT use stated. Any quoted 'cut-off' for this school is guesswork - it has not yet completed an admissions cycle..

Sheffield uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). St Mary's Twickenham 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: November - February (Sheffield); December - March (St Mary's Twickenham).

Sheffield requires AAA including Chemistry or Biology, plus one of Biology / Chemistry / Mathematics / Physics / Psychology. St Mary's Twickenham requires AAA prediction and offer requirements, must include chemistry or biology as well as one of biology/chemistry/physics/maths. Resits only considered in exceptional circumstances. GCSEs: grade 6 minimum in maths, English language, biology and chemistry (or dual award science).. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school.

Sheffield's selection methodology: Three consecutive stages. Stage 1 checks that you meet BOTH the academic and the UCAT threshold - miss either and the application ends there. Stage 2 ranks everyone who cleared both by UCAT score, with Home/EU and Overseas ranked in separate pools, and only the highest scorers go through. Stage 3 is the MMI. Sheffield typically interviews around 1,150 Home/EU and 150 Overseas applicants, and warns that clearing the minimum threshold is not an assurance of an interview. Access Sheffield (Medicine) participants and Sheffield biosciences students are exempt from the UCAT ranking and progress straight to interview once they meet both thresholds. St Mary's Twickenham's selection methodology: shortlisting weight not fully disclosed; check the official admissions page. 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.

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.

Where to go next

SheffieldEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

St Mary's TwickenhamEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Other medical school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 19 September 2026.

Sheffield vs St Mary's Twickenham

Side-by-side comparison

Sheffield vs St Mary's Twickenham - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What UCAT score do I need for Sheffield vs St Mary's Twickenham?

How do interviews differ between Sheffield and St Mary's Twickenham?

What A-Level grades do Sheffield and St Mary's Twickenham require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Sheffield vs St Mary's Twickenham?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Where are Sheffield and St Mary's Twickenham located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

Should I apply to both Sheffield and St Mary's Twickenham?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons