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

Southampton uses Panel interview: Selection Day - Panel and Group. St Mary's Twickenham uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). The two formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each, with at least 3 full mock interviews per format before sitting either. Interview windows: January - March (Southampton); December - March (St Mary's Twickenham).

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

Southampton — Minimum 7 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, and either Biology + Chemistry or 6-6 Combined Science. GCSE retakes permitted. Used only as minimum threshold - pre-interview ranking is by UCAT score St Mary's Twickenham — Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE Mathematics, English Language, Biology and Chemistry (or Dual Award Science).

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

Southampton is in Southampton, 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?

Southampton 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

Southampton vs St Mary's Twickenham

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

The interview formats diverge — Panel vs MMI — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Southampton and St Mary's Twickenham.
Comparison field	SouthamptonSouthampton	St Mary's TwickenhamTwickenham, London
Quick comparison
Location	Southampton, UK	Twickenham, London, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography	AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics
TrueScore	Southampton TrueScore 2000	St Mary's Twickenham TrueScore 1700intl
UCAT home cut-off	No indication published. Southampton ranks applicants by UCAT and invites the top scorers, but states that the score needed varies year on year and that it is therefore not possible to tell applicants what it will be.	-
Interview format	Selection Day - Panel and Group	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	Home Students: 574/834 = 69%; International (2023): 17/59 = 30%	-
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography	AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Chemistry or Biology and one of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics
Contextual A-Level offer	AAB at A-level (offer and prediction) for contextual / WP applicants	-
Required A-Level subjects	Biology required, plus one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography	Chemistry or Biology required, plus one of Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Mathematics
A-Level resit policy	Resits considered with standard AAA requirements in final exams	Resits only considered in exceptional circumstances
GCSE requirements	Minimum 7 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, and either Biology + Chemistry or 6-6 Combined Science. GCSE retakes permitted.	Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE Mathematics, English Language, Biology and Chemistry (or Dual Award Science)
GCSE scoring methodology	Used only as minimum threshold - pre-interview ranking is by UCAT score	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level - including HL Biology and a second subject from the accepted list	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Chemistry or Biology and a second science / Maths
Graduate-entry degree requirement	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above. Southampton graduates applying for BM4 (Graduate Entry Medicine) get a lower UCAT threshold than non-Southampton graduates.	-
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	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	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	-	-
SJT band	Situational judgement is not considered	No usage mentioned in any selection policy
UCAT notes	UCAT ranks you for a place at a Selection Day; after that, the offer rests on Selection Day performance, with UCAT used only to separate tied candidates.	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	BMBS	MBBS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Integrated	Case-based learning
Anatomy teaching	-	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	The Wessex region	London, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire
Named placement sites	Southampton General Hospital	West London Trust, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Basingstoke), Practice Plus Group (Ilford), Royal Trinity Hospice, Princess Alice Hospice, Meadow House
Intercalation	Between year 3 and year 4 you can apply for a Master of Medical Science or MSc at Southampton, or an iBSc or MSc at another university.	-
Course highlight	-	Currently accepts international students only.

Interview window	January - March	December - March
Interview details	Two-part interview: a 20-minute panel based heavily on your personal statement (around half the questions come from it) and a separate 30-minute group task with about 8 candidates discussing a topic w…	Applications are scored on academic record and admissions tests to produce a shortlisting rank. Interviews are online Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs).

Specialities	Medicine, Cancer Sciences, Clinical Research	Medicine, International Medicine
Established	1952	2025
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Personal statement carries unusual weight - selectors use it to drive the panel section if you reach Selection Day. SJT is not considered. Course updated for 2025: the integrated BMedSc award is being…	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://www.southampton.ac.uk/courses/medicine-bm5-degree-bmbs	https://www.stmarys.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/mbbs-medicine-degree

Southampton

Quick comparison

Location: Southampton, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography
TrueScore: Southampton TrueScore 2000
UCAT home cut-off: No indication published. Southampton ranks applicants by UCAT and invites the top scorers, but states that the score needed varies year on year and that it is therefore not possible to tell applicants what it will be.
Interview format: Selection Day - Panel and Group
Post-interview chance: Home Students: 574/834 = 69%; International (2023): 17/59 = 30%
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

Southampton vs St Mary's Twickenham - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Southampton requires AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography.

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 — Southampton: Minimum 7 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, and either Biology + Chemistry or 6-6 Combined Science. GCSE retakes permitted. Used only as minimum threshold -… St Mary's Twickenham: Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE Mathematics, English Language, Biology and Chemistry (or Dual Award Science).

Interview formats

Southampton uses Panel (Selection Day - Panel and Group); St Mary's Twickenham uses MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)). These two formats reward different skills — Panel emphasises narrative coherence and the ability to develop a thread under follow-up questioning, while MMI rewards breadth and quick recovery.

If your strengths lie in conversational depth, Southampton may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, St Mary's Twickenham is the better fit.

Interview windows: Southampton interviews in January - March; St Mary's Twickenham in December - March.

What makes each distinctive

Southampton: Personal statement carries unusual weight - selectors use it to drive the panel section if you reach Selection Day. SJT is not considered. Course updated for 2025: the integrated BMedSc award is being removed in favour of more clinical learning time.

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 — Southampton 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. Southampton guidance: No indication published. Southampton ranks applicants by UCAT and invites the top scorers, but states that the score needed varies year on year and that it is therefore not possible to tell applicants what it will be.. 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..

Southampton requires AAA including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography. 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.

Southampton's selection methodology: UCAT-based shortlisting after academic minimums met. Historically uses a banding/decile-based UCAT approach. 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

SouthamptonEntry 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.