Where are Southampton and Worcester Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

Southampton is in Southampton, UK. Worcester Medical School is in Worcester, 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. Worcester Medical School 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 Worcester Medical School

Southampton and Worcester Medical School are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Both sit in England, so location and clinical-placement breadth are similar — the differentiation comes from selection methodology, interview style and curriculum philosophy.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Southampton and Worcester Medical School.
Comparison field	SouthamptonSouthampton	Worcester Medical SchoolWorcester
Quick comparison
Location	Southampton, UK	Worcester, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level (offer and prediction) including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography	Graduate entry - 1st or 2:1 in any subject (or 2:2 plus a Master's/Doctorate)
TrueScore	Southampton TrueScore 2000	Worcester Medical School TrueScore 1900GEM
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	Casper SJT + two panel interviews
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	Graduate entry - 1st or 2:1 in any subject (or 2:2 plus a Master's/Doctorate)
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	-
A-Level resit policy	Resits considered with standard AAA requirements in final exams	Resits accepted.
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.	GCSE (or equivalent) at grade C/4 or above in Maths and English. Non-science graduates additionally need two science subjects at C/4 or above.
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	-
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.	1st or 2:1 undergraduate honours degree in any subject, held or predicted in the year of application. A 2:2 is acceptable when topped by a Master's or Doctoral degree.
Alternative qualifications	-	Graduate-entry only (4-year MBChB), taught at the Three Counties Medical School. UCAT or GAMSAT accepted - the applicant submits the better score. Applicants who have previously started a medical degree in the UK or overseas are not eligible. International applicants are welcome.

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	-
Graduate cut-off	-	~1900+ /2700 (most recent shortlisted applicants scored above 1870 on UCAT)
SJT band	Situational judgement is not considered	-
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.	Graduate-entry programme accepting UCAT OR GAMSAT (applicant submits the better score). Partnership with Swansea University Medical School for degree accreditation while completing GMC accreditation.

Degree awarded	BMBS	MBChB
Course length	5 years	4 years (graduate entry)
Teaching style	Integrated	Problem-based learning
Anatomy teaching	-	Imaging and models
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	The Wessex region	Worcestershire and the Three Counties
Named placement sites	Southampton General Hospital	-
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	-	Open to graduates of any discipline.

Interview window	January - March	January - 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…	Shortlisted applicants sit the Casper online situational-judgement test and attend two panel interviews; SJT and interview performance are combined into a single ranking for offers.

Specialities	Medicine, Cancer Sciences, Clinical Research	Medicine, Community Healthcare, Primary Care, Patient-Centred Care
Established	1952	2023
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…	Partnership with Swansea University Medical School (provides degree accreditation while Worcester completes GMC accreditation). Emphasis on community-based learning and serving local populations in th…
Official course page	https://www.southampton.ac.uk/courses/medicine-bm5-degree-bmbs	https://www.worcester.ac.uk/courses/medicine-graduate-entry-mbchb

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

Worcester Medical School

Worcester

Quick comparison

Location: Worcester, UK
A-Level offer: Graduate entry - 1st or 2:1 in any subject (or 2:2 plus a Master's/Doctorate)
TrueScore: Worcester Medical School TrueScore 1900GEM
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Casper SJT + two panel interviews
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March onwards

Southampton vs Worcester Medical School - 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.

Worcester Medical School requires Graduate entry - 1st or 2:1 in any subject (or 2:2 plus a Master's/Doctorate).

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 -… Worcester Medical School: GCSE (or equivalent) at grade C/4 or above in Maths and English.

Non-science graduates additionally need two science subjects at C/4 or above.

Interview formats

Both Southampton and Worcester Medical School use Panel 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.

That said, the specifics differ slightly: Southampton runs selection day - panel and group; Worcester Medical School runs casper sjt + two panel interviews. Mock practice tailored to each school's exact format is the highest-leverage prep.

Interview windows: Southampton interviews in January - March; Worcester Medical School in January - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Southampton runs a Integrated curriculum; Worcester Medical School runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Southampton delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while Worcester Medical School centres learning around clinical cases.

Specifics: Five-year BM5 integrated programme with strong emphasis on research methodology. Clinical placements across Southampton, Portsmouth, Winchester, Salis Five-year MBChB. Worcester-based with West Midlands NHS placements (Worcestershire Acute Hospitals).

Intake size: Southampton — ~210 home + ~25 international places per year (BM5 standard programme).; Worcester Medical School — ~30-50 places per year (small newer cohort).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

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.

Worcester Medical School: Partnership with Swansea University Medical School (provides degree accreditation while Worcester completes GMC accreditation). Emphasis on community-based learning and serving local populations in the West Midlands.

Which is right for you?

Both schools sit in the same England foundation-programme catchment, so post-graduation training paths overlap heavily. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Worcester Medical School; if you prefer lecture-led foundations, the other suits better.

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.. Worcester Medical School guidance: Graduate-entry programme accepting UCAT OR GAMSAT (applicant submits the better score). Partnership with Swansea University Medical School for degree accreditation while completing GMC accreditation..

Southampton uses Panel interview: Selection Day - Panel and Group. Worcester Medical School uses Panel interview: Casper SJT + two panel interviews. 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 - March (Southampton); January - March (Worcester Medical School).

Southampton requires AAA including Biology and one of Chemistry / Physics / Psychology / Sociology / Environmental Studies / Geography. Worcester Medical School requires Graduate entry - 1st or 2:1 in any subject (or 2:2 plus a Master's/Doctorate). Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Southampton — Resits considered case-by-case; achieved-grade route also available.. Worcester Medical School — Resits accepted..

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 Worcester Medical School — GCSE (or equivalent) at grade C/4 or above in Maths and English. Non-science graduates additionally need two science subjects at C/4 or above.

Southampton's selection methodology: UCAT-based shortlisting after academic minimums met. Historically uses a banding/decile-based UCAT approach. Worcester Medical School's selection methodology: Newer programme (first cohort planned). UCAT + academic + interview. Strong widening-participation focus. 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.

Southampton runs a Integrated curriculum. Worcester Medical School runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Southampton specifics: Five-year BM5 integrated programme with strong emphasis on research methodology. Clinical placements across Southampton, Portsmouth, Winchester, Salisbury, and Isle of Wight NHS sites. Worcester Medical School specifics: Five-year MBChB. Worcester-based with West Midlands NHS placements (Worcestershire Acute Hospitals).

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

Worcester Medical SchoolEntry 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.

Southampton vs Worcester Medical School

Side-by-side comparison

Southampton vs Worcester Medical School - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What UCAT score do I need for Southampton vs Worcester Medical School?

How do interviews differ between Southampton and Worcester Medical School?

What A-Level grades do Southampton and Worcester Medical School require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Southampton vs Worcester Medical School?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Where are Southampton and Worcester Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Southampton and Worcester Medical School use?

Should I apply to both Southampton and Worcester Medical School?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons