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Medical school comparison

St George's vs Surrey (GEM)

St George's and Surrey (GEM) are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. St George's is based in London (London) while Surrey (GEM) sits in Guildford (England), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination. St George's is the older institution (founded 1733); the other (founded 2024) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

St George's

London

Quick comparison

Location
London, UK
A-Level offer
A*AA or AAA at A-level (offer depends on cohort strength). Predicted AAA required including Chemistry and Biology / Human Biology.
TrueScore
1950
UCAT home cut-off
~1950+ /2700 (2025 entry cut-off ≈ 1950; 2024 entry was 2018)
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance
Home Undergrad (2024): 247/677 = 36% (or 423/686 = 62% inc. deferred); Overseas Undergrad: 25/146 = 17% (or 58/152 = 38% inc. deferred)
Decision date
Rolling-basis after Interviews have finished

Surrey (GEM)

Guildford

Quick comparison

Location
Guildford, UK
A-Level offer
AAA including Chemistry and Biology
TrueScore
1700GEM
UCAT home cut-off
-
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance
-
Decision date
March onwards
Compare different schools

St George's vs Surrey (GEM) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

St George's requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology. Surrey (GEM) 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 St George's and Surrey (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: St George's interviews in November - February; Surrey (GEM) in December - March.

What makes each distinctive

St George's: Strong holistic-care and soft-skills emphasis. SJT used post-interview in offer making (B1 = 15 pts, B2 = 10, B3 = 5, B4 = nothing). St George's is also generous with deferred-entry offers, often made to borderline applicants in lieu of rejection. Surrey (GEM): New graduate-entry medical school with focus on innovative teaching methods and the use of technology in healthcare delivery.

Which is right for you?

Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — St George's feeds into the London foundation programme network; Surrey (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

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. St George's guidance: ~1950+ /2700 (2025 entry cut-off ≈ 1950; 2024 entry was 2018). Surrey (GEM) guidance: New graduate-entry medical school (first cohort 2024 entry). UCAT required; no cut-off published yet..

St George's uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Surrey (GEM) 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 (St George's); December - March (Surrey (GEM)).

St George's requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology. Surrey (GEM) requires AAA including Chemistry and Biology. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school.

St George's — GCSE performance considered as part of the broader academic profile; specific scoring not published. Surrey (GEM) — Not applicable - graduate-entry programme. Requires a 2:1 honours degree.

St George's's selection methodology: shortlisting weight not fully disclosed; check the official admissions page. Surrey (GEM)'s selection methodology: New programme. UCAT + degree class + interview. Surrey-based graduate medicine. 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.

St George's is in London, UK. Surrey (GEM) is in Guildford, 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).

St George's typically releases medicine decisions Rolling-basis after Interviews have finished. Surrey (GEM) 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.

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.

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 20 June 2026.