How are GCSEs weighted at St George's vs University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)?

St George's — Minimum 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or 6-6 Dual Award Science). GCSE resits accepted. Used only as minimum threshold - wholly UCAT-based shortlisting once met University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) — GCSE performance considered as part of the broader academic profile; specific scoring not published.

Where are St George's and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) located, and how does that affect cost?

St George's is in London, UK. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) is in Preston, 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?

St George's typically releases medicine decisions Rolling-basis after Interviews have finished. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) releases medicine decisions March - April. 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

St George's vs University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)

St George's and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) 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 University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) sits in Preston (England), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination.

Their A-Level requirements (A*AA vs AAB) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers. St George's is the older institution (founded 1733); the other (founded 2014) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: St George's and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).
Comparison field	St George'sLondon	University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)Preston
Quick comparison
Location	London, UK	Preston, 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.	AAB at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (home applicants)
TrueScore	St George's TrueScore 1950	-
UCAT home cut-off	No predictable threshold. City St George's states that it is not possible to predict what the UCAT thresholds will be in any given year, nor to use previous years' data to predict them. The cut-off is set annually against the strength of that year's scores.	UCAT used for home applicant shortlisting; no published cut-off
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	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	March - April

A-Level offer	A*AA or AAA at A-level (offer depends on cohort strength). Predicted AAA required including Chemistry and Biology / Human Biology.	AAB at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (home applicants)
Contextual A-Level offer	-	-
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry and Biology (or Human Biology) both required	-
A-Level resit policy	Resits or third year of study accepted with extenuating circumstances only	-
GCSE requirements	Minimum 5 GCSEs at grade 6/B or above, including English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or 6-6 Dual Award Science). GCSE resits accepted.	-
GCSE scoring methodology	Used only as minimum threshold - wholly UCAT-based shortlisting once met	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	37 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including HL Chemistry and HL Biology	-
Graduate-entry degree requirement	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above in any discipline. Graduate for Undergraduate Programme available - UCAT cut-off applies (~2100+ /2700).	-
Alternative qualifications	-	-

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	Cognitive subtests considered alongside academic and personal-statement assessment
Graduate cut-off	~2100+ /2700 (Graduate for Undergraduate Programme)	-
SJT band	SJT used post-interview in offer making. Combined with MMI score → B1=15 pts, B2=10, B3=5, B4=none.	-
UCAT notes	Once the entry criteria are met, applicants are ranked by UCAT score and interview places are allocated from the top down until they run out. A minimum of 500/900 is required in each individual cognit…	UCLan publishes limited shortlisting detail. Threshold varies year-on-year; check the official course page closer to your application year.

Degree awarded	MBBS	MBBS
Course length	5 years	5 years
Teaching style	Case-based learning + Problem-based learning	Spiral
Anatomy teaching	Prosection	-
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	St George's Hospital in Tooting, on the campus site, and trusts across south London, Surrey, Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and Somerset	Lancashire and Cumbria
Named placement sites	St George's Hospital, Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton, Springfield Hospital, Kingston Hospital, St Helier Hospital, Epsom General Hospital, Croydon University Hospital, East Surrey Hospital, St Peter's Hospital, Royal Surrey County Hospital, Frimley Park Hospital, Darent Valley Hospital, Maidstone Hospital, William Harvey Hospital, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital, St Richard's Hospital, Basingstoke Hospital, Yeovil Hospital	East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust
Intercalation	Optional and not required for the MBBS. After passing years 1 and 2 you can take an intercalated BSc (iBSc) at City St George's or another university, or you can apply competitively after year 3 for a…	Optional and selective: after year 4, high-performing students may be offered an additional year to gain a master’s degree.
Course highlight	The MBBS puts weight on clinical communication: drawing out a patient's history, giving clear explanations, and negotiating with patients and relatives.	-

Interview window	November - February	December - February
Interview details	A six-station MMI, each station around five minutes with a 60-second break between, delivered through SAMMI (Scalable Automated Multiple Mini Interviews) software. Each station is assessed separately…	MMI of approximately 7-9 timed stations covering motivation, ethics, communication, role-play and data interpretation. Home and international applicants are interviewed on the same MMI structure.

Specialities	Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, Healthcare Sciences	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	1733	2014
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	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…	One of the first UK universities to run a privately-funded medical school open to international students; substantial international cohort blended with a smaller home intake. Strong Lancashire regiona…
Official course page	https://www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/prospective-students/courses/undergraduate/medicine	https://www.lancashire.ac.uk/

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: St George's TrueScore 1950
UCAT home cut-off: No predictable threshold. City St George's states that it is not possible to predict what the UCAT thresholds will be in any given year, nor to use previous years' data to predict them. The cut-off is set annually against the strength of that year's scores.
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

University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)

Preston

Quick comparison

Location: Preston, UK
A-Level offer: AAB at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (home applicants)
TrueScore: -
UCAT home cut-off: UCAT used for home applicant shortlisting; no published cut-off
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March - April

St George's vs University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

St George's requires A*AA or AAA at A-level (offer depends on cohort strength). Predicted AAA required including Chemistry and Biology / Human Biology.

University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) requires AAB at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (home applicants).

St George's is the stricter A-Level offer; University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

Interview formats

Both St George's and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) 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; University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in December - February.

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.

University of Central Lancashire (UCLan): One of the first UK universities to run a privately-funded medical school open to international students; substantial international cohort blended with a smaller home intake. Strong Lancashire regional placement network.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) is the lower-risk academic option. Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — St George's feeds into the London foundation programme network; University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) 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

St George's: no predictable threshold. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan): home applicants — no published cut-off. These are the figures on record for 2027-entry applicants. Schools without a fixed cut-off rank UCAT inside a composite shortlisting score, so thresholds move with each year's applicant pool — confirm the latest figure on each school's admissions page.

St George's uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) 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 - February (University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)).

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

St George'sEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)Entry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Other medical school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 14 August 2026.