Where are Surrey (GEM) and Ulster University Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

Surrey (GEM) is in Guildford, UK. Ulster University Medical School is in Londonderry, 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?

Surrey (GEM) typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Ulster University 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

Surrey (GEM) vs Ulster University Medical School

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at Surrey (GEM) vs Ulster University Medical School?

Surrey (GEM) — GCSE Maths and English at grade C/5 or above. Ulster University Medical School — Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

Surrey (GEM) and Ulster University Medical School are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Surrey (GEM) is based in Guildford (England) while Ulster University Medical School sits in Londonderry (London), and the regional context shapes everything from fee status to NHS-deanery destination.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Surrey (GEM) and Ulster University Medical School.
Comparison field	Surrey (GEM)Guildford	Ulster University Medical SchoolLondonderry
Quick comparison
Location	Guildford, UK	Londonderry, UK
A-Level offer	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
TrueScore	Surrey (GEM) TrueScore 1700GEM	-
UCAT home cut-off	-	-
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	-	-
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
Contextual A-Level offer	-	-
Required A-Level subjects	-	-
A-Level resit policy	Not applicable to graduate entry.	Resits accepted.
GCSE requirements	GCSE Maths and English at grade C/5 or above	-
GCSE scoring methodology	-	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	-	-
Graduate-entry degree requirement	Minimum 2:1 UK honours degree (or equivalent) in any subject - all disciplines are given equal consideration.	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above in any honours degree (Arts, Science, Humanities all accepted)
Alternative qualifications	Graduate-entry only (4-year BMBS). GAMSAT is the general admission test; UCAT is accepted only from Biochemistry, Biology, Biomedical Science, Chemistry or Natural Sciences graduates. Open to UK and international applicants (IELTS 7.0 overall and in every component). The University of Exeter is the contingency awarding body while Surrey completes GMC accreditation.	Graduate-entry only. UCAT NOT used - Ulster uses GAMSAT (Graduate Medical School Admissions Test). Recent GAMSAT thresholds have been ~61. Plus 2:1 honours degree and MMI interview. Strong Northern Ireland regional focus.

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	-	-
Graduate cut-off	GAMSAT is the general route. UCAT is accepted ONLY from applicants holding a degree in Biochemistry, Biology, Biomedical Science, Chemistry or Natural Sciences.	Not applicable - Ulster uses GAMSAT, not the UCAT. Recent thresholds have been around 61.
SJT band	-	-
UCAT notes	No numeric cut-off is published; scores sort applicants into interview, waitlist or rejection. Do not assume a UCAT route - for most degree subjects GAMSAT is the only option.	GAMSAT is scored out of 100. Do not sit the UCAT for this course.

Degree awarded	BMBS	MBBS
Course length	4 years (graduate entry)	4 years (graduate entry)
Teaching style	Team-based learning	Integrated
Anatomy teaching	Prosection	Imaging and models
First patient contact	Year 1	-
Placement geography	Surrey and the surrounding area	Across Northern Ireland
Named placement sites	Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, Surrey Heartlands ICS, Frimley Health and Care ICS	-
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	AI is integrated into the curriculum, and virtual reality surgical training runs through the VRiMS collaboration.	Based at the Magee campus in Derry~Londonderry, alongside other healthcare programmes.

Interview window	December - March	December - March
Interview details	MMI format with multiple stations assessing communication, ethical reasoning and problem-solving.	MMI format with multiple stations. Focus on serving Northern Ireland's healthcare needs alongside standard motivation, ethics and communication content.

Specialities	Medicine, Healthcare Technology, Clinical Practice	Medicine, Community Medicine
Established	2024	2021
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	New graduate-entry school taking a technology-forward approach to teaching. Still under GMC review, so the University of Exeter acts as the contingency awarding body until Surrey's own accreditation c…	New medical school serving Northern Ireland. Strong regional focus, with the course oriented around local workforce needs. Cut-offs have not yet stabilised.
Official course page	https://www.surrey.ac.uk/undergraduate/medicine-graduate-entry	https://www.ulster.ac.uk/courses/202627/medicine-41407

Surrey (GEM)

Guildford

Quick comparison

Location: Guildford, UK
A-Level offer: Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject
TrueScore: Surrey (GEM) TrueScore 1700GEM
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March onwards

Ulster University Medical School

Londonderry

Quick comparison

Location: Londonderry, UK
A-Level offer: Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree
TrueScore: -
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March onwards

Surrey (GEM) vs Ulster University Medical School - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Surrey (GEM) requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject.

Ulster University Medical School requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Surrey (GEM): GCSE Maths and English at grade C/5 or above. Ulster University Medical School: Min 5 GCSEs at grade 6 (B) including Maths, English Language, dual-award Science.

Interview formats

Both Surrey (GEM) and Ulster University Medical School 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: Surrey (GEM) interviews in December - March; Ulster University Medical School in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Surrey (GEM) runs a PBL curriculum; Ulster University Medical School runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Surrey (GEM) leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Ulster University Medical School uses a more traditional lecture-led structure.

Specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBChB. Surrey-based with South-East NHS placements. Four-year accelerated MBBS for graduates. Clinical placements across Northern Ireland NHS sites (Magee Campus, Western HSC, Northern HSC).

Intake size: Surrey (GEM) — ~30-50 places per year (small newer cohort).; Ulster University Medical School — ~70 places per year (small cohort, NI-focused).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

What makes each distinctive

Surrey (GEM): New graduate-entry school taking a technology-forward approach to teaching. Still under GMC review, so the University of Exeter acts as the contingency awarding body until Surrey's own accreditation completes - worth confirming before you accept an offer.

Ulster University Medical School: New medical school serving Northern Ireland. Strong regional focus, with the course oriented around local workforce needs. Cut-offs have not yet stabilised.

Which is right for you?

Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Surrey (GEM) feeds into the England foundation programme network; Ulster University Medical School into the London network. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Surrey (GEM); 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. Surrey (GEM) guidance: No numeric cut-off is published; scores sort applicants into interview, waitlist or rejection. Do not assume a UCAT route - for most degree subjects GAMSAT is the only option.. Ulster University Medical School guidance: GAMSAT is scored out of 100. Do not sit the UCAT for this course..

Surrey (GEM) uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Ulster University Medical School 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: December - March (Surrey (GEM)); December - March (Ulster University Medical School).

Surrey (GEM) requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject. Ulster University Medical School requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any honours degree. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Surrey (GEM) — Not applicable to graduate entry.. Ulster University Medical School — Resits accepted..

Surrey (GEM)'s selection methodology: Degree class hurdle (2:1, any subject), then GAMSAT - or UCAT for bioscience/chemistry graduates only - sorting applicants into interview, waitlist or reject, then a virtual MMI lasting under an hour. Ulster University Medical School's selection methodology: Graduate-entry only: a 2:1 honours degree in any discipline plus GAMSAT (recent threshold ~61 out of 100), then MMI. Strong Northern Ireland regional 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.

Surrey (GEM) runs a PBL curriculum. Ulster University Medical School runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Surrey (GEM) specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBChB. Surrey-based with South-East NHS placements. Ulster University Medical School specifics: Four-year accelerated MBBS for graduates. Clinical placements across Northern Ireland NHS sites (Magee Campus, Western HSC, Northern HSC).

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

Surrey (GEM)Entry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Ulster University 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.

Surrey (GEM) vs Ulster University Medical School

Side-by-side comparison

Surrey (GEM) vs Ulster University 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 Surrey (GEM) vs Ulster University Medical School?

How do interviews differ between Surrey (GEM) and Ulster University Medical School?

What A-Level grades do Surrey (GEM) and Ulster University Medical School require?

How are GCSEs weighted at Surrey (GEM) vs Ulster University Medical School?

How does each school actually shortlist applicants?

Where are Surrey (GEM) and Ulster University Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Surrey (GEM) and Ulster University Medical School use?

Should I apply to both Surrey (GEM) and Ulster University Medical School?

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons