Swansea (GEM) and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Swansea (GEM) is based in Swansea (Wales) 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 (Graduate vs AAB) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers. The interview formats diverge — Panel vs MMI — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different.
| Comparison field | Swansea (GEM)Swansea | University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)Preston |
|---|---|---|
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| Location | Swansea, UK | Preston, UK |
| A-Level offer | Graduate entry programme - degree required | AAB at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (home applicants) |
| TrueScoreTrueScore is our prediction of the UCAT score required to be invited to interview at this school for the upcoming cycle. Built from multi-year FOI data and applicant trends. Click any badge to see the full breakdown. | - | - |
| UCAT home cut-off | - | UCAT used for home applicant shortlisting; no published cut-off |
| Interview format | Assessment Day | Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) |
| Post-interview chance | - | - |
| Decision date | Until May | March - April |
Swansea
Quick comparison
Preston
Quick comparison
Swansea (GEM) requires Graduate entry programme - degree required. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) requires AAB at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (home applicants). University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) is the stricter A-Level offer; Swansea (GEM) is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Swansea (GEM) carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.
Swansea (GEM) uses Panel (Assessment Day); University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) 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, Swansea (GEM) may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) is the better fit. Interview windows: Swansea (GEM) interviews in March; University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in December - February.
Swansea (GEM): Graduate entry programme with a written SJT exercise as part of the selection day. Personal statement and detailed course knowledge feature prominently - applicants should know Swansea's programme structure in detail. 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.
For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Swansea (GEM) is the lower-risk academic option. Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Swansea (GEM) feeds into the Wales 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.
School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 3 July 2026.
