How do interviews differ between Swansea (GEM) and Worcester Medical School?

Swansea (GEM) uses Assessment day: Assessment Day. Worcester Medical School uses Panel interview: Casper SJT + two panel interviews. The two formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each, with at least 3 full mock interviews per format before sitting either. Interview windows: March (Swansea (GEM)); January - March (Worcester Medical School).

Where are Swansea (GEM) and Worcester Medical School located, and how does that affect cost?

Swansea (GEM) is in Swansea, 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?

Swansea (GEM) typically releases medicine decisions Until May. 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

Swansea (GEM) vs Worcester Medical School

Q: How are GCSEs weighted at Swansea (GEM) vs Worcester Medical School?

Swansea (GEM) — No specific GCSE requirements published for graduate-entry MBBCh - academic competence is shown through the degree. 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.

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

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Swansea (GEM) and Worcester Medical School.
Comparison field	Swansea (GEM)Swansea	Worcester Medical SchoolWorcester
Quick comparison
Location	Swansea, UK	Worcester, UK
A-Level offer	Graduate entry programme - degree required	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	Assessment Day	Casper SJT + two panel interviews
Post-interview chance	-	-
Decision date	Until May	March onwards

A-Level offer	Graduate entry programme - degree required	Graduate entry - 1st or 2:1 in any subject (or 2:2 plus a Master's/Doctorate)
Contextual A-Level offer	-	-
Required A-Level subjects	-	-
A-Level resit policy	Not applicable to graduate entry.	Resits accepted.
GCSE requirements	No specific GCSE requirements published for graduate-entry MBBCh - academic competence is shown through the degree.	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	-	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	-	-
Graduate-entry degree requirement	Minimum 2:1 in any subject; OR a Merit in an integrated master's; OR a 2:2 combined with a Pass in a postgraduate higher degree.	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, open to home and international applicants. Admission test may be UCAT (min 1900), GAMSAT (min 50 overall and 50 in Paper 3) or, for international applicants, MCAT (min 500). Selection day is three face-to-face stations; there is no separate written or SJT exercise. Pathways to Medicine applicants are not eligible.	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	International applicants may alternatively submit an MCAT score, minimum 500.	-
Graduate cut-off	1900+ /2700 minimum considered. Swansea accepts EITHER UCAT or GAMSAT - it is not a GAMSAT-only school.	~1900+ /2700 (most recent shortlisted applicants scored above 1870 on UCAT)
SJT band	-	-
UCAT notes	Three routes in: UCAT (min 1900), GAMSAT (min 50 overall AND 50 in Paper 3), or MCAT (min 500, international only). Selection day is three 20-30 minute face-to-face stations - there is no separate wri…	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	MB BCh	MBChB
Course length	4 years (graduate entry)	4 years (graduate entry)
Teaching style	Case-based learning	Problem-based learning
Anatomy teaching	-	Imaging and models
First patient contact	Year 1	Year 1
Placement geography	Across Wales	Worcestershire and the Three Counties
Named placement sites	-	-
Intercalation	-	-
Course highlight	Unique in Wales, and one of just a handful of similar programmes open to graduates of any discipline.	Open to graduates of any discipline.

Interview window	March	January - March
Interview details	Two 20-minute panel interviews preceded by a 30-minute written situational judgement assessment. Panels cover personal statement, course-specific motivation and clinical reasoning.	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, Graduate Entry Medicine, Rural Healthcare	Medicine, Community Healthcare, Primary Care, Patient-Centred Care
Established	2004	2023
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	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 str…	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.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/medicine/medicine-graduate-entry-mbbch/	https://www.worcester.ac.uk/courses/medicine-graduate-entry-mbchb

Swansea (GEM)

Swansea

Quick comparison

Location: Swansea, UK
A-Level offer: Graduate entry programme - degree required
TrueScore: -
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Assessment Day
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: Until May

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

Swansea (GEM) vs Worcester Medical School - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Swansea (GEM) requires Graduate entry programme - degree required.

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 — Swansea (GEM): No specific GCSE requirements published for graduate-entry MBBCh - academic competence is shown through the degree. 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 Swansea (GEM) 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: Swansea (GEM) runs assessment day; 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: Swansea (GEM) interviews in March; Worcester Medical School in January - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Both schools deliver a PBL-style curriculum, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar across years 1-3.

Specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBBCh. Swansea-based with South Wales NHS placements (Swansea Bay UHB, Hywel Dda UHB). Five-year MBChB. Worcester-based with West Midlands NHS placements (Worcestershire Acute Hospitals).

Intake size: Swansea (GEM) — ~70 home + ~10 international places per year (4-year accelerated MBBCh).; 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

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.

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?

Regionally, the choice often comes down to cost of living and NHS-deanery preferences — Swansea (GEM) feeds into the Wales foundation programme network; Worcester Medical School 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. Swansea (GEM) guidance: Three routes in: UCAT (min 1900), GAMSAT (min 50 overall AND 50 in Paper 3), or MCAT (min 500, international only). Selection day is three 20-30 minute face-to-face stations - there is no separate written or SJT paper.. 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..

Swansea (GEM) requires Graduate entry programme - degree required. 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: Swansea (GEM) — Not applicable to graduate entry.. Worcester Medical School — Resits accepted..

Swansea (GEM)'s selection methodology: GAMSAT-based selection (UCAT alternative for graduate-entry). Strong Welsh/regional focus. 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.

Swansea (GEM) runs a PBL curriculum. Worcester Medical School runs a PBL curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. Swansea (GEM) specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBBCh. Swansea-based with South Wales NHS placements (Swansea Bay UHB, Hywel Dda UHB). 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

Swansea (GEM)Entry 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.