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Medical school comparison

UCL vs University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)

UCL and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. UCL 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. UCL is the older institution (founded 1826); the other (founded 2014) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

UCL

London

Quick comparison

Location
London, UK
A-Level offer
A*AA at A-level (offer and prediction) with the A* in Chemistry or Biology
TrueScore
2120
UCAT home cut-off
~2100+ /2700 (2025 entry cut-off ≈ 2100, first UCAT cycle replacing BMAT)
Interview format
MMI (Home), Traditional (International)
Post-interview chance
Home Fee Status (2024): 562/1032 = 54%; Contextual (2025): 58%; International (2023): 55/131 = 42%
Decision date
Decisions are made after all the Interviews have been completed

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
Compare different schools

UCL vs University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

UCL requires A*AA including Chemistry and Biology. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) requires AAB at A-level including Biology and Chemistry (home applicants). UCL 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 UCL 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. That said, the specifics differ slightly: UCL runs mmi (home), traditional (international); University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) runs multiple mini interviews (mmi). Mock practice tailored to each school's exact format is the highest-leverage prep. Interview windows: UCL interviews in December - March; University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in December - February.

What makes each distinctive

UCL: Cut-offs differ from Imperial - UCL's home threshold is lower while its international threshold is higher, partly because UCL holds more interviews relative to offers. SJT is only used as a tie-breaker between equally scored candidates. 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 — UCL 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

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 3 July 2026.