University of Liverpool Medical School Guide

The University of Liverpool is one of the few original red-brick universities and is one of the largest medical schools in the UK. Liverpool is globally known for its music, maritime heritage, art and culture. The location of the university means it is easy to travel to Chester, Manchester within an hour and to London within 3 hours by train. There is plenty to do in the city from museums to art galleries to the docks! The University of Liverpool Medical School offers a 5-year undergraduate and a fast track 4-year graduate programme. Read more to find out about what Liverpool has to offer and how to get into University of Liverpool Medical School.

University of Liverpool Medical School Entry Requirements

Academic

Qualification	Grades	Subjects
A Level	AAA A*AB	Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics, or Mathematics A*A must be in Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics
GCSE	min. Grade 6/B	9 GCSEs must be taken with minimum Grade 6 in English Language, Mathematics, Physics, Biology and Chemistry. A minimum score of 15 points must also be attained – Grade 7/8/9 equate to 2 points and Grade 6 equates to 1 point.
Scottish Higher	AAAAB	Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics
Scottish Advanced Highers	AA	Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics
IB	36 points	A minimum of 6,6,6 to include Chemistry with either Biology, Physics and Mathematics

Admissions Test

University of Liverpool Medical School requires all undergraduate applicants to sit the UCAT. They will rank all applicants’ scores and set a cut off. Those above the cut off will be invited to interview. For 2023 entry, the threshold score was 2660. As well as this, a Band 4 in the SJT section of the UCAT led to a direct rejection.

University of Liverpool Medical School requires all graduate applicants to sit the GAMSAT. This is for the A100 and A101 programme. Applicants with a score of minimum 50 in each section of the GAMSAT will be considered for an interview.

Work Experience

The University of Liverpool Medical School recommends you to read the statement on the ‘core values and attributes needed to study medicine’ and ‘work experience guidelines for applicants to medicine.’ This will give you an insight of what kind of work experience you can gain and what skills of a doctor you need to witness. However, there is no set criteria of work experience that you must follow. Some examples could be online work experiences, shadowing a doctor and volunteering in hospitals/charities/shops.

Personal Statement

Personal statements are not used in the selection process pre-interview. However, the experiences you write about in your personal statement could be asked about at interview. Liverpool Medical School looks for non-academic attributes such as:

• health care career awareness and insight

• caring for the community
• a critical, coherent, and informative approach to verbal and written communication
• the values that embody and underpin good healthcare practice.

Interviews

Interviews for 2024 entry are expected to be face to face MMIs for home applicants. Whereas, for international applicants, it will be online MMIs. Overall interview scores will be ranked and top-scoring candidates will be given offers. For borderline decisions, they might consider academics, admission test scores and interview scores.

Graduate Entry at University of Liverpool Medical School

Graduates can apply to the A100 or A101 programme. The A101 programme is a programme of 4 years. There are 30 places on the graduate entry programme for 2024 entry.

GAMSAT scores are used along with academic criteria to decide who is invited to interview. A minimum 2:1 honours degree is needed to be considered. Qualifications and work experience in healthcare will gain extra points.

How many places are there for Home and International Students at University of Liverpool Medical School

Home	279 places
International	23 places

University of Liverpool Medical School Ranking

The University of Liverpool Medical School is ranked 27th by the Complete University Guide. The University of Liverpool Medical School is ranked 20th by the Guardian.

It’s important to keep in mind that university rankings are subjective and can be based on different criteria. These rankings must only be one of your deciding factors. It is important to have a holistic approach when making your decisions and consider which universities you would thrive in the most.

University of Liverpool Medical School Fees

Home	£9,250
International	£42,700

University of Liverpool Medical School Acceptance Rates

For 2024 entry, there are expected to be over 2000 interviews. Out of these, approximately 300-400 offers are made. This means an acceptance rate of 15% post-interview which is very competitive.

University of Liverpool Medical School Course Structure

University of Liverpool Medical School prepares students to be compassionate and knowledgeable doctors. The first two years of the course will teach the core clinical sciences using an integrated systems approach. This means teaching will be split into blocks such as physiology, biochemistry and anatomy. The last three years of the course focus on clinical experience – exposure to various specialties of medicine and surgery.

University of Liverpool Medical School Teaching Style

University of Liverpool Medical School uses an integrated style of teaching and a spiral curriculum. This means that past content will constantly be revisited. The first two years of teaching will be delivered by lectures, anatomy and small group sessions. Anatomy is taught via prosections at the HARC (Human Anatomy Resource Centre). There are CBLs which means Case Based Learning. This will help apply your theoretical learning to real life patient cases. Communication for Clinical Practice sessions are conducted with simulated patients to develop your interpersonal skills.

The last three years consist of 4-week blocks of placements where you will rotate between medical specialties. This will range from primary care (GP), neurology, paediatrics and obstetrics and gynaecology. During this period, you will also undertake an elective. Lastly, in final year, you will undertake more challenging placements such as Accident and Emergency and surgery.

Year 1	Lectures – Healthy Body, CBL, anatomy
Year 2	Lectures – Diseased Body, community placements
Year 3	Placements
Year 4	Placements + Elective
Year 5	Preparation for Practice

University of Liverpool Medical School Teaching Hospitals

University of Liverpool Medical School enables students to undertake placements at some of the renowned specialist centres in the UK.

• Aintree Hospital
• Alder Hey Children’s Hospital
• Blackpool Teaching Hospitals
• Countess of Chester Hospital
• Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital
• Liverpool Women’s NHS Trust
• Mersey Care
• Southport and Ormskirk Hospital
• St Helens and Knowsley
• The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Hospitals
• The Walton Centre
• Warrington and Halton Hospitals
• Wirral University Teaching Hospital

University of Liverpool Medical School Interview Format

The University of Liverpool Medical School conducts face-to-face MMIs on campus to determine who is offered a place on the A100 programme. MMIs are multiple-mini interviews where there are multiple stations and candidates rotate around. Each station can be approximately 5-10 minutes long revolving around the role of a doctor, ethics and current issues.

University of Liverpool Medical School Interview Questions

Here are examples of some questions that can be asked at the interview stage.

What skills did you witness in your work experience?

This is a classic question requiring you to reflect on your work experience. This can be in-person or online work experience. It is important to not only talk about what you saw but also why that skill is important in medicine and how it improves patient care. An example could be verbal and non-verbal communication.

Talk about a time you overcame a challenge.

This type of question tests your resilience and problem-solving skills. So, pick an example where you can really discuss methods you used to overcome the problem. For example, it could be organising work that you struggled with. Then, you can talk about using to do lists or timetables to plan your tasks out. And like every question, always relate it back to how the skill of reflecting and improving your weaknesses are important in medicine!

Life as a University of Liverpool Medical Student

Social Life at University of Liverpool Medical School

In the early years, your schedule will be at least half a day’s worth of contact hours. In your free time, you can chose to self-study, go out with friends and take part in social activities. There are lots of societies to get involved with in Liverpool. For example, the Liverpool Guild consists of over 150 societies. There is a wide range of societies available for every student from academics, sports to culture. For medical students, there are many societies for medical specialties, volunteering and to help with revision!

Intercalated Degree at University of Liverpool Medical School

Intercalation is when you can study an additional degree for a year – bachelors or masters. This can be:

• Research Masters intercalation options (MRes/MPhil)
• Taught Masters intercalation options (MSc, LLM, MBA, MIM, MPH and more)
• Undergraduate intercalation options (BSc and more)

FAQs

How much of the University of Liverpool Medical School Medicine Course is Clinical vs Preclinical?

Year 1 and 2 are considered preclinical as they mainly have lecture-based teaching and small group sessions. Year 3-5 are clinical because you will be on clinical placements majority of the time.

Is University of Liverpool a Good Medical School?

The University of Liverpool is an original red-brick university and ranks good as a medical school. It is ideal for all medical students however, it depends on what your priorities are when selecting a medical school. It is best to visit the university on their Open Days to gain a realistic insight of the place and speak to the friendly staff!