How Do UK Medical School Rankings Work?

The most popular league tables are:‍

• ‍The Complete University Guide: puts a lot of emphasis on research metrics and can be seen as a more traditional style of university league table.‍
• The Guardian: focuses more on levels of student satisfaction and employment prospects than research.

Which Medical School Ranking is Most Important for Me?

The answer isn't always straightforward and very much depends on you. For many students, research is of little to no importance. However, to the select few who want to keep their options open for a career in academia it may be a critical factor.

Prestige is another factor that isn’t equally relevant for everyone. While some students may want to go to a university with significant prestige, others care more about metrics like the student/staff ratio, which reflect how much attention you are likely to get. 

Ultimately, when looking at how to get into medical school, deciding which factors are important for you depends on your values.

Here's What Medical Students Have to Say

'Some metrics which might give you good information on the quality of a medical course could be: preparedness of graduates for the foundation programme, the SJT score, or the percentage of students successfully entering the academic foundation programme.'

Eilidh W. - Newcastle Graduate Entry Medicine - @thegraduatemedic

‘University Ranking Tables can be a bit hit and miss. At any medical school, the level of teaching will be high, so it doesn't have much of an effect on your prospects after graduation. I found the tables useful to look for schools that had a lower 'research intensity' score and incorporated some clinical exposure from early on. I knew that a more integrated course would be a better fit for me.’

Jacob R. - University of Dundee - @es_jacob

Find which other factors to consider when choosing a medical school.

‍The Complete University Guide's Ranking Explained

This ranking is the more traditional view of the difference between universities. Like The Guardian, it considers entry standards (average UCAS score), as well as graduate prospects.

The difference is that it only has one metric that takes into account student satisfaction, and it focuses on factors such as research quality and intensity, which many students will not find relevant. However, research is extremely relevant for some non-medical and non-vocational courses. 

The Complete University Guide's Medical School Rankings

The Complete University Guide's Results Breakdown

In terms of the overall quality ranking, it is a big win for Welsh university Swansea. It ranks highest of all 35 universities for research quality at 87%. Oxford comes in second overall, while 4 Scottish universities (Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen) make the top 10.

Brighton and Sussex, and St Andrews, take the lead in student satisfaction, which could be of great importance to some students. Graduate prospects do not differ much for medicine, due to the highly employable nature of the degree programme. Every university ranked comes in at 97% or higher. 

The Guardian's Ranking Explained

Three of the Guardian’s metrics relate to student satisfaction, namely: ‘satisfied with course’, ‘satisfied with teaching’ and ‘satisfied with feedback’. These metrics show the rating for the overall quality in each of the respective areas.

They Guardian also looks at student to staff ratio. This may be helpful when deciding what kind of teaching experience you’re looking for, as a lower student to staff ratio is likely to be more personalised.

Some factors do not differ from The Complete University Guide, such as career prospects for graduates and entry tariff (UCAS points for entry).

Ultimately, the Guardian rankings are an attempt to put the focus back on the student experience, and away from traditional academic considerations and prestige.

The Guardian University Guide Medical School Ranking

The Guardian's Results Breakdown

The Guardian puts Edinburgh and Aberdeen in the two top spots. Oxford and Cambridge normally take the lead in most subjects, but in medicine the Scottish universities often come out on top. This Scottish dominance is again shown by two other Scottish universities, Dundee and St Andrews, earning a place in the top 10.

Oxford and Cambridge come in fifth and seventh place respectively. Your decision as to whether you should apply to Oxford or Cambridge medical schools may be affected by this.

International Medical School Ranking

The most authoritative international medical school ranking is created by QS World University Rankings. The data is collated from various employers and relevant academics. Interpret this ranking with a note of caution as it does not consider student satisfaction at all.

What is the Official Ranking System for Medical Schools? 

Despite the large quantity of research into the best medical schools in the UK, there is no official ranking. There are many factors that can be considered subjective, and different rankings often do not agree with each other. Considerations such as ‘quality of research’ and ‘reputation’ do not have a clearly defined way of being measured, and this is probably not set to change.

Direct vs Graduate Entry

Some ranking factors have no bearing on Graduate Entry Medicine (GEM). If we take The Complete University Guide for example, the entry standards score is based on UCAS points, which is not relevant when entering based on your degree qualification. 

Research, as we have mentioned, is also of little consequence for most students, and graduate prospects are similar for any medical student, making that data unhelpful. Graduates would therefore be well advised not to base their decision on the Complete University Guide.

The Guardian does offer more insights for graduates looking to get into medicine. Student satisfaction is their main focus, and is always important to consider, as is the amount of staff support and feedback you receive.

So Do University Rankings Matter for Medicine?

Based on our analysis, we think there are other more significant factors to base your decision on. Since the subject is so competitive, the major hurdle for most entrants will be getting into any medical school. This means:

- Getting the grades

- Scoring high on the UCAT or BMAT

- Writing a brilliant personal statement

- Acing your medical school interview

Summary

• Research scores can often be disregarded for medicine.
• The Guardian places more emphasis on measures of student satisfaction than The Complete University Guide.
• Oxford and Cambridge do not always come out on top in medicine!
• When considering rankings, you first have to think about your needs and priorities. 
• As far as medicine is concerned, due to the near 100% employability of graduates it will not make that much difference where you get your degree from unless you want to go into research. 
• There are many other aspects to consider when choosing the best university for you, such as location, teaching style and research options. Arguably, entry requirements is one of the most important factors to consider when choosing medical school.