MBBS in University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine

The Cambridge Medicine course is not structured in the same manner as other university-run medical programs; it is taught in a School of Clinical Medicine within a University founded in 1209, making it one of the oldest still functioning universities and the first three years of the six-year program do not confer any medical qualification whatsoever – only a BA in Medical Sciences through Tripos. That is, in large part, what makes it possible for Cambridge to still teach full-body dissection of cadavers, which was abandoned by most medical schools in the UK decades ago in favor of prosection or digital anatomy.

Cambridge Medicine is often colloquially referred to as the best medical school in the UK; yet, the thing that makes its admissions procedure truly unique and set apart from Oxford, UCL or Imperial is, first of all, that it abandoned the BMAT test after 2024. Also, unlike almost all UK medical schools, Cambridge did not introduce the UCAT test after abandoning BMAT. Thus, admissions are now done based on academic grades (a standard offer of A*A*A with Chemistry), college references and an academic interview, which takes place at the applicant's college. Furthermore, there are no more than 22 to 28 places reserved for overseas fee-paying students in total across all colleges, meaning that being accepted in Cambridge is far more difficult than it may appear from the average offer rate; finally, unlike interviews at other UK medical schools, the one at Cambridge is both scientific and problem-based.

Each student of Cambridge, be it a medic or not, belongs to a college, such as Trinity, Christ's, Girton and others. Those colleges handle admissions, provide accommodation and conduct supervisions, as well as give financial assistance, which is not dependent on the department that provides lectures and exams for those students. This means that the experience of two students of Cambridge University medics may be quite different depending on which college allocated each of them, including accommodation age, supervisions and additional financial support from the college. In addition to that, a separate College fee must be paid besides the University tuition, a fee that international students are particularly supposed to pay; that is, indeed, unique among UK universities and a bit confusing for families that have budgeted just for the tuition fee that is stated on the course page.

First three years of the course comprise Medical Sciences Tripos, namely anatomy, biochemistry and physiology in Part IA, systems-based pharmacology and neuroscience in Part IB, and then a specialized Part II, which allows the students to choose and specialize in a particular topic and even to write an independent research project before receiving a BA. Clinical training starts only in the fourth year and involves Addenbrooke's Hospital, one of the biggest teaching hospitals in the country, along with GP and district hospital placements across East Anglia. One needs to note that students who complete their pre-clinical tripos in Cambridge are not automatically assigned a clinical place there and a significant portion of students moves to London teaching hospitals for their last three years of training, which may surprise some families who believe that all of the six years take place in Cambridge.

That said, the question is, of course, does any of the above justify the international tuition fee of around £70,554 per year along with College fee of £11,500 to £14,950? First of all, to be clear, Cambridge does not actually offer any kind of shortcut to become a doctor; the workload, supervisions and exams are reported to be heavier than at most other UK medical schools. Yet, the value offered in exchange for that fee is the Cambridge brand in front of a UK medical degree and almost assured entry into NHS Foundation Training; since all graduates of those courses tend to get their Foundation post regardless of the competition level, that is not too difficult a task.

Finally, one should mention that, first of all, Cambridge itself is quite small and well-known as bicycle-friendly; secondly, most of the College accommodation contracts run between 27 to 39 weeks rather than a year, which means that the students do not actually pay rent in the long vacations, although international students tend to stay on campus for research or work. All living costs (excluding tuition and College fee), including accommodation, food and all other expenses are typically about £12,000 to £15,000 a year, a sizable amount, although it is dwarfed by the tuition amount that stands next to it and, generally, one of the smallest components of studying medicine in Cambridge.