Entry 2019

[DrDrLMG!]

Or I could do a postgrad certificate. Would that be sufficient? Preferably I would continue full time work whilst doing it.

A grad cert (from the info I posted above) looks like it would only open up two more unis for you*. Up to you how widely you want to apply...

*Note: a number of the unis require 12 months of full time study.

 

[ajs604]

TBH, and sorry if this sounds harsh, given the stats (applicants to interviews to offers) your chances of getting into med are pretty slim, so I'd be going for something that will be of benefit to you regardless of whether you get an offer.

As far as I'm aware, and unless you can land yourself a scholarship (potentially doable if you're working in public health at the moment), you'll be looking at paying full fees for a grad cert/dip. The post grad dip I just did (on scholarship, thank goodness) was 1.25k per unit. Times that by four units. That's a hefty investment for something you'll probably never use and are intending to be nothing more than a stepping stone.

Long story short: do something you're interested in, do something that will be of benefit to you regardless of whether you get into med, do something you can use as PD for podiatry.

No that's fine. I appreciate your help. Can I ask why I am unlikely to get into medicine? I am also very interested in Dentistry and there is less completion for specialisation once qualified. Would I be more likely to get into Dentistr? I want to do something with my hand that challengers me more but does not kill me getting into.

Thank you all so much for your help and advice. It's much appreciated.

 

[DrDrLMG!]

I don't have the ~exact stats (though I'm sure they're available and potentially @A1 and/or @Mana would have them) but literally thousands of people sit GAMSAT for approximately 1400 post grad med spots. ETA: just found an article that predicted 11k people would sit GAMSAT in 2017.

For UMAT (for example, because I'm more familiar with the numbers), 20k people sit the exam, approximately 1400 get offers. For JMP, 4k people apply, 700 are interviewed, there are 170 spots across two universities (110 at UNCLE, 60 at UNE).

It's not you, specifically, that doesn't have a great shot, it's everybody! Though obviously SOMEONE has to get the offers, could well be you.

Dentistry is similar. Perhaps even worse as Med/dent are often considered in tandem by students and there are even less dent positions.

 

[Mana]

No that's fine. I appreciate your help. Can I ask why I am unlikely to get into medicine? I am also very interested in Dentistry and there is less completion for specialisation once qualified. Would I be more likely to get into Dentistr? I want to do something with my hand that challengers me more but does not kill me getting into.

Thank you all so much for your help and advice. It's much appreciated.

Dentistry is certainly 'easier' overall to get into if you were applying through the undergraduate pathway as UMAT and/or ATAR (or in your case GPA) requirements are lower on average.

There are very few graduate entry only dental programs in the country (as far as I know it's just USyd and UniMelb) for which certainly the competition is intense and it is arguably harder to gain entry to these than to gain entry to a graduate entry medical degree at a different uni (i.e. it's still easier to get in, by the numbers, to dentistry at USyd or UniMelb than to medicine at USyd and UniMelb - but its pretty damn close).

In your position I would certainly heed @LMG!'s advice strongly - any study you undertake now should be useful to you in and of itself rather than solely as a way to get marks for medicine. The numbers quoted are close to the actual standard however if you only limit yourself to one or two schools (which someone with your tertiary record necessarily must) then you'll find that your chances of getting into that are lower still - not only are you competing for fewer places by limiting the number that you can apply to, but because those are more accommodating to applicants, there are necessarily a higher number that qualify to those schools (further diluting your chances out).

You essentially then would be using the GAMSAT to compete against another 14000 people or so (as a rough estimate as there are a good proportion of people who have sat the GAMSAT the year prior and scores are valid for 2 years) for these ~300 places available to you. Simply by the numbers, it's reasonable to say that the odds are rather stacked heavily against you. This isn't necessarily a reflection on you personally, but any applicant in your position, which is why @LMG! has suggested to open up the possibility of undergraduate medical schools for your application - I would certainly be applying to every medical school I could in your position, and more than half of the places available to someone in your position are in the undergraduate system - i.e. you hypothetically double your chances by applying through both pathways.

Certainly at this point in your life you may wish to reconsider whether it would be feasible to undergo medical training. If you are 36 now, you'll be 37 next year when you sit the UMAT and GAMSAT (definitely sit both!) and 38 if you gain entry. You'll then be 42 in your final year (assuming a 4 year degree), 43 in your intern year, and then, assuming you pursue General Practice in PGY2 and pass everything first time, a new GP at 46. If you pursue other specialties the training is longer by variable numbers of years (you are almost certainly too old to feasibly pursue neurosurgery or ophthalmology, for example). If you wish to pursue medicine, you should be aware of this; if you know that you will not pursue General Practice (and instead go for a longer training pathway), you may wish to reconsider medicine as a career entirely as it may very well be an unacceptable training requirement in terms of number of years.

None of this is reassuring, but you should certainly know what you are attempting to put yourself through should you succeed; additionally, in the more likely scenario, you certainly want to be getting the most out of your investment (no matter what kind of study it is and no matter what stage of life you are at).

Going by this, unless you are into doing degrees for interest only, if you pursue study, you should either be pursuing it in an area that will advance your current career (e.g. that will help your specialisation in podiatry) or in an area that will allow you to reskill into a different career pathway (such as doing a nursing degree and then using that to become a nurse). Medicine is likely quite an inaccessible path for you; you are of course welcome to try, just ensure that you don't invest time and money for nothing.

 

[ajs604]

Thanks Mana for all of your advice! I have always wanted to study medicine but now realize that I would probably be better ap[ply for dentistry as competition for places is less fierce and less postgraduate training upon completion. I am at that stage where I need a career change as am getting bored of Podiatry. I need something more challenging and a step up. Do you think I would stand a good chance at getting into Dentistry at La Trobe, at least that way I could stay in the Melbourne vicinity. Its a shame I left applying for the UMAT too late as that is another year wasted.

 

[DrDrLMG!]

We really can't tell you if you'd stand a "good chance" anywhere, to be honest. All stats for med and dent courses suggest, at best, any individual would a small "chance" of receiving an offer (this is based purely on the applicants vs places information already discussed). You can increase your "chance" at La Trobe with a competitive UMAT result, a competitive GPA, and a personal statement that stands out, but given those are total unknowns at this stage, it's impossible to really comment specifically on ~your chance.

 

[ajs604]

Sure I understand that. So my plan is to study for the UMAT f0r 2019 entry to Dentistry. I am also going to do a graduate certificate in wound care from Monash University Wound care and will then take the GAMSAT next year so I can keep both options open. The grad certificate would be transferable outside of medicine or dentistry should I be unsuccessful. I am hoping it pays off though as really have had enough of Podiatry. My final question is, is the grad certificate enough to fulfill the requirements for the 10 years since studying?

Thanks all for the help I feel that I have more direction now in what I need to do. Also does anyone know what a 2.1 honors degree would equate to in Australian terms for GPA?

 

[DrDrLMG!]

A grad cert appears to meet the minimum requirements for UQ and Deakin. Add UWA and UoW, where you are already eligible, and you're getting close to the six schools you can nominate through GEMSAS.

Many other unis require full time study over 6 or 12 months. What kind of load is the Wound Care course? Incidentally, that sounds like a great study option, topic-wise.

The GPA question is hard to answer definitively as various unis use different methods to calculate GPA. Some don't include honours year, some only include it if it was embedded/not embedded, and some use a weighted GPA where each of the three years contributes slightly more or less to the overall GPA. Your grades from the two years prior to your honours year will also be included (by unis that use honours grades, otherwise the three years prior to honours), so knowing you got a 2.1 for honours isn't actually enough, I don't believe.

 

[ajs604]

Hi LMG, the course load is 24 points. Is that sufficient?

Deakin would be my ideal preference for postgrad medicine as moving out of Victoria would be very difficult for me due to personal commitments.

 

[DrDrLMG!]

It looks like a Grad Cert will meet Deakin requirements, but you might want to email admissions and ask them directly. I emailed them last year and they got back to me within a couple of days with a clear answer to my question.