So... correct me if I am wrong here... but "Clinical Science" sounds very much like "Medical Science" to me, in terms of its content and its own inherent career pathways (or lack thereof without the addition of further study which could be accessed in undergrad entry courses) as well as the inherent cohort that it will attract (i.e. people who also want to do medicine therefore competing with you for GPA).
It is exactly same like the Griffith's 2 year B.MedSci. Each year we have people leaving this program (provisional medicine program) after completing BMedSci to go to graduate entry school in Sydney, Melbourne and elsewhere due to family and other connection in those cities. Despite what Universities may or may not claim, you can't make a career out of this 2 year degree. This degree is not a terminal degree at all.It is what I call a "staging" degree. I thought this would have been clear to you. You are compelled to use it to get into a graduate entry professional program to make a career out of it.
Seriously, getting into Pharmacy program in any Uni is not difficult for somebody having an ATAR of 97-98. I wouldn't worry about a guarantee for a Pharmacy degree at all.There is no guarantee that the Master of Pharmacy will accept you after 2 years (it may even be that the Masters degree could exclude applicants who have not completed at least a 3 year degree)
By end of 1st year with the actual GPA in hand, one can make an informed decision and even switch to another program if there is a need. The advantage with this approach is that:
1. It allows for one to change direction with a degree in hand. For example, if one decides Pharmacy is not what they wanted to do, they can easily switch to another course with transfer credits. They may not have to miss an year if the new program they are transferring to is in health field.
2. Not be tied into a 4 year pharmacy program plus additional 1 year of training which makes it a 5 year commitment. This could be expensive to OP if his/her main aim is GEM.
3. Pharmacy content may be too heavy to keep a high GPA which is important for GEM. As majority of Pharmacy programs are undergraduate entry in Sydney, it will not be big deal to get into it any time soley through ATAR.
I don't know how this myth gets perpetuated. I have seen people go from 2 year accelerated degree (BMedSci) to GEM. Fact Checking: You claim "most". Can you substantiate this claim and give me a list of them. I beg to differ unless proven otherwise. I really would like to confirm this on the respective Uni website. I am happy to email them to check if BClinSci is not an acceptable degree for GEM. I know Griffith, USyd and UMelb are all fine with it. I know this for sure as friends have used this route.and furthermore the 2 year accelerated degree is likely to not be accepted by most grad entry medical schools (I know for a fact that the university I interview for does NOT accept 2 year accelerated degree applicants into its MD program). On the other hand, if you did a 4 year pharmacy degree this would satisfy the prerequisite requirements to get into all the graduate entry degrees in the country (and you'd still be applying as non-standard to the undergrad unis in the meantime).
Unsubstantiated. Please prove "most". I have mentioned the advantages of this route earlier.Given this, I don't see any real advantage of the 2 year B. Clin Sci degree over pursuing a reasonable Plan B career pathway other than the very small chance that you would get into one of the most expensive medical degrees in Australia (ie Macquarie), and in doing so you'd forgo your eligibility for many of the grad entry medical schools, most of which require at least three years of full time study to be eligible; this far outweighs the small advantage you get at MQ.
I believe in fact checking. After you substantiate your "most" claim, I may have reason to re-visit. Till then, I stand by what I say. I am unable to find anywhere that says accelerated degrees are unacceptable. OP is unable to move away from Sydney and all Sydney based GEM Universities are OK I think.Be careful of this advice above; it sounds very much like pitfall #2 to me.
Update 1: Ok , I did some further research and found this. It is not that 2 Year degrees are not accepted but they get you by insisting that you complete the degree by Dec 31st YYYY of the year of application. So that means if your final exam results are only out by Jan following year, you may be out of luck. You may have to waste an year. GAMSAT comes to my mind. Also starting another course like I recommended for OP (MPharm) comes to mind. It might be prudent to ask MQU when this degree is actually awarded. They may clarify. In the worst scenario, you still get to apply 1 year earlier in the 3rd year after leaving high school instead of 4th year after leaving high school (if BPharm was started).
Eg UQ
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Your key degree must have been awarded by an accredited Australian university or overseas equivalent, and must have been completed by 31 December in the year of application.
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Here is a quote from UNDS
The following degrees may also be used as qualifying degrees, subject to the conditions stated:
Accelerated degrees: An accelerated degree consists of three trimesters per year completed in two years. Applicants in their final year of an accelerated degree must be due to complete their degree by 31 December 2018. Where an accelerated degree is later completed as a standard duration undergraduate degree, the most recent three years of study will be used in the GPA calculation.
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UWA
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Bachelor’s degree holders or students who are in their first bachelor’s degree may be eligible to apply for graduate entry into the Doctor of Medicine (MD) and/or the Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD). Students who are in progress of their first bachelor’s degree may apply during their final year, with any course offer being conditional on completion of all bachelor’s degree requirements by 31 December in the year prior to commencement in the MD or DMD.
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Update 2:
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Myth : 2 year accelerated degrees can not be used in "most" GEM schools.
I am happy to bust this myth. I can confirm that 2 year accelerated degrees can be used for GEM (Graduate Entry Medicine) and results would be available by Dec 31st deadline. I feel so sorry for the people who relied on this myth as a fact. A lot of opinions here are subjective. Sometimes even senior people (in this case a moderator) can also make mistakes. We are all humans. As a caution, I would add that before starting a degree, email the program director (of the accelerated program) as well as the medical school you would be applying to confirm that it is an acceptable degree.
Here is an email response from the program director of BClinSci at MQU which confirms that indeed this degree (BClinSci from MQU) will be available by Dec 31st deadline for GEM.
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Thank you for your email.
Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Clinical Science will complete their studies before the 31st December, so this should not be an issue for you in terms of applying for GEM and being able to commence the year after completing this degree.
Please reach out if you have any further questions,
Cara
Dr Cara Hildreth
Senior Lecturer
Department of Biomedical Sciences | Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Ground Floor, F10A Building
2 Technology Place
Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia
T: +61 2 9850 2721 | F: +61 2 9812 3600
M: + 61 4## ### ### | mq.edu.au
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Fact checking is fairly easy. In this case, I found the name of the program director at MQU and emailed that person.
For other stuff like admission/interview scoring sheet/admission stats etc, you may have to use the freedom of information act to get them and it could take a few weeks but I am fascinated to see how it is being used and successfully done in the UK. E.g: See UQ for their RTI policy.
As an example, here is how interviews are marked at Queen's Belfast, obtained as a result of requesting this info under the freedom of information act.
Appendix 1.pdf
www.whatdotheyknow.com
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