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Graduate Entry Medicine Advice Requests

DrDrLMG!

Resident Medical Officer
Administrator
Hi LMG!

Thanks for the reply. So just to clarify, for the first question - no other university except USYD has this rule where once you start medicine elsewhere, you are no longer eligible to apply to the former medical school (e.g. USYD, which has this rule) anymore?

As for the second question. I will be applying for UNSW, WSU and JMP this year with my UCAT score.

However, I was moreso looking at the possibility of finishing my bachelors degree at Griffith first and then gaining post-graduate entry into USYD (I am sitting GAMSAT this and next year), and was more curious as to - for USYD specifically, if I don’t apply during the final year of my bachelors degree (say GAMSAT doesn’t meet threshold), I commence First Year MD at Griffith, will I still be eligible to resit GAMSAT and apply for MD at USYD during my first year study at Griffith? Given:



Because technically I didn’t “previously apply unsuccessful” before starting medicine at another university, so would I still be able to apply for USYD during first year MD at Griffith?

Sorry for all the confusion, there are just a number of factors at play here (not time) that makes post-grad USYD a more preferable pathway compared to UNSW, WSU or JMP, and so I was more curious about USYD post-grad application specifically.

I know it’s possible for UNDS, but have no idea for other grad-entry universities. Another thing you’ll need to find out is if USyd accept the 2 year provisional Med bachelors you do at Griffith for grad entry Med, not all universities do, I believe.
 

Lyyrre

USYD MD I
I know it’s possible for UNDS, but have no idea for other grad-entry universities. Another thing you’ll need to find out is if USyd accept the 2 year provisional Med bachelors you do at Griffith for grad entry Med, not all universities do, I believe.

Yep I’ve checked, we have had someone get an offer to USYD this year with the 2 years bachelors.
 

Crow

Staff | Junior Doctor
Moderator
I recall being asked on the GEMSAS application if I had ever been enrolled in a medical degree before (specifically as its own question, separate to the filling out educational background details), which suggests that at least some of the graduate entry schools have a problem with it.

Most graduate entry schools do accept accelerated degrees now, but I think several of them (not USYD or Melb) add the caveat that one must've completed the degree at the time of application, i.e. doing an accelerated degree won't save you any time from leaving school to graduating as a doctor.
 

DrDrLMG!

Resident Medical Officer
Administrator
I recall being asked on the GEMSAS application if I had ever been enrolled in a medical degree before

Yeah, as you also know, the UNDS case was quite specific and required some hoop jumping, so it’s probably not a widely accepted course of action.
 

sparkle49

Lurker
Hey guys!

I'm about to graduate from my undergrad this year but I am very confused about what to do next and whether I will have a chance to get into med. I've currently got a gpa of 6.3 and did the gamsat and got a 57. I don't know if taking a gap year and gaining more experience, then trying the gamsat would help. My other option was to do honours, or do masters of pharmacy then consider applying?

Just not sure what I should do and would appreciate any advice!
 

Crow

Staff | Junior Doctor
Moderator
Hey guys!

I'm about to graduate from my undergrad this year but I am very confused about what to do next and whether I will have a chance to get into med. I've currently got a gpa of 6.3 and did the gamsat and got a 57. I don't know if taking a gap year and gaining more experience, then trying the gamsat would help. My other option was to do honours, or do masters of pharmacy then consider applying?

Just not sure what I should do and would appreciate any advice!
Welcome to MSO! :)

First: what was your undergraduate degree? Does it lend itself to a career that you’ll be satisfied in? This is the most important thing.

On from that: in your position you have two broad categories of options for pursuing entry to medicine: non-standard entry to undergraduate med schools (Curtin, UNSW, WSU, JMP, JCU and Bond) and graduate entry to the GEMSAS schools + Flinders + USyd.

Currently, your GPA/GAMSAT combo is (unfortunately) far too low for the graduate entry schools (exceptions: potentially the portfolio schools + Deakin if you have a tonne of bonuses), assuming you’re a non-rural candidate. If you have a rural/Indigenous background then that changes things significantly - let us know if that’s the case.

In terms of improving your chances for graduate entry schools: you’ll need to either lift up your GPA a lot, lift up your GAMSAT a lot, have a very competitive portfolio, or hopefully a combination of these three.

GAMSAT: this can be difficult to improve but certainly not out of the question. If 57 was your first sitting, this is actually a commendable effort. I scored lower than that on my first attempt but improved by 12 overall to eventually gain entry via the GEMSAS pathway.

GPA: There are a number of ways to improve this, some of which you’ve outlined above. My question to you is: do you have any other reason for pursuing honours, and how much would it improve your GPA by? The same question goes for the Masters of Pharmacy - do you see yourself happy for a career in pharmacy if medicine doesn’t work out? All degrees should be completed on their own merits, and personally I think an honours year would be very difficult to do well in if you’re only planning to do it to boost GPA. The other option would be to complete a new undergraduate degree, which again, I’d only suggest if you were wanting to pursue that as an alternative career path. Also important that you check out the GEMSAS guide so you know which universities take honours/masters results into account when calculating your GPA, as not all of them do. Additionally, if your honours results aren’t available in time for GEMSAS interview release (which I don’t think they would be for most unis) then this will set you back another year anyway.

Portfolio: I have no idea of the caliber of your portfolio but this is definitely an area that’s easy to improve and I’ve seen applicants gain places into medicine with lower GAMSAT/GPA combos than yours due to outstanding portfolios and interviews. If you haven’t already, sign up to PagingDr as there will be a wealth of information there regarding improving each of GPA, GAMSAT and portfolio.

Part 2 coming shortly on undergraduate entry schools (I’ll edit it into this post but my phone is about to die!).

Part 2:

So your undergraduate entry school options are a bit more open. For UNSW, JMP, WSU and Curtin you need to sit the UCAT, which I recommend you do next year. Your chances at those schools are contingent on UCAT score, as well as GPA for Curtin and GPA+ATAR for UNSW. For JCU, your chances depend on the quality of your written application as well as your GPA and potential interview. For Bond, you'll receive an invite to psychometric testing with your GPA and from there it's an interview to determine place offers. Selection criteria summary here: [Undergrad] - (2019 Updated) Med schools Selection Criteria Y12s & Non-standards

I suggest you look at our interviews and offers sub-forums to have a look at the scores required to land interviews and place offers at these universities. :)
 
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chinaski

Regular Member
GPA: There are a number of ways to improve this, some of which you’ve outlined above. My question to you is: do you have any other reason for pursuing honours, and how much would it improve your GPA by? The same question goes for the Masters of Pharmacy - do you see yourself happy for a career in pharmacy if medicine doesn’t work out? All degrees should be completed on their own merits, and personally I think an honours year would be very difficult to do well in if you’re only planning to do it to boost GPA.

Another important point about an Honours year is that it's not an easy or guaranteed way of boosting an GPA. If a candidate has a fair-to-middling GPA throughout their degree, it's folly to assume they'll do fantastically well in Honours, which normally sub-selects only the higher-achieving proportion of the graduating class, and expects a higher standard than the first three years. Succinctly, Honours is in a lot of ways harder than the undergraduate degree, so proceed with caution when using it as a way to boost a GPA.
 

sparkle49

Lurker
Welcome to MSO! :)

First: what was your undergraduate degree? Does it lend itself to a career that you’ll be satisfied in? This is the most important thing.

On from that: in your position you have two broad categories of options for pursuing entry to medicine: non-standard entry to undergraduate med schools (Curtin, UNSW, WSU, JMP, JCU and Bond) and graduate entry to the GEMSAS schools + Flinders + USyd.

Currently, your GPA/GAMSAT combo is (unfortunately) far too low for the graduate entry schools (exceptions: potentially the portfolio schools + Deakin if you have a tonne of bonuses), assuming you’re a non-rural candidate. If you have a rural/Indigenous background then that changes things significantly - let us know if that’s the case.

In terms of improving your chances for graduate entry schools: you’ll need to either lift up your GPA a lot, lift up your GAMSAT a lot, have a very competitive portfolio, or hopefully a combination of these three.

GAMSAT: this can be difficult to improve but certainly not out of the question. If 57 was your first sitting, this is actually a commendable effort. I scored lower than that on my first attempt but improved by 12 overall to eventually gain entry via the GEMSAS pathway.

GPA: There are a number of ways to improve this, some of which you’ve outlined above. My question to you is: do you have any other reason for pursuing honours, and how much would it improve your GPA by? The same question goes for the Masters of Pharmacy - do you see yourself happy for a career in pharmacy if medicine doesn’t work out? All degrees should be completed on their own merits, and personally I think an honours year would be very difficult to do well in if you’re only planning to do it to boost GPA. The other option would be to complete a new undergraduate degree, which again, I’d only suggest if you were wanting to pursue that as an alternative career path. Also important that you check out the GEMSAS guide so you know which universities take honours/masters results into account when calculating your GPA, as not all of them do. Additionally, if your honours results aren’t available in time for GEMSAS interview release (which I don’t think they would be for most unis) then this will set you back another year anyway.

Portfolio: I have no idea of the caliber of your portfolio but this is definitely an area that’s easy to improve and I’ve seen applicants gain places into medicine with lower GAMSAT/GPA combos than yours due to outstanding portfolios and interviews. If you haven’t already, sign up to PagingDr as there will be a wealth of information there regarding improving each of GPA, GAMSAT and portfolio.

Part 2 coming shortly on undergraduate entry schools (I’ll edit it into this post but my phone is about to die!).


Thank you so much for that info! I will definitely take your suggestions on board and look into them :)

My undergrad was Pharmacology- it was challenging at times but interesting for sure.

In terms of gamsat- yes that was my first attempt with little to no prep so I definitely know I can do better!
I would love to strengthen my portfolio as well and increase my chances, would there be certain types of experiences/volunteering that are particularly useful to look into?
 

Crow

Staff | Junior Doctor
Moderator
Thank you so much for that info! I will definitely take your suggestions on board and look into them :)

My undergrad was Pharmacology- it was challenging at times but interesting for sure.

In terms of gamsat- yes that was my first attempt with little to no prep so I definitely know I can do better!
I would love to strengthen my portfolio as well and increase my chances, would there be certain types of experiences/volunteering that are particularly useful to look into?
I've just added the bit about undergraduate entry schools into my post above :)

In terms of strengthening your portfolio: the answer is yes but I don't want to get into that as there's better info on PD! In short: you should be focusing on what you gained out of an experience rather than the experience itself. For Notre Dame: they have a big focus on social justice so experiences and a personal statement related to this will probably do you some favours. For Wollongong: there is a big focus on rural medicine so experiences relevant to this will go a long way too. Sherlock has successfully completed a UOW portfolio and gained an interview so he may be able to offer some insight there if you have specific questions about that one :)

ETA: Is your 6.3 GPA from your uni or from the GEMSAS calculator? If the former, then you should visit the GEMSAS website and calculate your GPA there, as it may be higher than your uni one, which would be good news for you!
 
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zx72ksq8o

Member
Hi, i might be considering postgrad entry if i dont get into med this year (im in year 12) - could somebody please explain to me what the GAMSAT actually is? Apparently it requires specialist knowledge in bio, chem and phys - does this mean uni level stuff? Like you need to go to special courses to learn this? Or is this supposed to be self-learnt?

Is it true that you can do courses with the GAMSAT integrated in them too?

Also, USYD graduate entry involves GAMSAT right? Because the uni doesn't appear on this list: What is Graduate Entry Medicine | GEMSAS

Thanks :) Sorry if these are silly questions
 
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Sherlock

Emeritus Staff
Emeritus Staff
Hi, i might be considering postgrad entry if i dont get into med this year (im in year 12) - could somebody please explain to me what the GAMSAT actually is? Apparently it requires specialist knowledge in bio, chem and phys - does this mean uni level stuff? Like you need to go to special courses to learn this? Or is this supposed to be self-learnt?

Is it true that you can do courses with the GAMSAT integrated in them too?

Also, USYD graduate entry involves GAMSAT right? Because the uni doesn't appear on this list: What is Graduate Entry Medicine | GEMSAS

Thanks :) Sorry if these are silly questions
These are very important questions to ask, not silly at all. It would be silly to not think about these questions, if anything.

If you're in year 12 now, there's plenty of time for you before GAMSAT. The first thing I'd suggest you do is read Mana's guide: Common pitfalls to avoid for year 12 school leavers and other medicine applicants

Unlike UMAT/UCAT, GAMSAT takes 6 hours to complete and you can read more about the exam on ACER's webpage: About GAMSAT | Graduate Medical School Admissions Test | GAMSAT | ACER. The official website seems to suggest that people who hold a degree in non-scientific field of study can still sit GAMSAT and succeed. This is particularly the case in recent years as GAMSAT is moving from being science knowledge based and more towards logical reasoning and I felt that way myself, having sat the exam. Of course being familiar with science terms could potentially save you time.

There are 3 components to GAMSAT. Section 1 is known as Reasoning in Humanities and Social Sciences. This section is very similar to section 2 of UMAT, you will be required to read bunch of texts - could be poems, short stories, letters etc and complete MCQs based on these texts. Section 2 is Written Communication - you will be required to write 2 essays on random topics they'll provide you on the day. Finally, section 3 is Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences. You can read more about the time, number of questions etc for each sections on here: https://gamsat.acer.org/files/GAMSAT_Information_Booklet.pdf

You can do courses with GAMSAT integrated in them - however, these courses are usually biomedical science, medical science, pre-med, health science etc. and if you read Mana's guide, these degrees are not recommended due to lack of immediate job prospects upon completing them.

USyd graduate entry does require you to sit the GAMSAT exam - it just isn't part of the GEMSAS consortium. They do their own thing in terms of application and selection processes.
 

zx72ksq8o

Member
Is there any possible way of doing graduate entry into med without the GAMSAT?

Also, what if you graduate from uni with a bachelor's degree in something like nursing and have started working already, but you are interested in doing med? How would it work from there?
 

noteven

Member
Is there any possible way of doing graduate entry into med without the GAMSAT?

Also, what if you graduate from uni with a bachelor's degree in something like nursing and have started working already, but you are interested in doing med? How would it work from there?

I'm not sure about other universities, but at ANU there's actually two ways to avoid the GAMSAT and get into the ANU med program. One is to do the PhB program which you need a 99+ ATAR to get into. That takes four years with a compulsory research honours year and an interview. The other way is to get into the health sciences program which needs a 90+ ATAR (+ portfolio I think). Among the health sciences cohort they then select the top 30 students, after a portfolio and interview.

To answer your other question, I'm fairly sure it's the same as graduating with any other degree. Some people decide on career changes in their 30s, 40s and even 50s and sit the GAMSAT and get into med. There's a tonne of information abou t this on Paging Doctor which I would definitely recommend.
 
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Crow

Staff | Junior Doctor
Moderator
Is there any possible way of doing graduate entry into med without the GAMSAT?
Not really, unless you count the provisional entry programs offered by Melbourne/Sydney/Griffith/Flinders/UWA.

A couple of schools offer ridiculously competitive pathways where if you're in the top x% of your undergraduate degree cohort then you're guaranteed an interview for graduate entry, but these are mainly cash grabs for the university, and generally a lot more competitive than the pathways requiring you to sit UCAT and/or GAMSAT (I see one has been alluded to above while I type this post). Generally these also require you to do undergraduate degrees that have limited to no career prospects as well.
Also, what if you graduate from uni with a bachelor's degree in something like nursing and have started working already, but you are interested in doing med? How would it work from there?
I'm not really sure what you mean - it wouldn't be any different to any other person pursuing graduate entry (and in fact a large bulk of graduate entry medical students have previously been working after graduating from their first degree). If you are asking whether one gains credit for prior degrees or work experience, the answer is no. Deakin does offer some bonus points to graduate entry applicants with prior work and healthcare experience, though.
 

zx72ksq8o

Member
I was reading up about the usyd grad program and I think they require you to score a high GPA in a bachelor's degree ... how does this work if you're in your 30's and working already?
 

Crow

Staff | Junior Doctor
Moderator
I was reading up about the usyd grad program and I think they require you to score a high GPA in a bachelor's degree ... how does this work if you're in your 30's and working already?
Actually, USYD is the ONLY graduate entry school where GPA is a hurdle, meaning those with GPAs of 5.0 can hypothetically gain entry into their program (you wouldn't see this anywhere else for non-rural applicants). At USYD you need a very high GAMSAT score to gain an interview.

Why would being in your 30s change anything? Graduate entry has the same criteria for all applicants - there's no age limit.
 

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zx72ksq8o

Member
Also, are you able to apply to any graduate med course in the country, given you have a GPA and sat the GAMSAT? Or only the one which you got your bachelor's degree from?

Also, are there any GAMSAT only schools which don't require an interview or GPA?
 

Crow

Staff | Junior Doctor
Moderator
Also, are you able to apply to any graduate med course in the country, given you have a GPA and sat the GAMSAT? Or only the one which you got your bachelor's degree from
The majority of graduate entry schools will accept applications from graduates of any university. Unfortunately some are nepotistic and will only allow applications from graduates of the same university (Monash) or have special quotas that make it very very difficult for outsiders to gain a place (Flinders). USYD and the GEMSAS universities accept applications from anyone, though. Deakin does give bonuses to applicants with a qualification from Deakin, however, and ANU has also started the pathway mentioned above which will cut into some of the places they have to offer to non-ANU graduates. Unless you are an Adelaide local and willing to go to Flinders (or for that matter, a Victorian willing to study at Deakin), I wouldn't let this favouritism influence your choice of undergraduate degree and where you choose to study it.
 

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