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International Students: Multiple Offers Advice Requests

Calem

Ol' Man River
Just a quick question, I am aware that UNSW uploads the quality of teaching and students' satisfaction/dissastisfsction reports for the medical course online as a document for the public to read... Does monash do the same? I can't seem to find much information on the monash website and it's quite frustrating, as there's such a huge wealth of information on the UNSW side. Can any monash students advice on what's the main pros and cons the students experience there? In comparison, from what I read from the report (you can google to find the detailed 30+ pages one), UNSW main good points are the student community and they are extremely receptive to feedback, while the bad points are the iffy ways they grade essays and examinations, and not much communication and support to medical students regarding examination aspects. The ILP received negative feedback too, although over the years it has been improving, which shows that the uni is doing its best to improve the programme.

Furthermore, UNSW sends a detailed PDF file containing information of course content and how each semester/course would be graded and learning objectives for each module, to their students. I have one set sent to me by a helpful forum mate, and I was wondering if monash does the same for their students? Any monash students willing to share and send me such a similar file containing these important info, should it exist? Thank you so much!
I'm not sure whether Monash does have data like that on feedback, and it's certainly not released on the public part of the site. Monash does focus a lot on non-medical science aspects of the course, and compared to a lot of courses there's a lot of emphasis on programs like HEP (Health Enhancement Program) and CBP (Community Based Program). HEP was pretty well received by the students this year, but CBP doesn't seem to be liked by many, although as a second-year program I haven't actually experienced it.

I have course guides for both the first-year units as well as a 1st and 2nd year assessment guide, but I don't think you'll find them particularly useful, especially as it's so little of the course. Between the article "About Monash" that I've written on here and the Monash Handbook entry on the MBBS is probably going to be the best information about the whole of the course.
 

pi

Junior doctor
Emeritus Staff
Furthermore, UNSW sends a detailed PDF file containing information of course content and how each semester/course would be graded and learning objectives for each module, to their students. I have one set sent to me by a helpful forum mate, and I was wondering if monash does the same for their students? Any monash students willing to share and send me such a similar file containing these important info, should it exist? Thank you so much!

We have a detailed study guide:
- Each lecture and tute has it's own page, giving the name of the lecture/tute and who is taking it or designed it
- Each page has all the readings, ie. what book and page numbers/chapters
- Each page has all the outcomes, ie. what are the main points to understand from the lecture/tute

We also have an assessment guide, which details each assessment task, the criteria and the due date for MBBS I and MBBS II. This is quite detailed.

Finally, we also have a practical guide (for dissections, etc.) and a workbook (additional notes for tutes, that have questions and learning material).

All are made available to us at the start of the semester, and the workbook and practical guide are printed by the faculty for us too for our convenience :)
 

greenglacier

Emeritus Staff
Emeritus Staff
I think there's about 4-5million in Sydney. It's fairly big. 30-60min travel times are pretty standard if you want to commute anywhere. :)
Population of Sydney = 4.5 million
Population of Melbourne = 4.0 million

Both seem pretty big to me!
 

leont

Member
I'm not sure whether Monash does have data like that on feedback, and it's certainly not released on the public part of the site. Monash does focus a lot on non-medical science aspects of the course, and compared to a lot of courses there's a lot of emphasis on programs like HEP (Health Enhancement Program) and CBP (Community Based Program). HEP was pretty well received by the students this year, but CBP doesn't seem to be liked by many, although as a second-year program I haven't actually experienced it.

I have course guides for both the first-year units as well as a 1st and 2nd year assessment guide, but I don't think you'll find them particularly useful, especially as it's so little of the course. Between the article "About Monash" that I've written on here and the Monash Handbook entry on the MBBS is probably going to be the best information about the whole of the course.

The CBP sounds extremely interesting though. Thanks for writing the monash article calem, I'm sure it's extremely beneficial for many medic hopefuls like me! :)

We have a detailed study guide:
- Each lecture and tute has it's own page, giving the name of the lecture/tute and who is taking it or designed it
- Each page has all the readings, ie. what book and page numbers/chapters
- Each page has all the outcomes, ie. what are the main points to understand from the lecture/tute

We also have an assessment guide, which details each assessment task, the criteria and the due date for MBBS I and MBBS II. This is quite detailed.

Finally, we also have a practical guide (for dissections, etc.) and a workbook (additional notes for tutes, that have questions and learning material).

All are made available to us at the start of the semester, and the workbook and practical guide are printed by the faculty for us too for our convenience :)

Oh I see, are the pages in digital form or hard copy? Thanks rohitpi!

Population of Sydney = 4.5 million
Population of Melbourne = 4.0 million

Both seem pretty big to me!

I think there's about 4-5million in Sydney. It's fairly big. 30-60min travel times are pretty standard if you want to commute anywhere. :)

Thanks for the info guys! :)
 

Rimyuel

Member
Monash does focus a lot on non-medical science aspects of the course, and compared to a lot of courses there's a lot of emphasis on programs like HEP (Health Enhancement Program) and CBP (Community Based Program). HEP was pretty well received by the students this year, but CBP doesn't seem to be liked by many, although as a second-year program I haven't actually experienced it.

As far as the placements go, the problem with CBP Placements is that, like all placements, it's entirely dependent on where you get, and, like all placements, some will be better suited than others. I got a really good one and absolutely love it. Even though it takes me ~45 mins to get out to Prahran every Tuesday for it, I think it's absolutely worth it. Yes, it's not as clinical; yes, it's health in the community, outside pure science; and yes, it's -gasp- social welfare; but in many ways, you don't really see how important 'fluffy' things like that are until you actually get out there, which is something the emphasis on Society and Population Health at Monash does do for all the preconceived view that a day in the community is excessive. And as far as my CBP goes, the project we're doing is actually benefiting the organization and having a real impact on the community, which is pretty damn awesome.
>(tl;dr: I have an awesome placement and despite being just as sceptical as most people at the start, I ended up really liking it.)
That said, I have a friend who hates her placement, just because she's very science-minded, it's not really suited to her and she's limited by how much her placement provider lets them 'do.' Other people in similar placements end up liking them much more than she did hers.

Ultimately, it depends on how open you are to the idea, how compatible you are with your preferences and how lucky you get with placements. Most of the discontent actually rose from the fact that the method of allocation this year wasn't exactly... ideal, to say the least, and a lot of people ended up with placements really far away from where they live (I have a friend in Caulfield South who ended up in West Sunshine :|). MUMUS got on it straight away though and the Faculty said they'd improve it for you guys next year~ They're good like that~ Like with our hospital allocations next year, Ash (the MUMUS President) had concerns etc drafted into a official letter sent to the Faculty within a day or two. Which is pretty good, given that it was right in the middle of the holidays, too.

As far as assignments go, the problem with CBP Assignments is that in general, public health is terrible and health promotion encompasses such a massive area that it's pretty hard to be specific with what they want in regards to marking criteria. Thus complaints re:how to write it up.

[MENTION=14525]leont[/MENTION]: Like Calem said, the main thing that comes up with Monash is the emphasis on the external factors influencing health, which has its pros and cons. A lot of the other things will be similar to other unis: you'll get really amazing lecturers along with less great ones; tutes really depend on the tutor, and in turn, how people respond (eg. if no one does any of the prep reading etc, you're going to get a lot less out of it). In general, Medicine is the exact opposite of spoon-fed and it's pretty important to prepare for tutes and even lectures beforehand: since we cover so much in such a short span of time, it's really easy to fall behind.
Since you mentioned student community, I feel like I should do a shoutout for the people too, even though it's been said before (so I'll stick it in as close to a spoiler tag as I can find in this unfamiliar forum lol): [OFFTOPIC]Our student community is awesome. Everyone is really supportive of each other, our academic rep is absolutely amazing and doesn't hesitate at all to sort out even the smallest issues; everyone, really, is willing to help: any questions that are posted in the Facebook group are literally answered within minutes by several different people almost any time during the day. Like I said before, MUMUS is great when it comes to liaising with the Faculty and they and all the other socs organize a ton of events and workshops and just general social and academic opportunities to get to know one another and learn.

A downside though, is that we're a little exclusive in the context of the rest of the uni; it's a little unavoidable given that we have so many more contact hours, but a result of having our own Med-everything is that it's a lot easier to join the Med version than mainstream-uni version unless you're pretty dedicated or have friends outside Med. Which is another thing that gets difficult because of our hours: meeting up with non-Med people. That's probably something that's not exclusive to Monash though, I know my friend at Otago has the same problem.
[/OFFTOPIC]
All are made available to us at the start of the semester, and the workbook and practical guide are printed by the faculty for us too for our convenience :)
Except they didn't staple it for us this semester. Such disappointment in our Faculty </3 :p

Oh I see, are the pages in digital form or hard copy? Thanks rohitpi!
Both. I have my ones from this year and last year if you want to see what they look like.
 

leont

Member
As far as the placements go, the problem with CBP Placements is that, like all placements, it's entirely dependent on where you get, and, like all placements, some will be better suited than others. I got a really good one and absolutely love it. Even though it takes me ~45 mins to get out to Prahran every Tuesday for it, I think it's absolutely worth it. Yes, it's not as clinical; yes, it's health in the community, outside pure science; and yes, it's -gasp- social welfare; but in many ways, you don't really see how important 'fluffy' things like that are until you actually get out there, which is something the emphasis on Society and Population Health at Monash does do for all the preconceived view that a day in the community is excessive. And as far as my CBP goes, the project we're doing is actually benefiting the organization and having a real impact on the community, which is pretty damn awesome.
>(tl;dr: I have an awesome placement and despite being just as sceptical as most people at the start, I ended up really liking it.)
That said, I have a friend who hates her placement, just because she's very science-minded, it's not really suited to her and she's limited by how much her placement provider lets them 'do.' Other people in similar placements end up liking them much more than she did hers.

Ultimately, it depends on how open you are to the idea, how compatible you are with your preferences and how lucky you get with placements. Most of the discontent actually rose from the fact that the method of allocation this year wasn't exactly... ideal, to say the least, and a lot of people ended up with placements really far away from where they live (I have a friend in Caulfield South who ended up in West Sunshine :|). MUMUS got on it straight away though and the Faculty said they'd improve it for you guys next year~ They're good like that~ Like with our hospital allocations next year, Ash (the MUMUS President) had concerns etc drafted into a official letter sent to the Faculty within a day or two. Which is pretty good, given that it was right in the middle of the holidays, too.

As far as assignments go, the problem with CBP Assignments is that in general, public health is terrible and health promotion encompasses such a massive area that it's pretty hard to be specific with what they want in regards to marking criteria. Thus complaints re:how to write it up.

@leont : Like Calem said, the main thing that comes up with Monash is the emphasis on the external factors influencing health, which has its pros and cons. A lot of the other things will be similar to other unis: you'll get really amazing lecturers along with less great ones; tutes really depend on the tutor, and in turn, how people respond (eg. if no one does any of the prep reading etc, you're going to get a lot less out of it). In general, Medicine is the exact opposite of spoon-fed and it's pretty important to prepare for tutes and even lectures beforehand: since we cover so much in such a short span of time, it's really easy to fall behind.
Since you mentioned student community, I feel like I should do a shoutout for the people too, even though it's been said before (so I'll stick it in as close to a spoiler tag as I can find in this unfamiliar forum lol): [OFFTOPIC]Our student community is awesome. Everyone is really supportive of each other, our academic rep is absolutely amazing and doesn't hesitate at all to sort out even the smallest issues; everyone, really, is willing to help: any questions that are posted in the Facebook group are literally answered within minutes by several different people almost any time during the day. Like I said before, MUMUS is great when it comes to liaising with the Faculty and they and all the other socs organize a ton of events and workshops and just general social and academic opportunities to get to know one another and learn.

A downside though, is that we're a little exclusive in the context of the rest of the uni; it's a little unavoidable given that we have so many more contact hours, but a result of having our own Med-everything is that it's a lot easier to join the Med version than mainstream-uni version unless you're pretty dedicated or have friends outside Med. Which is another thing that gets difficult because of our hours: meeting up with non-Med people. That's probably something that's not exclusive to Monash though, I know my friend at Otago has the same problem.
[/OFFTOPIC]

Except they didn't staple it for us this semester. Such disappointment in our Faculty </3 :p


Both. I have my ones from this year and last year if you want to see what they look like.

Rimyuel, you are amazing!!! :) thank you for such an informative post! I am quite heavily involved in community work, and love doing so, so the CBP probably suits me. MUMUS sounds amazing, the president is a student himself right? That's dedication right there, wow!

Its alright, I will look forward to seeing the hard copy and digital forms when I enrol in monash. Thanks for helping me reach a decision guys! :D
 

pi

Junior doctor
Emeritus Staff
Rimyuel, you are amazing!!! :) thank you for such an informative post! I am quite heavily involved in community work, and love doing so, so the CBP probably suits me. MUMUS sounds amazing, the president is a student himself right? That's dedication right there, wow!

Its alright, I will look forward to seeing the hard copy and digital forms when I enrol in monash. Thanks for helping me reach a decision guys! :D

The president, *herself by the way :p, is a current 5th year student and is a REALLY nice person :) Of course next year the president will change, but the current one is very approachable with all sorts of questions, everything from MUMUS activities to mental health issues to assignment help to understanding coursework to etc. :)

WOOOO! Good decision ;) :D
 

leont

Member
Can any monash students comment on the different halls for accommodation? Which one would be a quieter, not so partyish yet close knitted hall? Are the new halls bonded and have a good community? :)
 

Kilik

Member
Can any monash students comment on the different halls for accommodation? Which one would be a quieter, not so partyish yet close knitted hall? Are the new halls bonded and have a good community? :)

I've heard good things about both the new and older halls but here's how I feel.

I stay at the new halls. Love it here. They're quiet (the rooms are practically sound proof, compared to the thinner doors at the old halls) and have ample study spaces / cooking areas for people who want to get out of their rooms (two per floor). However, I believe that Jackomos has a better "hall spirit" than Briggs, but that's just from my own observation.

The new halls are a fair bit more pricey than the old halls, because you'll be paying for the convenience of having your own en suite kitchenette and bath, all of which are shared in the old halls, and a bigger room space.

I know of tons of people who want to continue their stay at the new halls, so if you really want to get a place, I suggest you make an application as soon as you can.

There's also a Halls Meddies group in my year, where people get together once in a while for revision at the new halls.

But if you are interested, there are quite a few off-campus alternatives available. They are typically cheaper, but also come with a risk because unlike living on campus, there's no security at all. A friend of mine stayed at a share-house near Clayton and got burgled earlier this year. The thief/thieves stole everyone's laptops and valuables.
 

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I stay at the new halls. Love it here. They're quiet (the rooms are practically sound proof, compared to the thinner doors at the old halls) and have ample study spaces / cooking areas for people who want to get out of their rooms (two per floor). However, I believe that Jackomos has a better "hall spirit" than Briggs, but that's just from my own observation.

I know of tons of people who want to continue their stay at the new halls, so if you really want to get a place, I suggest you make an application as soon as you can.

Hey Kilik how is the social atmopshere at Jackomos and Briggs halls, are there still parties/events like the other halls, is it easy to make friends there? What do you mean that Jackomos has a better hall spirit?
Also do you think there will still be rooms if someone applies to the new halls now?
Thanks
 
I've heard good things about both the new and older halls but here's how I feel.

I stay at the new halls. Love it here. They're quiet (the rooms are practically sound proof, compared to the thinner doors at the old halls) and have ample study spaces / cooking areas for people who want to get out of their rooms (two per floor). However, I believe that Jackomos has a better "hall spirit" than Briggs, but that's just from my own observation.

I know of tons of people who want to continue their stay at the new halls, so if you really want to get a place, I suggest you make an application as soon as you can.

Hey Kilik how is the social atmopshere at Jackomos and Briggs halls, are there still parties/events like the other halls, is it easy to make friends there? What do you mean that Jackomos has a better hall spirit?
Also do you think there will still be rooms if someone applies to the new halls now?
Thanks
 

Kilik

Member
Hey Kilik how is the social atmopshere at Jackomos and Briggs halls, are there still parties/events like the other halls, is it easy to make friends there? What do you mean that Jackomos has a better hall spirit?
Also do you think there will still be rooms if someone applies to the new halls now?
Thanks

It's just the overall vibe I get from Jackomos. They seem to have more fun. Hahahaha. About the rooms thing... I'm not too sure actually. Best give Monash Residential Services a call or drop them an email.
 

jeff

Member
Can any monash students comment on the different halls for accommodation? Which one would be a quieter, not so partyish yet close knitted hall? Are the new halls bonded and have a good community? :)

Normanby is by far the most quiet hall at Monash. I wouldn't say that we're all close knit though, but the med students here are.
Mannix is by far the most close-knitted place to live, but it's also the least quiet.

And what rohitpi says about Ashleigh Witt (MUMUS President) is true. She is an amazing person.
 

bifo

Member
Just a quick question, I am aware that UNSW uploads the quality of teaching and students' satisfaction/dissastisfsction reports for the medical course online as a document for the public to read... Does monash do the same? I can't seem to find much information on the monash website and it's quite frustrating, as there's such a huge wealth of information on the UNSW side. Can any monash students advice on what's the main pros and cons the students experience there? In comparison, from what I read from the report (you can google to find the detailed 30+ pages one), UNSW main good points are the student community and they are extremely receptive to feedback, while the bad points are the iffy ways they grade essays and examinations, and not much communication and support to medical students regarding examination aspects. The ILP received negative feedback too, although over the years it has been improving, which shows that the uni is doing its best to improve the programme.

Furthermore, UNSW sends a detailed PDF file containing information of course content and how each semester/course would be graded and learning objectives for each module, to their students. I have one set sent to me by a helpful forum mate, and I was wondering if monash does the same for their students? Any monash students willing to share and send me such a similar file containing these important info, should it exist? Thank you so much!

Hi Leont,

You should have been starting med course for a couple years, are you in UNSW now? Could you share after your experiences in real life?
 

AndHan19

Member
I am an international student from Canada that have two offers to study dentistry. One from University Adelaide and the other one from Griffith University. Adelaide fees are significantly higher than Griffiths but they are also rank way higher. I also read on the agency website that Griffith made improvements to their dentistry program in 2018. Would like to hear your opinion on which uni is better for international students and why.

Much appreciated.
 

Harym93

Member
I am an international student from Canada that have two offers to study dentistry. One from University Adelaide and the other one from Griffith University. Adelaide fees are significantly higher than Griffiths but they are also rank way higher. I also read on the agency website that Griffith made improvements to their dentistry program in 2018. Would like to hear your opinion on which uni is better for international students and why.

Much appreciated.

can I ask what your cGPA was when you applied? I’m also looking to apply for the 2021 intake and was curious what the cut of was for us Canadian.
 
Hello,

I'm also an International student struggling to choose between Monash and UNSW just like you did. When I saw your post about Monash and UNSW, I was really happy because I was thinking about the exact same thing such as the 5 year and 6 year med program. Sadly, your post was written in 2012. So I bet by this, you have completed your medical program so I really hope you can tell me which university I should choose. Does a year of ILP at UNSW really matter and worth the time investment and money as well?? I really hope that you can help me out because I'm really struggling to decide between the two. Thank you in advance.
 

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Hey guys!

I'm an International student here, and I am wondering if there are any forumers who know more about the Monash and UNSW Medicine course, and are willing to share insights into the differences between the two schools so I could make an informed decision as to which school to head to, should I be offered a placing from both schools?

From what I gathered:

1. Monash being a 5 year course gets us to cut one year off studying (which means paying one year less of school fees!) and be able to enter the medical profession earlier than UNSW graduates who studied via a 6 year course. However, the pro of studying at UNSW is that there's a research year that might be useful in the future as research is an essential skill all doctors need to possess. Is this pro necessary worth the one extra year though?? (Can any UNSW students or anyone with this knowledge comment on this point?)

2. UNSW is located in a more vibrant location than Monash, as it's well located in the middle of the Sydney's city hub and near famous beaches and Sydney's more famed for having a better weather as compared to Melbourne.. That being said though, living in the city is expensive, and the Monash lifestyle is more affordable and slow-paced? (Can someone please comment on this point?) Furthermore, Monash is in a suburb area far away from Melbourne city (can someone please tell me if the Monash area itself is convenient and not so isolated?), so it offers a good study atmosphere, but there might not be much to do in our free time... (Again, can any Monash students or anyone with this knowledge comment on this point?)

3. UNSW is slightly more reputable worldwide than Monash? I know this is not the most important point, but it definitely plays a part in the decision making process.

Besides these, any other points you guys might like to add on that could help me in this decision making process?

I'm really having a hard time trying to figure this out so can you please please help me??
Thank you so much! I will really appreciate insights and feedback. :)
 

jyjy863

Member
Hey there! I'm a y2 student in Monash. I obviously can't comment on the UNSW experience but I will share on my part.

1. Monash actually offers an elective year for you to focus on research. IMO, the pro about this is that because it is a separate add-on to the 5 year MD course, you will not be paying the 80k fees. I can't remember the cost right now, but I do remember it being significantly less.
2. Yes, Clayton is a bit far off, but most of us find it alright. There's a couple of malls a short drive away (eg. The Glen, Chadstone) and my friends and I typically just grab an Uber to get there. We do occasionally head into the city for the cafes and events. I know some people who choose to move into the city during the clinical years where teaching is no longer on campus so that's a viable option too.
3. Not too sure about that haha! I think my seniors don't have any issue getting jobs in Australia/their home country so I'm not bothered on that front.

May have missed out on things but do feel free to message me if you have any other issues or specific queries! Happy to help :)
 

Juice box

Member
Hi guys,
I'm currently waiting for offer results for Adelaide and have already received a conditional offer for Flinders (I'm an international student). I'm quite undecided on which uni I wanna go to (that is, if I get an offer for Adl).

I know that a lot of people accept their Flinders offers and then jump ship to Adelaide once they get Adl's offer afterwards, so to those people, what made you make that choice?

Or just in general, what do you think makes those two universities different in terms of med school and deciding on which offer to accept?
 

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