Choosing An Undergraduate Degree: Questions and Discussions

[2xq]

I am thinking about starting first year uni this year and Redoing UCAT- with my ATAR 99.90, no adjustments, will they look at my ATAR or my GPA for undergrad? Or can you redirect me to where I may find the information, thanks in advance

Please refer to the following resources:
1) The respective uni websites
2) [Undergrad] - (2023 Updated) Med schools Selection Criteria Y12s & Non-standards (noting it is updated as of 2023)

 

[ck8]

FYI alot of the ArtofSmart stuff is incorrect. You should always refer to the most available information possible.

Sorry. You're going to have to be a little more specific than that. Diagnostic Radiography is most certainly not for everyone. Without knowing what exactly you want to know, I can't really help you out

Oh sorry for begin vague I went on a tangent, I want to ask how is it? I know it's also a lot of physics and maths but besides those downsides, how manageable is it and do you guys do placements?

 

[2xq]

Oh sorry for begin vague I went on a tangent, I want to ask how is it? I know it's also a lot of physics and maths but besides those downsides, how manageable is it

When you mean manageable, are you referring to workload? or are you referring to the number of graduates?

Workload management is very individualistic so YMMV.
Number of graduates. Plenty each year.

and do you guys do placements?

Of course!

Approximately 1680 hours in the BAppSc(DR) across 2-4th years (or 7 placement blocks)(give or take considering different sites having different hours etc.). At least 1 rural/regional placement. At least 1 hospital placement. At least 1 private practice.

Approximately 770 hours in the MDR across the degree (or 3-4 placement blocks)(give or take considering different sites having different hours etc.). At least 1 rural/regional placement. At least 1 hospital placement. At least 1 private practice.


Just be aware that with MDR, its 2 years full-time BUT limited CSP places available. BAppSc(DR) is 4 years long but entirely CSP. [Assuming you are a domestic student]

 

[ck8]

When you mean manageable, are you referring to workload? or are you referring to the number of graduates?

Workload management is very individualistic so YMMV.
Number of graduates. Plenty each year.

Of course! Approximately 1680 hours in the BAppSc(DR) across 2-4th years (or 7 placement blocks)(give or take considering different sites having different hours etc.). At least 1 rural/regional placement. At least 1 hospital placement. At least 1 private practice.

yes, I am referring to workload. I currently enrolled into MS at USYD but I am thinking of unenrolling but I'll figure that out.

 

[2xq]

yes, I am referring to workload. I currently enrolled into MS at USYD but I am thinking of unenrolling but I'll figure that out.

Like I said, Workload management is very individualistic so YMMV. Also, I have edited my previous message to include a few more additional details if you were thinking about MDR.

 

[rubz07]

There's tons. For work opportunities, MedSci and biomed, you'd be scraping the bottom becuase
1. You're competing with other Med hopefuls (AKA: highly competitive, making GPA 7s very hard to get)
2. Very limited job opportunities.
3. Despite having the word medical in the name, both those course actually don't ave a lot of clinical settings. You can literally do most of the course online.

If your parents don't approve of nursing or pharmacy, that's fine. I get it. They can both be toxic workplaces upon graduation, but that doesn't mean they're bad professions. I get that it's hard to look past what your parents are saying, but ultimately it's your future. You can always course switch too Here's a few others to consider:

1. Physiotherapy (very competitive)
2. Occupational Therapy (P's get degrees)
3. Speech Pathology (Very, very high demand at the moment)
4. Optom (good job opportunities, but I'm not sure if your atar will get you in)
5. Veterinary medicine (This is also very competitive to get into though).
6. Exercise science (I don't recommend this because you'd need masters to do clinical work)
7. Social Work
8. Psychology (I wouldn't recommend this one. long pathway)
9. Counselling

All of these have better job prospects than science degrees. They're science based, have patient interaction and the top 5 have clinical components and hospital exposure. You can flip through the different health degrees at the university you want to go to.

what about pharmacy? is it worth it

 

[DrDrLMG!]

what about pharmacy? is it worth it

Pharmacy

Pharmacy discussion here. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down...

medstudentsonline.com.au

 

[AnubisHorus&Ra]

what about pharmacy? is it worth it

The forum LMG suggested is definitely the way to go. Only a pharmacist will be able to answer that. I believe the supply of pharmacists (metro), new government schemes and lack of hospital jobs might be something that would be a good starting point to research. The pros being a set schedule, no night shift, shorter course available at most unis, usually has a pretty good working environment (not colleagues, speaking purely of the physical environment), options for further training (e.g. vaccination training etc.)

Whether it's worth it or not is entirely up to your discretion. Even if you don't like it, pharmacy is a very good foundation for a number of other degrees if you felt you wanted to switch it out e.g. chemisty, physio, nutrition that include bits and pieces of those components.

 

[rubz07]

The forum LMG suggested is definitely the way to go. Only a pharmacist will be able to answer that. I believe the supply of pharmacists (metro), new government schemes and lack of hospital jobs might be something that would be a good starting point to research. The pros being a set schedule, no night shift, shorter course available at most unis, usually has a pretty good working environment (not colleagues, speaking purely of the physical environment), options for further training (e.g. vaccination training etc.)

Whether it's worth it or not is entirely up to your discretion. Even if you don't like it, pharmacy is a very good foundation for a number of other degrees if you felt you wanted to switch it out e.g. chemisty, physio, nutrition that include bits and pieces of those components.

Thank you so much for your reply!! I am planning to do pharmacy as a back up, trying for non standard medicine entry. This really helped

 

[Zmomo]

Guys, im in yr 12, im going to apply for undergrad med but Im not too sure if Ill get in. My backup career Id like to be an engineer, but med is my first preference by a long shot. Also idk if an engineering degree while applying for postgrad is the best choice if my heart is set on med as it is quite hard to get a high gpa. Do you think I can go into a science degree, try for postgrad, if all else fails I go back to engineering. Idm spending 3 yrs tryin for med, and going for engineering after those 3(year younger anyway). Reason is I think Ill have big regrets if i dont give med by best shot as its been a dream since childhood. Need advice.

 

[AnubisHorus&Ra]

Guys, im in yr 12, im going to apply for undergrad med but Im not too sure if Ill get in. My backup career Id like to be an engineer, but med is my first preference by a long shot. Also idk if an engineering degree while applying for postgrad is the best choice if my heart is set on med as it is quite hard to get a high gpa. Do you think I can go into a science degree, try for postgrad, if all else fails I go back to engineering. Idm spending 3 yrs tryin for med, and going for engineering after those 3(year younger anyway). Reason is I think Ill have big regrets if i dont give med by best shot as its been a dream since childhood. Need advice.

If you haven't read it yet, read through the common pitfalls of med wannabes thread in my signature. It just has some cursory information regarding these kinds of situations.

Rather than trying for post grad, I'd recommend trying for undergrad while you're studying and then trying for both undergrad and post-grad once you're eligible. This will maximise your chances and also mean you're not studying a degree specifically for the sake of post-grad med. As a whole, I'd never recommend science simply becuase of the lack of jobs. You might be happy to put 3 years that could be fruitless now, but it can become a very bitter situation when you see your acquaintences graduate and start working while you're stuck in week 1 of engineering three years after graduation (the possibility is there).

If you really think you can't handle engineering, I'd recommend a degree (other than science) that strikes a balance with employability and your strengths. For undergrad med, I'd recommend using theUCAT guides, again in my signature and practicing for the interview.

 

[A1]

Guys, im in yr 12, im going to apply for undergrad med but Im not too sure if Ill get in. My backup career Id like to be an engineer, but med is my first preference by a long shot. Also idk if an engineering degree while applying for postgrad is the best choice if my heart is set on med as it is quite hard to get a high gpa. Do you think I can go into a science degree, try for postgrad, if all else fails I go back to engineering. Idm spending 3 yrs tryin for med, and going for engineering after those 3(year younger anyway). Reason is I think Ill have big regrets if i dont give med by best shot as its been a dream since childhood. Need advice.

Doing engineering you need to wait till 4th/final year to apply for postgrad med. In the 3-4 years till then you can sit UCAT and apply non-standard for undergrad med.

Assuming your ATAR will be 96+, though you need GPA 6.5+ for UNSW it's only 4.8+ for JMP and anything for WSU (since your 96+ATAR is good for WSU). So engineering shouldn't stop you from JMP / WSU if you get a high enough UCAT.

If it's true for you that you can't get a high GPA with engineering, it does affect your chances for postgrad med. You need to make this judgment call yourself.

 

[user17526]

Hello,
I graduated Year 12 and I was wondering which undergraduate courses should I apply to for medicine entry as a postgraduate course? I need recommendations for courses in terms of difficulty and not in terms of job availability, medicine-based subjects etc. So what are the easiest undergraduate courses people usually study and achieve high GPAs in order to get into medicine? I'm interested in nursing, nutrition, psychology, laboratory medicine and modern languages (I don't mind exploring other courses) but I don't know whether these university courses are easy or not, and whether there's an easier course to be studied.

 

[AnubisHorus&Ra]

Hello,
I graduated Year 12 and I was wondering which undergraduate courses should I apply to for medicine entry as a postgraduate course? I need recommendations for courses in terms of difficulty and not in terms of job availability, medicine-based subjects etc. So what are the easiest undergraduate courses people usually study and achieve high GPAs in order to get into medicine? I'm interested in nursing, nutrition, psychology, laboratory medicine and modern languages (I don't mind exploring other courses) but I don't know whether these university courses are easy or not, and whether there's an easier course to be studied.

While I appreciate the absolute confidence, there are reasons we recommend courses based on job availability. Dismissing that aspect isn't doing you any favours. Beside the point:

What's difficult is based on your own set of skills. I did a year undergrad in border security (literally like immigration borders) and that was probably the easiest GPA 6.75 ever, but only becuase my skillset aligns very strongly with a course that's all assignments and no exams. If you're good at science and maths, pick nutrition, if you're good at reading theories and dull materia (sorry LMG), pick psych, if you're good with people, pick nursing. If you suck with people, pick lab med. If you like garden path sentences and correcting people there, their and theres, pick modern languages.

There's no such thing as an 'easy' course across the board. Becuase if you suck at assignments, you'd fail the random ass degree I picked form a hat.
There's usually only a few things that make a course 'easy':
1. The course structure aligns to your strengths
2. you have at least some interest in it
3. That it is the most obscure degree that you can possibly find.
4. Most importantly, it has an average class size of less than 5

Look, there is a degree on turf management, wine studies, supernatural creatures, theology, egyptology etc that no one does. If there's no other students to compare you too, as long as your assignments are reasonably good, it's somewhat 'easier' to get a good GPA, but very little will come of it unless you plan to work in the field.

Do i recommend this? Absolutely not. Did I take this path? Yes, because I already had a backup degree.

I'd recommend picking a 'normal' degree (like the ones you mentioned), try for undergrad, so you don't waste time and try for post grad with a backup degree that you can still work with.

 

[sigasigmaboy]

is it actually impossible to get a good gpa doing a bachelor of clinical sceince at macquaire (the 2 year program)

 

[giraffe6]

Hi all
I am in Year 12 currently in NSW and my ATAR is looking a bit done for undergraduate medicine. Hopefully I have a fighting chance at the UCAT unis, but I need a strong backup plan.

I am interested in studying psychology and applying for graduate medicine after I complete my degree. I have been trying to research this pathway online and am getting mixed results.

If anyone has studied this pathway or knows of it, I have a few questions...
- Should I do Honours if I am hoping to study medicine? If med doesn't work out, a psychology degree without honours is basically useless, but it will add another year of study bringing the total from 7 to 8 . In addition, would it be possible for me to switch to honours after getting an unsatisfactory GAMSAT or does the timeframe not line up there? I am pretty confident I can get a 97 ATAR to study honours straight out of HS.
- Is UNSW or USyd better for being able to switch to honours?
- Does UNSW or USyd offer more/better science electives like chemistry and biology that would help with GAMSAT preparation?

Thanks in advance if anyone can help!

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Hi all
I am in Year 12 currently in NSW and my ATAR is looking a bit done for undergraduate medicine. Hopefully I have a fighting chance at the UCAT unis, but I need a strong backup plan.

I am interested in studying psychology and applying for graduate medicine after I complete my degree. I have been trying to research this pathway online and am getting mixed results.

If anyone has studied this pathway or knows of it, I have a few questions...
- Should I do Honours if I am hoping to study medicine? If med doesn't work out, a psychology degree without honours is basically useless, but it will add another year of study bringing the total from 7 to 8 . In addition, would it be possible for me to switch to honours after getting an unsatisfactory GAMSAT or does the timeframe not line up there? I am pretty confident I can get a 97 ATAR to study honours straight out of HS.
- Is UNSW or USyd better for being able to switch to honours?
- Does UNSW or USyd offer more/better science electives like chemistry and biology that would help with GAMSAT preparation?

Thanks in advance if anyone can help!

I’m a clinical psychologist who has since gone back and studied medicine and am now practicing as a doctor.

I wrote this a few years ago now. Have a read and if you have further questions post them there and I’ll help you out.

Thread 'Psychology'

Jan 21, 2017

There appear to be three broad reasons why someone visiting MedStudentsOnline might want some information about an alternative undergraduate enrolment option to Medicine. The following is an attempt to address these with specific reference to Psychology.


1. Is Psychology a good option for first year, given I’m planning to re-sit UMAT and am hoping to get into Medicine via the non-standard pathway and not complete my initial undergraduate degree.

Firstly, and above all else, choosing your undergraduate degree on this basis is not a great idea. The vast majority of...

• DrDrLMG!
• Replies: 51
• Forum: Psychology

•