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Choosing Between Physiotherapy Offers

Al.R

Lurker
Hey all,
Regarding Physiotherapy offers, do you guys have any information regarding the cut off for Doctor of physiotherapy (DPT) at Macquarie University and Bachelor of physiotherapy at WSU. I know the minimum requirement for DPT is 4.5 but I heard it's competitive and I will need a higher GPA to get an offer, so I am not sure if my GPA is enough.
I completed a bachelors degree with a GPA of 5. And currently I am studying another bachelors degree with a gpa of 6.5 (completed first year). I was wondering if you guys have any idea if the my GPA is enough for an offer to the above courses.

Cheers,
Al
 

Crow

Staff | Junior Doctor
Moderator
Hey all,
Regarding Physiotherapy offers, do you guys have any information regarding the cut off for Doctor of physiotherapy (DPT) at Macquarie University and Bachelor of physiotherapy at WSU. I know the minimum requirement for DPT is 4.5 but I heard it's competitive and I will need a higher GPA to get an offer, so I am not sure if my GPA is enough.
I completed a bachelors degree with a GPA of 5. And currently I am studying another bachelors degree with a gpa of 6.5 (completed first year). I was wondering if you guys have any idea if the my GPA is enough for an offer to the above courses.

Cheers,
Al
Have you looked at the past cutoffs in the official UAC documents? They usually release an official document with the cutoffs each year. Otherwise, I’d recommend contacting the admissions teams at each uni directly. Unfortunately we don’t have much (if any) data on physio entry on here.
 

Tijana

Member
No worries! And thank you :)

My ucat score was 3090 (98th %ile): VR-740, DM-710, QR-760, AR-880 and an STJ of 651
(You can see someones previous posts by clicking on their username)

And nah i didnt have any tutouring, ive never heard of anyone getting a tutour for physio to be honest with you. If you need any help, the lecturers and your classmates are always there to assist. A lot of the students get HD's so as long as you put in the work they won't be too hard to get.

I didn't really have a set study pattern, what i did was print off the lecture slides before the actual lectures and I'd make notes on the printouts when attending the lecture. I'd then try and memorize each lecture printout before we covered the content in the following practical/tutorial. (After a few weeks though I'd always fall behind though ahaha - its pretty hard to keep up as the semester goes on). About 2-3 weeks before exams i would go re-memorize all of the lectures and important practical/tutorial notes again.

Bond is a bit out of my family and I's price range. If we did have the money then yeah I'd consider it
Did you only use the lecture/tutorial slides and notes for exam preparation and not any textbooks? My son is going into his second year of physiotherapy at ACU, whilst also playing a representative sport, so I am worried if he will be able to cope with the workload.
 

Seano

Member
Did you only use the lecture/tutorial slides and notes for exam preparation and not any textbooks? My son is going into his second year of physiotherapy at ACU, whilst also playing a representative sport, so I am worried if he will be able to cope with the workload.
Hi Tijana!

Yes it was mainly lectures/tutorial slides for written exams and practical/tutorial slides for practical exams. Textbooks help a lot with understanding the content (especially for general anatomy, functional anatomy and musculoskeletal pracs) and are only part of the exam if the lecturer in charge of the unit explicitly says so (I don't think that ever happened to me when I was doing physio though). Textbooks are really important for assignments though - softcopies of them are usually distributed to the cohort from the grades above.

I had a couple of friends that played representative sport and found the workload to be okay. However, some friends decided that it was too much and talked to the uni and were allowed to study physio part-time. If you're son is struggling with the workload then maybe consider this option.

I wish you and your son all the best and I hope this helps :) !
 

Tijana

Member
Hi Tijana!

Yes it was mainly lectures/tutorial slides for written exams and practical/tutorial slides for practical exams. Textbooks help a lot with understanding the content (especially for general anatomy, functional anatomy and musculoskeletal pracs) and are only part of the exam if the lecturer in charge of the unit explicitly says so (I don't think that ever happened to me when I was doing physio though). Textbooks are really important for assignments though - softcopies of them are usually distributed to the cohort from the grades above.

I had a couple of friends that played representative sport and found the workload to be okay. However, some friends decided that it was too much and talked to the uni and were allowed to study physio part-time. If you're son is struggling with the workload then maybe consider this option.

I wish you and your son all the best and I hope this helps :) !
Thank you, very helpful 😊
I thought soft copies of all textbooks are available through the ACU library ?
 

Seano

Member
Thank you, very helpful 😊
I thought soft copies of all textbooks are available through the ACU library ?
That's okay! I'm glad I could help!

Look I think they should be but I'm not too sure. Getting downloadable softcopies would make the textbooks easier to access anyways so if your son has the chance to get them from someone then I would recommend this :)

Let me know if you need any other help!
 
Hey everyone,
I was wondering if anyone could give me some insight on where to study physio. Pretty bummed out after not receiving any med offers🥲, so thought physio would be a great alternative and pathway to med (if I still want to study it). I'm still trying to gather more research, but so far I'm deciding on UQ or USyd undergrad physiotherapy (ACU sounds rlly good too). I do reside in QLD, so that makes me lean more towards the UQ offer. But would greatly appreciate a second opinion and also some comments on the USyd physio degree :D
 

2xq

Allied Health Member
Hey everyone,
I was wondering if anyone could give me some insight on where to study physio. Pretty bummed out after not receiving any med offers🥲, so thought physio would be a great alternative and pathway to med (if I still want to study it). I'm still trying to gather more research, but so far I'm deciding on UQ or USyd undergrad physiotherapy (ACU sounds rlly good too). I do reside in QLD, so that makes me lean more towards the UQ offer. But would greatly appreciate a second opinion and also some comments on the USyd physio degree :D
Both USyd and ACU have great physio programs, however, because moving interstate is very expensive (particularly in Sydney), in my opinion, you should do physio at UQ.
 

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Dal

Lurker
No worries! And thank you :)

My ucat score was 3090 (98th %ile): VR-740, DM-710, QR-760, AR-880 and an STJ of 651
(You can see someones previous posts by clicking on their username)

And nah i didnt have any tutouring, ive never heard of anyone getting a tutour for physio to be honest with you. If you need any help, the lecturers and your classmates are always there to assist. A lot of the students get HD's so as long as you put in the work they won't be too hard to get.

I didn't really have a set study pattern, what i did was print off the lecture slides before the actual lectures and I'd make notes on the printouts when attending the lecture. I'd then try and memorize each lecture printout before we covered the content in the following practical/tutorial. (After a few weeks though I'd always fall behind though ahaha - its pretty hard to keep up as the semester goes on). About 2-3 weeks before exams i would go re-memorize all of the lectures and important practical/tutorial notes again.

Bond is a bit out of my family and I's price range. If we did have the money then yeah I'd consider it
Hi Seano, I find your responses very useful, thanks for that. I accepted an ACU Physio offer after attempting med with no luck. How hard is it to study for UCAT and maintain a high GPA in the first year? I already have a solid ATAR/first-year GPA (science). Do you reckon I should differ my first Physio year to maximize the gain with UCAT and not lose my academic achievement? Thank you
 

Seano

Member
Hi Seano, I find your responses very useful, thanks for that. I accepted an ACU Physio offer after attempting med with no luck. How hard is it to study for UCAT and maintain a high GPA in the first year? I already have a solid ATAR/first-year GPA (science). Do you reckon I should differ my first Physio year to maximize the gain with UCAT and not lose my academic achievement? Thank you
Hi Dal, thank you, I'm glad I could be of assistance :)

First of all, congratulations on getting into Physio!

Since the UCAT is in the middle of the year, you don't need to worry about it affecting your second semester of study, only your first. Getting a good mark in the first semester of ACU Physio is quite achievable, and since you have already gotten a good GPA in your last year of study then I reckon you should be able to smash it - as long as you stay on top of your work (especially with your practical material and with anatomy). In your last degree, you would have already studied some of the material you'll need to study in physio - so this will be a good advantage for you.

You should find ample time to study for the UCAT throughout the first semester of physio. Also, your winter holidays should be at least a month long, so if you book your UCAT towards the end of the testing session, then you will also have a couple weeks off where you can just focus on the UCAT.

Hope this helps - all the best!
 
Hi BettyLuv, first of all - congratulations on achieving an ATAR high enough for ACU and USyd physiotherapy! I have just finished my second year of physio at ACU (at the north sydney campus) and have also just been accepted in WSU med so I believe I can provide some insight here :)

I can only speak for ACU but I think that it's a pretty good physiotherapy degree - in the first year you learn about the general biology and anatomy of the human body through human cadavers and you also learn about the basics of the physiotherapy practice and a lot about communication. You also get to go on hospital placement in first year and observe the different types of physiotherapy in each different ward. In the second year you move into body system specific disorders and how to treat them - and it's very practical based here (more assessments throughout the year are practical than theory). You get to go on placement to a sports team as a level 1 sports trainer in this year. The 3rd year is similar to the second year (I'm pretty sure), and fourth year is all placement. If your GPA is high enough in the second and first years then you have the chance to enter the honours program and complete some research in the 3rd and 4th years which is pretty cool.

I've heard that USyd doesn't put as much emphasis on the practical side of physiotherapy this early into the degree so I guess it's up to personal preference and if you think you'd enjoy the practical side more. In my opinion, practical assessments are a pretty good way to study for med interviews as you learn over time how to stay calm and think on your toes in the high stress environment of exams. I've also heard how various employers are seeking out ACU students because of their communication skills, but on hospital placement I've seen many USyd graduates so I believe that both universities should be fine for employment. (But take my word with a pinch of salt because it isn't statistical evidence😅).

Physiotherapy at ACU isn't too difficult in the first year. If you stay on top of your anatomy, kinda stay on top of your biology and are willing to cram everything else before exams then it wouldn't be too hard to maintain a GPA>6.5. (although I do recommend that you try and stay on top of everything from week 1 ahaha). Second year is a fair bit harder and there's heaps of theory and practical content so I recommend aiming for a GPA of 7 in your first year so that even if your marks are lower from the second year onwards, then it won't have as much of an impact on your overall grade.

Being a physio student at ACU is like being in a large family - everyone's mates with each other and willing to help each other out. The lecturers and tutorial/practical teachers are all really nice and friendly as well (and they offer free physio😂). The north sydney campus is pretty small but due to the small size of students that attend it, it is also really clean and calm. You are right near the city so it is very easy accessible (in terms of public transport) and there's always something to do in your spare time. I really loved my time at ACU and had a great experience there. The only thing that I didn't like too much at ACU was the variation in marks that were given by the examiners - i.e. sometimes i would get a mark that was a lot higher than my peers and sometimes it would be a lot lower even if we had submitted similar assignments or had similar performances in practical assessments. (However if you study enough your marks shouldn't be affected too much by any outliers).I believe that this is an issue with all uni's though so don't stress too much about it.

When I finished Year 12 I was deciding whether or not to take physio at WSU or ACU (I wasn't offered a spot at USyd due to my ATAR) and I decided on ACU purely because of transport. I reckon that any physiotherapy degree should be fine in terms of employment because physiotherapy is a vastly growing profession and there are many fields in it that require more employees. My knowledge on this is a it vague but if you want to do hospital rotations when you first graduate I think you need a high GPA and interview to be offered a place (hospital rotations are when you work in a different ward every few weeks and graduates do this to expose themselves to different fields to see where they would like to work in the future). What I'm trying to say is that these hospital rotations don't favour anyone from USyd over ACU (for example) as they only look at your marks and interview (someone please correct me if I'm wrong on the admissions criteria for hospital rotations😅).

Don't be worried by the low ATAR cutoff for ACU- the median raw ATAR of my cohort was over 97 which is pretty high. I'd recommend it not to be a factor when deciding between ACU and USyd. Physiotherapy is a great pathway to try to get into med and is a great back-up at the same time, so I believe that choosing either ACU or USyd physio will be a great choice. A few of my physio friends have also had med/dent interviews this year and last year so it is definitely achievable to get into med when starting physio.

Best of luck with your decision, I hope this info helped out a bit - if you need any more advice just let me know
I k its been 2 years, but did u manage to get into medicine. I'm also considering taking the pathway of physio from usyd to wsu med but d k how difficult the physio degree is to sustain a high gpa while studying for the ucat again. Thnx
 

2xq

Allied Health Member
I k its been 2 years, but did u manage to get into medicine. I'm also considering taking the pathway of physio from usyd to wsu med but d k how difficult the physio degree is to sustain a high gpa while studying for the ucat again. Thnx
from their post history, i believe they are at wsu studying med
do also note that wsu takes the "best of" ATAR, GPA or any other qualifications that you have and if you exceed that ATAR equivalent threshold, you've checked off that requirement
 

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