Choosing Between Universities and Offers

[pickledpumperni]

Yeah that's fair as well. Is there no chance that I'll be able to do the bonded years in NSW or would I have to do both the pre-fellowship and post-fellowship years in QLD?

 

[Crow]

Yeah that's fair as well. Is there no chance that I'll be able to do the bonded years in NSW or would I have to do both the pre-fellowship and post-fellowship years in QLD?

You could do them in NSW, but this would almost certainly be outside of Sydney given the nature of the ROS.

 

[pickledpumperni]

Oh ok, I wouldn't mind the griffith option so much if I could feasibly move back to NSW. Lots of things to think about.

 

[sept_water]

Hey guys so I'm just having trouble as to how to rank my UAC preferences for UNSW and JMP (i.e. which to put at 1 and 2).

The only things I have really considered are that I am a non-standard student, so I'm thinking that JMP would just be a more comfortable environment to learn within, with peers of my age... given the very small pool of non-standard student in UNSW. And the other pro for JMP is the course being a year shorter.

As for UNSW, I think my chance of gaining a place is really low when considering my academic, UCAT and interview results - so my mind keeps going, might as well put it at 1, you know? But obviously studying at UNSW would be much easier since I live in Sydney.

Altogether, since both are in NSW, there isn't much of a difference in terms of interning close to home... so I think I'm fine on that front.

Idk, I was just hoping to get more insight into other factors that you guys can think of? Thank you so much and happy holidays!!

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Hey guys so I'm just having trouble as to how to rank my UAC preferences for UNSW and JMP (i.e. which to put at 1 and 2).

The only things I have really considered are that I am a non-standard student, so I'm thinking that JMP would just be a more comfortable environment to learn within, with peers of my age... given the very small pool of non-standard student in UNSW. And the other pro for JMP is the course being a year shorter.

As for UNSW, I think my chance of gaining a place is really low when considering my academic, UCAT and interview results - so my mind keeps going, might as well put it at 1, you know? But obviously studying at UNSW would be much easier since I live in Sydney.

Altogether, since both are in NSW, there isn't much of a difference in terms of interning close to home... so I think I'm fine on that front.

Idk, I was just hoping to get more insight into other factors that you guys can think of? Thank you so much and happy holidays!!

BMP vs CSP would be a useful factor, as would Port Mac/Armidale vs Kensington/Newcastle, but unfortunately there’s no way to preference that adequately deals with these. Scholarships would be another factor, but are perhaps unlikely from your self-description of your results? (Correct me if I’m wrong).

If you were to get a Kensington UNSW offer, could you live at home? Are you currently working and could you continue to do so? Those are the factors I’d be considering (in addition to those first few that you unfortunately can’t control).

 

[sept_water]

BMP vs CSP would be a useful factor, as would Port Mac/Armidale vs Kensington/Newcastle, but unfortunately there’s no way to preference that adequately deals with these. Scholarships would be another factor, but are perhaps unlikely from your self-description of your results? (Correct me if I’m wrong).

If you were to get a Kensington UNSW offer, could you live at home? Are you currently working and could you continue to do so? Those are the factors I’d be considering (in addition to those first few that you unfortunately can’t control).

Yeah, I'm a bus ride away from the Kensington campus, so that would just be super convenient. And I don't have a job, so it's not a consideration for me. I guess that's all the info I can really go on :/ thanks for pointing these things out, though

 

[zebrastripez]

Hey Guys,
I'm sort of in the same boat as pickledumperni here.

I got offered a Chancellor's scholarship to Melbourne Uni. There's loads of things to weigh up - I'm from interstate so would have to think about accomodation, would I be obliged to work after my medical degree in Victoria when all my family doesn't live there? Will I be able to get into and study in Melbourne next year because of COVID-19?

But what I want to really know better is what UcatBoy alluded to - the success rate of chancellors' scholars in the post-grad interview. Is it a fact that the Melbourne interview is just ensuring you meet minimum thresholds, rather than it being competitive against others? Would this mean that chancellors' scholars are in a separate pool from non-chancellors' scholars applying to the program? Are there any concrete stats rather than rumours which confirm the idea that it's nowhere near as hard as undergrad interviews? It would really suck going down there and not getting in after three years, but is this a ridiculous fear to have if I'm a chilled-out, understanding person?

Another question- after my science degree at Melbourne, would I be eligible for postgrad medicine at other universities (UQ, USyd etc.) I know UNSW wouldn't allow it for example.

Final question- at UQ and Melbourne how "free" are the undergrad science degrees requiring prerequisites to be met for med? I'm not that familiar with uni degree structure. Ideally I want to study a lot of physics, chem and maths as I really enjoyed these at high school. Would the pre-requisites constitute a small portion of on year of study, or is it a lot more than that?

Thanks Alot!

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Another question- after my science degree at Melbourne, would I be eligible for postgrad medicine at other universities (UQ, USyd etc.) I know UNSW wouldn't allow it for example.

UNSW would definitely allow it (in a fashion), actually. They're one of the few that would even allow it while you were still mid-BSc (via non-standard entry not graduate entry though, UNSW don't offer graduate entry medicine at all, but that's just a terminology thing, really, as they do offer non-standard which amounts to the same end point, just by a slightly longer pathway: 6 years instead of 4. JMP and JPM would also accept you mid- and end- BSc via the same non-standard pathway for a 5 year undergrad). All of these would be via UCAT, not GAMSAT.

But back to your original question, I believe yes, you can use your BSc to apply for graduate entry universities via GAMSAT. And those with a FFP at UMelb (via a 99.00-99.85 ATAR) can even try this route to compete for a CSP at UMelb (or elsewhere).

 

[Crow]

zebrastripez - it would help a lot if you provided more context around which state you are currently in, whether you have other offers on the table (which I imagine you don't given the main TAC offer rounds haven't occurred yet for most medicine courses), whether you have scholarships at other universities, where you want to live and study for the next 5-7 years of your life and where you want to work after you graduate.

As for the prerequisite question at UQ/Melbourne, you must meet them in your undergrad studies. There won't be any leniency there. You will need to research these yourself to get an idea of how much of your degree program they take up - the information is readily accessible on both the UQ and UniMelb websites.

Discussion surrounding the UniMelb pathway can be found here: Melbourne MD: Provisional Entry Questions and Discussion

 

[dotwingz]

Final question- at UQ and Melbourne how "free" are the undergrad science degrees requiring prerequisites to be met for med? I'm not that familiar with uni degree structure. Ideally I want to study a lot of physics, chem and maths as I really enjoyed these at high school. Would the pre-requisites constitute a small portion of on year of study, or is it a lot more than that?

The Melbourne MD has removed prereqs for 2022+ entry, and the UQ prereqs are literally 4 courses in total (equiv to a single semester)... although if your wanting to study a lot of physics, chemistry, and math, you will have no trouble fitting these into a related degree ahha

 

[zebrastripez]

Thanks for your help- wow that was fast!
Crow I'm in NSW. No other offers on the table yet (I've applied at UNSW, JMP, Adelaide and UQ). UQ, Usyd and UNSW offer similar scholarships to Melbourne for 99.9+ students, so I'm eligible for all of those. (Although UNSW does not offer it for Med students, except for a very few. Does anyone know how few this is? I've heard they give only two...). When it comes to where I want to live and study...that's a big question lol. I see merits to going anywhere, everywhere has positives, and I see merits in staying at home with the fam. (Sorry I know this isn't that helpful lol). I definitely would prefer studying in a larger city though, more to do I guess. When it comes to where I would work, how much flexibility is there with this? Ideally I'd come home to NSW, but I mean after up to 7 or 8 years somewhere my feelings might change. I've heard that doctors have quite a lot fo freedom in this country, but surely if large numbers of interstate are going to a certain uni, the state where they are studying can turn around and say hey we need doctors too, you have to stay ( i guess this is why Uni quotas are there). And thanks for the link!
dotwingz Does 2022+ mean starting undergrad or postgrad from that point?

 

[dotwingz]

Post grad.

 

[chinaski]

Hey Guys,
I'm from interstate so would have to think about accomodation, would I be obliged to work after my medical degree in Victoria when all my family doesn't live there?

You wouldn't be "obliged" to work in Victoria but conversely, nobody is "obliged" to give you a job just because it suits you geographically. As a graduate of a Victorian school, you'd be offered a job somewhere in Victoria as a PGY1. You could take your chances elsewhere but there's no guarantee. It's worth noting that as a doctor you are not considered the same way you would be if you were a dependent child (as many a school leaver is when they first apply for med school) - where your parents or siblings live is irrelevant by the time you're being offered employment as a (presumably) fully autonomous adult. Similarly, unfortunately as a profession, medicine also doesn't really care that much about where your dependents or spouse live either - the expectation is that they move with you and the job, not the other way around.

 

[A1]

Is it a fact that the Melbourne interview is just ensuring you meet minimum thresholds, rather than it being competitive against others? Would this mean that chancellors' scholars are in a separate pool from non-chancellors' scholars applying to the program?

Yes it is a fact, because (1) UMelb says so in print - you need to pass overall & 5+ out of 8 stations - and (2) since you don't do GAMSAT there's no realistic way to verse you against the Gemsas applicants with GAMSAT.

would I be obliged to work after my medical degree in Victoria

The state where you study doesn't have a signed contract from you to work there. You can apply for a NSW internship through the NSW allocation system (although likely you won't get a choice location after the NSW grads have had their prefs). Or you can apply for a NSW JMO job from PGY2. My relative did JCU med, did internship in Qld then got a PGY2 job in Adelaide.

There doesn't seem to be a WAM requirement for those who go through the 99.90+ pathway.

Didn't someone here find a clause saying to maintain the Chancellor's you need achieve like 80 70 WAM every semester/year?

 

[ucatboy]

Didn't someone here find a clause saying to maintain the Chancellor's you need achieve like 80 WAM every semester/year?

That was me but I can't seem to find it anywhere on the website anymore hahah.

EDIT: I managed to find the obscure webpage again through reverse searching: Coursework scholarship conditions

It's strange that this is the only mention of a WAM hurdle and separate to the main Chancellor's Scholars pages.

 

[A1]

EDIT: I managed to find the obscure webpage again through reverse searching: Coursework scholarship conditions

The wording "You are EXPECTED to" (not you must) otherwise "You MAY be suspended" indicates there's a bit of leeway. In any case 70 WAM is around GPA 5.5, should be piece of cake for the 99.9s.

 

[Desperatebaby]

The wording "You are EXPECTED to" (not you must) otherwise "You MAY be suspended" indicates there's a bit of leeway. In any case 70 WAM is around GPA 5.5, should be piece of cake for the 99.9s.

Hi A1, For the FFPs , what GPA would 75 WAM be equivalent to ?

 

[A1]

Hi A1, For the FFPs , what GPA would 75 WAM be equivalent to ?

I believe UMelb uses the 80+ HD scales. 75 WAM typically includes (apart from the 70s) a bunch of 80s + a bunch of just under 70, so = GPA 6.

 

[Crow]

Hi A1, For the FFPs , what GPA would 75 WAM be equivalent to ?

A WAM will never be “equivalent” to a specific GPA and it will vary widely. A couple of examples:

8 subjects complete, subject results:
1 subject - 100%
7 subjects - 71.4%
WAM = 75
GPA = 5.25

8 subjects complete, subject results:
1 subject - 50%
7 subjects - 78.6%
WAM = 75
GPA = 5.75

The above depends on the 7 = 85+, 6 = 75+ which obviously differs between unis but just for illustration, two different sets of scores can have the same WAM but very different GPAs.

 

[Gopro1]

Trying to decide between JCU med and Griffith provisional entry medicine for top preference. I received an atar of 99.90. I currently have Griffith GC as no. 1. I have interviewed for JCU and I am also a regional student, however will have to move for uni no matter where I go. I have been reading all the posts and still am undecided. Is it better to take the direct entry into med? If I put JCU as number 1 and don’t get a place, will I still get an offer for Griffith? Thanks for any advice