Choosing Between Universities and Offers

[Crow]

Agree with the above, I think Griffith is a better choice given you’ll be close to home and graduating a year earlier in your home state.

 

[A1]

Home state: Queensland (Brisbane)
Offer 1: Griffith (Nathan Campus)
Offer 2: UniMelb
Any scholarships offered: Chancellor's Scholarship at UniMelb
Any accommodation secured:
Internship location preference:
Other important information: Will have to move regardless for MD for Griffith. bit worried about griffith social life and no scholarship.

Adding to DrLMG's reply
Also consider that UMelb is subject to WAM & MMI but assured of Unbonded. Griffith no MMI but 28% risk of getting Bonded.

 

[jaundice]

Adding to DrLMG's reply
Also consider that UMelb is subject to WAM & MMI but assured of Unbonded. Griffith no MMI but 28% risk of getting Bonded

Thanks for the responses. Passing the WAM and MMI at UMelb would typically be easier than maintaining a high enough GPA for unbonded at Griffith right?

Also, in the future, I do want to move to Sydney, potentially Melbourne (not as much as Sydney). How hard would it be to relocate to Sydney and find a job after graduating from Griffith? Or should I just sit the UCAT again in hopes for a UNSW offer?

 

[Crow]

Passing the WAM and MMI at UMelb would typically be easier than maintaining a high enough GPA for unbonded at Griffith right?

I’m not sure the two can be objectively compared as they’re entirely different skill sets being assessed, but generally less than 30% of people would fail out at the MMI stage, so I guess that statement on average is true.

Relocating to Sydney will be equally difficult as a Griffith or Melbourne graduate (both are interstate) so that shouldn’t be a consideration.

 

[stegosaurus]

Home state: WA
Offer 1: UWA Assured Pathway to Doctor of Dental Medicine (CSP)
Offer 2: UQ Bachelor of Dental Science (CSP)
Any scholarships offered:
UWA Lawrence Scholarship (15k total) - confirmed
UQ Vice-Chancellor's Scholarship (60k total i think???? that would be crazy) - UNconfirmed
Any accommodation secured: No
Internship location preference: I just wanna experience different places and hopefully work overseas in the future.
Other important information: See above - is it worth it to move Uni and stay away from parents to be more independent - I'm wanting to leave Perth in the future anyways...

 

[2xq]

Home state: WA
Offer 1: UWA Assured Pathway to Doctor of Dental Medicine (CSP)
Offer 2: UQ Bachelor of Dental Science (CSP)
Any scholarships offered:
UWA Lawrence Scholarship (15k total) - confirmed
UQ Vice-Chancellor's Scholarship (60k total i think???? that would be crazy) - UNconfirmed
Any accommodation secured: No
Internship location preference: I just wanna experience different places and hopefully work overseas in the future.
Other important information: See above - is it worth it to move Uni and stay away from parents to be more independent - I'm wanting to leave Perth in the future anyways...

Home State - UWA makes perfect sense but you did say you want to move away so will take that into consideration.
Length of degree - UQ shorter by 1-2 year(s) (iirc, don't quote me on this - relying on memory here) - UQ takes the cake here
Scholarships - UQ takes the cake if it is indeed $60k over 5 years.
Accommodation costs - UWA would be favourable but you want to move so I'm guessing the costs here may be a consequence of such actions. The $12k a year scholarship at UQ may be able to subsidise some of the costs associated with living.
Location Preference: You'll need to do some research here with the countries you may plan on working in (Both unis are Go8)
Other info: I think if the plan is to leave Perth anyways, then UQ may be the way to go but I would check the other stuff that I've written (such as the country/ies that you may want to work in etc.) If you want to work solely in Australia and have that independence away from Perth, then UQ may be the way to go (although the only downside would be the living costs - That said though, the $12k per year scholarship may help subsidise some of that).

 

[Crow]

Home state: WA
Offer 1: UWA Assured Pathway to Doctor of Dental Medicine (CSP)
Offer 2: UQ Bachelor of Dental Science (CSP)
Any scholarships offered:
UWA Lawrence Scholarship (15k total) - confirmed
UQ Vice-Chancellor's Scholarship (60k total i think???? that would be crazy) - UNconfirmed
Any accommodation secured: No
Internship location preference: I just wanna experience different places and hopefully work overseas in the future.
Other important information: See above - is it worth it to move Uni and stay away from parents to be more independent - I'm wanting to leave Perth in the future anyways...

If you feel ready to move away from home (and subsequently away from family and friends) then this seems like a good opportunity / push for you to do that… but don’t underestimate the value of being close to home. Perth and Brisbane are a significant journey from each other! But from what you’ve shared, I’d too go with UQ. You wouldn’t be wrong in either choice here.

 

[svwx_7]

Home state: NSW
Offer 1: JMP at the Newcastle Callaghan campus (unbounded)
Offer 2: UQ Doctor of Medicine Provisional Entry (bonded)
Any scholarships offered:
No
Any accommodation secured: No
Internship location preference: Qld as my family will be moving there (for other reasons)
Other important information: I know JMP seems like the better option considering it’s closer to home (for now) and 2 years shorter, but as I’m futuristically wanting to move to Qld + am considering specialising in surgery which is highly competitive, would studying and doing internship in a more metropolitan city like Brisbane be more beneficial? Also, how negatively can the BMP impact my progression to surgery? I have viewed the BMP thread but it’s still a bit unclear to me - I kind of got that doing the RoS whilst in residency is a disadvantage because it’s important to have connections and gain experience in the same hospital you want to be a registrar in (?), but can I not do my RoS after actually securing a job? I’d really appreciate any advice/information!

 

[Crow]

Home state: NSW
Offer 1: JMP at the Newcastle Callaghan campus (unbounded)
Offer 2: UQ Doctor of Medicine Provisional Entry (bonded)
Any scholarships offered:
No
Any accommodation secured: No
Internship location preference: Qld as my family will be moving there (for other reasons)
Other important information: I know JMP seems like the better option considering it’s closer to home (for now) and 2 years shorter, but as I’m futuristically wanting to move to Qld + am considering specialising in surgery which is highly competitive, would studying and doing internship in a more metropolitan city like Brisbane be more beneficial? Also, how negatively can the BMP impact my progression to surgery? I have viewed the BMP thread but it’s still a bit unclear to me - I kind of got that doing the RoS whilst in residency is a disadvantage because it’s important to have connections and gain experience in the same hospital you want to be a registrar in (?), but can I not do my RoS after actually securing a job? I’d really appreciate any advice/information!

This is a very clear one - JMP is objectively the better choice. No, your surgery aspirations will not be improved/harmed by going to one university over another. The BMP stipulates you need to do at least 18 months of your ROS post-fellowship. If you’ve only just achieved fellowship in surgery, you need to be establishing yourself well as a new consultant in an area where your surgical skills are required - most areas classified as DWS or rural will not allow you to achieve this easily. Larger “rural” / outer regional centres typically offer basic general surgery only (endoscopy and elective lap choles mostly) and so you will find it very difficult to fulfil your ROS in a surgical consultant job for this reason.

 

[svwx_7]

This is a very clear one - JMP is objectively the better choice. No, your surgery aspirations will not be improved/harmed by going to one university over another. The BMP stipulates you need to do at least 18 months of your ROS post-fellowship. If you’ve only just achieved fellowship in surgery, you need to be establishing yourself well as a new consultant in an area where your surgical skills are required - most areas classified as DWS or rural will not allow you to achieve this easily. Larger “rural” / outer regional centres typically offer basic general surgery only (endoscopy and elective lap choles mostly) and so you will find it very difficult to fulfil your ROS in a surgical consultant job for this reason.

Thanks for the detailed response! Just out of curiosity, if I were to specialise in something less competitive (e.g. paediatrics), would Newcastle still be the better choice?

 

[Crow]

Thanks for the detailed response! Just out of curiosity, if I were to specialise in something less competitive (e.g. paediatrics), would Newcastle still be the better choice?

Yes. The uni you go to won’t have any bearing on your specialisation opportunities post-graduation. There is probably more scope (albeit not much more) for general paediatrics in areas of workforce shortage than most surgical subspecialties, though.

 

[nikitha]

Home state: Tasmania
Offer 1: UTAS
Offer 2: Flinders
Any scholarships offered: Vice Chancellors Scholarship at Flinders
Any accommodation secured: Yes for Utas, looking at residential colleges for Flinders
Internship location preference:
Other important information: Utas - 5yrs, Flinders - 6yrs, not sure about the course structure at flinders since MD is only four years maybe very stressful. Also a bit worried about the social aspect due to cohort being majority graduate entry

 

[Crow]

Home state: Tasmania
Offer 1: UTAS
Offer 2: Flinders
Any scholarships offered: Vice Chancellors Scholarship at Flinders
Any accommodation secured: Yes for Utas, looking at residential colleges for Flinders
Internship location preference:
Other important information: Utas - 5yrs, Flinders - 6yrs, not sure about the course structure at flinders since MD is only four years maybe very stressful. Also a bit worried about the social aspect due to cohort being majority graduate entry

Do you wish to stay in Tas and work there in the long-term? From the info you’ve given, UTAS seems like a straightforward choice - are both of these offers CSP? The only factors that would make Flinders more favourable would be 1. If Flinders is CSP and UTAS is BMP and/or 2. You really want to move interstate and explore a different area.

 

[nikitha]

Do you wish to stay in Tas and work there in the long-term? From the info you’ve given, UTAS seems like a straightforward choice - are both of these offers CSP? The only factors that would make Flinders more favourable would be 1. If Flinders is CSP and UTAS is BMP and/or 2. You really want to move interstate and explore a different area.

Hi thanks for your reply!

Both offers are CSP.
But like you said I would like to move interstate and explore a different area. However, I'm not sure if its better for my learning to go to Flinders over UTAS just for the reason of moving interstate.

 

[astudier111]

University of Notre Dame Fremantle & University of Notre Dame Sydney
Home state: NSW
Internship location preference: NSW

I would really appreciate any information on differences in university life and opportunities (eg. clubs, facilities, exchange/work/learning opportunities, etc) between the campuses, as I believe Fremantle might be the primary campus. Would love to hear any student experiences, and also any info about the different clinical schools. Thank you so so much!

 

[aarnie]

UTAS is one year shorter, which means a substantial financial saving for someone paying international fees.

UTAS was MBBS when I started this so it’s a bit out of date but gives you an idea of what to expect: UTAS - UTAS Medicine: Overview

And this is what Stapedius has put together for JCU (again will be a smidge out of date but a useful guide): JCU - JCU Medicine: The Unofficial JCU Med Bible (Vol. 2)

Hey all,

I am in a similar dilemma as JS07. My situation is
Home state: WA
Offer 1: Uni Melb MD ( via Chancellor's scholar guaranteedpathway) 7 yrs
Offer 2: JCU MBBS Cairns campus 6 yrs
Offer 3: UTAS MD 5 yrs
Any scholarships offered: yes for uni melbourne and no for the other two
Any accommodation secured: yes for Uni melb no for other two
Internship location preference: No preference
Other important information: I Please give me some advice and thanks a lot!

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Hi thanks for your reply!

Both offers are CSP.
But like you said I would like to move interstate and explore a different area. However, I'm not sure if its better for my learning to go to Flinders over UTAS just for the reason of moving interstate.

We won’t have anyone here who’s been to both unis to study med to provide you with any kind of meaningful comparison of the teaching but from a quality perspective both are accredited universities.

I’d choose UTAS in your situation (and did so when I had offers to UTas, UNE, and WSU as a Tassie local). Home support is a very nice bonus if you can get it while studying something of the intensity of med.

There’ll be plenty of opportunity to live in/explore other states as you move through your career.

I’ve written a lot about UTAS and the teaching there in the UTAS thread. There are heaps of opportunities for academic and social engagement/extra curriculars. The anatomy, pathology, and histology teaching is brilliant specifically. There are opportunities to get involved in research or with committees. I really enjoyed my time and now in specialist training having graduated a couple of years ago.

Edit: also, if you could add your info to the offers data thread, that would be awesome! Congrats!

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Hey all,

I am in a similar dilemma as JS07. My situation is
Home state: WA
Offer 1: Uni Melb MD ( via Chancellor's scholar guaranteedpathway) 7 yrs
Offer 2: JCU MBBS Cairns campus 6 yrs
Offer 3: UTAS MD 5 yrs
Any scholarships offered: yes for uni melbourne and no for the other two
Any accommodation secured: yes for Uni melb no for other two
Internship location preference: No preference
Other important information: I Please give me some advice and thanks a lot!

Do you want to study something as an undergrad prior to starting med? Or are you keen to get straight into it?
If yes UMelb
If no JCU or UTas

If JCU or UTAS
do you want to live somewhere hot and humid or cooler and a bit more mixed?

There are some current JCU students who question the utility of the 6th year. From a distance, I also question it.

I’d choose UTAS based on it being direct entry med and the shortest duration.

PS. Also if you could add your info to the offer data thread, that would be super useful! Thank you!! Congrats!

 

[lamerde]

Home state: NSW
Offer 1: UQ Provisional (CSP)
Offer 2: UAdel (BMP)
Any scholarships offered: No
Any accommodation secured: No
Internship location preference: NSW
Other important information: Quite undecided on which one to choose, was leaning heavily towards UQ as there is no "limitation" of the return of service requirement, but now thinking that the bonded might not be so bad? Given that rural medicine would allow me to engage more practically in medicine+6 years, I'm now considering if I should enrol at UAdel instead. Also, I've heard that most graduates already basically complete 1 year-1.5 years rural before attaining fellowship anyway, could someone please lmk if this is the case? Reading what rural med actually entails, I feel like it would be a very enjoyable experience, but I also just prefer the fact that a csp allows me more freedom to do what I want, and I can't say for sure that rural med will be for me until I actually do it. If someone could help weigh the pros and cons of both sides, that would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Like Quote Reply

 

[A1]

Given that rural medicine would allow me to engage more practically in medicine+6 years,

Depends what you mean by this "rural medicine"^.
- For the med school course Unbonded & Bonded do the same rural-placement requirements
- For the intern/RMO years the same as well. Unbonded can opt for rural medicine, you don't need to be Bonded to do rural medicine
- The 3 years RoS are compulsory for Bonded, optional for Unbonded. Again you don't need to be Bonded to do rural medicine

Also, I've heard that most graduates already basically complete 1 year-1.5 years rural before attaining fellowship anyway, could someone please lmk if this is the case?

I haven't got to fellowship level yet, in my 2 years intern/RMO in WA so far I have not been required to do any rural.
I mean I can ask for if I want to. Maybe in some states doing rural adds points to specialty-training application, so people feel like they need to do it?

I feel like it would be a very enjoyable experience, but I also just prefer the fact that a csp allows me more freedom to do what I want

That's right. Unbonded has all the options available to Bonded. The reverse isn't true eg. Bonded cannot avoid the RoS (unless you opt out and pay the penalty).