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Choosing Between Universities and Offers

Mana

there are no stupid questions, only people
Administrator
However, with a random allocation system in NSW, there's no guarantee you'll get into RPA or RNS. So it's not an exact science on where someone gets allocated. And you inevitably will have trouble networking compared to your counterparts who have been in metropolitan hospitals for the whole two years.

Bankstown/Campbelltown is more the exception rather than the rule here - all of the other Sydney hospital networks will have a rural secondment that has enough placements for you to do a year, so if you're planning to do intern year in the city and resident year in the country you don't necessarily have to get RPAH or RNSH.

I do agree that it is a disadvantage in networking if you are going for a metro position (which the majority would find desirable).
 

chinaski

Regular Member
And yeah the point I was trying to make is that if you push the RoS to a later year (eg one of your registrar years or during residency), it likely has implications for career progression. Especially for the not as common but very competitive specialties.

Not necessarily. Many trainees in "competitive specialties" also do time on rural secondments. People are spending more and more time now in "holding pattern" jobs while they try to get onto programmes, too, so a regional year or two may be seen as a stepping stone by many, regardless.
 
Need help deciding on Uni..

I am a school leaver entering into medicine next year. I got 2 offers and am struggling to decide between the two.
1. UNE Bonded
2. Curtin Non-bonded

I live in Melbourne so the state really doesn't matter to me as either way I have to move. I would also like to eventually return to Melbourne to practise medicine here.

Thank you.
 

hyperbole

Member
Need help deciding on Uni..

I am a school leaver entering into medicine next year. I got 2 offers and am struggling to decide between the two.
1. UNE Bonded
2. Curtin Non-bonded

I live in Melbourne so the state really doesn't matter to me as either way I have to move. I would also like to eventually return to Melbourne to practise medicine here.

Thank you.

Considering the info you provided, I would probably go with Curtin if I was in your footsteps.

-Curtin is nonbonded
-NSW is closer to VIC but UNE is in Armidale and it is harder to get back to Melbourne than Perth. You'd have to transfer flights in Sydney and the first leg (Armidale--> Sydney) would be expensive since it is a regional route. Perth, while being 5 hours away, has multiple direct flights every day.

While you can potentially do 4th and 5th year on the Central Coast (only 1 hour from Sydney) for UNE, this isn't necessarily guaranteed from what I know.


-This may be different for different people, but Perth is a relatively big city while Armidale is a country town. So there are pros and cons. But considering you're coming from Melbourne, Perth's lifestyle I assume would be more preferrable to you. It'll be easier to get part time jobs in Perth as well.

If you have a heart for rural medicine, UNE+ the bonded obligation would be great. But since your goal is to get back to Melbourne, I'm guessing that's not 100% applicable.

-UNE being in NSW means you can get Sydney internships more easily (which is closer to Melbourne than Perth both geographically and lifestyle-wise). You do have the RoS obligation looming though during your PGY years that you'd have to think about.
 

kangarude

Member
Need help deciding on Uni..

I am a school leaver entering into medicine next year. I got 2 offers and am struggling to decide between the two.
1. UNE Bonded
2. Curtin Non-bonded

I live in Melbourne so the state really doesn't matter to me as either way I have to move. I would also like to eventually return to Melbourne to practise medicine here.

Thank you.
some other things to consider besides the obvious bonded vs nonbonded. these will be pros/con depending on your personal preference -

The universities themselves:
- Curtin is larger than UNE: 50k+ students vs 22k+
- Curtin's MBBS is relatively new, whereas UNE's is more established. that being said, you won't be the first cohort (ie 'guinea pig cohort') and i've been told by students who were in curtin's first med cohort that the faculty were always willing to listen to their feedback and adjusted things accordingly
- Curtin's campus is quite modern (plus they have outdoor hammocks!). from google, UNE seems to have more classical buildings
- location: Curtin's in Perth, UNE is a while from sydney

states:
- WA internships are given out on 3 year contracts, vs NSW's 2 years
 

hyperbole

Member
Need help choosing between Monash and WSU!

Monash
- CSP Extended Rural Cohort
- really dont like the idea of being isolated from the rest of the cohort for 3 years
- no accomodation sorted as of now
- rural experience would be good?
- dream uni

WSU
- BMP
- closer to home, but I don't like the location in syd
- bigger hospitals, so better access to newest hospital facilities
- have accomodation sorted

Can anyone guide on how internships and residency opportunities will vary for Vic and NSW grads? And thoughts on ERC vs BMP? In my opinion, I'd like to spend uni days having fun and being with the rest of the cohort, and gain experience after. I know rural experience is really good but experience as a doctor in a rural bond would be much more valuable than rural as a med student where you don't know or do much.

What is your end goal as of now? A bit hard to tell now, but do you want to specialise? If you do, do you prefer to have unhinged options? Also, where do you want to live long term?

E.g. If you want to eventually live in Melbourne long term including working life , go to Monash even with the ERC.

If you want to live in NSW, go WSU.

If you dont mind either? Do you need to be near family or not? If not, I would personally prefer living in Melbourne when just comparing cities but that is up to you.

As for ERC vs bonded, I personally think it's better to be "restricted" during medical school as opposed to professional life where the career implications are impacted more. While bonded isnt bad, Id prefer to be more flexible during PGY years as opposed to medical school.

By the way, the "bigger hospitals" in your clinical years would actually favour Monash. Although with the ERC, I guess thats a moot point for your circumstance. While Campbelltown and Blacktown are more than adequate for med school training , USyd (and to a lesser extent UNSW) has the biggest and "highest profile" hospitals in Sydney by far.

-For Monash vs WSU socially, for preclinical years, you would be tight with people within your med cohort for both. However, Clayton would have more social events and opportunities across campus and with students from other faculties. WSU doesnt really have a big central campus but multiple small ones. The downside is the social environment across any of the WSU campuses (esp Campbelltown) is a bit lacking. There is basically more opportunities " to have fun" at Monash.
 
Hello wonderful people of MSO. I'm sorry to butt in amidst many people making a hard decision at the moment however I would love an opinion towards my current situation. I am from Sydney, non-rural, gap year student and I have a CSP from Adelaide and a Griffith Privisional GC (which I had deferred from last year) and I am not sure which one to go for. My family were not very happy with my gap year decision and were understandably more upset when I didn't receive a NSW offer haha so I would perhaps like to go somewhere more cost effective. I would likely prefer the GC in terms of lifestyle and distance from home and besides I already enrolled haha. However I know that for Griffith it is quite competitive when it comes to seeing if you end up getting bonded or non-bonded for the MD and I would prefer the CSP status of Adelaide over the possibility of bonded Griffith. Having said that, I was contemplating sitting GAMSAT if I go Griffith with a slim hope of returning to Sydney, and if it fails, I suppose I would prefer to practice in QLD long term rather than SA. My head is a big war zone right now. Any help would be appreciated. Cheers :D
 

Jaffa5

Member
Having said that, I was contemplating sitting GAMSAT if I go Griffith with a slim hope of returning to Sydney

I may be wrong but I think most universities don't recognise accelerated 2 year bachelor degrees when applying for postgraduate entry. This may be something you need to research.
 
I may be wrong but I think most universities don't recognise accelerated 2 year bachelor degrees when applying for postgraduate entry. This may be something you need to research.
Ah yes, most GEMSAS schools don't recognise accelerated degrees. I guess I'll have to look more into whether USYD accepts them or not. Thanks
 

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Mana

there are no stupid questions, only people
Administrator
Ah yes, most GEMSAS schools don't recognise accelerated degrees. I guess I'll have to look more into whether USYD accepts them or not. Thanks

They do not - source: a contact who used a 2 year degree and had a very good GAMSAT.
 

rik09

Member
Hey y'all, I'm a Brisbane school leaver and I am currently weighing up between JCU and UNE. What do you think I should consider and what did you think is best?
I think crow answered your question really well. Just to add my two cents, I think something else to consider is how difficult a course like medicine can be and how much you will need to rely on your support network. While I don't doubt that you will make an amazing group of friends at UNE, even simple things like having a home-cooked meal (assuming you'll be staying with family if you stay at JCU) can go a long way after a long day at uni. While facetiming and skype sessions exist, it's not really the same as being at home with your friends and family when you're going through a particularly hard time. A fair amount of my friends who did their undergrad interstate founds ways to come back home and do their postgrad at home. And like crow mentioned, it's also important to consider where you'd like to do your internship as it'll be a little more difficult to get one in your home state if you didn't attend med school in that state (but that's not to say it's not possible!).
 

rik09

Member
Hello everyone.
I just recently received an offer from Griffth University for their Bachelor of Medical Science (MD Provisional Entry for School-Leavers) and also an offer from the Melbourne Uni for their Chancellor Scholarship for the Bachelor of Biomedicine (Chancellor's Scholars).

I was wondering what are the pros and cons for these two unis and what are your opinions on them.
I have heard that for The University of Melbourne, you must still undertake an interview in the third year of undergraduate study before you can do your postgrad.
I was wondering if any of you know much about this interview and how difficult it may be.

Also, I don't live in either of these states so if I wanted to go to either of them I would have to move.

Thanks in advance for all your help :D

Hey! in my opinion, it sounds like Griffith is more of a sure thing than Melbs so I would definitely pick Griffith and have less to worry about overall!
 

chinaski

Regular Member
I think crow answered your question really well. Just to add my two cents, I think something else to consider is how difficult a course like medicine can be and how much you will need to rely on your support network. While I don't doubt that you will make an amazing group of friends at UNE, even simple things like having a home-cooked meal (assuming you'll be staying with family if you stay at JCU) can go a long way after a long day at uni. While facetiming and skype sessions exist, it's not really the same as being at home with your friends and family when you're going through a particularly hard time. A fair amount of my friends who did their undergrad interstate founds ways to come back home and do their postgrad at home. And like crow mentioned, it's also important to consider where you'd like to do your internship as it'll be a little more difficult to get one in your home state if you didn't attend med school in that state (but that's not to say it's not possible!).

I agree whole-heartedly with considering the value of family support networks, but I would offer an alternative perspective as well: moving out of home and living independently is a very useful, very important life experience which should not be discounted. Whilst med school can be challenging, the road up ahead doesn't get any easier after graduation, and you do need life skills, initiative, resilience and maturity to succeed in the workplace. For some (not all - but definitely some), staying at home too long may impair or delay the acquisition of those attributes.
 
I'm very fortunate to have an offer for both CSU and Adelaide dentistry. I currently live in Sydney and was wondering if it is worth moving to Adelaide for the university's stronger reputation as a dental school.

Also, how often do you reckon I'd be able to come back to Sydney for each course? I know Orange is a 3 hour drive and Adelaide is a 1 hour flight. Expenses aside, how often will I be free to travel back and forth? If I won't be coming home to Sydney regardless, then might as well take the stronger course, right?
 
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Tomato

Regular Member
I'm very fortunate to have an offer for both courses. I currently live in Sydney and was wondering if it is worth moving to Adelaide for the university's stronger reputation as a dental school.

Also, how often do you reckon I'd be able to come back to Sydney for each course? I know Orange is a 3 hour drive and Adelaide is a 1 hour flight. Expenses aside, how often will I be free to travel back and forth? If I won't be coming home to Sydney regardless, then might as well take the stronger course, right?

If I were you, I choose Adelaide BDS regardless where I live.
 

Jnh

Member
They're both accredited courses, you should choose based where you actually want to live rather than the name of the university or any perceived prestige of the course.
 

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Crow

Staff | Junior Doctor
Moderator
I'm very fortunate to have an offer for both CSU and Adelaide dentistry. I currently live in Sydney and was wondering if it is worth moving to Adelaide for the university's stronger reputation as a dental school.
I’m not well versed in the factors that influence career outcomes in dentistry, but I definitely agree with the post above - go where you want to live. Hutcherson will hopefully have something more to add / will possibly be able to answer your other questions.
 

Tomato

Regular Member
Even they are both accredited courses, to my knowledge, Adelaide is better in terms of the teaching staff (not because of the name of the uni or the prestige of the course). Somebody may argue about this, well, it's my personal opinion. Since Op lives in Sydney, anyway needs to move. The living costs may be lower in Grange but may not be significant. When you talk about "go where you want to live", I think anyway OP will return back to Sydney after graduation. There is no internship issues for dentistry. If OP needs to go back home more frequently, CSU may be more attractive.
 

Mana

there are no stupid questions, only people
Administrator
Going to go out on a limb here and say if I lived in Sydney I'd be taking CSU dent over Adelaide because of the easy possibility of returning home by car whenever you want. CSU is a newer school but you're definitely well out of the woods in terms of being a guineapig cohort.
 

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