Common pitfalls to avoid for year 12 school leavers and other medicine applicants

[Broke]

So, as per the advice on here, what would you do if you never got into medicine/physio/optom? Did you consider nursing, by any chance?

Nursing has never really appealed to me to be completely honest.. I've heard that in the first year there is some sort of experience at a nursing home, and thats not really something I want to do. I do know that I enjoy biology and perform the best at it, especially topics relating to anatomy/disease, and so I think medicine really is something that I would enjoy. So far the back-ups were limited to optometry and physiotherapy, as well as radiography at usyd (but obviously my atar isnt high enough). I'm really lost right now as to what I should do :/

 

[Cal]

Hi! My ATAR this year - 92.60 - is too low to meet either the WSU or JMP cutoffs, something that is extremely painful as I attended both interviews. My plan right now is to go into the Bachelor of Engineering Honours (Biomedical) at USYD as I'm interested + guaranteed entry, and try again for Medicine next year, and if all else fails go the postgrad route. I'm aiming for WSU next year, as (correct me if I'm wrong) they take the higher of either GPA or ATAR depending on what meets their cutoff. Seeing as I'm a non-GWS applicant and my ATAR is too low to meet the cutoff, would someone be able to advise me of the difficulty of maintaining a 6.4+ GPA in Engineering so I can meet the cutoff? Thanks

I did engineering for my first year and maintained a 7 gpa; it is possible to maintain this gpa (although rare especially at Go8 unis because of how they do things); If you have any group projects as courses/project courses those are the hardest things to get high marks in because if you get a bad team then you are not in a good place. If you like maths/electrical based physics and you have a medium to high ability in these areas I think you should be fine. But just note that it requires a fair amount of work as lots of the stuff is different to what has been done in hs.

 

[threefivetwo]

I did engineering for my first year and maintained a 7 gpa; it is possible to maintain this gpa (although rare especially at Go8 unis because of how they do things); If you have any group projects as courses/project courses those are the hardest things to get high marks in because if you get a bad team then you are not in a good place. If you like maths/electrical based physics and you have a medium to high ability in these areas I think you should be fine. But just note that it requires a fair amount of work as lots of the stuff is different to what has been done in hs.

Thanks for the reply! Looking at the course outline, the first year seems to be biology + math + general engineering principles, so hopefully it should be fine. Looks like the next year will be grinding to try and get into Medicine as soon as possible

 

[Smelly Boy]

Just got my atar back... 86.2, definitely way lower than expected. Medicine this year is obviously out of the option, as well as Physio at WSU and Optom at UNSW, which were my backups. I'm pretty much left with various science degrees, out of which I am levitating towards Bachelor of Science at UNSW (i live quite close so its very convenient), or Bachelor of Science at USYD, both of which would allow me to study a wide range of topics relating to medical science without actually doing Medical Science (which I understand is a very idea if I want a high GPA for non-standard entry next year). There are various 'health sciences' at USYD, and i'm not sure whether they're a smart option or not, so would really love some advice for that as well as any advice overall as to whether i'm following the right path Thanks!

I am a student who finished their science degree recently & has had internship placements every summer since 2017 at a certain company related to hearing. If I was to go back to the moment I got my ATAR, I would apply for nursing or audiology.

Nursing
I began thinking of nursing at the beginning of this year because of some experiences I’ve had. These experiences include being at hospital for family + volunteering at my local hospital for 6 months. I feel like nursing covers so many of the reasons that I want to do medicine. The reason I didn’t initially do nursing was because I didn’t know much about it and thought that it wouldn’t allow me to have the sort of impact I want on the community I live in. That was totally wrong. I’m not a nurse so I’d highly suggest speaking to a person that’s a nurse so that they can tell you more about what they think of it. To get in touch with a nurse, you can ask someone in your family that may be a nurse OR you could get some volunteer hospital experience & speak to nurses while you’re there. I wouldn’t recommend showing up to a hospital to speak to a nurse about nursing because they’re very busy!

Audiology
Being an audiologist sounded very rewarding to me due to my internship at the ‘hearing company’. You become completely immersed into the lives of families and work very closely with people for a long time. When working with cochlear implant (an implant that helps those with profound or congenital deafness/extreme hearing loss hear again) recipients, you are their gatekeeper to good hearing for life really. You adjust the sounds that the implant picks up, adjust the mapping of sounds so that the recipient can better enjoy music they used to love/have grown to love and now they even have an app where you can set the implant into different modes e.g. ignore all sounds coming from behind the recipient or even directly stream movies straight into your ear so that you can listen at full sound without disturbing anyone - how cool is that!? Helping someone get their sense of hearing back is so awesome (from the understanding I’ve gained working at the company) and this market is honestly so under-penetrated. In Australia, 5% of people who can benefit from a cochlear implant actually get one. The other 95% (for the most part) don’t know they even exist! So much exciting potential in audiology in my opinion. As with nursing, I highly suggest getting into touch with an audiologist OR even visiting macquarie uni (they’ve got info week on now & they have an audiology degree which they offer!). You could also call into an audiology clinic & see if the audiologist has time to speak to you


The meeting
With the meeting with the audiologist/nurse (if these careers seem cool to you), it’s important to know what to talk about. You should first brainstorm what your values are - choose 5 from the picture below:

See if the audiologist/nurse thinks that those values fit the career they’re doing. Think to yourself if you think your top 5 values fit with your understanding of the career too. Then ask questions on things you can’t easily find online. For example, you could ask something like “What were your expectations of a career in audiology going in and how have those expectations been challenged now that you’ve been an audiologist for 5 years?”.

This meeting can really be done with any other profession you might find interesting - engineering/teaching/law etc. I highly recommend doing it. How better to learn about a profession you have no experience in than asking someone who has actually lived it for X amount of years? I’ve personally done a meeting like this just last month with a lecturer at Usyd to learn more about teaching .

if you have any questions let me know. It can be very demotivating getting a rejection/not getting the scores you want but if you have the right attitude (I see you do since you’re looking for alternatives based on reading what Mana has written), you can turn negatives in your life into positives . I have no regrets & am glad that I’ve been rejected 3 times in Med school applications because I have done some AMAZING things in my life that I probably would’ve missed should I have gotten in the first couple of goes. Reading that last sentence may not mean much to you right now but if you keep up a positive attitude & look to turn whatever life throws at you into a positive then you’ll know exactly what that sentence means in a years time .

good luck & much love from me

 

[LouiseDisease]

Hi! My ATAR this year - 92.60 - is too low to meet either the WSU or JMP cutoffs, something that is extremely painful as I attended both interviews. My plan right now is to go into the Bachelor of Engineering Honours (Biomedical) at USYD as I'm interested + guaranteed entry, and try again for Medicine next year, and if all else fails go the postgrad route. I'm aiming for WSU next year, as (correct me if I'm wrong) they take the higher of either GPA or ATAR depending on what meets their cutoff. Seeing as I'm a non-GWS applicant and my ATAR is too low to meet the cutoff, would someone be able to advise me of the difficulty of maintaining a 6.4+ GPA in Engineering so I can meet the cutoff? Thanks

With a full-time load you only need a GPA of 6.2 for non-GWS. 6.4 is only with 4-7 units completed. JMP is only 4.7, if that makes you feel better.

Generally, I am going to go out on a limb here and talk about my experiences in biomed: yes it was full of gunners (who didn't get UCAT anywhere close to the interview cut-offs), however I was engrossed in the subjects I studied and I believe that lead to me studying due to a general interest in what I was learning over feeling like it was a chore. I am of the belief that you should do what you think YOU would be most interested in to attain the mark you need, especially if you know nothing but medicine will fulfil you.

 

[threefivetwo]

With a full-time load you only need a GPA of 6.2 for non-GWS. 6.4 is only with 4-7 units completed. JMP is only 4.7, if that makes you feel better.

Generally, I am going to go out on a limb here and talk about my experiences in biomed: yes it was full of gunners (who didn't get UCAT anywhere close to the interview cut-offs), however I was engrossed in the subjects I studied and I believe that lead to me studying due to a general interest in what I was learning over feeling like it was a chore. I am of the belief that you should do what you think YOU would be most interested in to attain the mark you need, especially if you know nothing but medicine will fulfil you.

sounds like what i wanted to hear! thanks for the advice - looks like next year will be fun (hopefully)

 

[Cal]

sounds like what i wanted to hear! thanks for the advice - looks like next year will be fun (hopefully)

I can confirm engineering is fun

 

[Kingbogan]

Hi all. I am posting here to ask advice from you experience peeps.

I am a Victorian Year 12 graduate with an atar of 98.55 and UCAT of 2820 89th percentile). I am hoping for monash med (undergrad) this year as I am a Monash Guarantee student and my SEAS boosts my atar to 99.90. However, in the event that I do not make it into monash med, I am tossing up a few options. Firstly, something unique about my situation is that I have live in a rural area for 4 years and 4 months consecutively, so if I took a gap year I could re-apply as a rural student. I am willing to go to any med uni in the country and am still hopeful for some interstate uni's (but not holding my breath with that UCAT score). I have been offered law/biomed at monash uni, and am considering doing that instead of a gap year and then applying to monash postgraduate med and sitting the GAMSAT to apply elsewhere. If I went into this course I would also reapply for the uni's that take non-standards. If I took a gap year however, I probably wouldn't do much more than work - (hopefully save enough money to travel). Sorry to whoever has read this rant.

I suppose the question is, given the circumstances above, should I take a gap year or go into the postgraduate pathway?

Also a note, I chose law/biomed as I am somewhat interested in law, and if I didn't get med postgrad anywhere, at least I have a usable degree.

 

[Crow]

Kingbogan - have you applied to Flinders and do you have UES there? If you do then it should lift your ATAR to 99.95 you would gain a place offer there this year, I would think.

 

[Fay19]

Hi all,
I got my ATAR back yesterday and it was terrible 94.1. So definitely no medicine this year with my great results. I am not even eligible for Physio at USyd and optometry at UNSW which were my back up plans.
My questions are:

1. Based on my Atar, will I even be eligible to apply as Non-Standard to any uni next year? Both for Medicine and dentistry.
2. Any thoughts on Radiography and Occupational therapy courses in USyd?
3. Will it be an issue for an interview/offer later, if I study something totally not related like software engineering?

Thanks

 

[Kingbogan]

Kingbogan - have you applied to Flinders and do you have UES there? If you do then it should lift your ATAR to 99.95 you would gain a place offer there this year, I would think.

I do have UES there (and have applied of course), but only for going to a rural school. I didn't bother with my other disadvantage factors as I honestly didn't think my ATAR would be this high after I had a bit of a disaster in the middle of the year.

 

[Crow]

Hi all,
I got my ATAR back yesterday and it was terrible 94.1. So definitely no medicine this year with my great results. I am not even eligible for Physio at USyd and optometry at UNSW which were my back up plans.
My questions are:

1. Based on my Atar, will I even be eligible to apply as Non-Standard to any uni next year? Both for Medicine and dentistry.
2. Any thoughts on Radiography and Occupational therapy courses in USyd?
3. Will it be an issue for an interview/offer later, if I study something totally not related like software engineering?

Thanks

1. Yes - non-standard entry is based off your university results, not your ATAR (with the exception being UNSW - unfortunately you’re ineligible there due to your ATAR).
2. Both great courses with great career paths. Question being: do you see yourself satisfied in either of these careers if you never get into medicine? If the answer is no, then you need to look elsewhere.
3. No issue at all. It may rule out UQ graduate entry for you as they’ve introduced a number of prerequisite courses, but that’s the only thing and you’re only able to have 6 preferences on GEMSAS anyway.

 

[Crow]

I do have UES there (and have applied of course), but only for going to a rural school. I didn't bother with my other disadvantage factors as I honestly didn't think my ATAR would be this high after I had a bit of a disaster in the middle of the year.

If that’s the case then I imagine that you should get a place offer there this year based on past scores required. However, definitely good to have a back up plan in place just in case (as I can see you’re sorting out!).

 

[Fay19]

1. Yes - non-standard entry is based off your university results, not your ATAR (with the exception being UNSW - unfortunately you’re ineligible there due to your ATAR).
2. Both great courses with great career paths. Question being: do you see yourself satisfied in either of these careers if you never get into medicine? If the answer is no, then you need to look elsewhere.
3. No issue at all. It may rule out UQ graduate entry for you as they’ve introduced a number of prerequisite courses, but that’s the only thing and you’re only able to have 6 preferences on GEMSAS anyway.

1. Thanks Crow , still some hopes then.
2. Honestly, I haven't done much research yet, I liked the syllabus and the type of work. Not sure whether I'll be happy or not, but don't have much options based on my atar.
3. Thanks for the clarification. I doubt I'll apply to UQ anyway.

 

[Crow]

Not sure whether I'll be happy or not, but don't have much options based on my atar.

You definitely shouldn’t be thinking like that! Try this as an exercise: think about and write down all the motivations you have for pursuing medicine. Then think about what other careers would allow you to satisfy at least some of these motivations. If you have well thought out reasons for choosing medicine, then I guarantee there are other careers out there that can offer you something. This is something anyone in your position should try, I think. Never start a tertiary degree simply because you feel like you don’t have other options. Remember with reasonable results you’ll be able to transfer across into Physio (if that’s your preferred course after medicine) after you’ve done 0.5-1.0 FTE years of uni study too.

 

[ponyswordz]

You definitely shouldn’t be thinking like that! Try this as an exercise: think about and write down all the motivations you have for pursuing medicine. Then think about what other careers would allow you to satisfy at least some of these motivations. If you have well thought out reasons for choosing medicine, then I guarantee there are other careers out there that can offer you something. This is something anyone in your position should try, I think. Never start a tertiary degree simply because you feel like you don’t have other options. Remember with reasonable results you’ll be able to transfer across into Physio (if that’s your preferred course after medicine) after you’ve done 0.5-1.0 FTE years of uni study too.

Something you could always do is physio at ACU. It's up in North Sydney and it graduates physios with one of the top 3 salary incomes. It also nets you several bonus points which you can get in with through your atar assuming you have done some sciences and maths courses.

 

[Fay19]

Thank you so much, I should try your suggestion.

 

[Fay19]

Something you could always do is physio at ACU. It's up in North Sydney and it graduates physios with one of the top 3 salary incomes. It also nets you several bonus points which you can get in with through your atar assuming you have done some sciences and maths courses.

Thanks, I'll check that. I am just not sure how good is ACU compare to other universities. I have done Math 3u & 4U, chem, and physics for hsc.

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Thanks, I'll check that. I am just not sure how good is ACU compare to other universities. I have done Math 3u & 4U, chem, and physics for hsc.

Further Physiotherapy discussion: Physiotherapy

 

[realmadrid000]

Hey guys, a friend of mine who hasn't gotten the best of ATARs but is a med hopeful was wondering what her options might be. She was thinking of med sci possibly at WSU because the course is easier at WSU and so a 6+ GPA wouldnt be too hard, and, once she graduates, if she is unable to get into medicine she has said that she is open to do a 2 year MPharm degree at USYD.

Another thing she said is that she could do BScience at USYD, get a good GPA and again, if unsuccessful, do a 2 year MPharm.

Thoughts and opinions?