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

[Crow]

Sorry if this is in the wrong spot or answered before.

Personally, would you guys study undergrad Med interstate if you were given an offer or aim for postgrad in your home state? Do you recommend applying to universities all around the country? I’m trying to decide if I would rather move interstate for 6/7 years if I receive an offer or do an undergrad degree and GAMSAT in my home state (Victoria), though I know this pathway is very competitive.

The answer to most of these questions comes own to your personal preferences so it is hard for us to answer them for you. Do you want to study medicine badly enough that you are willing to move interstate, or would you prefer to forego an interstate offer to stay in your home state and risk never getting another offer? Neither of these is the "best" approach, it just comes down to your own priorities. Also worth pointing out that if you do get an interstate provisional entry offer, you can sit GAMSAT and attempt to get a graduate entry offer in your home state - this gives you the security blanket of having that "guarantee" into medicine while meaning you won't necessarily have to be away from your home state for 7+ years.

Also, if I don't receive an undergrad offer from any universities, would my best option be to study a degree on its own merits and try to maintain a competitive WAM and GAMSAT? And maybe do the UCAT again in first year and apply as a non-standard student?

Yes.

What were your backup courses/options if you hadn't gone into undergrad Med?

Again, we can't answer this one for you. It comes down to your own personal interests. Think about why you want to study medicine, and then consider other careers that will satisfy some/all of these motivations that you can see yourself happy working in long-term. A few healthcare-related professions to consider: physio, occupational therapy, optometry, medical imaging, nursing, paramedicine, pharmacy, medical laboratory science..... that's a very non-exhaustive list and by no means do you need to do your undergrad in a health-related field at all! Just do whatever you think is best for you.

 

[Unluckydude]

Sorry if this is in the wrong spot or answered before.

I’m trying to decide if I would rather move interstate for 6/7 years

You may not be able to move back to your home-state immediately after graduation.

 

[chinaski]

Broadly speaking, consider how - and why - you feel about your "home state" at the age (and level of dependency) you are now, and then try to think about how your "home state" may change in importance as you get older, make new friends and connections, build life experiences, develop new responsibilities etc.

 

[threefivetwo]

I don't receive an undergrad offer from any universities, would my best option be to study a degree on its own merits and try to maintain a competitive WAM and GAMSAT? And maybe do the UCAT again in first year and apply as a non-standard student?

Yup, with an emphasis on on its own merits. As detailed in the first post, don't do Medical Science (bad career prospects, pathway to medicine from UNSW med sci is competitive with a toxic culture), or any degree on the basis that it will give you an 'edge' over other applicants (i.e. more experience in health). Think about whether that degree is a viable backup career option, in the event that you never get into Medicine.

A definite yes to doing the UCAT in first year - I'd argue that that's as easy as it gets, as first year at uni is generally easy. As you move into higher years, your workload will increase and you may find it harder to prepare for the UCAT / GAMSAT effectively - my two cents.

What were your backup courses/options if you hadn't gone into undergrad Med?

I didn't receive an undergrad offer last year so am now studying my first backup option, a double degree in Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, while reapplying for Medicine. The other backup option was Architecture.

 

[Scorpion]

Sorry if this is in the wrong spot or answered before.

Personally, would you guys study undergrad Med interstate if you were given an offer or aim for postgrad in your home state? Do you recommend applying to universities all around the country? I’m trying to decide if I would rather move interstate for 6/7 years if I receive an offer or do an undergrad degree and GAMSAT in my home state (Victoria), though I know this pathway is very competitive. Also, if I don't receive an undergrad offer from any universities, would my best option be to study a degree on its own merits and try to maintain a competitive WAM and GAMSAT? And maybe do the UCAT again in first year and apply as a non-standard student?

What were your backup courses/options if you hadn't gone into undergrad Med?

I'll add my thoughts on this as I think I'm in the minority here by opting to only apply to a university within my own state (SA). As a year 12 student this year, having never lived away from the place I call home now, I feel neither independent nor mature enough to live interstate for the sole purpose of studying medicine. It may sound naive and not interested enough in the course, but you need to consider your own wellbeing too. It's not that I don't want to do the course, or that I'd never consider studying interstate (as chinaski said, your interpretation of your 'home state' can change as you get older), but next year I am certainly not ready to travel a plane flight plus 3 hours by car from my family (and then probably only seeing them once a year if that), even if that means turning down a med offer. If you do decide that you could move interstate next year, obviously go for it. But understand that in doing so, you can't just get in a car and be home in a matter of hours when you feel homesick. It all comes down to your personal circumstances.

 

[cherryblossoms]

Thanks everyone, I'll take this all into consideration!

 

[Mana]

Shoutout to @fahad_teaches on tiktok ( www.tiktok.com/@fahad_teaches ) for promoting this thread for discussion and getting the message out there!

 

[ashley000]

I’m heading into y12 for 2021, and wanted some advice. I’ll be sitting the UCAT early next year, and wanted to know, that if unsuccessful, is starting with nursing, and then retrying the following year for medicine admission was a smart idea? I’ll be applying for curtin with their undergraduate course, but with a predicated atar with anywhere between 95-98, I understand I won’t be one of the most desirable, but I’m just wanting to know what suggestions you would have?

 

[DrDrLMG!]

I’m heading into y12 for 2021, and wanted some advice. I’ll be sitting the UCAT early next year, and wanted to know, that if unsuccessful, is starting with nursing, and then retrying the following year for medicine admission was a smart idea? I’ll be applying for curtin with their undergraduate course, but with a predicated atar with anywhere between 95-98, I understand I won’t be one of the most desirable, but I’m just wanting to know what suggestions you would have?

Hi Ashley, welcome to MSO

Unfortunately, unless you're rural, an ATAR between 95 and 98 wouldn't be competitive for Curtin (though, that said, there's a long time to go before this is locked in!). Considering a back-up plan is definitely a smart idea, and the nature of that back-up plan is really for you to weigh up. If you don't ever get into medicine, would you like to work as a nurse? Though, to be honest, even if you did nursing, and then decided it wasn't for you and switched to... teaching, or engineering, or law, or art history or any number of other options, that's also not the end of the world (I say as someone doing Med in my 30s after a whole heap of other study over the years!).

The useful things about nursing is that it does give you an intro to some form of hospital life, patient interaction, basic skills, anatomy, physiology, etc. It's also a useful degree to have as a part-time job as you do your medical degree if you do happen to make the switch at some point. But ultimately, only you are going to know if it is the career pathway for you (and you may not even know that immediately, and that is totally okay!).

The smartest thing about what you're doing at the moment is not locking yourself into a 'Medicine or Nothing' mindset, which can really make life difficult for some people, so good on you! Definitely keep hanging around here and asking questions. Good luck with the rest of year 11!

 

[jerem19]

Hello,
First of all, I am not sure where to post this so here I am
I know people say don't study health science, but I kind of want to get a taste of different options. I also want to use it to apply as a non standard and see how i go...
In saying that, has anyone studied health science at Deakin? If so, what majors did they do?
Trying to choose two. Majors can be health promotion, nutrition, disability n inclusion, physical activity or psychological science.

Let me know, thankyou!

 

[dotwingz]

We dont have any active Deakin students around here, so i dont think you will get much of a response/

Out of interest would the Psychological Science Major set you on the right track to become a psychologist? That seems like a good backup career if you dont get into med.

 

[LeSpicyGinger]

Hello,
First of all, I am not sure where to post this so here I am
I know people say don't study health science, but I kind of want to get a taste of different options. I also want to use it to apply as a non standard and see how i go...
In saying that, has anyone studied health science at Deakin? If so, what majors did they do?
Trying to choose two. Majors can be health promotion, nutrition, disability n inclusion, physical activity or psychological science.

Let me know, thankyou!

When I was doing research on what majors to do for USYD I went on reddit, talked to other course takers and heard opinions from past students. Maybe you could try these options?

 

[Mana]

Hello,
First of all, I am not sure where to post this so here I am
I know people say don't study health science, but I kind of want to get a taste of different options. I also want to use it to apply as a non standard and see how i go...
In saying that, has anyone studied health science at Deakin? If so, what majors did they do?
Trying to choose two. Majors can be health promotion, nutrition, disability n inclusion, physical activity or psychological science.

Let me know, thankyou!

Do you really need to be doing health science because you want a taste of "options?" Is it worth three years of full time study?

There are so many other degrees out there with broad scope (i.e. plenty of options); a selection of only five majors is rather restrictive for a generalist/non-professional degree...

 

[jerem19]

Thank you all for the fast replies! Hmm i will take it into consideration

 

[jfa01]

Hi guys, just thought I'd get some opinions on my medicine backup.
I'm currently in my third year doing a health science degree while sitting GAMSAT, and if I'm unsuccessful in getting in to medicine I'm planning on either studying a 2-year long masters of physio or continuing into honours. What do you guys think is the best route in case I'm unsuccessful?

 

[chinaski]

Hi guys, just thought I'd get some opinions on my medicine backup.
I'm currently in my third year doing a health science degree while sitting GAMSAT, and if I'm unsuccessful in getting in to medicine I'm planning on either studying a 2-year long masters of physio or continuing into honours. What do you guys think is the best route in case I'm unsuccessful?

What are the different career options WRT masters versus honours?

 

[Crow]

Hi guys, just thought I'd get some opinions on my medicine backup.
I'm currently in my third year doing a health science degree while sitting GAMSAT, and if I'm unsuccessful in getting in to medicine I'm planning on either studying a 2-year long masters of physio or continuing into honours. What do you guys think is the best route in case I'm unsuccessful?

Do you want to be a physio, or do you want to go into research or another field entirely?

The answer should come down to what you want to do if you never get into medicine.

 

[dotwingz]

Do you want to become a physio? or become an academic of some kind. The masters would set you on the former, and the honours would set you on the latter. It's always best to think about alternatives with the view of not getting into medicine.

Is physio something you see yourself doing? Then I'd go for that.

 

[jfa01]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I don't know if most people in this forum are like me but I don't see myself doing anything else but med. But I understand the advice, and I'll probably do physio while still trying to get into med if I'm unsuccessful at first.

Happy Easter guys!

 

[dotwingz]

What attracts you specifically to med? When you think of your 'end goal' what is it? Having an atitude that it's med or nothing is really unhealthy.