General Medicine Entry Discussion and Advice Requests

[1nav]

I've been considering whether it is worth taking a gap year to redo UCAT and was wondering if you could give me your opinion.

I applied for bond university and didn't end up getting an offer today on QTAC meaning I can't get into a medical course in 2020 now. Right now I am studying Civil Engineering with Architecture and the census date to defer the course is next Sunday. I have only had physics, math, and architecture classes so far in uni so I don't really have a taste for what engineering is really like. But while preparing for my med interview and doing some work experience at medical centers in prep for the interview I realized that a career in medicine would be really fulfilling for me.

My atar was 98.9 which I know isn't super high compared to the people who take gap years with high 99s.

If I do take a gap year I am planning to redo the UCAT. But I am a bit scared because if I don't end up doing really well to compensate for my atar - I might not make a med program and potentially waste a year. I am willing to go interstate though!

I also have a few question:
- I have heard from friends that some university medical programs don't accept students that take gap years (example is UQ Can I take a gap year and then apply for the Doctor of Medicine (MD) (Provisional Entry for School-Leavers) scheme? - Future student support - Future Students - The University of Queensland). Does anyone know any others that this might apply to?

I would really appreciate if anyone could give me their opinion on this as I feel that this is quite a difficult decision for me and all the advice I could get would be really valuable to me.

 

[Cal]

To be honest; Unless your main intent to have a gap year isn't to resit the UCAT and reapply, I personally don't think it is worth it; getting into a med school that isn't available for you to apply to as a non-standard applicant would be very difficult. You would need a very high ucat score and a good interview to give yourself a shot at UADEL to balance out your atar, and UWA is a no go because you have an atar < 99. Curtin is also possible; but again would need quite a good ucat score to balance out the atar. UNSW has stated that it requires an atar of 99.25, so that won't change anything and yes UQ doesn't take gap year students for pre-entry to the MD, only people fresh out of hs. I think mods have historically said anything above 99.4 is a reason to take a gap year; but I guess it varies person to person. Your options with a gap year are: UADEL, Curtin, JMP, WSU, JCU and bond, while your options without one are JMP, WSU, JCU and BOND so realistically not that much different. Personally I think in your scenario it would be better to get on a path towards an alternate course of career, and try and enter as a non-standard. With an atar of 98.9 you shouldn't have a problem getting the 6.1 gpa for WSU and the approx 6gpa for Bond and JCU, and definitely not the 5gpa for JCU if you put in the effort and want to do it. If you think ucat would be too hard to do with uni, I did it last year w/ uni and actually got into the course I have been aiming for since about grade 11. I found it much easier to prepare for when I wasn't surrounded by school and I could do my own thing. But of course it is up to you, and which direction would be optimal to get you into the position you want to be in. Good luck! and I hope you are enjoying engineering (that is the course I did last year )

EDIT: Sorry mods for answering here, would be epic if you could teleport the thread to the correct spot

 

[1nav]

Thank you for your frankness Cal! I appreciate the advice

 

[bigyikes]

Also, just to clarify, WSU actually won't even need a GPA of 6.1, they will take your ATAR (they choose whichever is higher). Personally, I agree with Cal that the amount of universities don't vary that much between gap year vs. non-standard applicants and the GPA requirements for JMP are very fair, and the requirements for JCU and Bond aren't too difficult. However, I suggest you also think back on why Bond might've rejected you - talking about the interview here. A gap year can be a good thing for reasons other than availability of med schools i.e. if you want to try and get more experience in the real world (which helps with interviews), or whether you want to work for a year or travel for a year, or even make sure that medicine/healthcare is the field you want to go into. But be careful, it's treading a fine line because a lot of gap year takers wind up not using their time wisely, and wasting the year. I think you should take this into consideration before you make this decision. Also, you definitely can improve interview skills during uni, as I did, so don't jump into a gap year with just that goal, but rather to better yourself and mature yourself as a whole.

 

[Cathay]

But while preparing for my med interview and doing some work experience at medical centers in prep for the interview I realized that a career in medicine would be really fulfilling for me.

Of interest... Can you see yourself happy doing anything else? What brought you to Civil Engineering, and can you see yourself doing that?

I think small glimpses like work experience at medical centres can draw you in, alongside the general societal fascination with medicine and medical professionals, but neither do much to prepare you for the unrelenting demands of the junior doctor years, or some of the realities later on.

Yes, it's entirely possible that a career in medicine would be really fulfilling for you; but being realistic, medicine is a huge undertaking (i.e. it will tend to dominate your life for many years to come, though unfortunately this tends not to become apparent until either late med school or after graduation), and your view of medicine (and life in general) will evolve over time. (For example, just about my entire mindset is different now compared to 10 years ago at the end of high school, and I couldn't have predicted any of this at the time.)

Rather than getting fixated on medicine and revolving your whole life around trying to get into medicine, there might be something to be said for carrying on with Civil Engineering (the physics and math could be more "what engineering is really like" than you realize, too), do the best you can with your current course, and see what happens. In the mean time, have a look beyond med school admission, or beyond med school altogether and look at what the work and lifestyle might be like for junior doctors, and the pathways towards various specialties. If you still feel strongly inclined towards medicine after a few months, you'll be able to pursue the non-standard pathway as outlined by the above posts.

 

[A1]

My atar was 98.9 which I know isn't super high compared to the people who take gap years with high 99s.

I'm referring you to this post, not to oppose the opinions already given above, only as an additional alternative for you to consider

> [Undergrad] - Discussion: Pros and Cons of Taking a Gap Year

You have to weigh up the pros & cons and decide for yourself. Note this way you remain eligible for UQ but otoh UQ will include an interview from next year's intake so won't be as straightforward as the year just now.

 

[1nav]

Your options with a gap year are: UADEL, Curtin, JMP, WSU, JCU and bond, while your options without one are JMP, WSU, JCU and BOND so realistically not that much different.

What about monash?

 

[Cal]

What about monash?

Monash would be essentially a no go (they require the best of the best like 99.6+ and 99th percentile or something) unless you are from VIC, but that would be a possibility if you were from VIC as a gap year student

 

[DrDrLMG!]

What about monash?

What UCAT did you achieve last year? And what interview invites? That’s probably the best indicator of what your options would be for 2021 entry, tbh. Unless you bombed UCAT due to lack of prep or something going poorly on the day, then, statistically speaking, you’d be looking at interview invites to mirror what you received for 2020 entry.

 

[Crow]

I think mods have historically said anything above 99.4 is a reason to take a gap year

I think that’s just one mod (A1 adds: Let's name & shame that mod )

Would strongly encourage the OP to read Mana’s post on the pitfalls of a gap year if you haven’t already.

 

[1nav]

I am currently enrolled in an engineering course at UNSW and have decided to take a gap year.

The census date is next Sunday (15th March).

If I were to drop my engineering course by that date would I be able to qualify as a school-leaver? and therefore do UCAT and apply to UWS, UON, JCU and BOND university with just my atar and ucat?

I don't really know anyone that has been enrolled at the beginning but took gap year after...most of the people I knew just left UAC untouched. So your advice would be really valuable!

 

[dotwingz]

I am currently enrolled in an engineering course at UNSW and have decided to take a gap year.

The census date is next Sunday (15th March).

If I were to drop my engineering course by that date would I be able to qualify as a school-leaver? and therefore do UCAT and apply to UWS, UON, JCU and BOND university with just my atar and ucat?

I don't really know anyone that has been enrolled at the beginning but took gap year after...most of the people I knew just left UAC untouched. So your advice would be really valuable!

Yes, you will be able to apply to all those uni's. See: [Undergrad] - (2020 Updated) Med schools Selection Criteria Y12s & Non-standards (specifically the bottom part where it says how it counts your academic record)

Im not sure why though? All of those University's also accept non standards, and given your ATAR was 98.90 it is likely you are not eligible for JCU. If you complete one year of University and get a 6.2 GPA it will make you eligible for all of them

 

[Crow]

given your ATAR was 98.90 it is likely you are not eligible for JCU

I agree with the sentiment of your post, but not this bit - we’ve seen non-rural applicants with ATARs of 96 and 97 land interviews and subsequent place offers at JCU in the past (naturally they would’ve had very strong written applicants and interviews to compensate).

 

[1nav]

I talked to some 2nd-year civil engineering and architecture students and they told me it would be difficult to maintain a HD in architecture let alone balance UCAT study ontop of it all. If I were to not maintain a high GPA my ATAR may be pulled down as a non-standard applicant when I apply for the universities. Personally, I felt studying for ucat and applying with my 98.9 atar would increase my chances of getting into one of the universities than applying as a non-standard applicant and possibly getting pulled down by my GPA

I am planning to apply for medicine at WSU, JCU, UON, BOND
I am also planning to apply for UAdelaide, LaTrobe, UQ and JCU for dentistry

 

[dotwingz]

I talked to some 2nd-year civil engineering and architecture students and they told me it would be difficult to maintain a HD in architecture let alone balance UCAT study ontop of it all. If I were to not maintain a high GPA my ATAR may be pulled down as a non-standard applicant when I apply for the universities. Personally, I felt studying for ucat and applying with my 98.9 atar would increase my chances of getting into one of the universities than applying as a non-standard applicant and possibly getting pulled down by my GPA

I am planning to apply for medicine at WSU, JCU, UON, BOND
I am also planning to apply for UAdelaide, LaTrobe, UQ and JCU for dentistry

Whilst im not sure exactly where your strengths and weaknesses lie (you need to be honest with yourself about this), and whether your studying Engineering or Architecture (or both?) but Engineering gets bad flack for its difficulty to get a high GPA. Also balancing UCAT study ontop of this is not difficult, you have alot of time in University and as long as you stay organised you will have plenty of time to study both Uni and UCAT

Im not sure how UNSW is but ive got plenty of friends in Engo at other uni's with 6.5+ GPA's with no intention for further study/scholarships and simply enjoy studying the content. Cal did Engineering at UQ and managed to pull a 7 GPA despite only 'going to half the lectures' IIRC. Obviously it depends on how good you are at the content but first year courses across the board are not too difficulty.

Also a WAM of 80 (~6.5 GPA - not a direct conversion) puts you in the top 20% of UNSW students compared to the top 0.5% of students in a 99.50 ATAR - Comparison of Grading Systems | UNSW Current Students - not too shabby

Ultimately, with your ATAR its not the worst idea if you decide to take a gap, but theres really not much down side in spending a year in Uni. If you do 1 sem and feel like your going to screw it up, maybe take a gap after that? TBH im not sure how census day works so be careful about any academic/finacial penalties

 

[Cathay]

Curious to know... Aside from UCAT study (which I don't think is a full-time, full-year occupation), did you have any other plans as to how you might spend that gap year? A lot of the "traditional" gap year things are being adversely affected by the coronavirus outbreak: overseas travel is likely inadvisable at least in the next month or two, and the economic fallout of the international travel/trade disruptions may have adverse effects on typical gap year employment sources.

I have only had physics, math, and architecture classes so far in uni so I don't really have a taste for what engineering is really like. But while preparing for my med interview and doing some work experience at medical centers in prep for the interview I realized that a career in medicine would be really fulfilling for me.

Also curious to know... Is there a particular aspect of medicine that you would find most fulfilling? Have you done any work experience in other fields, e.g. engineering? I say this because it's easy to be dazzled by the whole "medical/clinical environment" especially on a short initial exposure, but it can be hard to sustain that interest, either when the going gets tough (and it will) or once the novelty wears off, or both. (The same applies to "the surgical environment", by the way.) Furthermore, depending on the medical centres you were at, and depending on who you were shadowing (doctor, nurse, etc) and what they were doing, it may not be representative of the realities of medicine for your medical school years or the initial post-graduation years in the hospital, before you can choose which area of medicine to go into.

Look, at this point, if you've had a long interest and desire for medicine and can't see yourself doing anything else, please say so and I will drop the matter. If you have parental pressure towards (and potentially large financial rewards for) getting into medicine, please also say so - although that may not be a sustainable way forward, as I found out the hard way myself. But if neither of these apply, and if you have any doubt or any feeling of "can go either way", I'd have to say, withdrawing from uni and taking a gap year, particularly at this point in time (with the Covid-19 outbreak affecting the world), would not be my first choice, to say the least. (I wanted to say it's inadvisable, but I guess that depends on what your plan is for what you'll do, besides UCAT study.)

Ultimately it is up to you - if you desperately want medicine (for reasons not disclosed here), you have a concrete, actionable plan for what you'll do and how you'll support yourself during this gap year, you judge this course of action to be the most likely to result in admission, and are willing to risk having a year "not well spent", then you do you. Just bear in mind that you may end up having to explain and justify what it is you do on this gap year, potentially in an interview (medicine or otherwise), and if this happens, you will likely be expected to produce an answer beyond "I studied for UCAT".

 

[jmds4]

Hey guys, sorry this is a really long post, but I'm in a bit of a dilemma right now and feel I need some opinions. Thanks so much in advance for your time and thoughts.

I'm sorry to say this, but this isn't going to be a very happy post. I graduated Year 12 in 2019, in NSW. Admittedly I didn't have the easiest year: a series of really heartbreaking and demoralising events in my family, friends and relationships happened one after the other in late year 11; I subsequently started struggling to keep up with the pace of the curriculum, and then certain teachers and parents kept making hurtful remarks when I tried to ask for their help. By the start of 2019, it felt like basically everything I valued was falling apart, and all my friends and mentors who would have support me either deserted me or hurt me instead, and the whole year felt like a massive struggle uphill alone from there. There were so many moments when I felt absolutely helpless and burnt-out, but I knew I really wanted to pursue medicine which I saw a truly admirable, heroic, fascinating and rewarding discipline, and so I just kept pushing myself to take one more step at a time forwards trying to attain the required results. After what felt like a whole year of painstakingly climbing uphill out of the pit, with so many setbacks and getting stuck along the way, I finally emerged with an ATAR of 99.15, which honestly I'm pretty proud of considering the circumstances. It took a serious toll on me though, I had to put many extra-curriculars and hobbies on hold, and it left me so exhausted that even now I don't feel like I've fully recovered. However, the offer rounds came and went and possibly due to my relatively low UCAT score in the 87th percentile and my ATAR not being high enough to make up for it, not a single university invited me to an interview - it was as though I had never applied at all.

Now, for some additional context, I've always been a pretty passionate musician; I've studied violin for 12 years, and I do really enjoy it and find it's a great relaxing way to balance my academic studies. There are also plenty of careers that come out of this discipline: most musicians choose a balance of performing and teaching, and maybe doing some time in an orchestra as well. I have an elderly neighbour who did all those in his career, and even now in his retirement he plays duets with his partner and his friends everyday, which honestly sounds like a pretty enviable life. I did for some time ask myself whether I should forget medicine and pursue this much simpler happy life, but I figured as someone who's always been really geeky about sciences, being a full time musician would leave that part of my brain a little understimulated. And of course studying medicine doesn't forfeit my ability to still enjoy music as a side hobby. And though a medical career may mean a much longer education process and strenuous working hours, I've always clung on to this heroic image of doctors putting in that extended effort to help vulnerable people out of that situation, and what an honour it would be to work hard and deliver that service to humanity. This is also why I was reluctant to choose a degree like medical sciences as a bridging course instead - medical science is itself a difficult course where the students are competitive, many of whom only narrowly missed out on entry into Medicine. To my understanding, only the top chunk of the already competitive cohort (like top 25% from what I've heard?) succesfully make the bridge across into Medicine, and I'm afraid that if I can't make that cut, I'll be spending my career making nutrition labels or sitting in on health planning committees, which though isn't dreadful also isn't really what I bargained for when I said I wanted to be a doctor, and honestly I think given that potential outcome, I'd regret not just taking music professionally instead.

After weighing up my options, therefore, I chose start a music degree this year at the Conservatorium (which required a 70.0 ATAR +auditions), and perhaps resit the UCAT to try for non-standard entry. The first few weeks at music school have been pretty great, but three things are kinda bothering me and so I thought I'd ask your thoughts and advice on them:

1. It's really starting to sink in that all the hard work I put myself through in Year 12 might have been for nothing, I could have taken it easy and made significantly less sacrifices to my wellbeing, and still ended up in the same degree, possibly even better off than I am now as I would have had more time for music practice instead. What also really sucks is that a classmate of mine got an ATAR just 0.3 higher than mine and earned a scholarship to this music degree, whereas I got nothing. Furthermore, most universities that offer non-standard entry into medicine, to my understanding, only use the ATAR as a threshold, so does this really mean my ATAR will become virtually useless if I continue this degree?
   
   
2. I doubt my grades at music school will ever match my 99+ ATAR no matter how hard I try. I'm less of a standout musician among other musicians, than I was a standout student among other Year 12s. I can probably make it into the top 30% of this music cohort, but at this stage I can't guarantee anything more outstanding than that. I don't know what GPA that corresponds to, but will taking up this music degree spell the end for my hopes of ever becoming a medical doctor? If not, which unis would be my best hope?I'm also aware that the outbreak of Covid-19 is preventing current Year 12s from going to school and sitting regular exams, and may even result in the cancellation of the UCAT. Could this change how 2021 undergraduate Med programs manage their admissions or even result in a cancellation of the 2021 offer round? I'm just conscious that the longer I spend at uni, the more my GPA will be factored in over my ATAR, which, as I explained will probably significantly lower my competitiveness.
   
   
3. Of course I still really want to do medicine for the reasons I outlined earlier, as any rejected hopeful would feel, but part of my brain is screaming at me that trying to pursue medicine was the worst decision I have ever made, and that to try again would be to stupidly risk another round of disappointment, stress and pointless sacrifices. Thoughts?

Anyway, thanks so much if you've taken the time to read all this, I really appreciate your help. Sorry for dumping in so much information, and sorry if I sound poorly worded or desperate, but if I need to defer my music degree and take a gap year to better my chances of entry, that decision needs to come fast as census date is approaching. Thanks again for your time and opinions, and please stay safe amid the whole pandemic crisis.

 

[A1]

if I need to defer my music degree and take a gap year to better my chances of entry, that decision needs to come fast as census date is approaching.

If you are considering a gap year I suggest you read this post
> [Undergrad] - Discussion: Pros and Cons of Taking a Gap Year

You need to act soon to avoid the census date and getting a uni academic record, which would make you ineligible for several med schools. Hopefully you can improve your ATAR to mid 99s and get a better UCAT score this time.

If you continue your music degree you will still be eligible for JMP (only GPA 4.7+) and WSU (your ATAR 99.15). The UCAT requirement is the same as taking a gap year.

 

[dotwingz]

Hey guys, sorry this is a really long post, but I'm in a bit of a dilemma right now and feel I need some opinions. Thanks so much in advance for your time and thoughts.

I'm sorry to say this, but this isn't going to be a very happy post. I graduated Year 12 in 2019, in NSW. Admittedly I didn't have the easiest year: a series of really heartbreaking and demoralising events in my family, friends and relationships happened one after the other in late year 11; I subsequently started struggling to keep up with the pace of the curriculum, and then certain teachers and parents kept making hurtful remarks when I tried to ask for their help. By the start of 2019, it felt like basically everything I valued was falling apart, and all my friends and mentors who would have support me either deserted me or hurt me instead, and the whole year felt like a massive struggle uphill alone from there. There were so many moments when I felt absolutely helpless and burnt-out, but I knew I really wanted to pursue medicine which I saw a truly admirable, heroic, fascinating and rewarding discipline, and so I just kept pushing myself to take one more step at a time forwards trying to attain the required results. After what felt like a whole year of painstakingly climbing uphill out of the pit, with so many setbacks and getting stuck along the way, I finally emerged with an ATAR of 99.15, which honestly I'm pretty proud of considering the circumstances. It took a serious toll on me though, I had to put many extra-curriculars and hobbies on hold, and it left me so exhausted that even now I don't feel like I've fully recovered. However, the offer rounds came and went and possibly due to my relatively low UCAT score in the 87th percentile and my ATAR not being high enough to make up for it, not a single university invited me to an interview - it was as though I had never applied at all.

Now, for some additional context, I've always been a pretty passionate musician; I've studied violin for 12 years, and I do really enjoy it and find it's a great relaxing way to balance my academic studies. There are also plenty of careers that come out of this discipline: most musicians choose a balance of performing and teaching, and maybe doing some time in an orchestra as well. I have an elderly neighbour who did all those in his career, and even now in his retirement he plays duets with his partner and his friends everyday, which honestly sounds like a pretty enviable life. I did for some time ask myself whether I should forget medicine and pursue this much simpler happy life, but I figured as someone who's always been really geeky about sciences, being a full time musician would leave that part of my brain a little understimulated. And of course studying medicine doesn't forfeit my ability to still enjoy music as a side hobby. And though a medical career may mean a much longer education process and strenuous working hours, I've always clung on to this heroic image of doctors putting in that extended effort to help vulnerable people out of that situation, and what an honour it would be to work hard and deliver that service to humanity. This is also why I was reluctant to choose a degree like medical sciences as a bridging course instead - medical science is itself a difficult course where the students are competitive, many of whom only narrowly missed out on entry into Medicine. To my understanding, only the top chunk of the already competitive cohort (like top 25% from what I've heard?) succesfully make the bridge across into Medicine, and I'm afraid that if I can't make that cut, I'll be spending my career making nutrition labels or sitting in on health planning committees, which though isn't dreadful also isn't really what I bargained for when I said I wanted to be a doctor, and honestly I think given that potential outcome, I'd regret not just taking music professionally instead.

After weighing up my options, therefore, I chose start a music degree this year at the Conservatorium (which required a 70.0 ATAR +auditions), and perhaps resit the UCAT to try for non-standard entry. The first few weeks at music school have been pretty great, but three things are kinda bothering me and so I thought I'd ask your thoughts and advice on them:

1. It's really starting to sink in that all the hard work I put myself through in Year 12 might have been for nothing, I could have taken it easy and made significantly less sacrifices to my wellbeing, and still ended up in the same degree, possibly even better off than I am now as I would have had more time for music practice instead. What also really sucks is that a classmate of mine got an ATAR just 0.3 higher than mine and earned a scholarship to this music degree, whereas I got nothing. Furthermore, most universities that offer non-standard entry into medicine, to my understanding, only use the ATAR as a threshold, so does this really mean my ATAR will become virtually useless if I continue this degree?
   
   
2. I doubt my grades at music school will ever match my 99+ ATAR no matter how hard I try. I'm less of a standout musician among other musicians, than I was a standout student among other Year 12s. I can probably make it into the top 30% of this music cohort, but at this stage I can't guarantee anything more outstanding than that. I don't know what GPA that corresponds to, but will taking up this music degree spell the end for my hopes of ever becoming a medical doctor? If not, which unis would be my best hope?I'm also aware that the outbreak of Covid-19 is preventing current Year 12s from going to school and sitting regular exams, and may even result in the cancellation of the UCAT. Could this change how 2021 undergraduate Med programs manage their admissions or even result in a cancellation of the 2021 offer round? I'm just conscious that the longer I spend at uni, the more my GPA will be factored in over my ATAR, which, as I explained will probably significantly lower my competitiveness.
   
   
3. Of course I still really want to do medicine for the reasons I outlined earlier, as any rejected hopeful would feel, but part of my brain is screaming at me that trying to pursue medicine was the worst decision I have ever made, and that to try again would be to stupidly risk another round of disappointment, stress and pointless sacrifices. Thoughts?

Anyway, thanks so much if you've taken the time to read all this, I really appreciate your help. Sorry for dumping in so much information, and sorry if I sound poorly worded or desperate, but if I need to defer my music degree and take a gap year to better my chances of entry, that decision needs to come fast as census date is approaching. Thanks again for your time and opinions, and please stay safe amid the whole pandemic crisis.

First of all let me say that a 99.15 ATAR is a fantastic achievement and you should be incredibly proud of that. I know that thousands of people would dream of an atar like that.

1. The answer to this is potentially. Schools like UNSW take into account your ATAR and GPA when deciding non standard places and given your ATAR you might decide to take a gap year however given that the lowest ATAR this year was a 99.25 this may not be the best decision. The rest (JMP, WSU, JCU) use your GPA as a hurdle. I know a lot of people (and I would say a lot of people on this forum) who are feeling similarly. That their Year 12 was a waste of time etc. and it’s truly heartbreaking but the best mentality is that not only may your ATAR may open up UNSW for you if you continue the music degree, it may open up other pathways if you decide to change direction. But other than that you might have to consider it a sunk cost and instead of using your energy about keeping on to your old achievements instead direct it to achieve your goals (med).

2. Having a lower GPA won’t necessarily spell death for your chances. Some schools like JMP emphasise more on the UCAT/Interview and thus is more accessible for those with lower GPAs. Also I’m not sure how unis count your degrees but in the future you may be able to do a year of two of another degree and gun for a high GPA there. In reference you COVID it is impossible to predict what’s going to change so just try to be fluid

3. Potentially people can be caught up in the external influences pushing them to do medicine they don’t consider it too deeply. I’ve also often questioned if it’s right for me and I believe so after much thought. No one can really comment on this issue but maybe being in a clearer headspace at the Conservatorium might help you.

One important factor is that ATARs are counted for people below 1 full time year. If you want to keep doing this for the first semester you might be able to take a year off and start up again Sem2 2021 whilst using your ATAR in the 2021Admissions cycle. However I’m not sure how this is going to affect you at unis that excluded non standards. Someone’s gonna have to fact check me on this though

 

[rjexik97]

I just joined this forum to get some advice as I've seen some really great and realistic advice given to people.

I graduated high school in 2015 with an ok ATAR. I did 1.5 years of psychology at UNSW and didn't enjoy it and then decided to look towards medicine. I started medical science in 2018 (don't kill me) not to get into medicine particularly but to do post graduate studies in some allied health field, particularly sonography, audiology or orthoptics. I'm currently in my last year of med sci and I've decided to do a masters of audiology. Long term plan is to work as an audiologist while I study and sit for GAMSAT. My GPA is currently 6.2 and I sat UCAT last year and received 2740. I plan to sit UCAT again this year and also do GAMSAT in September.

I've been doing a lot more research into med and basically I'm feeling pretty disheartened since I've seen so many people say getting into post grad med is basically impossible without a minimum GPA of 6.5. I'm convinced med is the right path for me and I will keep trying to get in every year until I do but if my GPA of 6.2 isn't enough, should I even keep trying? I know some unis look at only GAMSAT and use GPA for hurdle like USyd but I'm not even sure how I will go with GAMSAT, especially the physics section in it. I'm basically asking is it impossible/ very very difficult for me to get into med with my GPA and maybe a GAMSAT of 60? What GAMSAT mark would compensate for my low GPAin some/ most unis?