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General Medicine Entry Discussion and Advice Requests
- Thread starter H2.
- Start date
wobblepong
Intern
As Crow mentioned above, getting involved in research will not be the sole reason you get into a medical school by any means, especially if it is purely for the intent of doing so.
That being said, having a genuine interest in research is a great thing! I managed to get involved in a few research projects last year through a certain branch of a certain medical research institute in Queensland (probably best if I don't give it away
). Super interesting and super beneficial stuff, especially for an understanding of how research integrates into/informs clinical practice, which is why I can't recommend that you follow this passion enough.Once again, although it won't get you an instant admission email, it certainly gives you a lot to talk about in an interview. As far as I'm aware, most interviewers will be able to differentiate an actual passion from something you did just because you think it will impress them. Whenever they pressed me on why I wanted to be a doctor and not a researcher, I was able to discuss in a fair bit of detail how I wanted to integrate research into my career, and the importance of doing so (evidence-based medicine and so forth).
I'm sure that there are many different ways to get into research, but the way I got onboard was quite straightforward. I spent a bit of time poking around said medical research institute's website at the various branches of medicine they looked after and picked a few that piqued my interest. I sent an email to the head professor of a project that I liked the sound of and told him I was keen to get involved and they were more than happy to take me on board as a volunteer.
Point being, if you're happy to give up a bit of your time to foster your passion, I can't see it hurting your chances whatsoever. I was very lucky to get into it on my first go, but I'm sure if you fish around for long enough you'll get exactly what you're looking for. If you need any help regarding this, my DMs are always open
.Best of luck!
Just saw this now when I was on the JMP site looking at the requirements. Can you give me more info on what is considered a full time load?
I will have completed 24cp for Sem 1, but if I do let's say 12 or 18cp for Sem 2, will that still be a full-time load?
If not, would you recommend using up easy electives to boost my WAM/GPA?
My SEM2 units are pretty difficult ATM, but my degree structure is extremely flexible.
Thanks.
Fee paying
Full fee paying places for domestic students, students who commenced before 2017, FEE-HELP and non award study.
www.sydney.edu.au
For USYD:
So in order for your GPA and not atar to count, your gonna need to continue your current study load.
Generally, taking up electives that youre good at/have interest in/are easy/etc will help you boost your GPA if you dont think you'll be able to maintain a competitive one... however I wouldn't take up electives that is going to make completing your degree harder (i.e. swap out compulsory courses for electives) as your basing the outcome of that on a 2 hour test and interview.
So, if I do not not continue my current study load and do 18cp for next semester, UNCLE will consider my ATAR?Fee paying
Full fee paying places for domestic students, students who commenced before 2017, FEE-HELP and non award study.
For USYD:
So in order for your GPA and not atar to count, your gonna need to continue your current study load.
Generally, taking up electives that youre good at/have interest in/are easy/etc will help you boost your GPA if you dont think you'll be able to maintain a competitive one... however I wouldn't take up electives that is going to make completing your degree harder (i.e. swap out compulsory courses for electives) as your basing the outcome of that on a 2 hour test and interview.
Reason why I am open to this is that it does not really affect the progression of my degree, I can just take summer units to catch up in the circumstance I am not able to make it in.
bigyikes
WSU MD II
Just out of curiosity, what is your WAM? Only asking because JMP are extremely fair with their GPA requirements, in that you only need a 'close to credit average' which is IIRC ~4.9GPA. If your WAM is above that, there's no use making life more difficult for yourself by taking summer courses just so they will consider your ATAR.
You mentioned 24cp for Sem 1, which means 1 FTE year = 48cp.
You can do 48cp part-time over two years it still counts as 1 FTE.
Otoh if you do 36cp (18cp each semester) that counts as full-time for Centrelink etc but does not give 1 FTE.
For JMP less than 1 FTE in any degree program is not considered so yes, they consider your ATAR instead. But as bigyikes said the GPA requirement is only 4.7+ are you so concerned you can't achieve this with 1 FTE?
I am in first year, first sem so do not really have a WAM/GPA yet.
Ive done around 8 assessments and have gotten mostly D's and HD's with one C.
I am fairly confident I'll be able to maintain an above credit WAM/GPA but this is only for sem1. I am not sure how things will play out for sem2, I.e. the stuff could be drastically harder and that could mean my GPA gets affected.
The logical approach would be to continue with my normal load in a manner that doesn't cause detriment to my backup degree. Thanks guys for making me see that.
My uni is also using a something called a COVID WAM. This basically excludes the first semester's results from the calculated WAM. So by the end of Y1, I will have two WAMs listed. Is there any information as to which one the universities will consider?
I'm a domestic student studying overseas and was taking the May 2020 exams. However, the actual exams were cancelled in March and the examination board will use other factors to determine our grades. Will this lead to a disadvantage in how universities will count my grade compared to people who took an actual exam either in May or November? Afraid that they'll treat my diploma as a 'fake' degree considering there was no final exam
The universities won’t know the particulars of your assessment - they will only see your academic transcript and the grades for each subject. To clarify, when you say “diploma” what exactly is the qualification you will have once you complete your studies, if you don’t mind me asking?
Given your age, I assume you mean high school diploma (as is common terminology overseas) rather than a tertiary level level diploma from a university (as is more common use of the term here). It’s really impossible for us to say how admissions centres will look at grades given all the variability, and we’d really just be guessing. Your best bet would be to contact UAC/QTAC/VTAC wherever else you’re planning to apply, and see if they have any advice for you. My guess is (note: guess!) they may not actually know yet as they’re still scrambling to make a plan for domestic grades, so you might have to be patient.
I take the IB Diploma overseas so I think it's technically a high school degree but the name is a bit confusing.
Nope, not confusing, IB is pretty common even within Australia. That said, it’s also one of the less straightforward high school qualifications with regard to Med entry here, even in a normal year, so a pandemic year makes it even harder for us to say how or even if you might be affected. You should definitely get as much info from your school as possible and then contact the admissions centres with any questions you might have.
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I haven't kept too up to date with the whole May IB exam cancellation thing, but from what I've read you'll still get an IB score out of 45 in July, calculated using a combination of your internal assessment grades, teachers' predicted grades and past school performance (it's a complicated procedure which the IB has been reluctant to share details about, perhaps to stop people from gaming the system). If this is the case and the IB does a fair job that doesn't draw too much criticism (there will inevitably be students who get the short end of the stick), that score should be recognised by tertiary admissions centres so I wouldn't worry too much about that. My personal experience with the IB is that they are quite accomodating. That score SHOULD painlessly convert to an ATAR between the high 60s and 99.95 (refer to the conversion tables stipulated by every admissions centre) but as LMG! said, this year is a bit confusing so all of this could be subject to change.
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What uni are you specifically referring to? And which state do you currently reside in?
Are you from Tasmania by any chance?
UTAS is ATAR only - not ucat or interview
UQ is not a cut off anymore
UQ - UQ Medicine: Provisional Entry Questions and Discussion
Well it only helps get you past the 99 ATAR hurdle for UQ med/dent - it won’t help with any other med/dent courses. ;) https://medstudentsonline.com.au/forum/threads/uq-provisional-entry-general-questions-and-discussion.24077/page-14#post-378053
medstudentsonline.com.au
However you can look at offers for Adelaide and Curtin here:
Aus Med and Dent Place Offers 2020 - Collated Data
Last updated 15/03/2020 at 1600. James Cook University - Medicine Phone call offers released 09/01/2020 OP: 1, local ATAR: 99.60, interstate, CSP ATAR: 99.50, CSP ATAR: 99.20, interstate ATAR: 99.10, interstate ATAR: 98.95, CSP ATAR: 98.10, interstate GPA: 7.00, CSP, hoping to defer to finish...
medstudentsonline.com.au
Thanks a lot!
