General Medicine Entry Discussion and Advice Requests

[adawdea]

Chickuns posted very detailed information on how NCEA to ATAR conversion works.
It basically depends on which level 3 subjects you choose, which standards you take and what the best 90 credits are from them.
FYI 96 ATAR is about 2480th rank of all NCEA level 3 students.

Edited: NZQA will release the results on 17/01/23 and you will be able to call or email them and ask what your converted ATAR is.

Okay thanks so much. Also btw, do I need to make 5 posts to pm someone??

 

[Megatron05]

If we have not received any emails (either from uac or the uni itself) about our WSU and JMP application, does that mean we have been rejected by both? I put JMP and WSU as my 2nd and 3rd preference respectively, and was rejected by UNSW which was my first preference. Do I have any chance of receiving an offer from the other 2 unis in later rounds? Also when are rejection letters sent for JMP and WSU?

 

[DrDrLMG!]

If we have not received any emails (either from uac or the uni itself) about our WSU and JMP application, does that mean we have been rejected by both? I put JMP and WSU as my 2nd and 3rd preference respectively, and was rejected by UNSW which was my first preference. Do I have any chance of receiving an offer from the other 2 unis in later rounds? Also when are rejection letters sent for JMP and WSU?

It means you have not been successful this round. You may get a top up offer in a later round, but these should not be relied upon and backup plans should definitely be investigated.

WSU and JMP, if they send them at all this year, likely won’t distribute formal rejection emails until their cohorts are determined (could be as late as o week).

 

[Megatron05]

It means you have not been successful this round. You may get a top up offer in a later round, but these should not be relied upon and backup plans should definitely be investigated.

WSU and JMP, if they send them at all this year, likely won’t distribute formal rejection emails until their cohorts are determined (could be as late as o week).

Thank you for the swift reply!

 

[Megatron05]

It means you have not been successful this round. You may get a top up offer in a later round, but these should not be relied upon and backup plans should definitely be investigated.

WSU and JMP, if they send them at all this year, likely won’t distribute formal rejection emails until their cohorts are determined (could be as late as o week).

Just another question - would it be possible that I could’ve had an offer if I placed WSU or JMP as my first preference? Is it worth calling the unis to check if I have been completely rejected? Just clinging onto any thread of hope before I place another course for my first preference for the next uac round

 

[Ray1_1]

Hello,
If I have completed first year in a university and I am planning to accept another offer at another university, do i have to withdraw from uni before enrolling into the other?
Thank you

 

[blackpanda]

Hey there guys,
I'm going into year 12 this year and I was wondering whether a 97.8 ish ATAR + SEAS (location) and a high ucat (98%+) would be enough to get an unbounded place at Monash. Yes, I know thr interview is equally important but let's assume I do well.

Basically just wondering whether I would have a chance at unbounded given that this year's median was 99.7 from yesterday's ATAR profile report.

 

[A1]

Hello,
If I have completed first year in a university and I am planning to accept another offer at another university, do i have to withdraw from uni before enrolling into the other?

You can enrol at the new uni regardless of your enrolment status at the old uni.

Then, if you have enrolled for 2023 at the old uni remember to withdraw from it. I'm not sure if this is required but you should also advise the uni you intend to terminate, or request for deferral if you want to keep the possibility to return to it.

Hey there guys,
I'm going into year 12 this year and I was wondering whether a 97.8 ish ATAR + SEAS (location) and a high ucat (98%+) would be enough to get an unbounded place at Monash. Yes, I know thr interview is equally important but let's assume I do well.

Basically just wondering whether I would have a chance at unbounded given that this year's median was 99.7 from yesterday's ATAR profile report.

Assuming you're a Vic non-rural student, if SEAS boosts your ATAR to 99+ you have every chance of getting unbonded. If only to mid-98s it's still possible but less likely. Good luck with your Y12.

 

[blackpanda]

You can enrol at the new uni regardless of your enrolment status at the old uni.

Then, if you have enrolled for 2023 at the old uni remember to withdraw from it. I'm not sure if this is required but you should also advise the uni you intend to terminate, or request for deferral if you want to keep the possibility to return to it.


Assuming you're a Vic non-rural student, if SEAS boosts your ATAR to 99+ you have every chance of getting unbonded. If only to mid-98s it's still possible but less likely. Good luck with your Y12.

Thanks A1, my friend (VIC, non-rural) got a 90th% UCAT and 98.05 this year. He had SEAS (3 categories) which pushed him to a 99.65 (just an estimation according to monash SEAS calculator). He got an interview but didn't get an offer yesterday. I know his UCAT and ATAR were on the lower side but the bonded median was in the mid 98s, so would you say it was due to his interview performance?

Or is it too hard to say.

 

[A1]

I know his UCAT and ATAR were on the lower side but the bonded median was in the mid 98s, so would you say it was due to his interview performance?

Missing out a place offer is due to one's combination of ATAR+UCAT+Interview, for Monash they are equally weighted.

So a high ATAR+UCAT missing out can be said due mostly to the interview. In your friend's case 99.65 + 90%ile it's due to both UCAT & interview not being enough together.

 

[moonlight15]

Just another question - would it be possible that I could’ve had an offer if I placed WSU or JMP as my first preference? Is it worth calling the unis to check if I have been completely rejected? Just clinging onto any thread of hope before I place another course for my first preference for the next uac round

According to UAC “You can receive only one offer in each offer round. That offer will be to the highest preference for which you are eligible and competitive enough”.

Maybe you will get an offer in a future round? Hope this helps!

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Just another question - would it be possible that I could’ve had an offer if I placed WSU or JMP as my first preference? Is it worth calling the unis to check if I have been completely rejected? Just clinging onto any thread of hope before I place another course for my first preference for the next uac round

No. If you’d been eligible for an offer and had nothing preferenced higher that you did receive an offer for, you have received one. Leave them as your top 2 and 3 preferences though (assuming that’s where they still are) or you won’t be considered in subsequent rounds.

ETA: just make sure you have your back up plan degrees at preferences 4, 5, & 6.

 

[CarolineGuava]

Hello, this is my first time posting on this forum!

I'm from the UK (Year 13 student, equivalent to Year 12 in Australia) and am seriously considering applying to Australian medical schools for 2024 entry. I'm an Australian citizen and so I'm technically classed as a domestic student for university admissions, which is the only reason I can even think of applying to Australia in the first place because the international course fees are ridiculously high (and I'm from a very low-income background, below the poverty line in the UK). But because I've not lived in Australia for the past 12 years, I'm from the perspective of an international student, which puts me in a really weird situation.

I would like to eventually work in Australia because everything medicine-wise there is much better than in the UK (pay, working conditions, job satisfaction, social respect/consideration, etc.) - the UK is in a massive doctor crisis right now and the future of medicine here is looking very bleak, and my Australian citizenship is basically my ticket to get out of the British system before it's too late. I've also come back to London from a 2-week trip in Melbourne last week, and upon coming back I've realised how much brighter, vibrant and peaceful Australia is compared to the UK - I know that I will be a lot happier and have a higher standard of living there.

From numerous posts I've read on numerous posts on this website and elsewhere, it seems that now is the best time to try to get into medicine in Australia because, from the moment I step into a UK university, I will lose my domestic advantage as I'll be classed as an IMG, which means that internships are impossible and it will be very difficult to get into Australia via the Competent Authority Pathway). So if I want to make use of my Australian citizenship and get into the Australian system, I have to apply this year.

Stats-wise, I'm doing GCE A-Levels and predicted A*A*A* in Biology, Chemistry, and Mathematics (I'm not sure what ATAR this is officially equivalent to but A* is the top grade for A-Level and according to this document from the University of Queensland [https://study.uq.edu.au/sites/default/files/2020-11/uk-gce-info-sheet.pdf], A*A*A* is equal to 99.95) and I've already applied to UK universities for 2023-24 entry (Cambridge, UCL, Southampton, and Bristol - I have gotten interviews at all 4 universities and I'll be hearing back from Cambridge regarding if I've been offered a place on the 25th January). I actually deferred my applications to Southampton and Bristol at the time of applying (which was September) so that in the event that I tried my luck and applied to Australian medical schools to no avail, I would still have the chance of going back to the UK in 2024 to study medicine as a 'fall-back' strategy.

Applying to these UK universities meant that I sat the UK version of the UCAT back in August, in which I got 3010 with less than 1 month of revision (something I've noticed is that Australians prepare for UCAT far earlier than the British because the structure of the British academic year means that we have practically no time to prepare for UCAT for so long). I guess the advantage if I apply to Australian medical schools this year is that I already have some experience of sitting the UCAT and I know the different question types, and from what I've read UCAT ANZ is no different content-wise to UCAT UK. If I practise for longer this time, I hope I can get a higher score because UCAT is seen as much more important score-wise in Australia compared to the UK, as the deciles are way higher in Australia! UCL is also doing MMIs this year, meaning that I'll have experience with them as well, which should make me stronger in doing them a second time for Australian medical schools provided that I read up on everything about the Australian medical system (all I know of so far is the UK's!).

I would like to apply for undergraduate medicine courses for quite a few reasons - I don't want to study for so many years at university, I would like to be confirmed into a medicine program right from the start instead of doing a bachelor's degree with no guarantee of getting into medicine afterward, the course fee will be cheaper, I'll already be older than all of the other applicants, the timeline will be comparable to staying in the UK (most people in the UK study undergraduate medicine instead of graduate), etc. I lived in Melbourne for almost 5 years when I was very young and that's where I got my Australian citizenship, so ideally I would like to get into Monash (as it's the only Victorian university offering undergraduate medicine) and be close to family members that are currently living in Melbourne. I also want to apply to Tasmania, Adelaide, and Flinders as they're the closest medical schools to Monash (Tasmania and Flinders also do not do interviews from what I've read so I would not need to fly there for in-person interviews, making the application process a bit cheaper for me considering how expensive the UCAT ANZ fee is - because I'm from a very low-income background in the UK, sitting the UCAT UK was free for me as I managed to get a full bursary, which I am aware is not available even to Australian students - I think the most is a concession fee which is about half of the full fee?). I'm thinking Griffith's Bachelor of Medical Science as well because that has provisional entry into their Doctor of Medicine course and I have the academic ability for admission (I would need A*AA there, which is Griffith's equivalent of the 99.85 ATAR requirement).

Thanks for reading such a long post/stream of consciousness (my apologies). I would like some advice/reassurance/tips about all of this, because thinking of relocating back to Australia from the UK is definitely the biggest decision I have ever made so far in my life, and I don't want to do something I will regret in the future!

 

[A1]

because, from the moment I step into a UK university, I will lose my domestic advantage as I'll be classed as an IMG

Hi welcome to MSO. Not sure I have digested all in your post yet, let's tackle this^ first.

What you wrote there is not correct. Being an IMG is if you have an overseas med degree not by just stepping into a UK uni. If you have an Aus med degree + your Aus citizenship you're 100% not an IMG.

That said you should not start a UK uni study. More than half the (for school leavers) med schools here do not accept applicants who have had a uni academic record, including overseas unis. Doing so would limit your options to just 4 schools UNSW WSU JMP JCU.

Also note the closing date for UCAT ANZ registration, I think it's May but please check. I'm not sure whether you can sit the UCAT ANZ in UK or have to sit in Australia in July-August. Will add later if I have more comments.

 

[CarolineGuava]

Hi welcome to MSO. Not sure I have digested all in your post yet, let's tackle this^ first.

What you wrote there is not correct. Being an IMG is if you have an overseas med degree not by just stepping into a UK uni. If you have an Aus med degree + your Aus citizenship you're 100% not an IMG.

That said you should not start a UK uni study. More than half the (for school leavers) med schools here do not accept applicants who have had a uni academic record, including overseas unis. Doing so would limit your options to just 4 schools UNSW WSU JMP JCU.

Also note the closing date for UCAT ANZ registration, I think it's May but please check. I'm not sure whether you can sit the UCAT ANZ in UK or have to sit in Australia in July-August. Will add later if I have more comments.

Hi, thanks for the comments!

Sorry if I caused confusion with the phrase 'step into a UK university' - that was a figure of speech for saying as soon as I start a UK medical degree, I will lose my domestic status because I'll immediately become an IMG and having Australian citizenship will not help me at that point regarding priority for internships and placements (unless I start another degree in Australia, which you say will now be limited to just 4 medical schools at that point).

Regarding UCAT ANZ, on the website it says that it can be taken overseas as long as it's in a Pearson VUE exam centre, and I went to one for my UCAT UK exam last year. I'll ask the same centre if they offer the ANZ version, which should be because I don't see how the arrangements are different between the two exams. I think bookings open in March?

 

[CarolineGuava]

Hi, thanks for the comments!

Sorry if I caused confusion with the phrase 'step into a UK university' - that was a figure of speech for saying as soon as I start a UK medical degree, I will lose my domestic status because I'll immediately become an IMG and having Australian citizenship will not help me at that point regarding priority for internships and placements (unless I start another degree in Australia, which you say will now be limited to just 4 medical schools at that point).

Regarding UCAT ANZ, on the website it says that it can be taken overseas as long as it's in a Pearson VUE exam centre, and I went to one for my UCAT UK exam last year. I'll ask the same centre if they offer the ANZ version, which should be because I don't see how the arrangements are different between the two exams. I think bookings open in March?

Starting a medical degree in Australia after starting a UK degree would be very messy for me as well financially because I will be owing course fees in two different countries with different systems, so if I started a UK degree it would be much easier for me to finish it, but that would make me an IMG in the process.

 

[A1]

so if I started a UK degree it would be much easier for me to finish it, but that would make me an IMG in the process.

Another good option for you is do UK Med + UK internship + 1-2 more years, then apply for a PGY3 RMO job in Australia. Hundreds of UK junior docs do this a year as a "working holiday" but you with Aus citizenship can stay on. (Although you need to take the 10-year moratorium into consideration).

 

[cherry19]

Hi guys, I have some concerns over the "7 year CSP/SLE/HECS limit" and taking a year off uni.

- I am a non-standard applicant and I did my first year of uni in 2022 (1 FTE). I was unsuccessful for 2023 med entry so I will be going into my 2nd year of uni this year and re-applying to non-standard med schools for 2024 entry. In the best-case scenario, assuming I am successful for 2024 entry I will have used up 2 years of the CSP limit and will have 5 years remaining. I believe this will be okay for WSU and JMP since they are a 5 year course. However, will I still be eligible for a med place at UNSW since they are a 6 year course and this exceeds the CSP limit (2 + 6 = 8 years > 7 years)? Would I just have to pay my fees for my final year upfront or am I not allowed to undertake this degree at all?

- Instead, would it be wise to take program leave for 1 year for my current degree? If I apply for program leave before the census date this term then I am assuming that the amount of CSP/SLE/HECS years used will remain at 1 year? In this case I will have 6 years of the CSP entitlement remaining. Pls correct me if I am wrong here. Here is more info about what constitutes program leave at my current uni (UNSW): Program Leave

- I was debating of taking program leave for this year even before I heard of this 7 year limit. For context, I have a 6.625 GPA for my first year, this should be all good for WSU and JMP's academic thresholds. For UNSW, I believe they view 6.5+ all as 99.5 right so there wouldn't be any value added from increasing this GPA any further? My ATAR was only 98.35 so I would be relying on this GPA to be competitive. Moreover, if I take program leave I would be able to focus on UCAT, volunteering, potentially working and my mental health.

- If I do take program leave for this year, do any med schools view this unfavourably? Since I have 1 FTE under my belt I believe there is no conversion penalty either?

Thank you in advance and any help would be appreciated.

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Hi guys, I have some concerns over the "7 year CSP/SLE/HECS limit" and taking a year off uni.

- I am a non-standard applicant and I did my first year of uni in 2022 (1 FTE). I was unsuccessful for 2023 med entry so I will be going into my 2nd year of uni this year and re-applying to non-standard med schools for 2024 entry. In the best-case scenario, assuming I am successful for 2024 entry I will have used up 2 years of the CSP limit and will have 5 years remaining. I believe this will be okay for WSU and JMP since they are a 5 year course. However, will I still be eligible for a med place at UNSW since they are a 6 year course and this exceeds the CSP limit (2 + 6 = 8 years > 7 years)? Would I just have to pay my fees for my final year upfront or am I not allowed to undertake this degree at all?

- Instead, would it be wise to take program leave for 1 year for my current degree? If I apply for program leave before the census date this term then I am assuming that the amount of CSP/SLE/HECS years used will remain at 1 year? In this case I will have 6 years of the CSP entitlement remaining. Pls correct me if I am wrong here. Here is more info about what constitutes program leave at my current uni (UNSW): Program Leave

- I was debating of taking program leave for this year even before I heard of this 7 year limit. For context, I have a 6.625 GPA for my first year, this should be all good for WSU and JMP's academic thresholds. For UNSW, I believe they view 6.5+ all as 99.5 right so there wouldn't be any value added from increasing this GPA any further? My ATAR was only 98.35 so I would be relying on this GPA to be competitive. Moreover, if I take program leave I would be able to focus on UCAT, volunteering, potentially working and my mental health which is kind of suffering right now.

- If I do take program leave for this year, do any med schools view this unfavourably? Since I have 1 FTE under my belt I believe there is no conversion penalty either?

Thank you in advance and any help would be appreciated, tbh I am having a bit of a meltdown rn.

I believe you can get a HECS extension for Medicine (and Dentistry, and perhaps other courses), though I’m not sure if this is a years or a $$ extension (or both).

And no, non-standard universities don’t look unfavourably on those who have gap years.

 

[cherry19]

Hi guys, I have some concerns over the "7 year CSP/SLE/HECS limit" and taking a year off uni.

- I am a non-standard applicant and I did my first year of uni in 2022 (1 FTE). I was unsuccessful for 2023 med entry so I will be going into my 2nd year of uni this year and re-applying to non-standard med schools for 2024 entry. In the best-case scenario, assuming I am successful for 2024 entry I will have used up 2 years of the CSP limit and will have 5 years remaining. I believe this will be okay for WSU and JMP since they are a 5 year course. However, will I still be eligible for a med place at UNSW since they are a 6 year course and this exceeds the CSP limit (2 + 6 = 8 years > 7 years)? Would I just have to pay my fees for my final year upfront or am I not allowed to undertake this degree at all?

- Instead, would it be wise to take program leave for 1 year for my current degree? If I apply for program leave before the census date this term then I am assuming that the amount of CSP/SLE/HECS years used will remain at 1 year? In this case I will have 6 years of the CSP entitlement remaining. Pls correct me if I am wrong here. Here is more info about what constitutes program leave at my current uni (UNSW): Program Leave

- I was debating of taking program leave for this year even before I heard of this 7 year limit. For context, I have a 6.625 GPA for my first year, this should be all good for WSU and JMP's academic thresholds. For UNSW, I believe they view 6.5+ all as 99.5 right so there wouldn't be any value added from increasing this GPA any further? My ATAR was only 98.35 so I would be relying on this GPA to be competitive. Moreover, if I take program leave I would be able to focus on UCAT, volunteering, potentially working and my mental health.

- If I do take program leave for this year, do any med schools view this unfavourably? Since I have 1 FTE under my belt I believe there is no conversion penalty either?

Thank you in advance and any help would be appreciated