General Medicine Entry Discussion and Advice Requests

[sumthing.]

You will need to specify which medical schools you are talking about for us to answer this question, as it differs between institutions.

So currently I've been enrolled into CQU's medical pathway program, I want to potentially take the ucat again this year and apply for hopefully UON, Monash, UNSW, UTAS, University of Adelaide, WSU/CSU.

 

[Crow]

So currently I've been enrolled into CQU's medical pathway program, I want to potentially take the ucat again this year and apply for hopefully UON, Monash, UNSW, UTAS, University of Adelaide, WSU/CSU.

Once you’ve started an undergraduate degree you are considered a non-standard applicant and are only eligible to apply for unis which accept applications for non-standards. From the list above you could only apply to UNSW, UON and WSU as non-standard.

 

[sumthing.]

Thanks for the info, I was just wondering wouldn't I also be applicable for Uni Adelaide's course as they also take in higher education study students?

 

[A1]

Thanks for the info, I was just wondering wouldn't I also be applicable for Uni Adelaide's course as they also take in higher education study students?

Adelaide Dent accepts uni-student applicants, Adelaide Med only accepts Adelaide students for internal transfer.

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Once you’ve started an undergraduate degree you are considered a non-standard applicant and are only eligible to apply for unis which accept applications for non-standards. From the list above you could only apply to UNSW, UON and WSU as non-standard.

WSU don’t accept those who’ve been enrolled in a medical degree elsewhere. I’m not 100% sure of their current stance on provisional entry courses. They might be okay with CQU but it would be worth double checking.

 

[Crow]

WSU don’t accept those who’ve been enrolled in a medical degree elsewhere. I’m not 100% sure of their current stance on provisional entry courses. They might be okay with CQU but it would be worth double checking.

Yeah, I am pretty confident that it’s fine to have been enrolled in an undergraduate degree with provisional entry, IIRC we’ve had a couple of applicants gain entry to WSU while studying at UQ with provisional entry, although that’s based on memory from a few years back now so definitely worth checking with them.

 

[sumthing.]

Thanks for the insight

 

[welcome123456]

Yes UNSW emailed me saying I was ineligible, but I do satisfy all the criteria. So I emailed them to ask why and they said I didnt attend a gateway school even though my school is on the gateway school list. Then they said they will double check and get back to me and later changed their reason because they said I have begun tertiary studies already.

It's a bit of a weird case, because I made the decision to take a gap year quite suddenly and was alredy enrolled at UNSW and unenrolled on the day uni had started which was still before the census date. I called UAC and they said I still have to declare my enrolment even though I am on a gap year which is probably why they rejected me I'll email them one last time to see if they can reconsider my application but it seems like I'll be put into the standard applicant pool.

Hi there, sorry but I wanted to ask did they end up considering you as a gateway applicant? I think im in a similar situation now. Thanks!!

 

[medpharmed]

Hi there, sorry but I wanted to ask did they end up considering you as a gateway applicant? I think im in a similar situation now. Thanks!!

If you are also in a gap year and did your year 12 exams last year, unfortunately UNSW's website now says that you must be "completing an Australian Year 12 qualification in the year of application" to be eligible. So i think they don't take gap year students anymore through gateway

 

[welcome123456]

If you are also in a gap year and did your year 12 exams last year, unfortunately UNSW's website now says that you must be "completing an Australian Year 12 qualification in the year of application" to be eligible. So i think they don't take gap year students anymore through gateway

ohh. in previous years, did it not say you must be in year 12? Thanks )

 

[medpharmed]

ohh. in previous years, did it not say you must be in year 12? Thanks )

It used to say:

To be eligible for this entry scheme, you must:

1. Be a domestic applicant.
2. Attend a UNSW Gateway eligible school in a metropolitan area for at least Year 11 and 12.
3. Live at an address identified by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as being within the lowest 25% of socio-economic disadvantage in Australia.
4. Be in Year 12 or have completed Year 12 in the previous year and not commenced any undergraduate study

I noticed they actually just changed it at some point over the last few months from these four points that I pasted in to what they have now.

I think you should still continue to ask about it just in case it's a mistake or something.

Also hopefully someone else who has also been looking at this scheme could also confirm

 

[welcome123456]

It used to say:

To be eligible for this entry scheme, you must:

1. Be a domestic applicant.
2. Attend a UNSW Gateway eligible school in a metropolitan area for at least Year 11 and 12.
3. Live at an address identified by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as being within the lowest 25% of socio-economic disadvantage in Australia.
4. Be in Year 12 or have completed Year 12 in the previous year and not commenced any undergraduate study

I noticed they actually just changed it at some point over the last few months from these four points that I pasted in to what they have now.

I think you should still continue to ask about it just in case it's a mistake or something.

Also hopefully someone else who has also been looking at this scheme could also confirm

Ohhhh thank you so much. but on the medicine application portal, if we select "gateway applicant"; it has two options available to select from: “final year of high school” AND “first year out of high school (gap year)” ; so idk but the fact that gap year student is an option there kinda suggests that gap year students are eligible for gateway entry for medicine? or do u reckon the application portal hasn't been updated yet?

 

[2xq]

Ohhhh thank you so much. but on the medicine application portal, if we select "gateway applicant"; it has two options available to select from: “final year of high school” AND “first year out of high school (gap year)” ; so idk but the fact that gap year student is an option there kinda suggests that gap year students are eligible for gateway entry for medicine? or do u reckon the application portal hasn't been updated yet?

I'm just going to pop in and say that it may be wise to contact UNSW regarding this matter.

 

[welcome123456]

I'm just going to pop in and say that it may be wise to contact UNSW regarding this matter.

yep I have thank you! I'm just waiting for there reply

 

[Zoro__]

Hi there, sorry but I wanted to ask did they end up considering you as a gateway applicant? I think im in a similar situation now. Thanks!!

Yes they eventually did

 

[Younai]

University: USyd
Course and preference in relevant TAC: 4th Preference
Date and time of invite receipt: 17/01/23 9:00am
Predicted/Actual ATAR/GPA: 1580 SAT (converts to 99.95)
Rural: No
State: NSW
Other Special Considerations: None

Hi guys, I just wanted to post about something interesting that I found works. I am a domestic student from NSW and I got a 99.90. But earlier in the year, I saw a tiktok saying that I could do the SAT to get a better UAC selection rank - I did some looking into it, including calling UNSW and Usyd and seeing if it was legit, and everyone seemed to say 'yeah I guess so'.

I also looked at a PDF from USyd that they make for international students so that I could see what type of SAT score I would need to get above a 99 ATAR in the conversion - e.g. a 1510 out of 1600 converted to a 99.6, 1570 converted to 99.95. I attached the pdf I saw below, but there's probably a more updated one. At the time, my ATAR wasn't looking too good and I thought if I got above 1500 I could increase my chances of getting into med school.

So I took a chance and did the SAT around May 2022. One stipulation that the UNSW person I spoke to said was that I had to take it within a year before applying - so you can't use an SAT score from Year 10 or 11 or something.

Why did I do it? Well, the SAT is a three-hour multiple-choice exam that is scored out of 1600. I think Americans start doing it when they are in Year 10, so I personally think that it was definitely easier than doing the HSC. There are basically two sections - English and Maths. The English is basic NAPLAN comprehension style questions and then common sense grammar questions. The Maths only requires a Year 10 level of understanding, the hardest thing was parabolas. I studied for only a week on Khan Academy (which is good and free). If anyone ever considered this route, they can just do a free practice exam there to see if it would be worthwhile to sit the actual exam.

After I got my result, I had to submit a Qualification Assessment Service on UAC and put it as a qualification on my undergraduate application. I also authorised SAT to release my results to UAC. The caveat is that you need to have graduated highschool to complete the requirements for using the SAT (SAT and completed high school). So I only received the qualification after 15 Dec 2022 i.e. when I received my ATAR and proof that I graduated, hence why USyd offered me an Assessment Day 2 Interview in January, not the one in December. I assume other unis would accept it too because UAC converts it directly to a selection rank.

Cost: The SAT itself cost around $75 to take. It cost $17 to release the results to UAC. Then I had to submit it to UAC's Qualifications Assessment Service which cost $140. So it is by no means a cost-free endeavour.

I think it would be useful if e.g your like a 90 ATAR student, but you could get like a 95.5 ATAR (1360 SAT) for UWS or Newcastle (although I never called them about it), or if you thought you could do really well and get 99+ ATAR (1500+ SAT) which is a great ATAR conversion. (I think most overseas qualification conversions are quite generous - they want overseas students to apply)

TLDR: I think the SAT is a viable option for domestic students

Hi Lightweaver,

You just saved my life! I am a domestic student overseas doing SAT. I thought I just need to upload a copy of SAT transcript and now realized I need to release it to UAC to convert it to ATAR. May I know how to release the SAT to UAC? I just checked the college board. Do I just need to add UAC to my score recipient and pay for it? However I have a question how does UAC link the transcript to my UAC ID? Does VTAC do the same thing?
Thank you so much!

 

[Younai]

Sorry, I clicked "quote" but realized that "reply" was the correct way to refer to this message. Here was my question:
Hi Lightweaver,

You just saved my life! I am a domestic student overseas doing SAT. I thought I just need to upload a copy of SAT transcript and now realized I need to release it to UAC to convert it to ATAR. May I know how to release the SAT to UAC? I just checked the college board. Do I just need to add UAC to my score recipient and pay for it? However I have a question how does UAC link the transcript to my UAC ID? Does VTAC do the same thing?
Thank you so much!

I'm sorry, just to ask one other thing, when you uploaded your application on UAC, did you need to also upload your personal transcript of the SAT score downloaded directly from Collegeboard? Thank you!

 

[Lightweaver]

I'm sorry, just to ask one other thing, when you uploaded your application on UAC, did you need to also upload your personal transcript of the SAT score downloaded directly from Collegeboard? Thank you!

Yes, add UAC as a recipient of your SAT score on college board, and upload a copy of that receipt to QAS on UAC. You can call UAC to check about this process. I’m not sure about VTAC but you can call them as well.

 

[Younai]

Yes, add UAC as a recipient of your SAT score on college board, and upload a copy of that receipt to QAS on UAC. You can call UAC to check about this process. I’m not sure about VTAC but you can call them as well.

Got it, thank you so much!!

 

[imnobody]

Yes, add UAC as a recipient of your SAT score on college board, and upload a copy of that receipt to QAS on UAC. You can call UAC to check about this process. I’m not sure about VTAC but you can call them as well.

Hey, do u know if this option is still available this year? I called unsw and they said you can use your SAT marks, however it doesnt work if you atar is below a 96? - in other words ATAR is still looked at even if you completed your SAT. I also called usyd and they said SAT is only available for international students. So I am a bit unsure if this pathway still works?