General Medicine Entry Discussion and Advice Requests

[A1]

how if you apply via the SAT you will undergo the international process and have to pay upfront.

Not only about paying up front but int'l fee for med is like $80k/year. Some domestics non-citizen have to pay up front only $11k/year.

I sent USYD an email and they said that they will not accept it if u are a domestic student

I have been skeptical of SAT being accepted but shut up after the USyd non-99.95 invite. Now it sounds like it was a USyd oversight.

UNSW lists SAT for int'l applicants but purposely not on the domestic webpage. If UNSW will accept it'd be an oversight as well.

 

[medphoenix]

Hello,
Just wondering is the predicted ATAR universities use to give out interview offers for medicine calculated from where you are standing currently with marks, or is it the most recent predicted ATAR that students have recieved? I got my predicted ATAR after my semester 1 exams, but my marks have improved quite a bit after that, so just wondering if universities will still only use that predicted?
Please let me know, thank you

p.s. I am from WA

 

[A1]

Hello,
Just wondering is the predicted ATAR universities use to give out interview offers for medicine calculated from where you are standing currently with marks, or is it the most recent predicted ATAR that students have recieved?

Iirc only 2 or 3 schools (JCU and Curtin for WA students) ask for predicted ATAR, which is to be provided by your school. So ask your school which predicted they will or have submitted.

Also in case you're not aware, you have to ask your school. Don't assume JCU/Curtin will ask on your behalf.

 

[medphoenix]

Thank you, I will ask my school then. And yep, I have asked my school to send my predicted ATAR to JCU, and Curtin doesn't require predicted ATAR anymore. Thank you for your help!

A1 adds: Thanks for the update. Yes Curtin no longer requires predicted ATAR for WA students, very interesting they will do a predicted from Y11 results available on TISC. (They don't need from interstate applicants as their interview invites are after actual ATAR is known).

 

[GwenK]

Hi,

I have a question regarding making applications via the tertiary admission centre (e.g. VTAC, QTAC, UAC etc.)
My son is taking a language subject from another school as one of hi six VCE subjects.
I was just wondering, in the 'secondary claim' part in for example, VTAC, do we have to add the name of that different school as well?
At first, I just added his current high school, but I just realized this today that maybe I have to add that other school too.
Can anyone explain to me how that works? I mean, when a student does a VCE subject from another school, do that other school send the VCE score of that language subject to the student's main high school, and they add it to the other scores, and then send it to the VCAA?
Or does that other language school send the VCE score separately to the VCAA (and in this case, does that mean I have to add that school's name in the 'secondary claim' in the VTAC application?)

 

[dghdhdh]

For 1st/2nd year entry medical science into medicine, does the university matter? For example, I am inclined to choose WSU medical science as the Campbelltown campus it is quite close to my house and I prefer the semester structure better than trimesters in UNSW/USYD. And apparently, their medical science course is more spread out than other uni's, which would be better for me. However, I noticed the ATAR threshold is 70 while its 91 in UNSW, I'm worried, will this impact my applications to different med courses later? Would some universities prefer students from UNSW and USYD over WSU due to its lower ATAR threshold? If I got a 6.8 GPA from WSU and 6.8 in UNSW, would universities regard it as different, and scale it differently?

 

[A1]

I mean, when a student does a VCE subject from another school, do that other school send the VCE score of that language subject to the student's main high school, and they add it to the other scores, and then send it to the VCAA?

Presumably your son will be sitting the external exams for all 6 subjects.
It's VCAA's job to obtain all his 6 school scores, whether directly from the 2nd school or via the 1st school.

The TACs then see his results from VCAA, not from the school(s).
I'm not sure of the purpose of entering school name in the TAC applications, maybe just for identifying the student correctly. If still in doubt please call VTAC to double check.

 

[A1]

For 1st/2nd year entry medical science into medicine, does the university matter? For example, I am inclined to choose WSU medical science as the Campbelltown campus it is quite close to my house and I prefer the semester structure better than trimesters in UNSW/USYD. And apparently, their medical science course is more spread out than other uni's, which would be better for me. However, I noticed the ATAR threshold is 70 while its 91 in UNSW, I'm worried, will this impact my applications to different med courses later? Would some universities prefer students from UNSW and USYD over WSU due to its lower ATAR threshold? If I got a 6.8 GPA from WSU and 6.8 in UNSW, would universities regard it as different, and scale it differently?

I already answered this question from you in this post
> Common pitfalls to avoid for year 12 school leavers and other medicine applicants

(I even got a Like from our trusted mod dotwingz for that post, which should mean they agreed with my answer)

 

[cherry19]

Hello, I had a query regarding receiving med offers

For some context, I have completed 1 year of a bachelors degree last year and this year I am on program leave. The uni I was at opens re-enrolment for 2024 in October. My current plan is to enrol for 2nd year (2024) in the degree I started in October just in case I don’t get into medicine as my back-up plan is to continue that degree.

My question is, re-enrolling for 2024 in my current degree should not affect my ability to receive and accept/enrol into UAC/QTAC offers for med, right? If I were to receive a med offer, I am assuming I would accept that then be able to discontinue my other degree?

Thank you in advance!

 

[A1]

My question is, re-enrolling for 2024 in my current degree should not affect my ability to receive and accept/enrol into UAC/QTAC offers for med, right? If I were to receive a med offer, I am assuming I would accept that then be able to discontinue my other degree?

Hi, that's correct.
If you get a Med offer you can either cancel that enrolment (if the uni's system allows) or at worst you withdraw before the March 2024 census date. There will be no academic penalty or HECS fee charged.

 

[cherry19]

Hi, that's correct.
If you get a Med offer you can either cancel that enrolment (if the uni's system allows) or at worst you withdraw before the March 2024 census date. There will be no academic penalty or HECS fee charged.

Awesome, thanks!

 

[dghdhdh]

Hi
If I started a medical science degree right after year 12 and not a gap year, does my atar not count anymore and only my gpa does or, does the atar remain for 2 years and expire after that? Asking as I want to try to get into medicine through 1st or 2nd year of med sci.

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Hi
If I started a medical science degree right after year 12 and not a gap year, does my atar not count anymore and only my gpa does or, does the atar remain for 2 years and expire after that? Asking as I want to try to get into medicine through 1st or 2nd year of med sci.

Depends where you’re applying to. ATAR doesn’t ‘expire’ but is only used in certain circumstances that vary from uni to uni.

Search ‘non-standard medicine entry’ and read through related threads for more info as it’s all spelled out in multiple locations across this site.

 

[medphoenix]

Hi,
I am sorry if this question has already been asked somewhere, but just wondering if our school attendance will affect our university entrance at all? Is there a particular minimum school attendance required to be accepted for medicine at universities?

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Hi,
I am sorry if this question has already been asked somewhere, but just wondering if our school attendance will affect our university entrance at all? Is there a particular minimum school attendance required to be accepted for medicine at universities?

No, you just have to have a qualifying ATAR.

 

[medphoenix]

No, you just have to have a qualifying ATAR.

Thank you!

 

[imnobody]

I sent USYD an email and they said that they will not accept it if u are a domestic student, however you can sit the SAT and apply as an international, thus making you have to pay upfront which IMO is not worth it. For UNSW they don't clearly mention if you can or cannot use it but a friend of mine tried this and told me if your original atar was less than 96, you have no shot of getting an interview even if u get a 1600 in the SAT so take that as it is. I think they patched it for USYD but UNSW is well worth a shot, let us know what happens

I called UNSW again like a month later, and the lady confirmed that you are allowed to use your SAT score combined with evidence that you basically graduated highschool. So im fairly certain UNSW allows it now. I also have heard from people last year that it was used to obtain a interview for lower atars.

 

[Bonny Bear]

Hi guys Based on my last year's experience on QTAC preferences If you have UCAT > 2900, non-rural, ATAR > 99 adjusted.

1. JUC Townsville
2. JCU Cairns
3. UQ medicine unbonded - This year UQ allows 50% of interview spots to QLD. Cut-off will reduce dramatically, could be 3000
4. USQ medicine unbonded (in 2024 intake is 40 students!!)
5. CQ Rockhampton unbonded
6. CQ Bundaberg bonded

Do not worry about Griffith or Sunshine Coast as you can apply to these universities after ATAR release by removing one or two from the original preferences if you did not receive interview officers i.e from JCU
This is a guidance only make changes as per your preferences

Hi .Where did you get the info from re UQ change in policy?

 

[smart]

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[DrDrLMG!]

Hi, i'm an SA, non-rural, non-SEAS/EAS etc. student who scored a 99.55 ATAR and 93rd percentile UCAT. Whilst I have applied for UoA and am hopeful for an offer, I'm just wondering what interstate universities I realistically have a chance at getting into if things at home go south. Reading through the interview/offer requirements from previous years, it seems like I'm within the "good enough for instate but too low for interstate" zone. I've already been rejected from Curtin, UWA, USYD, UoNDA, JMP, JPM, UQ, CQU, USQ, JCU, Griffith, USC and I presume my scores are too low for UNSW, Monash, Flinders and UTAS. Ideally I get an offer from UoA but if not I feel like I'm in an awkward spot as I know that repeating is a "common pitfall". I also know that GAMSAT scores are valid for 4 years now so would it be worth starting a degree in science, health science etc. and then doing post graduate medicine? Any advice would be super helpful, thanks!

If full fee paying is an option for you, your ATAR would definitely get you a psychometric test invite for Bond.

And it’s not just school leaver entry, then GAMSAT/graduate entry. You can also try for tertiary transfer if you start another degree at UAdel, and non-standard entry at JCU, UNSW, JMP, and JPM while you’re studying your back up degree.

But then, yes, graduate entry is also a great option. Over half of all med school places in Aus go to graduates (especially when you combine those going true grad entry with those graduates who eventually go to undergrad unis such as Curtin, Monash, etc).

School leaver entry is definitely not the be-all, end-all. There are plenty of other avenues to pursue. That said, maybe UAdel come through for you and all this is for naught! Good luck!