General Medicine Entry Discussion and Advice Requests

[hmk]

The predicted ATAR reflects your internal marks.

ATAR 99 doesn't look possible from predicted 95. According to UAC data average subject marks for 95 is 81, for 99 is 90.
Which means with 81 internal you will need 99 marks per subject external to get (81+99)/2 = 90 HSC for ATAR 99.

But ATAR 96 is entirely possible if you get average 85-86 marks per subject external.
(Note these marks are indicative for a rough idea only, because there's scaling involved).

ok thanks so muchhh
what about for a predicted 94.2? what marks would i need to get a 96-97

___________
A1 replies: Bear in mind these marks are indicative only, 94.2 vs 95 is about 1 mark per subject less so to make up you need 86-87 external.

(For general info the Marks/ATAR is not linear. At 94-95 range it's about 1 subject mark per ATAR rank, 97-99 about 2-3 marks per ATAR rank, but 99 to 99.95 requires 4-5 extra marks per subject).

 

[hwantazia]

This might sound like a silly question, but what happens if I apply for the same course at the same university through both UAC and QTAC? My EAS was approved through UAC, but it wasn't approved through QTAC.

 

[DrDrLMG!]

This might sound like a silly question, but what happens if I apply for the same course at the same university through both UAC and QTAC? My EAS was approved through UAC, but it wasn't approved through QTAC.

I know you used to be able to apply for Griffith Med (and presumably Dent) through both UAC and QTAC but I thought they stopped this? Which Med course are you referring to?

 

[drpmaman]

Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to check and see what you might think about my application plan. From WA, school leaver, sitting at a 99.25 ATAR, not a good UCAT-2670. Current options:

1. JCU- I have spoken to them on the phone and without the letters of recommendation and personal statement, being that I am an interstate student, do I have a chance for an interview? They said they don't preference rural QLD or even QLD students, but is that really true in practice?

2. Uni of Melb... full fee.. I spoke to them as well. They said that you do an undergrad, maintain a 75 WAM or above and then interview, and need to pass 5 of 8 stations. I kept asking and found out that when you pass 5 of 8 stations, then your interview score is ranked against other applicants that interviewed that year. and they select from there... granted if I sat the gamsat i could get a gov spot) but if not then full fee paying which is currently sitting at 90 gran but that amount could increase by the year I apply. Since I am interstate I would also need accomdation in my undergraduate year. So the cost would be well over 400 gran... Am I understanding this info correctly? I kinda feel like this is similar to the unis Notre Dame- ( before the new assured pathway) which say if you do biomed here and maintain a certain gpa then you get an interview and could maybe get a spot.

3. Bond uni. cost aside- but it would be an option. I understand the two intakes. If you are in the May intake, you finish like other schools in Dec and apply for internship to start in jan of the following year. If you do the sept intake when you do finish? do you have a wait of several months before you can start an intern year?

4. If I did by change get into Bond and started in May, and resat the ucat and did really well. Am I able to apply as a school leaver or will I count as a non standard? If I am a non standard, will my Bond GPA be averageed with my ATAR?

5. Any other options to apply for, I dont think I will get my atar much higher to qualify for UQ.

Thanks you in advance.

 

[A1]

1. JCU- I have spoken to them on the phone and without the letters of recommendation and personal statement, being that I am an interstate student, do I have a chance for an interview? They said they don't preference rural QLD or even QLD students, but is that really true in practice?

JCU has always been known to heavily skew toward higher-rurality applicants. They may not preference Qld rural over other rural but the bias over non-rural is clear.
JCU doesn't explain how they select interviewees so no-one can say for sure. Non-rural 99.25 may have a chance but it's small.

I kept asking and found out that when you pass 5 of 8 stations, then your interview score is ranked against other applicants that interviewed that year. and they select from there...

That's what^ I have tried to raise awareness of.
Passing the MMI includes passing 5 of 8 stations *plus* passing overall, for which UMelb does not disclose a specific Pass Overall marks.

If there are fewer 99.0+ contenders than FFP places available, all is well.
However if contenders exceed places UMelb could cut them off by calling this cutoff the Pass marks, "legally" turning them into MMI fail (despite having passed 5 of 8).

3. Bond uni. cost aside- but it would be an option. I understand the two intakes. If you are in the May intake, you finish like other schools in Dec and apply for internship to start in jan of the following year. If you do the sept intake when you do finish? do you have a wait of several months before you can start an intern year?

If you're put into Bond's Sept intake you'll graduate around April-May the final year. It's confirmed you'll have to wait until the next January interns intake.

4. If I did by chance get into Bond and started in May, and resat the ucat and did really well. Am I able to apply as a school leaver or will I count as a non standard? If I am a non standard, will my Bond GPA be averageed with my ATAR?

First thing first - UNSW & WSU don't accept applicants who are already in an Aus medicine course. I don't know if this rule applies on Bond students.
Assuming you are allowed to apply you'd be non-standard. UNSW & WSU use best of ATAR & GPA, JMP uses GPA but you only need an easy 4.7-4.8.

LMG adds: 99.9% sure UNSW and JPM count Bond as Aus Med degree and rule applicants out. Historically JMP was the only uni that didn’t. Not sure if this has changed.

5. Any other options to apply for

Not any I can think of with 99.25 & 2670.

 

[KingJames23]

First thing first - UNSW & WSU don't accept applicants who are already in an Aus medicine course. I don't know if this rule applies on Bond students.
Assuming you are allowed to apply you'd be non-standard. UNSW & WSU use best of ATAR & GPA, JMP uses GPA but you only need an easy 4.7-4.8.

LMG adds: 99.9% sure UNSW and JPM count Bond as Aus Med degree and rule applicants out. Historically JMP was the only uni that didn’t. Not sure if this has changed.

Does this mean that medical programs which have provisional entry (e.g. Griffith med, or Flinders), or even ones which have a guaranteed pathway (such as USYD, UniMelb, etc.) are also considered an Aus medical course? Or does an 'Aus medicine course' only mean purely undergraduate medical programs such as UNSW, WSU, Monash, JMP etc.

In other words, if I attend a provisional entry medical program, am I ONLY allowed to apply as a transfer into UNSW/WSU? Or would I still be able to apply through the non-standard pathway?

 

[CHStar]

Iirc this pathway^ is only for rural applicants.
Selection is 30% ATAR 70% MMI so there won't be another interview before commencing UMelb MD.

(Since you mentioned provisional, provisional offers at other unis have passed through an interview except UMelb Chancellor's).

Hi, La Trobe have sent out provisional offers to community contribution aspire rural students for b biomedical science (medical) with automatic entry to doctor of medicine at u Melbourne. The provisional offer is based on ‘interview’. Has anyone been through this already? Is it guaranteed if your interview is good? Is it a mmi type interview or more about your rurality and how you will contribute to your rural community?

 

[A1]

Does this mean that medical programs which have provisional entry (e.g. Griffith med, or Flinders), or even ones which have a guaranteed pathway (such as USYD, UniMelb, etc.) are also considered an Aus medical course?

No, these undergrad provisional students are not considered to be in a medicine course/school yet. This comprises USyd, UMelb, UQ, Griffith, Flinders, UWA. The discerning factor is these are formal graduate schools with a large grad-entry intake who will be taught medicine from scratch i.e. when the provisional students join in they're not supposed to have been taught any medicine.

Or does an 'Aus medicine course' only mean purely undergraduate medical programs such as UNSW, WSU, Monash, JMP etc.

Yes this^.

In other words, if I attend a provisional entry medical program, .... would I still be able to apply through the non-standard pathway?

Provisionals of the above listed 6 graduate schools are accepted as non-standard applicants to UNSW/WSU. We have heard of UQ provisionals doing this.

 

[A1]

Is it guaranteed if your interview is good?

This is the only part of your questions I know the answer to.
The interview is competitive for La Trobe to select the top 15 applicants. Once selected it is guaranteed provided you meet two conditions (I think) : achieve the minimum marks as set by UMelb and continue living in rural areas while doing this LaTrobe course.

 

[CHStar]

This is the only part of your questions I know the answer to.
The interview is competitive for La Trobe to select the top 15 applicants. Once selected it is guaranteed provided you meet two conditions (I think) : achieve the minimum marks as set by UMelb and continue living in rural areas while doing this LaTrobe course.

Thank you. Is it mmi stations or interview? Can I ask, have you done it? Thank you.

___________
A1 replies: It is MMI, see it here (scroll down to the lower part)
> Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Medical)

___________
A1 replies: It is MMI, see it here (scroll down to the lower part)
> Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Medical)

Thank you

 

[drpmaman]

JCU has always been known to heavily skew toward higher-rurality applicants. They may not preference Qld rural over other rural but the bias over non-rural is clear.
JCU doesn't explain how they select interviewees so no-one can say for sure. Non-rural 99.25 may have a chance but it's small.


That's what^ I have tried to raise awareness of.
Passing the MMI includes passing 5 of 8 stations *plus* passing overall, for which UMelb does not disclose a specific Pass Overall marks.

If there are fewer 99.0+ contenders than FFP places available, all is well.
However if contenders exceed places UMelb could cut them off by calling this cutoff the Pass marks, "legally" turning them into MMI fail (despite having passed 5 of 8).


If you're put into Bond's Sept intake you'll graduate around April-May the final year. It's confirmed you'll have to wait until the next January interns intake.


First thing first - UNSW & WSU don't accept applicants who are already in an Aus medicine course. I don't know if this rule applies on Bond students.
Assuming you are allowed to apply you'd be non-standard. UNSW & WSU use best of ATAR & GPA, JMP uses GPA but you only need an easy 4.7-4.8.

LMG adds: 99.9% sure UNSW and JPM count Bond as Aus Med degree and rule applicants out. Historically JMP was the only uni that didn’t. Not sure if this has changed.


Not any I can think of with 99.25 & 2670.

Thank you very much, the whole uni of mel thing has so much uncertainty... and when you cost it out, and the years there it is cheaper to go to Bond... but when I tell a few people that.. they say I am crazy and that people still look at Bond as a secondary option, and mel uni has a much better reputation etc. Trust me money is still an issue... however since I have so much family in the US where it is common practice to pay for uni.. I am somewhat open in my head to even think of it as an option. Do you think that I am thinking correctly regarding bond vs mel uni...

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Thank you very much, the whole uni of mel thing has so much uncertainty... and when you cost it out, and the years there it is cheaper to go to Bond... but when I tell a few people that.. they say I am crazy and that people still look at Bond as a secondary option, and mel uni has a much better reputation etc. Trust me money is still an issue... however since I have so much family in the US where it is common practice to pay for uni.. I am somewhat open in my head to even think of it as an option. Do you think that I am thinking correctly regarding bond vs mel uni...

In Aus, for Med, all unis are accredited and the reputation of the uni means nothing for employment or specialisation.

I’ve heard this is not necessarily the case for degrees like Law but it’s all good for Med.

 

[A1]

Thank you very much, the whole uni of mel thing has so much uncertainty... and when you cost it out, and the years there it is cheaper to go to Bond... but when I tell a few people that.. they say I am crazy and that people still look at Bond as a secondary option, and mel uni has a much better reputation etc. Trust me money is still an issue... however since I have so much family in the US where it is common practice to pay for uni.. I am somewhat open in my head to even think of it as an option. Do you think that I am thinking correctly regarding bond vs mel uni...

Adding to DrLMG's reply - Moneywise UMelb FFP comes close to Bond, let's consider the other factors.

UMelb advantage
- You can resit UCAT apply non-standard for CSP elsewhere during your 1st, 2nd, 3rd year. Or sit GAMSAT for CSP MD.
- A little (but irrelevant) more prestige

Bond advantage
- You start interning after 5 years (or 6 years for Sept intake, after enjoying 6mths post-graduation travel to celebrate)
- No uncertainty about the 3rd year MMI, no risk of getting Bonded (vs other CSPs)

Bond's main snag is some misconception that Bond med students are inferior. It's only true they were not as competitive for the CSP schools, doesn't mean they are not good enough for medicine. Bond students typically have ATAR 97+ whereas students can get into WSU/JMP with 95+, rural with 91+.

You should consider where you like to intern/RMO as well. If you plan to return to WA no difference between UMelb & Bond. If WA is not in the plan then which do you prefer, around Melb or Brisbane.

 

[drpmaman]

Adding to DrLMG's reply - Moneywise UMelb FFP comes close to Bond, let's consider the other factors.

UMelb advantage
- You can resit UCAT apply non-standard for CSP elsewhere during your 1st, 2nd, 3rd year. Or sit GAMSAT for CSP MD.
- A little (but irrelevant) more prestige

Bond advantage
- You start interning after 5 years (or 6 years for Sept intake, after enjoying 6mths post-graduation travel to celebrate)
- No uncertainty about the 3rd year MMI, no risk of getting Bonded (vs other CSPs)

Bond's main snag is some misconception that Bond med students are inferior. It's only true they were not as competitive for the CSP schools, doesn't mean they are not good enough for medicine. Bond students typically have ATAR 97+ whereas students can get into WSU/JMP with 95+, rural with 91+.

You should consider where you like to intern/RMO as well. If you plan to return to WA no difference between UMelb & Bond. If WA is not in the plan then which do you prefer, around Melb or Brisbane.

Thank you both! great things to think through

 

[cfk]

For universities like UAdel and UQ, I understand that interstate applicants have higher UCAT cutoffs for interview invitations. Does this also apply when it comes to final offers? Specifically, if local and interstate applicants have identical ATAR, UCAT, and interview scores, would locals still be given preference in the final selection process?

 

[Dank_Watu]

For universities like UAdel and UQ, I understand that interstate applicants have higher UCAT cutoffs for interview invitations. Does this also apply when it comes to final offers? Specifically, if local and interstate applicants have identical ATAR, UCAT, and interview scores, would locals still be given preference in the final selection process?

idk about uq but for adelaide theres no preference for locals for final offers

 

[Constant_kms]

Hi Everyone,
I am a yr 12 school leaver, have applied everywhere in Australia from NZ(so interstate), and wanted to ask if i will get any interview offers with a UCAT of:
VR: 780,
DM: 660,
QR: 830,
AR: 780,
Total: 3050,
SJ: 636.
My predicted ATAR is 99.5+ although I don't think thats relevant for interview offers.
Thank you for your help!

 

[drpmaman]

Hi I was hoping someone may be able to clear up some information for me. I have spoken to two different people at the Uni of Melbourne for the guaranteed pathway. I have also spoken to someone at VTAC. For the guaranteed pathway... is it correct you apply for the undergard degree that has the requirements that you need to complete to be eligible for the course. On Vtac there isn't anything you can do to indicate your interest in that pathway. I heard from one person about 10 days ago.. that you receive some sort of letter when you get accepted ( 2025) saying because you have a 99 you are eligible for the guarnteed path if you complete the following entry requirements. Today the person I spoke to said that you do not receive any paperwork. In your final year of undergrad.. you apply and they review your atar score then and if you satistify the other requirements then you could get an interview. VTAC verified the second process. My question is we are interstate... ( WA) why would I go to melbourne if there isnt any paperwork... what if the entry requirements change three years from now... I guess this sounds alot like other med schools that say... do our biomed course and then you could get an interview...Entry into medical school is becoming more and more competeitve... whose to say that schools wont start asking for more.. like casper or other things..

 

[ucatboy]

Hi I was hoping someone may be able to clear up some information for me. I have spoken to two different people at the Uni of Melbourne for the guaranteed pathway. I have also spoken to someone at VTAC. For the guaranteed pathway... is it correct you apply for the undergard degree that has the requirements that you need to complete to be eligible for the course. On Vtac there isn't anything you can do to indicate your interest in that pathway. I heard from one person about 10 days ago.. that you receive some sort of letter when you get accepted ( 2025) saying because you have a 99 you are eligible for the guarnteed path if you complete the following entry requirements. Today the person I spoke to said that you do not receive any paperwork. In your final year of undergrad.. you apply and they review your atar score then and if you satistify the other requirements then you could get an interview. VTAC verified the second process. My question is we are interstate... ( WA) why would I go to melbourne if there isnt any paperwork... what if the entry requirements change three years from now... I guess this sounds alot like other med schools that say... do our biomed course and then you could get an interview...Entry into medical school is becoming more and more competeitve... whose to say that schools wont start asking for more.. like casper or other things..

FWIW this 99+ "guaranteed" pathway hasn't changed in the last 10 years but the bigger issue is cost - it's full fee so $420,000 all up. At that point you might as well apply to Bond for the 2 year shorter course and actual "guaranteed" med from the get-go, none of this faffing around for 3 years on the off chance of an interview.

 

[A1]

why would I go to melbourne if there isnt any paperwork... what if the entry requirements change three years from now...

Adding to Ucatboy's reply - My suggestion has been if you go this UMelb 99+ pathway, print out their "guarantee" webpage and during 1st year there go see someone in Medicine Office to validate.

I'm fairly sure if they are to make a change to the admission rules the change would only apply to new entrants from then on.