Graduate Entry Medicine Advice Requests

[Crow]

Great news if the two failed subjects were semester one, not so great if they were semester two...

Oops, optimistic assumption on my part! Though it’s good that they choose to drop the lower scoring subjects where possible as opposed to the higher scoring ones.

 

[Crow]

Hi Crow,
is it not possible for me to apply for BMP spots if I get an Australian Permanent Resident Visa?
I'm not too sure how it works exactly but I've heard it's possible.

Department of Health | Bonded Medical Places commonly asked questions

The BMP Scheme is open to Australian citizens, permanent residents of Australia and New Zealand citizens who held a New Zealand Special Category Visa on or before 26 February 2001.

Yes, if you're a permanent resident then you are also eligible.

 

[exodus3]

Hi guys just wanting some advice. I am a Nursing student about to graduate and recently sat the gamsat with a score of 51 (not impressive i know). I have a GPA of about 6.1 and have 4 year experience in working with adults with disabilities. Although i don't have an impressive Gamsat score or GPA, i wonder if my portfolio may be enough to be possibly considered for UNDS or whether to just save my money? I am not rural student but i have a parent with a disability, along with my now nursing career i thought maybe this may help. If not, i was considering sitting the UCAT.

 

[A1]

Hi guys just wanting some advice. I am a Nursing student about to graduate and recently sat the gamsat with a score of 51 (not impressive i know). I have a GPA of about 6.1 and have 4 year experience in working with adults with disabilities. Although i don't have an impressive Gamsat score or GPA, i wonder if my portfolio may be enough to be possibly considered for UNDS or whether to just save my money? I am not rural student but i have a parent with a disability, along with my now nursing career i thought maybe this may help. If not, i was considering sitting the UCAT.

Hi welcome to MSO. According to this webpage > Australian Graduate Medical Schools - Admission Requirements | 2019-2020
UNDS/F count GPA+GAMSAT 66% Portfolio 33%, UoW 60%/40%. As such I doubt that your portfolio score will be sufficient to compensate.

The GAMSAT cutoffs for these 3 schools last year were 55-56 & 59.

I think you have better chances with UCAT and applying to JCU, JMP, WSU, Curtin, and UNSW if your ATAR was 98+. All the best.

 

[Smelly Boy]

Hey gang

Just a quick question on preferences. I saw the pagingdr forum compiled 2019 entry scores & the scores across the board have really decreased - I think it’s to do with the gamsat curve shifting to the left more. Also I saw scores a bit lower than mine getting into a few unis of my preferences.

I feel that it’s pretty likely that I get an interview so I was wondering do I preference the unis as I actually want them (just like undergrad where you choose which uni you like best first) or is there a game you have to play with preferences depending on your scores & portfolio strength etc.

If there is a game then don’t worry about explaining it if it’s too complicated. I’ll look it up after my last final exam tomorrow.

My GPA will probably end up being about 6.75 weighted & 6.70 for Melbourne. Gamsat is 66 & 64.33 for Melbourne (57, 64, 72). Also eligible for deakin +2 bonus & maybe melbourne’s Bonus (though Melbourne is a bit more tough to get special consideration for & I think they don’t tell you if you are getting the bonus).

 

[A1]

I feel that it’s pretty likely that I get an interview so I was wondering do I preference the unis as I actually want them (just like undergrad where you choose which uni you like best first) or is there a game you have to play with preferences depending on your scores & portfolio strength etc.

Congrats on your great GPA.

There was a preferencing dilemma with UQ making place offers at the stage the other schools only inviting to interviews i.e. despite a sufficient Gamsat score you wouldn't get a UQ's 1st round offer due to waiting for your #1 pref's interview; then if you missed out #1 post-interview you could miss out UQ too if its 2nd round's cutoff had risen higher. No longer the case I hope.

That aside there is still a difference compared to undergrad - you get one interview instead of multiple for the Gemsas schools. Your prefs are A then B (with B being higher chances). You get an interview at A, miss out a place offer there, your interview score at A is passed to B for consideration. There have been questions whether B would consider your A interview fairly against the applicants they interview themselves at B.

If you trust them to be fair to all, then yeah no difference to undergrad.

 

[Crow]

I feel that it’s pretty likely that I get an interview so I was wondering do I preference the unis as I actually want them (just like undergrad where you choose which uni you like best first) or is there a game you have to play with preferences depending on your scores & portfolio strength etc.

As A1 alludes to above the only past “gaming” the system may have been with UQ but that’s irrelevant now that they are doing interviews like the rest of the schools.

I don’t want to be a downer but I wouldn’t be TOO overconfident about getting an interview if you’re a non-rural - the cutoff scores, while relatively predictable, can catch people by surprise sometimes. A combo of 1.62 is probably on the borderline/low side for a lot of schools, and a lower average GAMSAT for you will probably rule out Melb and UQ (Melb obviously being dependent on the graduate access outcome). Your scores are nevertheless something to be proud of - just want you to make sure you’ve got a back up plan in place should things not go your way.

I’m not sure what you’re currently thinking for preferences but I’d definitely have Deakin and at least one of the portfolio schools in there.

Good luck, looking forward to hearing how you go.

 

[Smelly Boy]

Cheers A1 & Crow. Always so quick to help

I’ll make sure I don’t get too complacent Crow. It’s just that when I was seeing the scores for 2019 entry, there were so many people with <1.60 combo scores getting CSP, non-rural spots in non portfolio schools so it made me feel a bit hopeful.

My preferences FYI:
1. Notre dame Sydney
2. UoW
3. ANU
4. UniMelb
5. Deakin
6. Griffith

Will let you peeps know how my application goes. Thanks again for the replies

 

[REGULAR JOE]

Hi, I'm a non rural student. If I enroll in the ANU Bachelor of Health Science, what are my chances of entering ANU Medicine directly(without interview and gamsat)? Thanks in advance.

 

[chinaski]

Hi, I'm a non rural student. If I enroll in the ANU Bachelor of Health Science, what are my chances of entering ANU Medicine directly(without interview and gamsat)? Thanks in advance.

Entirely contingent on your GPA, the calibre of your classmates, and whether you qualify for consideration as an Indigenous student (as well as how many places they decide to allocate to that pathway in that year). That pathway still stipulates you only skip GAMSAT - the interview is still required, so I imagine your performance in the same would factor in too.

 

[A1]

Hi, I'm a non rural student. If I enroll in the ANU Bachelor of Health Science, what are my chances of entering ANU Medicine directly(without interview and gamsat)? Thanks in advance.

Lots of info in this pdf > https://medicalschool.anu.edu.au/files/bachelor-health-science-mchd-pathway-guidelines.pdf

The BHSc course only takes 60 students (45 non-rural) who then vie for 30 med places (20 non-rural). You must achieve WAM 75+ to be eligible, then ranked against other BHSc students based on 40% WAM, 40% interview, 20% application statement.

 

[fernawilliams]

Hey there,

I need some advice. So I applied for a bunch of med schools this year. My GPA is 6.8 and my GAMSAT is 64. Not the best GAMSAT score but I was hoping to get into Notre Dame - freo. However, I didn't even get an interview. I was a little confused as my GPA and GAMSAT are both above their average entry score. I'm assuming I did something wrong in my portfolio. Does anyone know much about the Notre Dame portfolio scoring?

 

[Smelly Boy]

Hey there,

I need some advice. So I applied for a bunch of med schools this year. My GPA is 6.8 and my GAMSAT is 64. Not the best GAMSAT score but I was hoping to get into Notre Dame - freo. However, I didn't even get an interview. I was a little confused as my GPA and GAMSAT are both above their average entry score. I'm assuming I did something wrong in my portfolio. Does anyone know much about the Notre Dame portfolio scoring?

The weighting put on portfolios is not public knowledge and the marking criteria of portfolios aren’t known. I’ve seen people on pagingdr.net get interviews at Wollongong, Notre dame Sydney & freo with low 6 GPAs and high 50/low 60 gamsat scores. This means that the portfolio makes up a really significant part of the selection criteria of any portfolio school. Having a perfect GPA & very high gamsat doesn’t guarantee you an interview (as was the case for 2 of my friends this year). Sometimes it’s not even that your experiences aren’t good but perhaps the way it was written might’ve not been perceived well by the marker. Who knows?

Portfolio schools always leave you with a bit of a question mark as to what needs to be improved and what was done well. Another thing to remember is that the selection process is so competitive & the competitors are all brilliant people so you probably didn’t do anything ”wrong”. Just like how those last year applying to flinders graduate entry as part of the general applicant pool needed a 76 gamsat to get an interview. If you didn’t have a 76 it doesn’t mean you did anything wrong it just means the competition is very fierce. Dont take any of this to heart/take it personally. It’s just the very competitive nature of the entry process.

 

[Crow]

Hey there,

I need some advice. So I applied for a bunch of med schools this year. My GPA is 6.8 and my GAMSAT is 64. Not the best GAMSAT score but I was hoping to get into Notre Dame - freo. However, I didn't even get an interview. I was a little confused as my GPA and GAMSAT are both above their average entry score. I'm assuming I did something wrong in my portfolio. Does anyone know much about the Notre Dame portfolio scoring?

Welcome to MSO! Sorry to hear about your EOD. It’s a tough thing to take.

I’d definitely check out the portfolio threads on PD if you haven’t already done so - you’ll find lots of advice from those who gained interviews with (relatively) very low GPA/GAMSAT score combos (I.e. those with excellent portfolios).

Not saying you didn’t do either of these things, but I think two things that stand out with the portfolio advice are a) Always focus on what you gained from an experience rather than the experience itself (I.e. how your experience has made you more suitable for medicine or has inspired you to pursue medicine) and b) ND has a very big focus on social justice so this should be worked into your portfolio wherever possible (particularly in the personal statement).

As per SB, the applicants at Notre Dame are ridiculous - so many incredibly accomplished people apply there. I’m sure there’s nothing that you’ve done wrong per se - it’s simply that they can only offer so many interviews and the number of quality applicants outweighs this number.

I’m not sure what you have planned for the coming year, but having experienced an EOD myself, it may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Use the year as an opportunity to build yourself, strengthen your application, save up money, travel, start following a back-up career path, etc etc - whatever you feel is best for you. Remember that you shouldn’t put your life on hold to get into medicine, as it isn’t going anywhere.

Best of luck

 

[LuluLee]

Does anyone have any experience with ANU's Pathway to Med via the Bachelor of Health Science? If so, would love to know more about it, because I'm considering applying as a backup (and not having to sit the GAMSAT sounds great ngl). Thanks in advance!

 

[Crow]

Does anyone have any experience with ANU's Pathway to Med via the Bachelor of Health Science? If so, would love to know more about it, because I'm considering applying as a backup (and not having to sit the GAMSAT sounds great ngl). Thanks in advance!

I don't have personal experience, but worth noting that out of the 60 places, only 20 are reserved for non-rural applicants, and a health science degree has very limited career opportunities by itself. Make sure you consider the potential (and in fact, most likely) outcome of not gaining entry into medicine and then needing to pursue further study / pursue a non-vocational career path at the end of it.

 

[fernawilliams]

Welcome to MSO! Sorry to hear about your EOD. It’s a tough thing to take.

I’d definitely check out the portfolio threads on PD if you haven’t already done so - you’ll find lots of advice from those who gained interviews with (relatively) very low GPA/GAMSAT score combos (I.e. those with excellent portfolios).

Not saying you didn’t do either of these things, but I think two things that stand out with the portfolio advice are a) Always focus on what you gained from an experience rather than the experience itself (I.e. how your experience has made you more suitable for medicine or has inspired you to pursue medicine) and b) ND has a very big focus on social justice so this should be worked into your portfolio wherever possible (particularly in the personal statement).

As per SB, the applicants at Notre Dame are ridiculous - so many incredibly accomplished people apply there. I’m sure there’s nothing that you’ve done wrong per se - it’s simply that they can only offer so many interviews and the number of quality applicants outweighs this number.

I’m not sure what you have planned for the coming year, but having experienced an EOD myself, it may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Use the year as an opportunity to build yourself, strengthen your application, save up money, travel, start following a back-up career path, etc etc - whatever you feel is best for you. Remember that you shouldn’t put your life on hold to get into medicine, as it isn’t going anywhere.

Best of luck

Hey there,

Thanks for the advice. I really admire the time you take to reply to everyone and give advice. I'm taking next year off and I'll apply again but I'm also going to start to process of applying to become a paramedic

 

[Lyyrre]

Hi,

I have two questions!

1. I'm aware that for some universities, once you start a postgraduate medical degree at another uni, you are no longer eligible to apply for the medical degree at the former uni anymore. I know this is the case for USYD, are there any other universities with this same rule?

2. To clarify for USYD, it states that:

"You are ineligible to apply if:

You have previously applied unsuccessfully for admission to the MD at the University of Sydney and have commenced studies in postgraduate medicine at another University."

So if you don't apply to USYD and commence medicine at another university, would you still be able to apply for USYD during 1st year study at the other university?

 

[LMG!]

Hi,

I have two questions!

1. I'm aware that for some universities, once you start a postgraduate medical degree at another uni, you are no longer eligible to apply for the medical degree at the former uni anymore. I know this is the case for USYD, are there any other universities with this same rule?

2. To clarify for USYD, it states that:

"You are ineligible to apply if:

You have previously applied unsuccessfully for admission to the MD at the University of Sydney and have commenced studies in postgraduate medicine at another University."

So if you don't apply to USYD and commence medicine at another university, would you still be able to apply for USYD during 1st year study at the other university?

No, the only routes that I’m aware of for Med at USyd are as a school leaver into the double degree program with a 99.95 + successful interview, or into graduate entry via GAMSAT + interview, the latter of which requires a completed degree.

With regard to starting a uni course (including Medicine) and then wanting to apply elsewhere (ie back in your home state if you’re from NSW), then this is definitely possible at WSU and JMP.

 

[Lyyrre]

Hi LMG!

Thanks for the reply. So just to clarify, for the first question - no other university except USYD has this rule where once you start medicine elsewhere, you are no longer eligible to apply to the former medical school (e.g. USYD, which has this rule) anymore?

As for the second question. I will be applying for UNSW, WSU and JMP this year with my UCAT score.

However, I was moreso looking at the possibility of finishing my bachelors degree at Griffith first and then gaining post-graduate entry into USYD (I am sitting GAMSAT this and next year), and was more curious as to - for USYD specifically, if I don’t apply during the final year of my bachelors degree (say GAMSAT doesn’t meet threshold), I commence First Year MD at Griffith, will I still be eligible to resit GAMSAT and apply for MD at USYD during my first year study at Griffith? Given:

"You are ineligible to apply if:

You have previously applied unsuccessfully for admission to the MD at the University of Sydney and have commenced studies in postgraduate medicine at another University."

Because technically I didn’t “previously apply unsuccessful” before starting medicine at another university, so would I still be able to apply for USYD during first year MD at Griffith?

Sorry for all the confusion, there are just a number of factors at play here (not time) that makes post-grad USYD a more preferable pathway compared to UNSW, WSU or JMP, and so I was more curious about USYD post-grad application specifically.