Registered  members with 100+ posts do not see Ads

Graduate Entry Medicine Advice Requests

tsktsk

Member
So, my may 2020 gamsat sucked. I'm thinking about doing a masters in Nursing and try the gamsat again in 2021 or 2022.

Does anyone know if there are restrictions if i complete a post-grad nursing degree and then apply for med? (like nurses can't become doctors or something?)

is anyone planning to do the same? hmu!
 

chinaski

Regular Member
There are no restrictions. But I wouldn't do a "bachelor of getting into medicine" degree - don't do something you won't practically use in the future if you don't get into medicine.
 

ahmoody

Lurker
Hi Doctors! requesting your guidance

I have recently completed Radiography + Medical Imaging Hons at Monash and was hesitant about going for Medicine during my course. Now I have found that I want to persue medicine however my GPA 4.0/7 is less than impressive (largely affected by strong hardships towards the end of my course). I had also done 1 year in Biotechnology/Science before transferring into RAD with a GPA of approx 5. In addition I am optimistic about a good GAMSAT score (75-85). Given this will be satisfied,

are there any universities out there that do not require GPA or at least weigh it less than GAMSAT and Interview?
how much of difference does difficult hardship make on your application?
Thank you in advanced for reading! feel free to ask anything.
 

TKAO

oowah!
Valued Member
According to WSU, if you have completed a honours they don't look at your GPA. Might be best asking directly them via email because your honours might be one of those with the 'intergrated honours' that may or may not count I'm not sure. JMP might just look at your pass as a pass since that honours as well. Email them as well. The other two non-standard undergrads unfortunately won't have a look at you unless you are rural. If you have other bonuses, please let us know. Otherwise, it might also be worth asking pagingdr or some of the other mods here for what the chances look like with postgraduate universities (ones that spring off the top of my head include notre dame and wollongong)
 
Last edited:

ahmoody

Lurker
According to WSU, if you have completed a honours they don't look at your GPA. Might be best asking directly them via email because your honours might be one of those with the 'intergrated honours' that may or may not count I'm not sure. JMP might just look at your pass as a pass since that honours as well. Email them as well. The other two non-standard undergrads unfortunately won't have a look at you unless you are rural. If you have other bonuses, please let us know. Otherwise, it might also be worth asking pagingdr or some of the other mods here for what the chances look like with postgraduate universities (ones that spring off the top of my head include notre dame and wollongong)

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply with helpful information.

I have sent out a couple emails regarding this so i appreciate you helping me get going.

could i please have clarification on what you meant by 'the other two non-standard undergrads' ?

If by bonuses you mean hardships? I escaped war on a humanitarian visa, i come from a disadvantaged school and region (not sure if that's a thing - but being at monash i did see the difference), i have history of financial difficulty and was receiving counselling during my last year of university that did significantly affect my usual performance. I have since improved and leveled out which is relfecting in my GAMSAT performance although it is still challenging at times. I apologise if this not what you meant.


For the last two notre dame and wollongong - is there anything unique about them?
 
Graduate entry schools generally won't consider applicants with GPAs below 5.0. You should refer to the admissions policies of each school for further information. The following is a link to the GEMSAS schools entry guidelines for this year FYI:

what option is there for graduate med if your GPA is below 5.0? aside from the few unis which don't look at your GPA what next step could someone take at the end of their undergrad?
 

chinaski

Regular Member
Another degree, broadly speaking. Often doing an Honours or higher degree will be out of reach of people with a low GPA (as candidates are selected according to their marks), and may not be enough to ameliorate a poor GPA in any case. It's worth pointing out that the 5.0 requirement is often a minimum benchmark, in that scores much higher than that are realistically the only ones that will put you into a competitive position. Again, refer to the admissions policies of each uni to be sure of individual conditions.
 

A1

Rookie Doc
Moderator
what option is there for graduate med if your GPA is below 5.0? aside from the few unis which don't look at your GPA what next step could someone take at the end of their undergrad?

There's no graduate-entry med schools that don't look at your GPA. One that requires the least is USyd with a hurdle of 5.0 (all others requires 6+ to have a chance), but USyd only considers Bachelor degrees GPA so short of doing a completely new Bach degree there's no graduate-entry schools viable to you.

A quicker option for you is to do a 1-year Grad Dip or 1 year of a Bach degree, then use its GPA & UCAT to apply to undergrad med JMP & WSU. See the Non-Standards section in this Criteria table for the GPA required
> [Undergrad] - (2020 Updated) Med schools Selection Criteria Y12s & Non-standards
 

Registered  members with 100+ posts do not see Ads

There's no graduate-entry med schools that don't look at your GPA. One that requires the least is USyd with a hurdle of 5.0 (all others requires 6+ to have a chance), but USyd only considers Bachelor degrees GPA so short of doing a completely new Bach degree there's no graduate-entry schools viable to you.

A quicker option for you is to do a 1-year Grad Dip or 1 year of a Bach degree, then use its GPA & UCAT to apply to undergrad med JMP & WSU. See the Non-Standards section in this Criteria table for the GPA required
> [Undergrad] - (2020 Updated) Med schools Selection Criteria Y12s & Non-standards
thank you so much I didn't even know these were options!!
 

ahmoody

Lurker
There's no graduate-entry med schools that don't look at your GPA. One that requires the least is USyd with a hurdle of 5.0 (all others requires 6+ to have a chance), but USyd only considers Bachelor degrees GPA so short of doing a completely new Bach degree there's no graduate-entry schools viable to you.

A quicker option for you is to do a 1-year Grad Dip or 1 year of a Bach degree, then use its GPA & UCAT to apply to undergrad med JMP & WSU. See the Non-Standards section in this Criteria table for the GPA required
> [Undergrad] - (2020 Updated) Med schools Selection Criteria Y12s & Non-standards

could you explain what you mean by non-standards? and also is UCAT synonymous with GAMSAT? if i do well in a Grad Dip or 1 year Bach degree, they will consider that GPA over my 4 year bach hons degree?
 

DrDrLMG!

Resident Medical Officer
Administrator
could you explain what you mean by non-standards? and also is UCAT synonymous with GAMSAT? if i do well in a Grad Dip or 1 year Bach degree, they will consider that GPA over my 4 year bach hons degree?

non-standard = someone with a tertiary record applying to specific undergrad medicine courses (JCU, UNSW, JMP, JPM, Curtin).
GAMSAT (graduate entry) doesn’t = UCAT (undergraduate entry). They are completely different exams. You can do both.
some unis will, others won’t. You’ll need to look at the unis you’re interested in.
 

chinaski

Regular Member
could you explain what you mean by non-standards? and also is UCAT synonymous with GAMSAT? if i do well in a Grad Dip or 1 year Bach degree, they will consider that GPA over my 4 year bach hons degree?

None of the grad entry schools to my knowledge accept one year bachelor degrees. A grad dip won't cancel out your GPA, and in some cases won't be counted at all.
 

A1

Rookie Doc
Moderator
I am optimistic about a good GAMSAT score (75-85).

If you can achieve GAMSAT 75-85 a relatively quick route is a 1year Grad Dip, get as high GPA as you can (6.0-6.5+) and apply to UQ. Most graduate med schools count GPA heavily off your Bach degree, except UQ using your most recent qualification's GPA on its own.

Note in my post above I mentioned Grad Dip or 1 year *of a* new Bach program. This is for undergrad med schools like JMP, WSU, JCU ..., the purpose is to use its 1-year GPA to replace your previous full-degree GPA. Since it's undergrad you will need to sit UCAT rather than GAMSAT.

EtA: I think someone already mentioned but I'll repeat - since you have completed an Hons degree you are good for WSU & JMP regardless of its GPA. Do UCAT get a good score to get an interview, then beat all the gun school leavers on the interview.
 

Crow

Staff | Junior Doctor
Moderator
In addition I am optimistic about a good GAMSAT score (75-85).
Just to address this as nobody else has: how have you reached this conclusion? I’ve honestly never even heard of someone score as high as 85, and 75+ is certainly in the top 1% of test sitters. Have you sat the exam before and achieved a score in this sitting? I would be cautious banking on being in the top 1% of test sitters.
 

Crow

Staff | Junior Doctor
Moderator
You hear about the odd person scoring over 80 once a year. Definitely the exception.
Yep, though "over 80" and 85 are light years apart in GAMSAT scoring terms. Definitely the "odd person" out of 10 000 + test sitters each year isn't good odds, though ;)
 

Registered  members with 100+ posts do not see Ads

Hi all, I'm just wondering if there's anyone here who could offer some life advice/guidance :)

I have had my heart set on med for some time now, however, I expect it will take me at least two years before I can enter med school. During this time, I really would like to be continuing my education in some way as I'm not really keen on starting full-time work yet. I was therefore thinking of commencing a Masters either in Nursing at USYD or Prof Psychology at ANU.

I did my undergrad in psych (GPA: 3.62/4.0) and midway through last year, I began a second Bachelors in MedSci so I could build up my science knowledge and complete prereqs. I received CPL for 1/2 of the degree so if I do continue, I will finish MedSci next year and can also go on exchange for 3-4 months then potentially do SOMS Honours (Dep of Anatomy) afterward. While I am enjoying my studies currently, I feel like I should start thinking more about 'careers' rather than just studying for the sake of studying and accruing more HECS debt. And I am not sure if completing the entirety of the MedSci/Hons degree will benefit me in the long run or what career it'd lead to?

In contrast, I could spend the next two years studying the Masters of Nursing or Psychology instead. This would provide me with a Plan B if I don't get into med. The nursing masters also appeals to me since clinical placements begin from the very first semester and the idea of rotating around different wards sounds very exciting. I've also heard that placements at Westmead are crammed into 3 full days so students can still work part-time 1-2 days per week. However, I'm not sure if I'd have much free time to study for the GAMSAT during this program and if I do start it, it'd mean I won't be eligible for Austudy for 1 year of the MD due to allowable time rules for the same level study.

I was hoping to hear what people think would be the best thing to do? Right now, I am working part-time in phlebotomy and as a secretary at a specialist clinic so I am gaining some exposure to healthcare while doing MedSci. Apart of me feels like I should be doing more though and I really would love to gain exposure to hospital settings rather than just private practice. What would you recommend doing?
 

Mana

there are no stupid questions, only people
Administrator
As there is no specific degree that increases your chance of getting into medicine, other than some prerequisite subjects for some universities, then you should do this:

1. Assume you never get into medicine
(which honestly may be a reasonable assumption to make in terms of guiding future choices, because so far you have had at least five opportunities to get into medicine - on completion of school, psych years 1, 2, and 3, and last year - and you haven't - and this is said not knowing anything about your circumstances etc, just stating based on what you've just said)
2. Find a goal to work towards that is not getting into medicine (noting that you could get into it along the way. For the record, I think that working in healthcare is better for the resume than a medical science degree at least from my own perspective as an interviewer). If you could see yourself being a nurse, then doing something towards that qualification is reasonable
(2a. Reflect upon what might be realistic as a goal given your life stage and circumstances. Would you be giving up on other parts of your life to continue attempting for medicine and would it be worth it? If you got into medicine would you be able to continue training through pathways once you graduated)
3. Take the first step towards that goal in #2.

You have already done a whole degree and part of a second degree when you could have been working towards something in #2. Given that you are only doing medsci for the prerequisites, if there is nothing that you want to do that medsci would enable further than your psychology degree then it doesn't make sense to continue it to completion.

The rest is up to the goal you chose in #2. Note I haven't stated "career pathway" because there are a lot of things you could work towards that are not a career pathway that are worth the investment of time (an example of a non-career goal would be something like starting a family if your partner was in a financially stable/independent position).

If you wanted to gain exposure to hospital settings, then nursing is a great way to do it provided you are up to the unique set of challenges that nursing poses (and honestly, I think they work much harder than we do in a lot of the settings I have been in.)
 
1. Assume you never get into medicine
(which honestly may be a reasonable assumption to make in terms of guiding future choices, because so far you have had at least five opportunities to get into medicine - on completion of school, psych years 1, 2, and 3, and last year - and you haven't - and this is said not knowing anything about your circumstances etc, just stating based on what you've just said)
2. Find a goal to work towards that is not getting into medicine (noting that you could get into it along the way. For the record, I think that working in healthcare is better for the resume than a medical science degree at least from my own perspective as an interviewer). If you could see yourself being a nurse, then doing something towards that qualification is reasonable
(2a. Reflect upon what might be realistic as a goal given your life stage and circumstances. Would you be giving up on other parts of your life to continue attempting for medicine and would it be worth it? If you got into medicine would you be able to continue training through pathways once you graduated)
3. Take the first step towards that goal in #2.

Hi Mana, thanks for your advice.

Regarding #2, that was actually what I was doing during my psych undergrad. I was "working towards" psych as it was my Plan B and told myself that I would try for med after I finished. I always knew the GAMSAT would be a process, however, as I didn't have a strong science background (only did gen maths, no chem/physics/bio in school). Hence why I think doing med sci was beneficial as it allowed me to pick up fundamental courses as well as get a taster for studying med courses (e.g. anatomy). Now that I've covered the basic sciences, I feel more comfortable going through prep materials on my own but still don't expect a good score on this upcoming sitting as it'll be my first attempt/practice run.

Now think I'm swaying more towards starting a masters over continuing with MedSci next year but I'm just a bit worried I'll fall into the trap of getting distracted again and losing sight of the GAMSAT because I'm trying to juggle/focus on my course load. That's what happened during my psych degree and why I didn't attempt the GAMSAT in previous years despite having the opportunity to do so.

Nonetheless, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on whether you think a masters in nursing vs psych is a better option? The nursing program has clinical placements that I'm very excited about and the application process is more straightforward. However, career-wise, I don't think I'd be content in nursing as it's not med and in some respects, you'll constantly be the underdog. I think it'd be good experience prior to med. So not sure if psych would be better (I'm less enthusiastic about starting the psych program though)? Also, for me personally, I would pick med over family/marriage because I think having a career where you can go overseas and do so much (e.g. Doctors Without Borders) would be very, very fulfilling and worth it.
 

Registered  members with 100+ posts do not see Ads

Top