[Grad] Graduate Medicine FAQ and Quick Questions

[Crow]

My Gemsas GPA is more around 6.7 at this stage. Notre Dame which is a portfolio uni is my first preference. And as with bonuses I can get 2% for financial disdadvantage. Also at melbpurne my GAMSAT is 68 because of how they weight it. Does this make any difference.

Ok, that changes things! With a Melbourne GAMSAT of 68 you may scrape in for a USyd interview (the GAMSAT cut-off was an average of 68 last year) but this will highly depend on the percentile curve of the upcoming March GAMSAT.

You might scrape a Deakin interview with the 2% bonus too, but my suggestion would definitely still to be re-sit GAMSAT in March if at all possible and score as highly as possible to try and make you competitive for other non-portfolio GEMSAS schools, as currently your combo would not be enough for an interview at Griffith/ANU/Melbourne/UWA unless the performance on the March 2019 is significantly worse than last year (unlikely).

I’d suggest you sign up for PagingDr and check out the interview and offer forum archives to gain a better idea of what sort of scores are required at each individual university, but please note that you need to do your research before posting there - a question like the one you posted on here will simply be deleted.

 

[Monica-Rose]

Ok, that changes things! With a Melbourne GAMSAT of 68 you may scrape in for a USyd interview (the GAMSAT cut-off was an average of 68 last year) but this will highly depend on the percentile curve of the upcoming March GAMSAT.

You might scrape a Deakin interview with the 2% bonus too, but my suggestion would definitely still to be re-sit GAMSAT in March if at all possible and score as highly as possible to try and make you competitive for other non-portfolio GEMSAS schools, as currently your combo would not be enough for an interview at Griffith/ANU/Melbourne/UWA unless the performance on the March 2019 is significantly worse than last year (unlikely).

I’d suggest you sign up for PagingDr and check out the interview and offer forum archives to gain a better idea of what sort of scores are required at each individual university, but please note that you need to do your research before posting there - a question like the one you posted on here will simply be deleted.

Okay I've definitely done my research, the things ive seen telling me i have good chances at a few places but i wanted more opinions so I came here... its my first time using a platform like this. thank you for your help so far!

 

[014phalo]

Hi,

I'm applying to the University of Auckland this year as a graduate and am thinking of expanding my options to Australia.

I'm busy starting to wade through my options, and I thought it may be easier to ask outright as the answers here always seem to be on point.

I'm in the final semester (dissertation) of a (taught) Masters degree. GPA average is 8.417. I sat the UCAT this month and received a low 2510 scaled score overall (which was to be expected given my prep time). I'm assuming my UCAT to be around the 50th-55th percentile range.

As I understand, my GPA would be an equivalent of a 7.0 in Australia. With my low UCAT, is there any point in applying through graduate entry in Australia?

 

[memel0rd]

Unfortunately all of the graduate entry applications have closed for the year. Undergraduate pathways have a much stronger focus on your UCAT in determining interview and admissions offers rather than your gpa.

 

[014phalo]

Unfortunately all of the graduate entry applications have closed for the year. Undergraduate pathways have a much stronger focus on your UCAT in determining interview and admissions offers rather than your gpa.

Thanks for the reply. Will reassess later in the year if I fail to make in in to UoA.

 

[Crow]

Thanks for the reply. Will reassess later in the year if I fail to make in in to UoA.

You’ll be able to apply to JCU (interview eligibility is assessed based on GPA and a written application) and Bond (if you have lots and lots of $) - both of these are undergraduate schools and don’t include UCAT in their selection process.

 

[Crow]

Hi, I'm a bit confused on the GPA calculations. If I got an Otago GPA (after 3 yr undergrad) of 8.0 (A-), would that convert to an Australian GPA of 7 (highest aussie grade)? I heard from someone that I should try avoid getting B+'s as if I did even in 1 paper, I won't able to get a australian GPA of 7. but ive also heard that as long as you get an AVERAGE of A- over your 3 years, it still translates to an australian GPA of 7 (meaning you can afford to get B's in some papers). Could I please have some clarification on this? Thanks heaps in advance!

You need to take the overall result that you achieved in each individual subject and then use that to calculate your Australian equivalent GPA. Any result of 80% or higher = 7, 70% or higher = 6. Then, use the GEMSAS GPA calculator to work out what your GPA will be for each of the GEMSAS universities, as they calculate GPA differently.

 

[slowthai]

Hi, this is going to be a massive longshot but does anyone have experience or know of someone who has experience moving from a Bachelor of Arts into Med? I'd really like to hear about how they found the transition and whether they were at a massive disadvantage to those who did BScience?

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Hi, this is going to be a massive longshot but does anyone have experience or know of someone who has experience moving from a Bachelor of Arts into Med? I'd really like to hear about how they found the transition and whether they were at a massive disadvantage to those who did BScience?

Are you still interested in a reply on this topic? If so, I can offer something as that’s what I did.

 

[slowthai]

Are you still interested in a reply on this topic? If so, I can offer something as that’s what I did.

Yes, that'd be great!

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Yes, that'd be great!

Sorry for the delay!

Just wanted to firstly clarify that I’m not at USyd (which I think is the Uni you’re most interested in?).

But otherwise, I can offer some observations and experiences. It’s also possible that Paging Dr has a ‘non-science background’ thread, as they definitely cover more grad entry than we do here at MSO.

Do you have any specific questions?

My background is a BA (double major in psychology) with postgrad study (also in psychology). I had to do a chemistry bridging course to be eligible for the Med course I wanted, but that was the extent of my chem/physics/bio exposure for many, many years!

I didn’t find the transition particularly difficult as I was going into a course where chemistry was the only pre-req, so everything else was taught from scratch. I’d never heard of an organelle, let alone all the different types of organelles!, so it was a steep (but, I found, completely doable) learning curve. I also found it all utterly fascinating which made it easier to engage with, for sure.

I found my psychology background to be hugely helpful because that’s the stuff that isn’t taught as thoroughly (as in, how to talk to people, how to write essays, how to communicate effectively, how to understand and interpret behaviour). It’s hard to learn that from a text book, whereas the ‘hard science’ stuff was just, in the first part of first year anyway, something I needed to commit to revising until it stuck (which it did... mostly!!).

 

[slowthai]

Sorry for the delay!

Just wanted to firstly clarify that I’m not at USyd (which I think is the Uni you’re most interested in?).

But otherwise, I can offer some observations and experiences. It’s also possible that Paging Dr has a ‘non-science background’ thread, as they definitely cover more grad entry than we do here at MSO.

Do you have any specific questions?

My background is a BA (double major in psychology) with postgrad study (also in psychology). I had to do a chemistry bridging course to be eligible for the Med course I wanted, but that was the extent of my chem/physics/bio exposure for many, many years!

I didn’t find the transition particularly difficult as I was going into a course where chemistry was the only pre-req, so everything else was taught from scratch. I’d never heard of an organelle, let alone all the different types of organelles!, so it was a steep (but, I found, completely doable) learning curve. I also found it all utterly fascinating which made it easier to engage with, for sure.

I found my psychology background to be hugely helpful because that’s the stuff that isn’t taught as thoroughly (as in, how to talk to people, how to write essays, how to communicate effectively, how to understand and interpret behaviour). It’s hard to learn that from a text book, whereas the ‘hard science’ stuff was just, in the first part of first year anyway, something I needed to commit to revising until it stuck (which it did... mostly!!).

Thanks for the reply- I ended up choosing BArts for my preference so this is really reassuring!

 

[H2.]

Hi there,
I am considering the graduate entry route to medicine at Monash. I know that you should choose a degree you would be happy with given you don't get into med. However, I am curious whether any of these degrees prepare you better for the GAMSAT or give you an advantage over the other when applying for grad entry med. Does anyone know the job prospects after finishing one of these below degrees (and not getting into med)? i.e. job prospects for biomed, job prospects for pharmacy etc.

I am confident I can get into any of these degrees.

Applications to be considered for a place in this {grad entry medicine) prorgram will be open to students who have completed the following Monash University degrees with a Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of 70 or above:

• Bachelor of Biomedical Science (including double degrees)
• Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours)
• Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours)
• Bachelor of Science (including double degrees and dependent on the completion of designated units* - see list below)

 

[H2.]

Hi there,
I am considering the graduate entry route to medicine at Monash. I know that you should choose a degree you would be happy with given you don't get into med. However, I am curious whether any of these degrees prepare you better for the GAMSAT or give you an advantage over the other when applying for grad entry med. Does anyone know the job prospects after finishing one of these below degrees (and not getting into med)? i.e. job prospects for biomed, job prospects for pharmacy etc.

I am confident I can get into any of these degrees.

Applications to be considered for a place in this {grad entry medicine) prorgram will be open to students who have completed the following Monash University degrees with a Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of 70 or above:

• Bachelor of Biomedical Science (including double degrees)
• Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours)
• Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours)
• Bachelor of Science (including double degrees and dependent on the completion of designated units* - see list below)

Nevermind around 70% allocated to Biomed

 

[A1]

Nevermind around 70% allocated to Biomed

That's what I was going to write. Of the 75 available places I think 50 is allocated to certain course(s) and only 25 to the rest. But you need to weigh up this advantage against its other negatives.

I have not taken GAMSAT myself, from reading people's comments I think the mentioned courses prepare you about equally for GAMSAT (that is if they do! , I'm not sure of that).

In terms of job prospects I personally would rank Physio > Pharm > Science > Biomed.

 

[Sherlock]

I have not taken GAMSAT myself, from reading people's comments I think the mentioned courses prepare you about equally for GAMSAT (that is if they do! , I'm not sure of that).

Having sat it myself, I don't believe there's so much you can do in terms of preparing for the content of the exam. I think it's more so finding ways to navigate bulk of info given in stimulus. I think the suggestion that studying a degree that is heavily science would help with section 3 is a bit of a myth, particularly with the apparent nature of questions in section 3 of GAMSAT, which most people now acknowledge, is moving away from science to reasoning. Worth noting, two out of three sections are essentially arts based as well.

 

[Crow]

Hi there,
I am considering the graduate entry route to medicine at Monash. I know that you should choose a degree you would be happy with given you don't get into med. However, I am curious whether any of these degrees prepare you better for the GAMSAT or give you an advantage over the other when applying for grad entry med. Does anyone know the job prospects after finishing one of these below degrees (and not getting into med)? i.e. job prospects for biomed, job prospects for pharmacy etc.

I am confident I can get into any of these degrees.

Applications to be considered for a place in this {grad entry medicine) prorgram will be open to students who have completed the following Monash University degrees with a Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of 70 or above:

• Bachelor of Biomedical Science (including double degrees)
• Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours)
• Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours)
• Bachelor of Science (including double degrees and dependent on the completion of designated units* - see list below)

If you’re going to study one of these for the additional “chance” of gaining entry into Monash medicine then that’s fine, but be aware your chances are actually lower than what they would be going through the GEMSAS system anyway, so it probably won’t help too much with chances. Less than 1/8th of Monash biomed graduates get into medicine at Monash - those odds certainly aren’t worth it IMO.

As for physio and pharmacy, both of these provide great alternative career paths, and, provided you have sufficient interest in pursuing them as a career, would be great options.

 

[mideasyrole]

Does anyone know if any Australian med schools allow you to apply as a graduate using a postgraduate diploma (PgDipSci - 1 year course) from a NZ university?

 

[Crow]

Does anyone know if any Australian med schools allow you to apply as a graduate using a postgraduate diploma (PgDipSci - 1 year course) from a NZ university?

Check out the most updated version of the GEMSAS guide and it should have the answer.

 

[Hollyw28]

Hi everyone, so sorry if this has already been answered somewhere. I'm starting to consider Australian unis, and it is all very overwhelming! In particular I'm finding hard to find info that is specific to me for applying to USyd.

I have a BSc in Biomed (2016-2019), a PGDip in Biomed (2020), a PGDip in Health Sciences (2021), and (soon!) a Masters of Biomed (1 year thesis) all from Auckland. How the heck even is my GPA determined?

I understand that if my NZ GPA is between A- and A+ then I get a 7, which is fab. But I can't find information for people who have done a bunch of postgrad study - only GPA info for Bachelors or Bachelors with Honours. What degrees/qualifications will USyd use for my GPA calculation? Am I safe to assume it will be the most recent (my masters)? Any help would be fab, as emailing USyd directly hasn't been too helpful! Thanks in advance