[Undergrad] High School Discussion Thread

[TKAO]

Hey, I am a year 10 student who has just finished their year 10 work experience in a dental clinic. I would really appreciate if you guys could share your work experiences in the hospital during your highschool years, specifically what tasks you were allowed to do?

I am unsure if it is worth to try and find work experience in a hospital next year? I have heard from friends who have undergone work experience in a hospital and said it was just doing paperwork for the clerk and that there was really nothing interesting such as being able to go on ward rounds or shadowing doctors? Can someone please confirm this!!

Just to add to Helmut's already fantastic answer - getting a doctor to allow you into a hospital (especially a public one) is incredibly difficult and as far as I know there are no streamlined systems in place to accomodate this because it doesn't happen here in Australia (when compared to the US or UK). If you do find a doctor in a hospital that is willing to take you on, they are basically taking responsibility for all of yours actions. It is understandable that many doctors who are not yet permanent consultants or heads of departments would be unwilling to put their careers on the line in the off chance you mess something up. Be aware of this when you talk ask your family friends, and understand the potential reasons why they might not be willing to take you on.

Unlike public hospitals, getting experience in a GP clinic is arguably easier, due to organisational size and the fact that it's private so there isn't as large a bureaucracy and a lower chance of stuff up. Ultimately take what you can get your hands on, and don't regard any GP clinic experience as something that is 'inferior' to hospital experiences. The vast majority of doctors end up as GPs, and the chances you know a GP is a lot higher than a highly acclaimed specialist.

 

[E_N]

I agree that as a Year 10 high school student, gaining that clinical experience is really what I value the most. Doing piles of paperwork (which I did in my work experience at a dentist a couple of weeks ago), was really not what I enjoyed, but in contrast seeing the doctor-patient interaction and observing the procedures undertaken was really rewarding for me. I must ask though - how much do the universities actually recognise the work that you've put in trying to gain experience in your field of interest? Do you provide them with a list of things that you have done over your secondary schooling, or is that something that they will ask you during an interview? I understand of course that work experience is mainly something that is for 'your own benefit' (i.e. so you get to experience what it is like to work in that field), but it would be nice to have your efforts acknowledged also!

On another topic, how much does volunteer work count towards medical entry? I myself have done a fair bit of volunteer work with the school council, but am planning to do some work individually with the homeless support groups around my area (as some doctors I knew said that this was an important part of being accepted in medical schools). Is it true that volunteer work is important in this case, and would it be worth doing this to have efforts recognised? Regardless of whether they are not, I think it is still something I want to do - because helping people in need is rewarding and there are many positives that come with this as well.

Other than the above listed topics, what other things can I do to increase my chance of acceptance into medicine (other than high ATAR/UCAT rankings of course )? Just about all of the smartest kids from schools seem to choose to do medicine, and obviously with the huge competition, and very competitive academic marks, there must be some things that can help to give a better impression of yourself, and put you 'above the rest' as they say!

 

[threefivetwo]

How much do the universities actually recognise the work that you've put in trying to gain experience in your field of interest? Do you provide them with a list of things that you have done over your secondary schooling, or is that something that they will ask you during an interview? I understand of course that work experience is mainly something that is for 'your own benefit' (i.e. so you get to experience what it is like to work in that field), but it would be nice to have your efforts acknowledged also!

This is something you integrate into your responses in an interview, i.e. mention how your work experience at a dentist has shaped your perception of Medicine/Dentistry. They couldn't care less about what work you've done - you're not handing a resume in. Experience and insight go hand in hand - it's not enough to list off how much experience you've done, blah, you also need to demonstrate that you've gained insight that has shaped your understanding of the profession, why you want to do it, etc.

The same goes for volunteering. In general, you shouldn't be doing anything for the sole purpose of getting into Medicine. Not only will it show in the interview, I would think it's somewhat exploitative in the sense that you lack genuine intent in a field where it's very much required ethically and morally.

What other things can I do to increase my chance of acceptance into medicine (other than high ATAR/UCAT rankings of course )? Just about all of the smartest kids from schools seem to choose to do medicine, and obviously with the huge competition, and very competitive academic marks, there must be some things that can help to give a better impression of yourself, and put you 'above the rest' as they say!

Focus on improving on yourself for yourself, not for the sole purpose of getting into Medicine. Improving the way others perceive you - that can come with things such as self-confidence, tone, the way you carry yourself, humility. Maturity and perspective are also important - that's a byproduct of broadening your experience in the world. Other than that, considering why you want to do Medicine, understanding the pitfalls of being a doctor, and what life is like as a doctor are good things to do that'll help you shape a more realistic view of getting into Medicine and reflect favourably on you in the interview.

 

[hkgn]

Hi guys,
I am new here and was hoping you could provide me with some advice for my subject selection in the SACE curriculum.

I will be moving into year 12 next year and have the following subjects:
Maths Methods
Biology
Chemistry
English
Nutrition

As year 12 results have recently come out, I am doubting my subject choice for nutrition. I have heard that it does not scale well in comparison with other subjects and also that the course is changing for 2021. A friend of mine did year 12 nutrition this year and achieved straight A+s for all the school assessments but ended up with a 19/20 for the subject. I am aiming to get 19.5 or more but am not too sure now.

Do you guys know of any students who were able to achieve in the high 19s or 20 for nutrition this year or can provide me with some advice about how to tackle this?

Thank you )

 

[Fannnnnnn666]

Hi guys,
I am new here and was hoping you could provide me with some advice for my subject selection in the SACE curriculum.

I will be moving into year 12 next year and have the following subjects:
Maths Methods
Biology
Chemistry
English
Nutrition

As year 12 results have recently come out, I am doubting my subject choice for nutrition. I have heard that it does not scale well in comparison with other subjects and also that the course is changing for 2021. A friend of mine did year 12 nutrition this year and achieved straight A+s for all the school assessments but ended up with a 19/20 for the subject. I am aiming to get 19.5 or more but am not too sure now.

Do you guys know of any students who were able to achieve in the high 19s or 20 for nutrition this year or can provide me with some advice about how to tackle this?

Thank you )

Hello, one of my friends got a merit in nutrition last year and it got scaled to a 19.4/20, but it's also true that he got an A in the exam component. So, I guess if you can get an A+ in every section it will gets scaled fairly well (19.5+), however, as you said the course has changed, so I cannot speculate what would happen in terms of scaling as the difficulties of the subject may change. Hope this helps, good luck with year 12

 

[hkgn]

Hello, one of my friends got a merit in nutrition last year and it got scaled to a 19.4/20, but it's also true that he got an A in the exam component. So, I guess if you can get an A+ in every section it will gets scaled fairly well (19.5+), however, as you said the course has changed, so I cannot speculate what would happen in terms of scaling as the difficulties of the subject may change. Hope this helps, good luck with year 12

Thank you for replying to my concern, it was very insightful.

 

[lucymitillis]

Hey guys, so Im in year 11 right now (WA, non-rural and no other bonuses etc.) and I ended up with a predicted atar of 97.45. Now, i know that year 12 is much harder than year 11 and that many other factors will also play into the final atar, but what ucat would i need to have a good chance to get into curtin based on my predicted atar. I really do want to stay in wa. Thanks in advance!

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Hey guys, so Im in year 11 right now (WA, non-rural and no other bonuses etc.) and I ended up with a predicted atar of 97.45. Now, i know that year 12 is much harder than year 11 and that many other factors will also play into the final atar, but what ucat would i need to have a good chance to get into curtin based on my predicted atar. I really do want to stay in wa. Thanks in advance!

So many things at play between now and then but... if you look in the link I provide you’ll see that the lowest successful ATAR reported here for 2020 entry was 98.70 and that was a top up offer.

Mid 97s may struggle and if you’re keen to stay in WA your best bets are to start having a think about backup career options and how you’d go about pursuing them while you work towards becoming eligible for UNDF and UWA graduate entry. If you study that back up career/degree at Curtin, then you can also apply each year of your undergrad a as Curtin Course switcher.

Aus Med and Dent Place Offers 2020 - Collated Data

Last updated 15/03/2020 at 1600. James Cook University - Medicine Phone call offers released 09/01/2020 OP: 1, local ATAR: 99.60, interstate, CSP ATAR: 99.50, CSP ATAR: 99.20, interstate ATAR: 99.10, interstate ATAR: 98.95, CSP ATAR: 98.10, interstate GPA: 7.00, CSP, hoping to defer to finish...

medstudentsonline.com.au

 

[lucymitillis]

So many things at play between now and then but... if you look in the link I provide you’ll see that the lowest successful ATAR reported here for 2020 entry was 98.70 and that was a top up offer.

Mid 97s may struggle and if you’re keen to stay in WA your best bets are to start having a think about backup career options and how you’d go about pursuing them while you work towards becoming eligible for UNDF and UWA graduate entry. If you study that back up career/degree at Curtin, then you can also apply each year of your undergrad a as Curtin Course switcher.

Aus Med and Dent Place Offers 2020 - Collated Data

Last updated 15/03/2020 at 1600. James Cook University - Medicine Phone call offers released 09/01/2020 OP: 1, local ATAR: 99.60, interstate, CSP ATAR: 99.50, CSP ATAR: 99.20, interstate ATAR: 99.10, interstate ATAR: 98.95, CSP ATAR: 98.10, interstate GPA: 7.00, CSP, hoping to defer to finish...

medstudentsonline.com.au

but based on the atar that Ive got, is it even possible to get a place offer then... say if I get like 95% ucat?

 

[DrDrLMG!]

but based on the atar that Ive got, is it even possible to get a place offer then... say if I get like 95% ucat?

I’m not really here to speculate on possible place offers where the ATAR is hypothetical, the UCAT is hypothetical, and you still have a whole year of high school to go. We don’t even do this for current applicants when there are so many unknowns. Check out the previous years’ offers threads, enjoy your school holidays, and have a nice break before the grind of yr 12 kicks off.

 

[A1]

but based on the atar that Ive got, is it even possible to get a place offer then... say if I get like 95% ucat?

Curtin's weightings for place offers are 40% ATAR, 20% UCAT, 40% Interview. Generally you need a high UCAT to balance up a low ATAR, for Curtin it's worse since UCAT needs to be doubly higher (due to weighted half as much).

A better strategy is to talk to your school counsellor how to improve on ATAR. Bear in mind the mid-97 is only a prediction, the difference between that and 99 is around 3-4 extra marks per subject, should be achievable.

 

[dotwingz]

When it comes to improving your best bet is to take an honest assessment in what’s holding you back in each of your subjects wether it’s timing, small mistakes, holes in content... so on. If you have an academic/career advisor at school I’d suggest meeting up with them, and also emailing your teachers and asking wether there’s anything *specific* you can improve and advice for it.

It’s definitely possible to improve significantly on your atar if you spread the load across all your subjects. For context:

My end of year 10 (based on cohort rank) prediction was 85
My end of year 11 was 90
My end of year 12 was 98
And i ended up getting 99.00

EDIT: This also serves as a good example on why ATAR predictions are really not worth being hung up over

 

[DrDrLMG!]

When it comes to improving your best bet is to take an honest assessment in what’s holding you back in each of your subjects wether it’s timing, small mistakes, holes in content... so on. If you have an academic/career advisor at school I’d suggest meeting up with them, and also emailing your teachers and asking wether there’s anything *specific* you can improve and advice for it.

It’s definitely possible to improve significantly on your atar if you spread the load across all your subjects. For context:

My end of year 10 (based on cohort rank) prediction was 85
My end of year 11 was 90
My end of year 12 was 98
And i ended up getting 99.00

EDIT: This also serves as a good example on why ATAR predictions are really not worth being hung up over

re. Your edit. Exactly!! Thank you for the illustration of the point I’ve been trying to make. The information provided by you and A1 is far more useful thank you!

 

[lucymitillis]

Curtin's weightings for place offers are 40% ATAR, 20% UCAT, 40% Interview. Generally you need a high UCAT to balance up a low ATAR, for Curtin it's worse since UCAT needs to be doubly higher (due to weighted half as much).

A better strategy is to talk to your school counsellor how to improve on ATAR. Bear in mind the mid-97 is only a prediction, the difference between that and 99 is around 3-4 extra marks per subject, should be achievable.

yep I know that its just a prediction and that it can fluctuate either way based on a number of factors, but all I really wanted to know was whether (anecdotally, I haven't really found any data points on the offers forum) anyone knows someone who has gotten in non-rurally with a mid-97 atar into curtin. So that why I tagged matcha.latte. But I do understand where you guys are coming from, so thank you for ur info

 

[rzrkei58]

hello !!!!!!!!! I'm going into year 11 this year and I would really really like to study undergrad medicine at Monash. I am aware that the prerequisites for undergrad medicine are unit 3 and 4 English and unit 3 and 4 chemistry. Do I really need to do methods or a maths in general? I'm a lost cause for maths, but decent at everything else

 

[JL538]

hello !!!!!!!!! I'm going into year 11 this year and I would really really like to study undergrad medicine at Monash. I am aware that the prerequisites for undergrad medicine are unit 3 and 4 English and unit 3 and 4 chemistry. Do I really need to do methods or a maths in general? I'm a lost cause for maths, but decent at everything else

[Undergrad] - (2023 Updated) Med schools Selection Criteria Y12s & Non-standards

Hi - Welcome to MSO. Join us and post up your questions you'll get lots more useful tips than just from this table. __________________________________________________________ Hope this helps sort out the different requirements to get an undergrad/provisional Medicine place in Aus. For dentistry...

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UPDATED Dentistry Schools Selection Criteria Y12s & Non-standards

UPDATED (June, 2020). Dentistry Entry pathways table created by Dreamer and Cal. Thank you to both of them for their hard work and dedication to the cause! From LMG! ** note: prices quoted are for 2020 entry and are typically indexed to increase slightly each year. While these prices are a...

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Have a look there at prerequisites required for med and dent (if you are interested in it). Generally for most courses, including Monash, no, you don't need methods. However, I would suggest to do methods as many courses outside of med in the STEM field require it. Also, in the scenario where you don't get into undergrad med (as it is extremely competitive) - you might want to go the postgrad route through biomed - which requires one of methods, spesh or physics.

Edit: Commerce, another big generalist degree, also needs it (at Monash and Melb), you are basically left with Arts-type courses if you don't do Methods

 

[ucatboy]

Also, in the scenario where you don't get into undergrad med (as it is extremely competitive) - you might want to go the postgrad route through biomed - which requires one of methods, spesh or physics.

Good advice except for this - do biomed only if you're genuinely interested in it (I doubt very many are), not because it'll supposedly give you a one-way ticket into medicine - it won't.

 

[JL538]

Good advice except for this - do biomed only if you're genuinely interested in it (I doubt very many are), not because it'll supposedly give you a one-way ticket into medicine - it won't.

Ya true, I'm just listing it as an option for postgrad entry - but don't do it solely for med! Also, I just checked and for some reason even commerce needs methods (at Monash and Melb)! So it is highly advisable to do it or you are really limiting yourself

 

[Crow]

Ya true, I'm just listing it as an option for postgrad entry - but don't do it solely for med! Also, I just checked and for some reason even commerce needs methods (at Monash and Melb)! So it is highly advisable to do it or you are really limiting yourself

I'd wager that methods knowledge will be of far more use to a commerce student than a biomed student, to be honest!

 

[rzrkei58]

[Undergrad] - (2023 Updated) Med schools Selection Criteria Y12s & Non-standards

Hi - Welcome to MSO. Join us and post up your questions you'll get lots more useful tips than just from this table. __________________________________________________________ Hope this helps sort out the different requirements to get an undergrad/provisional Medicine place in Aus. For dentistry...

medstudentsonline.com.au

UPDATED Dentistry Schools Selection Criteria Y12s & Non-standards

UPDATED (June, 2020). Dentistry Entry pathways table created by Dreamer and Cal. Thank you to both of them for their hard work and dedication to the cause! From LMG! ** note: prices quoted are for 2020 entry and are typically indexed to increase slightly each year. While these prices are a...

medstudentsonline.com.au

Have a look there at prerequisites required for med and dent (if you are interested in it). Generally for most courses, including Monash, no, you don't need methods. However, I would suggest to do methods as many courses outside of med in the STEM field require it. Also, in the scenario where you don't get into undergrad med (as it is extremely competitive) - you might want to go the postgrad route through biomed - which requires one of methods, spesh or physics.

Edit: Commerce, another big generalist degree, also needs it (at Monash and Melb), you are basically left with Arts-type courses if you don't do Methods

thank you so much for the resources and advice!

Good advice except for this - do biomed only if you're genuinely interested in it (I doubt very many are), not because it'll supposedly give you a one-way ticket into medicine - it won't.

[Undergrad] - (2023 Updated) Med schools Selection Criteria Y12s & Non-standards

Hi - Welcome to MSO. Join us and post up your questions you'll get lots more useful tips than just from this table. __________________________________________________________ Hope this helps sort out the different requirements to get an undergrad/provisional Medicine place in Aus. For dentistry...

medstudentsonline.com.au

UPDATED Dentistry Schools Selection Criteria Y12s & Non-standards

UPDATED (June, 2020). Dentistry Entry pathways table created by Dreamer and Cal. Thank you to both of them for their hard work and dedication to the cause! From LMG! ** note: prices quoted are for 2020 entry and are typically indexed to increase slightly each year. While these prices are a...

medstudentsonline.com.au

Have a look there at prerequisites required for med and dent (if you are interested in it). Generally for most courses, including Monash, no, you don't need methods. However, I would suggest to do methods as many courses outside of med in the STEM field require it. Also, in the scenario where you don't get into undergrad med (as it is extremely competitive) - you might want to go the postgrad route through biomed - which requires one of methods, spesh or physics.

Edit: Commerce, another big generalist degree, also needs it (at Monash and Melb), you are basically left with Arts-type courses if you don't do Methods

SORRY TO BOTHER YOU AGAIN, but would it be a better decision for me to switch to general maths or further maths in place of methods? possibly even physics? I'm not exactly confident enough that I would be able to achieve a good ATAR with my current math skills ...