JCU JCU Medicine: Interview Discussion

[Crow]

Benjamin will have a better idea of average GPAs in JCU’s program - the Griffith MD is pass/fail for the first two years and it’s a graduate entry program so it can’t really be compared with JCU in terms of difficulty.

Which uni would you be wanting to study law at? If you’re looking to study at Melbourne/Sydney/Monash you’re going to need considerably higher results to gain entry than at other universities.

 

[dystopianmonk]

Benjamin will have a better idea of average GPAs in JCU’s program - the Griffith MD is pass/fail for the first two years and it’s a graduate entry program so it can’t really be compared with JCU in terms of difficulty.

Which uni would you be wanting to study law at? If you’re looking to study at Melbourne/Sydney/Monash you’re going to need considerably higher results to gain entry than at other universities.

I already got an offer to study a Bachelor of law/arts at ANU last offer round which ideally I would have deferred for a year as a backup but didn't because apparently they say you can't start tertiary study upon deferral. I thought about Sydney but I just missed out on the ATAR minimum (got 99.4 and needed 99.5) and I assume transfer would be unbelievably difficult. It seems most uni's don't look at ATAR after a year unfortunately :/ And thanks - I'll see if Ben gets back to me!

 

[Benjamin]

Thread has been further updated to include alexlipton experience of writing their application, preparing for the interview & the interview itself. Massive thanks for the further information.

 

[Benjamin]

Thanks Crow!! I imagine if I don't like Medicine I'd be likely to completely jump ship into something like Law/Arts as Medicine is really the only area of science that genuinely interests me (well I think it does). I've always been a humanities guy so that's why the rapid change but I thought it would be silly to give up my med place if it turns out I love it, hence why I'm starting. I assume law has a high gpa so do you know how hard it would be to pull a reasonable 5/6 gpa in 1st year med? Like, on average do people in med hold decent gpas of 5/6 or do most people simply scrape buy on 4s knowing that it really doesn't matter in med as long as they pass and 7.0s are literally unheard of (compared to other courses)? Would I need to work extra hard to get a gpa of 5 or is that reasonable to get with normal effort? I know you don't go to JCU but I guess this applies in general whichever uni you go to. At Griffith (i see you went there) - I know it would be very different to jcu's course structure, but - do you know what GPAs are normal after 1st year?

Sorryy for all the questions - I tend to overthink things way toooo far in advance. Appreciate all your help.

Missed this question & the lead-up, sorry - has been a busy fortnight.

It's very difficult to say & your highschool grades certainly won't give you a good predictor of how you'll do. I know a lot of people who did fairly well in high school (ATAR 99+) and then subsequently got into medical school & stopped caring about exams, were happy with credits and sat on a 5.0 for their whole degree. It certainly isn't easy to get 6+ in medicine partly because of content and partly because GPA's are largely allocated on a distribution basis, i.e. the top 15% get a 7.0, 15% below that get 6.0 etc.

I would say that the majority of the cohort are GPA 5+ but I have absolutely nothing to base this on in terms of evidence! Universities tend to only take your GPA into account rather than previous ATARs but it depends on the degree.

 

[anneething]

Hi everyone

I am currently completing my undergraduate degree in WA and was wondering how likely my chances are to get into JCU? My gpa is approximately 6-6.5. I have quite a bit of international volunteering experience but not a lot domestic. What tips can you give me to improve my chances? Also what kind of volunteering experiences should I try to do to improve my chances?

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Hi everyone

I am currently completing my undergraduate degree in WA and was wondering how likely my chances are to get into JCU? My gpa is approximately 6-6.5. I have quite a bit of international volunteering experience but not a lot domestic. What tips can you give me to improve my chances? Also what kind of volunteering experiences should I try to do to improve my chances?

Are you from a rural background? If so, that’s a very competitive GPA. If not, it’s definitely on the low side (I’d say 6.00 is likely way too low, 6.50 is more of a possibility, but would still be tough). Your written application will be very important. It’s not necessarily the type of volunteering you do, but rather what you get out of it and how you can communicate that in your application.

 

[apk22]

I'm just wondering if the prerequisite requirements for JCU still exist for non-standard entry? E.g. if I started uni and hadn't met the prerequisites for JCU would I be ineligible to get into med?

 

[DrDrLMG!]

I'm just wondering if the prerequisite requirements for JCU still exist for non-standard entry? E.g. if I started uni and hadn't met the prerequisites for JCU would I be ineligible to get into med?

Yes, as already pointed out by toothfairy13, I also had it confirmed by JCU that I would need to do bridging courses to be eligible as a non-standard applicant.

 

[apk22]

I also had an encounter with JCU last year when I was applying. I didn't get an interview despite having been rural and having a good predicted atar-I thought my written application was pretty decent but I didn't get an interview at all. I called JCU to ask if it was because my written application was poor or whether it was because I hadn't completed Maths B and they said they wouldn't have considered me as an applicant unless I had met all the prerequisites. Do you think this is accurate or have I just spoken to someone who didn't really know what was going on?

 

[apk22]

The staff is correct. You must meet all 3 pre-reqs (English, Chemistry & Maths B) to be considered for an offer.

If you want to be considered for an offer this year, I suggest you do a bridging course for Maths B. Whether you’re a school leaver or non-standard applicant, you must meet all 3 pre-reqs. I did my bridging course with MathsTrack (University of Adelaide).

Sorry I mean they said that they don’t consider applicants for interviews if they haven’t met the pre requisites-as in I would have needed to have done maths b before the end of September.

 

[Jason990090]

Wait what are you guys saying?!

I finished my Uni maths course (equivalent to maths B) for JCU in December and still got an interview! You don't have to have done it by September. I didn't get into jcu due to my low GPA (6) and because I wasn't rural.

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Wait what are you guys saying?!

I finished my Uni maths course (equivalent to maths B) for JCU in December and still got an interview! You don't have to have done it by September. I didn't get into jcu due to my low GPA (6) and because I wasn't rural.

Yeah, this is more in line with my experience. I just had to be enrolled in a bridging course at the time of my application being considered, not have completed it. I didn’t end up submitting an application as I didn’t really want to study at JCU if I could help it (or, really, at all), but I did get some information about my eligibility as a non-standard. I may still have the email reply, though it’s from 2017 entry.

 

[apk22]

Wait what are you guys saying?!

I finished my Uni maths course (equivalent to maths B) for JCU in December and still got an interview! You don't have to have done it by September. I didn't get into jcu due to my low GPA (6) and because I wasn't rural.

Yeah, this is more in line with my experience. I just had to be enrolled in a bridging course at the time of my application being considered, not have completed it. I didn’t end up submitting an application as I didn’t really want to study at JCU if I could help it (or, really, at all), but I did get some information about my eligibility as a non-standard. I may still have the email reply, though it’s from 2017 entry.

Thank you! This is what I meant with my original post, I thought it would have been more likely that the person I was talking got it wrong because it wouldn't make sense for them to not offer interviews based on the prerequisites when none of the Year 12s would have them done until the end of the year.

 

[Melancozi]

Hi all,

If anyone has the answer, I am just wondering how JCU assesses an applicant's rurality? Do they base it off the residential address applicants provide on their QTAC account, or do they also include an assessment of the content provided in the written application to determine rurality?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Crow]

Hi all,

If anyone has the answer, I am just wondering how JCU assesses an applicant's rurality? Do they base it off the residential address applicants provide on their QTAC account, or do they also include an assessment of the content provided in the written application to determine rurality?

Thanks in advance!

Welcome to MSO!

They use the school and/or uni addresses you provide on the written application form.

From my understanding there is also a "rurality score" (basically "how likely is this person to work rurally?") that is allocated during the interview.

 

[Sa363]

I am an international non standard student who got the interview for medicine at jcu in August. Was wondering if anyone else received an offer of acceptance.

 

[BFUCAT]

Will JCU definitely make early offers prior to QTAC Offer Round 1 and if so when? I've called the uni and am getting confilicting answers with each person I speak to.

 

[Crow]

Will JCU definitely make early offers prior to QTAC Offer Round 1 and if so when? I've called the uni and am getting confilicting answers with each person I speak to.

Are you referring to phone calls or official place offers through QTAC? If the former, then yes, these happen each year a few days before the main offer round. If the latter, then no.

 

[BFUCAT]

Are the phone calls a heads up that you are going to recieve an official offer via QTAC in the 1st round? if so why do they phone people?

I'm trying to ascertian if they make early offers as I think you need to preferece them as no 1 to receive an early offer.

 

[Crow]

I think you need to preferece them as no 1 to receive an early offer.

This is definitely not the case. We’ve theorised about the phone calls in the past but they’re really not something to worry about, and have no impact on the application process.

Yes, the phone calls are just an advance word to tell you that you’re eligible for an offer in the main QTAC offer round.