Non-standard Medicine Entry

[Crow]

Hi
For non standard entry can you apply during both first and second year of university?
Also the pre requisite subjects such as chem,english and maths b for undergrad entry e.g for JCU do they still apply for non standard entry as in you should have done them when you were in high school or achieved the minimum study score required?
Thank you

You can apply for non-standard entry at any point during your undergraduate degree, as well as once it’s completed. Prerequisites still apply but if you’ve covered a prerequisite course that’s deemed acceptable by the uni you are applying to during your undergrad then you don’t need to have also done the subject at high school.

 

[puerto rico]

hi guys, probably a stupid question but i'm just wondering since UAC, TISC, SATAC and VTAC all asked for my end of year results as soon it is available, would that affect my chances at interview or getting an offer in the December round?

 

[A1]

hi guys, probably a stupid question but i'm just wondering since UAC, TISC, SATAC and VTAC all asked for my end of year results as soon it is available, would that affect my chances at interview or getting an offer in the December round?

Afaik except for some rurals there's no med offer in the Dec offer round.

In genaral the schools interview you in Nov-Dec for the Jan offer round, or interview in Jan for the Feb offer round. If you're asking about affecting your chances of getting interview invites it depends which school, when the TACs get your year-end results relative to when schools release invites, whether the results matter to their interview selection etc. Too many scenarios to describe in one answer.

 

[Lyyrre]

Hi. I'm applying for UNSW, so the GPA to ATAR conversion contributes 50% of the selection rank.

1. I've seen the table with the 6.5+ GPA converting to 99.50 around a lot. However, I just wanted to know where that table actually came from and which year was it?

2. The idea was that with <1 FTE, a 6.5+ GPA would convert to a 98.0. However, I've been in contact with someone who requested a QAS from UAC, and UAC informed them that their 7.0 GPA (0.5 FTE) converted a 97.30 instead, which is considerably lower than what you would expect from the table. This may also explain WSU raising their GPA threshold this year, due to UAC converting GPA to ATAR becoming harsher?

3. With this in mind, has anyone with >1 FTE requested a QAS from UAC, or has UAC (or UNSW) posted any information for the GPA to ATAR conversions for 2019 yet? I am curious as to whether a 6.5+ GPA would still convert to a 99.50 at this point.

 

[A1]

Hi. I'm applying for UNSW, so the GPA to ATAR conversion contributes 50% of the selection rank.

1. I've seen the table with the 6.5+ GPA converting to 99.50 around a lot. However, I just wanted to know where that table actually came from and which year was it?

2. The idea was that with <1 FTE, a 6.5+ GPA would convert to a 98.0. However, I've been in contact with someone who requested a QAS from UAC, and UAC informed them that their 7.0 GPA (0.5 FTE) converted a 97.30 instead, which is considerably lower than what you would expect from the table. This may also explain WSU raising their GPA threshold this year, due to UAC converting GPA to ATAR becoming harsher?

3. With this in mind, has anyone with >1 FTE requested a QAS from UAC, or has UAC (or UNSW) posted any information for the GPA to ATAR conversions for 2019 yet? I am curious as to whether a 6.5+ GPA would still convert to a 99.50 at this point.

The table is from a uni in the UAC consortium, shouldn't be too different from what UAC use. Although 10+yo we have had 3 recent sets of verification that came very close, including one from Smelly Boy's correspondence with UNSW in which UNSW gave him a detail breakdown of his GPA conversion, ATAR, EAS adjustment and Equiv rank last year.

That said, I don't know if any changes have occurred starting from this year.

 

[Tee7]

Hi there,

Can someone help me out.

its been exactly 10 years since I graduated HS and done 2 degrees in between and no working in my field at the moment. My interest for medicine hasn't died at all and I wish to apply but my gpa in my last degree was just 5. I want to know what I should do? do another degree? sit GAMSAT?any advice where to start? Thank you

 

[A1]

its been exactly 10 years since I graduated HS and done 2 degrees in between and no working in my field at the moment. My interest for medicine hasn't died at all and I wish to apply but my gpa in my last degree was just 5. I want to know what I should do? do another degree? sit GAMSAT?any advice where to start? Thank you

Hi welcome to MSO. GPA 5+ allows you to apply (with an excellent GAMSAT score) to USyd; and possibly UQ if you have the prereq subjects in your undergrads. Or you can sit the UCAT and apply to undergrad med JMP, where you need approx 90+%ile UCAT to get an interview then it's all on the interview performance i.e. your low GPA does not disadvantage.

If I were you I would do that, rather than spending 3 more years of study for another undergrad degree. If you don't achieve GPA 6.5+ with the new degree it won't give you a lot more chances than what you have now.

EtA: Another option is to do one year of study, whether a Grad Dip or 1st year of undergrad course. GPA 6.5+ from this will also open the door to JCU, WSU, and possibly UNSW (half dependent on your ATAR).

 

[Crow]

and possibly UQ if you have the prereq subjects in your undergrads.

I used to agree with this but because GPA counts towards 25% of place offer weighting now at UQ, I suspect a GPA of 5 would be too low even with a perfect interview score and very high GAMSAT score. It’s a strange selection criteria to be honest, because they’ll potentially end up interviewing lots of applicants who won’t get in regardless of their interview score due to their GPA (I think the same about Flinders).

 

[scopjohn]

Hey guys,

So this non-standard option has just been opened to me and I would like to know the chances of being successful at UWS, UNSW and JMP.

ATARs came out recently for this year and due to my lack of correct attitude and understanding the importance of this year I only achieved a 92 ATAR. I had also done UCAT which I received a low competitive score and would require a much higher ATAR to pair with it, so my chances are unfortunately very low in getting to undergrad med. Upon further reflection of this year, I have made some changes and really thought about what I want and need to do in order to fulfill my passion for doing medicine. I plan on doing Biomedicine at Monash or Melbourne and achieve a high GPA while redoing UCAT. In my particular situation what are the chances and what would be the typical scores required for success?
Any help is appreciated

 

[Cal]

Hey guys,

So this non-standard option has just been opened to me and I would like to know the chances of being successful at UWS, UNSW and JMP.

ATARs came out recently for this year and due to my lack of correct attitude and understanding the importance of this year I only achieved a 92 ATAR. I had also done UCAT which I received a low competitive score and would require a much higher ATAR to pair with it, so my chances are unfortunately very low in getting to undergrad med. Upon further reflection of this year, I have made some changes and really thought about what I want and need to do in order to fulfill my passion for doing medicine. I plan on doing Biomedicine at Monash or Melbourne and achieve a high GPA while redoing UCAT. In my particular situation what are the chances and what would be the typical scores required for success?
Any help is appreciated

In general; to get into non-standard medicine there are two places (with your atar) which are possible WSU and JMP; both of them require competetive UCAT scores: JMP needs around the 90s + and WSU is hard to tell because of weightings but in general you will require in the mid-high 90s as well. Although these unis don't have a hugely strict cut off for GPA in your first year; so once you finish your first year if you get a gpa above 6.2ish you will be eligable for both schools providing you get the correct atar. This is possible for anyone as long as you put in the time for the ucat and stay focussed at uni. My tip would be to chose an undergrad course that you will like and wouldn't have any problems studying as a career afterwards as a backup degree. Good luck

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Hey guys,

So this non-standard option has just been opened to me and I would like to know the chances of being successful at UWS, UNSW and JMP.

ATARs came out recently for this year and due to my lack of correct attitude and understanding the importance of this year I only achieved a 92 ATAR. I had also done UCAT which I received a low competitive score and would require a much higher ATAR to pair with it, so my chances are unfortunately very low in getting to undergrad med. Upon further reflection of this year, I have made some changes and really thought about what I want and need to do in order to fulfill my passion for doing medicine. I plan on doing Biomedicine at Monash or Melbourne and achieve a high GPA while redoing UCAT. In my particular situation what are the chances and what would be the typical scores required for success?
Any help is appreciated

Given you’re new to the notion of non-standard medicine entry, I’m going to assume you’ve not come across some other useful threads either which may be worth a read to make sure you’re as informed as possible:

Discussion: Studying Medical Science (and Similar Degrees)

With all the cogent arguments for not studying medical science at undergrad (summarised in Mana's med admissions pitfall post), the only people left doing it should be the few who want to pursue research and other niche pathways. But prospective doctors still enrol in Med.Sci degrees by the...

medstudentsonline.com.au

(There’s another link within this thread to a Common Pitfalls post that I also suggest you have a look through).

 

[Crow]

Hey guys,

So this non-standard option has just been opened to me and I would like to know the chances of being successful at UWS, UNSW and JMP.

ATARs came out recently for this year and due to my lack of correct attitude and understanding the importance of this year I only achieved a 92 ATAR. I had also done UCAT which I received a low competitive score and would require a much higher ATAR to pair with it, so my chances are unfortunately very low in getting to undergrad med. Upon further reflection of this year, I have made some changes and really thought about what I want and need to do in order to fulfill my passion for doing medicine. I plan on doing Biomedicine at Monash or Melbourne and achieve a high GPA while redoing UCAT. In my particular situation what are the chances and what would be the typical scores required for success?
Any help is appreciated

I was in a very similar position to you when I finished school, and chose to do biomed like you. I regretted that decision! Strongly suggest you read pitfall #2 here: Common pitfalls to avoid for year 12 school leavers and other medicine applicants.

Happy to field questions about non-standard and graduate entry medicine once you’ve had a read

 

[scopjohn]

I was in a very similar position to you when I finished school, and chose to do biomed like you. I regretted that decision! Strongly suggest you read pitfall #2 here: Common pitfalls to avoid for year 12 school leavers and other medicine applicants.

Happy to field questions about non-standard and graduate entry medicine once you’ve had a read

I appreciate all the help and advice! I have now read the common pitfalls post along with the studying medical science forum.

I was thinking the same with doing a course that doesn't really lead you anywhere career wise. However, I don't really see myself pursuing a career other than medicine happily so I want to do whatever I can and try my hardest to take my chances. Alternatively, I was considering Pharmacy at Monash or Dentistry at Latrobe as I do not know exactly how I will be feeling in the near future. Both these courses are 4 or 5 year courses as opposed to the 3 year Biomedicine course, would you still consider them better even though the statistically unlikely yet potential post-grad med course is delayed?

As for the non-standard entry, is there set number of spots given for this option at the unis? if not, what is usually the number of people that enter through this route?

Thanks once again!

 

[Crow]

I was thinking the same with doing a course that doesn't really lead you anywhere career wise. However, I don't really see myself pursuing a career other than medicine happily so I want to do whatever I can and try my hardest to take my chances.

I don’t want to be negative at all, but I will point out that this is the view most people studying biomed and pursuing medicine have. Unfortunately the reality is that most people miss out on gaining entry, and are then left with a degree that they can’t really use without additional study / a completely new degree altogether. My view is this: there’s no downside to doing a vocational degree (like pharmacy or dentistry as you’ve expressed potential interest in) and pursuing medicine at the same time instead of biomed: you still get the option of applying for medicine but you also have an alternative career path if medicine doesn’t work out AND if you do get into medicine, you’re qualified to do a job to fund yourself during medical school on a casual basis. Seems like a win win to me.

would you still consider them better even though the statistically unlikely yet potential post-grad med course is delayed?

If by “better” you mean having a better chance of gaining a job, absolutely! 1-2 years of “delay” when you’re a school-leaver really isn’t a significant time period - medicine isn’t going anywhere! If you do manage to get in via non-standard entry (instead of graduate entry) then you wouldn’t be delayed at all anyways.

As for the non-standard entry, is there set number of spots given for this option at the unis? if not, what is usually the number of people that enter through this route?

Most unis don’t have a quota for non-standard applicants (with JCU and Curtin being the exceptions) so you aren’t disadvantaged much in this regard. I don’t have statistics but I’ve heard that both JMP and WSU medicine cohorts are predominantly made up of non-standard applicants (likely due to a stronger interview performance by those with more life experience).

 

[christhekid]

Hi everyone, hope you are all well. I am a 2019 NSW high school graduate and I received an ATAR of 97.60, though my UCAT was only 79th percentile. I haven't had much guidance with medicine, don't know anyone who has gotten in med, and my school rarely has students aspiring for medicine, so they weren't well equipped to help. I was hoping the medstudents community could give me advice based on experience and best possible chances.
I studied 2 weeks before my UCAT Exam date and achieved 79th (Didn't have enough guidance). Do you think If I started studying now, about 6 months in advance, I'd get a strong UCAT percentile?
Is it possible to be accepted into any med school in Australia with my marks? If not, is my ATAR high enough for a gap year, or should I just go into Uni and do a degree? Is med science a viable option? What is the best degree to get a high GPA?
Thank you in advance

 

[ucatboy]

Hi everyone, hope you are all well. I am a 2019 NSW high school graduate and I received an ATAR of 97.60, though my UCAT was only 79th percentile. I haven't had much guidance with medicine, don't know anyone who has gotten in med, and my school rarely has students aspiring for medicine, so they weren't well equipped to help. I was hoping the medstudents community could give me advice based on experience and best possible chances.
I studied 2 weeks before my UCAT Exam date and achieved 79th (Didn't have enough guidance). Do you think If I started studying now, about 6 months in advance, I'd get a strong UCAT percentile?
Is it possible to be accepted into any med school in Australia with my marks? If not, is my ATAR high enough for a gap year, or should I just go into Uni and do a degree? Is med science a viable option? What is the best degree to get a high GPA?
Thank you in advance

Hi Chris! There's still a heated debate over how much preparation actually helps with your UCAT score so while I think a longer time to prepare for the test definitely won't hurt your chances, I don't know how much it will help - it's two hours and anything can happen honestly.

Assuming you don't qualify for any bonuses, you should already know whether or not you have an interview at JCU, and if you have the cash you should get an invite to do the psychometric testing for Bond. While you meet the ATAR cutoffs at both JMP and WSU (somewhere between 95 and 96 I think), your UCAT score is unfortunately too low: JMP's cutoff this year was 2840 and WSU's is complicated: the rule of thumb is a VR score of 700 and 90th percentile minimum overall.

As for taking a gap year and which uni courses to choose, I've got no experience in that so please read this really helpful article by Mana: Common pitfalls to avoid for year 12 school leavers and other medicine applicants

Is med science a viable option

Mana it appears that moving your thread to the UCAT section didn't work

 

[christhekid]

Sorry, I am relatively new to these forums. Does it matter what Uni we go to for non standard entry. Would a 6.5 GPA as UNSW be better than a 6.5 GPA at WSU, or vice versa?

 

[Logic]

Sorry, I am relatively new to these forums. Does it matter what Uni we go to for non standard entry. Would a 6.5 GPA as UNSW be better than a 6.5 GPA at WSU, or vice versa?

No, it does not matter what university you go for in terms of GPAs in non-standard entry

 

[christhekid]

Got it, thanks! I have heard people, friends of friends, get into medicine as WSU through Med Science, and through Nursing. Would nursing be a viable option at Uni to get a high GPA. I do enjoy psychology, is that good for a high GPA? I genuinely have no idea about what degrees to go into. I can go into just about any degree with my Atar at most uni's, besides a select few, and Law, which I don't want to do anyways. It's 97.60 which is pretty low for med. Can you guys give me advice from experience.

 

[Crow]

Got it, thanks! I have heard people, friends of friends, get into medicine as WSU through Med Science, and through Nursing. Would nursing be a viable option at Uni to get a high GPA. I do enjoy psychology, is that good for a high GPA? I genuinely have no idea about what degrees to go into. I can go into just about any degree with my Atar at most uni's, besides a select few, and Law, which I don't want to do anyways. It's 97.60 which is pretty low for med. Can you guys give me advice from experience.

Start at pitfall #2 here: Common pitfalls to avoid for year 12 school leavers and other medicine applicants. Then check out the “alternatives to medicine” section of the forum