Non-standard Medicine Entry

[krigga]

Hello, and thanks in advance.

Is it possible to be accepted into any Australian universities for undergraduate medicine (with or without UCAT) if you are already studying a Bachelor degree (as a first year).

(Asking for a friend)

 

[A1]

Is it possible to be accepted into any Australian universities for undergraduate medicine (with or without UCAT) if you are already studying a Bachelor degree (as a first year).

Uni students applying for undergrad medicine are called non-standard applicants. You can apply to four schools JCU, JMP, WSU, UNSW (Curtin is available but only for graduates and Bond if you can afford the fees).

See the Non-standards section in this table for the GPA/ATAR and UCAT required to be competitive
> [Undergrad] - (2020 Updated) Med schools Selection Criteria Y12s & Non-standards

 

[kidtalktoem]

Hello, I graduated in 2019 with an ATAR of 98.10 and I am interested in applying for Medicine this year. I currently study Actuarial at UNSW with a WAM of 83.50 (Distinction average) for the first trimester. I have several questions concerning the processes of applying for medical schools.

1. For applying to the available universities, is the process the same as I would have done last year, on UAC?
2. How would universities consider my academic marks, especially because UNSW uses a WAM system, not a GPA system? Would they take account all three trimesters or one/two of them?
3. Assuming that I have a very high UCAT score, will I have any chance in the slightest that I will be considered for an interview at UNSW Medicine if I perform exceptionally in my current university course for the remaining treimesters, considering my relatively low ATAR / T1. WAM?

Thank you for taking the time to read my inquiries, a response will be greately appreciated.

 

[dotwingz]

1. For applying to the available universities, is the process the same as I would have done last year, on UAC?

For NSW non standard universities (UNSW, WSU, JMP) yes

2. How would universities consider my academic marks, especially because UNSW uses a WAM system, not a GPA system? Would they take account all three trimesters or one/two of them?

They will consider your GPA. UAC converts your subject grades into a grade point average using an unweighted system where they grab your transcript and convert a HD into 7, D into 6, Credit into 5, Pass 4, and average them. They will use your entire years worth of grades for this calculation (if you study less than 1 FTE however, they will use your atar).

3. Assuming that I have a very high UCAT score, will I have any chance in the slightest that I will be considered for an interview at UNSW Medicine if I perform exceptionally in my current university course for the remaining treimesters, considering my relatively low ATAR / T1. WAM?

UNSW averages out your GPA and ATAR for non standard entry. There is a table in this forum from an old UAC document that converts your GPA to an ATAR from UAC (ive tried to email UNSW and UAC about it but i couldnt figure it out). But I remember from this table the highest ATAR you could get was a 99.50 with a 6.5+ GPA so given your 98.10 ATAR you wont be able to overcome the 99.25/2830 cut off for an interview last year, always worth an application though.

edit: found that table Non-standard Medicine Entry, keep in mind this may not be accurate but its generally works with results weve seen on this board before

 

[threefivetwo]

Hi! I'm going for Medicine again this year (second time lucky hopefully). I'm currently studying Mechanical/Biomedical Engineering at UNSW with a 90 HD WAM for this term, and aiming to carry the momentum through to the end of the year. I'm planning to apply to WSU and JMP, as my ATAR from 2019 puts me well out of reach of UNSW. I understand that those universities use GPA as a hurdle, with WSU being 6.2+ and JMP close to credit average. I had a couple of questions about GPA calculation:

1. I'm taking nine courses this year. Does this equate to nine units?
2. Two of my courses from Term 1 were changed to pass/fail grading. I passed them. Do they count in the GPA calculation or not?
3. If they don't count in the GPA calculation, does this change the entry requirement for WSU?
   
   I would have studied 9 courses/units, but if 2 don't count because of pass/fail, is it still 9 units or is it counted as 7 units?

Thanks for all the help on MSO! It helped a lot with applications and interviews last year

 

[Some guy]

Hi! I'm going for Medicine again this year (second time lucky hopefully). I'm currently studying Mechanical/Biomedical Engineering at UNSW with a 90 HD WAM for this term, and aiming to carry the momentum through to the end of the year. I'm planning to apply to WSU and JMP, as my ATAR from 2019 puts me well out of reach of UNSW. I understand that those universities use GPA as a hurdle, with WSU being 6.2+ and JMP close to credit average. I had a couple of questions about GPA calculation:

1. I'm taking nine courses this year. Does this equate to nine units?
2. Two of my courses from Term 1 were changed to pass/fail grading. I passed them. Do they count in the GPA calculation or not?
3. If they don't count in the GPA calculation, does this change the entry requirement for WSU?
   View attachment 3407
   I would have studied 9 courses/units, but if 2 don't count because of pass/fail, is it still 9 units or is it counted as 7 units?

Thanks for all the help on MSO! It helped a lot with applications and interviews last year

I'd imagine the pass/fail units will count towards your total number of units completed, but be ignored when calculating GPA. But ask WSU Admissions directly, for peace of mind. There's a lot of pass/fail results being brought in re covid, so the answer will probably be useful for others here too.

And congrats on the WAM!

 

[A1]

I would have studied 9 courses/units, but if 2 don't count because of pass/fail, is it still 9 units or is it counted as 7 units?

I'm fairly sure it will count as having done 9 units. Your GPA will the total grade points of the seven graded units divided by 7.

> How your tertiary qualifications are graded and assessed

"In UAC’s methodology, ungraded passes are not included in the calculation of a GPA except:

• where these advantage the student ie when the student has a GPA of less than 4 (then an ungraded pass is included as 4 to raise the GPA).
• when more than 50% of the load presented comprises ungraded passes. In this instance, the GPA would be calculated with the ungraded passes included in the calculation."

 

[threefivetwo]

I'd imagine the pass/fail units will count towards your total number of units completed, but be ignored when calculating GPA. But ask WSU Admissions directly, for peace of mind. There's a lot of pass/fail results being brought in re covid, so the answer will probably be useful for others here too.

And congrats on the WAM!

Thank you! I'll email WSU Admissions to get clarification on the questions I asked and share their response here.

I'm fairly sure it will count as having done 9 units. Your GPA will the total grade points of the seven graded units divided by 7.

> How your tertiary qualifications are graded and assessed

"In UAC’s methodology, ungraded passes are not included in the calculation of a GPA except:

• where these advantage the student ie when the student has a GPA of less than 4 (then an ungraded pass is included as 4 to raise the GPA).
• when more than 50% of the load presented comprises ungraded passes. In this instance, the GPA would be calculated with the ungraded passes included in the calculation."

I hope so!

 

[threefivetwo]

My perception of UNSW's approach is that after this ATAR/GPA combination you are simply placed into the same pool of applicants as the school leavers. If this is a correct assumption then you absolutely have a chance given a good tertiary record.

Would anyone have any idea if WSU and JMP do the same thing?

 

[Crow]

Would anyone have any idea if WSU and JMP do the same thing?

Yes, they don’t have a quota for non-standards vs school-leavers.

 

[Circles]

Hello, I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask but I am a non-standard applicant from New Zealand and I'm going to be applying to all the med schools (UNSW, JCU, WSU, JMP) + dent schools (UQ, JCU, Latrobe, CSU) that take in non-standard applicants. I was just wondering whether any of the aforementioned schools would allow me to defer an offer if I ever receive one (I need to save up more to help finance myself if I end up studying in Aus). Thank you in advance

 

[A1]

Hello, I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask but I am a non-standard applicant from New Zealand and I'm going to be applying to all the med schools (UNSW, JCU, WSU, JMP) + dent schools (UQ, JCU, Latrobe, CSU) that take in non-standard applicants. I was just wondering whether any of the aforementioned schools would allow me to defer an offer if I ever receive one (I need to save up more to help finance myself if I end up studying in Aus). Thank you in advance

I'm not sure about the dent schools. Most undergrad med schools allow to defer 1 or 2 years, particularly for the reason to work/save up for the moving. Google for example "JMP medicine defer" for more information.

 

[AMY121]

Hi

I have a LL.B from England and a Diploma in Law from USYD. I have been in the work force for just over 6 years but I still keen on studying medicine. I got my qualifications assessed by UAC and looks like I have very low GPA of 4.84.

What are my options to get into medicine?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[dotwingz]

JMP accepts a 'close to credit average' GPA (4.7+) to pass its academic cut-off - from there they will only consider UCAT performance to score an Interview, and that Interview is the only factor that leads to a place.

Unfortunately thats the only program that i can think of.

You will have to sit UCAT in order to apply, unfortunately the registration closed yesterday.

 

[Georgia12357]

Hi,
I am currently studying Vet at Murdoch Uni (in WA) and they've basically put in a GPA safety net due to Covid- basically means my GPA can only go up so I chose a nice year to try and go for med it seems. However, I did just want to confirm that the non-standard entry unis would honor this protected GPA?- like do they take your raw unit scores or just a GPA?
Thanks

 

[Ush]

Well done. With results like that overall, they would have been crazy not to take you. My bachelor GPA was much worse than mid 5s sadly. Probably 2s or 3s. I literaly did not show up to about 8 final exams. Gave up on subjects and didn't bother to withdraw. That degree was an absolute mess. I did go back and finish it some years after i started (got around a credit average for the remainder). I knew my GPA was a write off so i didn't feel like i needed to overachieve. By that point i just wanted to finish.

How did you get into medicine with such a low GPA?

 

[dotwingz]

How did you get into medicine with such a low GPA?

If you look literally 2 posts above you can see my comment about the GPA requirements for JMP, and this table aswell which is very common around this forum

[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

 

[Percy Abner]

Sorry if this isn't the right thread to be asking this.... I was part of a discussion on a facebook page for prospective med students and I just want to clarify something.
I have a dirt GPA from 8-9 years ago. I am back at uni to get a 'new' GPA with the intention of transferring to undergrad medicine. However I have been led to believe that my previous study/GPA will still be taken into consideration. Is this true???

My understanding is that if you have completed more than one undergrad then you are assessed ONLY on your most recent GPA so long as you have completed more than 1 year FTE of that degree..... i.e., my previous performance at university is completely ignored..... I'm up s*** creek without a paddle if it turns out I have been mistaken about this....

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Sorry if this isn't the right thread to be asking this.... I was part of a discussion on a facebook page for prospective med students and I just want to clarify something.
I have a dirt GPA from 8-9 years ago. I am back at uni to get a 'new' GPA with the intention of transferring to undergrad medicine. However I have been led to believe that my previous study/GPA will still be taken into consideration. Is this true???

My understanding is that if you have completed more than one undergrad then you are assessed ONLY on your most recent GPA so long as you have completed more than 1 year FTE of that degree..... i.e., my previous performance at university is completely ignored..... I'm up s*** creek without a paddle if it turns out I have been mistaken about this....

Nah, you’re on the right track. It’s a bit different between non-standard and grad entry Med. If you’ve got an old, completed degree then most grad entry unis will continue to use that until you have a completed new degree, so one year FTE of a new degree wouldn’t be enough to wipe out your “dirt” GPA, but that’s not the case for non-standard entry by and large.

 

[Percy Abner]

Nah, you’re on the right track. It’s a bit different between non-standard and grad entry Med. If you’ve got an old, completed degree then most grad entry unis will continue to use that until you have a completed new degree, so one year FTE of a new degree wouldn’t be enough to wipe out your “dirt” GPA, but that’s not the case for non-standard entry by and large.

You've made my day and it's only 9:30.