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Non-standard Medicine Entry

Hello everyone,

I am planning to do the bachelor of speech path next year, during this degree I am planning to apply with my GPA + UCAT. So just wondering is the right approach or do I have to sit in GAMSAT instead to be apply to graduate entry. Some opinion or view would be really helpful.
 
Hello everyone,

I am planning to do the bachelor of speech path next year, during this degree I am planning to apply with my GPA + UCAT. So just wondering is the right approach or do I have to sit in GAMSAT instead to be apply to graduate entry. Some opinion or view would be really helpful.

See in this table > [Undergrad] - (2023 Updated) Med schools Selection Criteria Y12s & Non-standards

In summary non-standard limits you to five medschools UNSW, WSU, JMP, JCU and Bond. The table shows the typical GPA & UCAT you'll need.

It is the right approach once you can't get in directly after Year12, giving you two tries in Year1 and Year2. And you still have the option to go GAMSAT afterwards.
 
Got it, is there a specific cap on the amount of years that you can do non-standard for? Or does It depend on the length of the course you're doing for GPA?
 
Got it, is there a specific cap on the amount of years that you can do non-standard for? Or does It depend on the length of the course you're doing for GPA?
Nope. You can apply every year of your undergrad, you can apply during honours, masters, PhD, you can even apply after you’ve graduated and been working for years (which is what I did and was fortunate to get offers from multiple unis).
 
Hi, just had a question about converting monash gpa for unsw or other nsw unis. I understand that in Victoria, a HD is 80+, whereas in NSW it is 85+. This is very worrying as my HD units are sitting at 80s just barely currently. I was wondering whether experts knew if the NSW universities would convert my GPA, or use my WAM and put it on their scale? I have previously asked UNSW about this but they were not very clear either when emailing or calling.
 
Hi, just had a question about converting monash gpa for unsw or other nsw unis. I understand that in Victoria, a HD is 80+, whereas in NSW it is 85+. This is very worrying as my HD units are sitting at 80s just barely currently. I was wondering whether experts knew if the NSW universities would convert my GPA, or use my WAM and put it on their scale? I have previously asked UNSW about this but they were not very clear either when emailing or calling.
They won’t use your WAM.

I think I remember A1 saying they’ll use whatever is on your transcript. If your transcript says HD (even if it’s for an 82) it’ll be scored as a 7. If your transcript says 82, it’ll be scored as a 6.

I think it’ll be UAC that does it, not UNSW. It might be worth calling UAC. I’ve found them helpful in the past.
 
Thank you so much DrDrLMG!
Hi, just had a question about converting monash gpa for unsw or other nsw unis. I understand that in Victoria, a HD is 80+, whereas in NSW it is 85+. This is very worrying as my HD units are sitting at 80s just barely currently. I was wondering whether experts knew if the NSW universities would convert my GPA, or use my WAM and put it on their scale? I have previously asked UNSW about this but they were not very clear either when emailing or calling.

They won’t use your WAM.

I think I remember A1 saying they’ll use whatever is on your transcript. If your transcript says HD (even if it’s for an 82) it’ll be scored as a 7. If your transcript says 82, it’ll be scored as a 6.

I think it’ll be UAC that does it, not UNSW. It might be worth calling UAC. I’ve found them helpful in the past.
UAC has their GPA calculation methodology on their website. They will use the letter grade if available on your transcript before resorting to any other means.

Edited my oopsie :3 thanks A1! Was thinking of UACs terminology of numerical values being 7, 6 etc. and not letter grades converted which didn't really make sense when I put what I put before 💀

Just to input more things, there is a disclaimer regarding Unimelb grades but yeah I digress.

 
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UAC has their GPA calculation methodology on their website. They will use the numerical grade if available on your transcript before resorting to any other means (such as letter grades).
Just to clarify, isn't it the other way around?

Afaik UAC, and QTAC too, use the letter grades. I believe all Aus uni transcripts show at least the letter grades so not a problem to UAC/QTAC. (They resort to the numerical marks when some overseas unis don't show the letter grades equivalent to Australian).

Otoh GEMSAS for graduate entry bases on numerical marks. A problem arises when a uni like UQ doesn't show numerical, only the letter grades. In such case GEMSAS gives UQ Distinction 6.75 since it could be either 75-79 = 6.5 or 80-84 = 7. Not knowing which GEMSAS gives the average 6.75.
 
Just to clarify, isn't it the other way around?

Afaik UAC, and QTAC too, use the letter grades. I believe all Aus uni transcripts show at least the letter grades so not a problem to UAC/QTAC. (They resort to the numerical marks when some overseas unis don't show the letter grades equivalent to Australian).

Otoh GEMSAS for graduate entry bases on numerical marks. A problem arises when a uni like UQ doesn't show numerical, only the letter grades. In such case GEMSAS gives UQ Distinction 6.75 since it could be either 75-79 = 6.5 or 80-84 = 7. Not knowing which GEMSAS gives the average 6.75.
You are right - thinking of UAC using "numerical value" but in reality their numerical value is letter grade. Was stuck using their terminology for letter grades.
 
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Hi guys, does anyone know when interview offers are released for the non-standard med and dent unis?
Some advertise on their websites, some don’t and it’s a bit of a surprise. Best way to get an idea is to look at last year’s interview invite thread and take note of when people started reporting invites.
 
Has anyone heard of taking a gap year after 1FTE of study at university to study for UCAT, so that their GPA looks good for their application? I think my GPA in second year will plummet due to increased difficulty of courses.
 
Hey mikehewitt don't know anyone myself but I think it makes sense strategically speaking, especially if you're fairly certain your GPA will drop.

Pros of this would be that since you're already enrolled in a course you mitigate risk for if you don't make it, and depending on what the course was could even talk about it + what you did in your gap year in your interview in a way to play it to your advantage.

Cons would definitely just be the opportunity cost of this full year - One year of progress in a standard 4 year degree is pretty significant in my opinion, so should influence your decision too.
 
Has anyone heard of taking a gap year after 1FTE of study at university to study for UCAT, so that their GPA looks good for their application? I think my GPA in second year will plummet due to increased difficulty of courses.

Doing this^ only makes sense if your 1FTE GPA is 6.5+ and you fear it'll drop below 6.5 for UNSW.

Otoh a lower GPA has no impact on WSU if your ATAR was 95.5+. Also no impact on JMP unless it's gonna drop below 4.8 (surely not that bad is it?)

Btw in case you want to goof off for a year just goof off, no need to use Med/UCAT for an excuse 😂
 
Dumb question, but how do universities determine if you’re a non-standard applicant or a school leaver? Honestly, couldn’t non-standard applicants just apply to universities that are only for school leavers (like Monash) without disclosing they’re currently in university? If they’re enrolled at a different university they are applying to and applied through a different TAC, I’m not sure if universities would even find out.
 
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