UMelb UMelb Medicine: Provisional Entry Questions and Discussion

[dltjwns729]

I heard that applicants with an ATAR below 99 can still secure the FFP place via GAMSAT entry, whereas I previously throught the GAMSAT pathway only offers CSP and BMP places. Is this true? If so, how would UniMelb distribute the 45 limited FFP places between Guaranteed Pathway (students with > 99 ATAR) and GAMSAT entry applicants ? Would Guaranteed Pathway applicants have a priority, leaving the remaining spots for GAMSAT applicants?

Also, does this imply that fewer Guaranteed Pathway applicants are applying for and securing FFP spots each year than the maximum 45 places, thereby leaving vacant spots for GAMSAT applicants?

 

[Apue]

The ffp is firstly allocated to the guaranteed pathway students who achieved 75 wam and passed the MMI.
The reality is that there are not many 99+ students hoping for the ffp in univ of Melb because the tuition fee is quite expensive.
Most of them (if not all) will attempt other medical schools and use the ffp as a backup.
Btw gamsat applicants can also get the ffp placement and I heard some of them got actually upgraded to BMP before enrolment.

 

[A1]

I heard that applicants with an ATAR below 99 can still secure the FFP place via GAMSAT entry, whereas I previously throught the GAMSAT pathway only offers CSP and BMP places. Is this true?

Applicants outside of the 99 pathway (and including those in the 99 pathway if they want to) apply for UMelb MD through GEMSAS. The top ones get CSP, the next ones get BMP, the next-next ones are offered FFP if there are any FFPs left.

If so, how would UniMelb distribute the 45 limited FFP places between Guaranteed Pathway (students with > 99 ATAR) and GAMSAT entry applicants ?

We have discussed this^ before. If say sixty 99-pathway students apply for FFP interview I suspect
1. UMelb could (behind the scene) use the MMI for competitive cutoff to take the top 45, or

2. If after the MMI 55 deserve to get an MD place, UMelb could give FFP to the bottom 45 and CSP/BMP to the top 10 (by taking 10 spots from the CSP quota for external applicants).

Would Guaranteed Pathway applicants have a priority, leaving the remaining spots for GAMSAT applicants?

I would say so.
If a Guaranteed student applies for FFP (and didn't clearly fail the MMI requirements) there's no reason for UMelb to preference that spot to an external applicant.

 

[dltjwns729]

Just received an email from the faculty of med/dent/health sciences:
"Anyone applying for the 2026 intake onwards, may also be required to perform satisfactorily at a Multi-Mini Interview as a part of the application process. More information about this will be provided closer to the commencement of that intake."

Note: This is for dent.

Thank you to both A1 and Apue for your very sophisticated answers! Just have a few more questions though, if the MMI were to be implemented for DDS as ExistedUsername has mentioned, would there be separate MMIs for DM and DDS or would there be only one opportunity to take the MMI for applicants applying to both programs?
Also, if you meet the WAM requirement of 75 but do not make the cutoff for the MMI, do you get another opportunity to resit the MMI in the following years, or is there only one shot right after finishing the undergraduate course? Thanks in advance.

 

[Apue]

For the guaranteed pathway, you just need to pass 50% rate , which is considered easy.
Let me ask you this question first.
Will you sit the gamsat exam even if you were on the ffp pathway? 10/10 will attempt. Also most of them will choose the UnivMelb as the first choice. So the MMI score will be used for the gamsas as well as the ffp hurdle.
I don’t think you will need to sit twice for the MD and DDS separately.

If you fail the MMI or didn’t meet wam 75 then you can continue the honour year to boost the wam or resit the MMI.
My guess is the 75 wam is rather higher hurdle than the mmi.
I heard the guaranteed pathway is valid for 18 months after you finish the undergraduate degree.
Imagine you finish year 3 and secured the ffp but failed to get a csp or bmp from elsewhere.
Then you try gamsat and resit the MMI following year to see if you could save the fee 380k (420-40 hecs).

The reality is that my kid met more chancellors students than the FFP aspired students in the campus.
The FFP pathway does not seem popular because of the 75 wam, passing MMI and more importantly the exorbitant tuition fee.
I doubt the 55 places are filled entirely with the guaranteed pathway students.
So you don’t need to worry if there is a competition in MMI for the ffp pathway.

 

[A1]

Let me ask you this question first.
Will you sit the gamsat exam even if you were on the ffp pathway? 10/10 will attempt. Also most of them will choose the UnivMelb as the first choice.

It's partly dependent on their GPA but generally they need like 92+%ile GAMSAT to get UMelb interview.
That's the main advantage of the 99 pathway, GAMSAT not needed to get an interview.

For the guaranteed pathway, you just need to pass 50% rate , which is considered easy.

That^ is for the 99.9 Chancellors, technically not true for the 99 pathway.

Afaik passing the MMI requires passing 5 out of the 8 stations plus passing overall.
I haven't found anywhere UMelb says 50% is the overall's pass marks.

But anyway, if you have info that not many applicants vie for these FFPs we don't need to worry about UMelb raising the overall pass marks.

 

[Apue]

The website say both Chancellor and ffp will need to complete the MMI successfully.
So there is no competition to adjust the bar.
Also in Reddit I saw some Applicants received an ffp offer and got upgraded to bmp.
It means there are some places available even after all guaranteed ffp were filled.

https://medicine.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/2658585/MMS_MD_Selection_Guidelines_v3.0.pdf

Sorry, I think you’re right. 5/8 is pass mark.

 

[lollolololol]

Hello everyone I was wondering to apply for graduate med at Melb can I do any degree beforehand or is there specific course needed to be done. Also I was wondering what GPA should be aiming to get in and is there anyone from NZ that ended up going to AUS and how was the GPA converted?
Thanksss

 

[CHStar]

Yeah you really just need to ‘pass’ and not necessarily do well. Most people pass every single station so 5/8 should be a piece of cake.

With the MMI Interviews, are they face to face or can they be online?

 

[Lear]

With the MMI Interviews, are they face to face or can they be online?

Not sure you’ll have to check with the University

 

[SLM]

Unfortunately my gut feel is UCAT 3000 87%ile might rule you out. I don't know if 99.90-95 would be able to compensate.
(I remember in one year a 99.85 / 89%ile did not get an interview).

With 99.90-95 at least you will have the option of UMelb Chancellor's or Griffith.

Google "Monash medicine Key dates" you should find when Monash will send out interview invites.

Thank you very much for the reply - that’s very helpful. Is it a risk to do the Melbourne Chancellor’s - with the MMI- I read somewhere on this forum it was pretty straightforward- but the end of 3 rd year worries me

 

[DrDrLMG!]

Thank you very much for the reply - that’s very helpful. Is it a risk to do the Melbourne Chancellor’s - with the MMI- I read somewhere on this forum it was pretty straightforward- but the end of 3 rd year worries me

It probably is a risk but, tbh, there are risks inherent in many decisions and ultimately it’s up to you to decide if it’s a risk for you and if so, how big a risk and whether you’re willing to take it.

For example:
A Vic local gets UMelb Chancellors + Griffith
UMelb means they can stay at home, not pay rent, have family support, only need to work minimal hours/not at all
Griffith means moving interstate with no family support, needing to rent, having to work more to fund themselves
Person A might thrive on the Griffith challenge whereas Person B might find it unsustainable
It’s quite a personal decision. If the end of third year MMI worries you, then maybe that’s a risk you’re not willing to take, and that would be fair enough

I’m not sure if we have access to data that spells out how many people don’t progress and why (for example, there’ll be some who sit GAMSAT and try for grad med in their home state - if successful, they technically won’t progress but are they counted in the data?)

Congrats on your ATAR by the way!

 

[Ian Naga]

Thank you very much for the reply - that’s very helpful. Is it a risk to do the Melbourne Chancellor’s - with the MMI- I read somewhere on this forum it was pretty straightforward- but the end of 3 rd year worries me

I was under the impression that there are no interviews (MMIs) for receipients of Melbourne Chancellor's scholarship with ATAR 99.90 and above. But please check current requirement online or simply email them. They say on the website "As a Chancellor's Scholar, you’ll receive a living allowance and/or a fee sponsorship, and a guaranteed place in a professional graduate degree course.". How can they guarrantee if there is a MMI hurdle in year 3?

 

[DrDrLMG!]

I was under the impression that there are no interviews (MMIs) for receipients of Melbourne Chancellor's scholarship with ATAR 99.90 and above. But please check current requirement online or simply email them. They say on the website "As a Chancellor's Scholar, you’ll receive a living allowance and/or a fee sponsorship, and a guaranteed place in a professional graduate degree course.". How can they guarrantee if there is a MMI hurdle in year 3?

Is the MMI only for the 99.00 FFP students?

Many Universities use the word ‘guarantee’ quite loosely. Note, the UMelb quote states “and a guaranteed place in a professional graduate degree program”, NOT “a guaranteed place in the MD degree program”…

Edited: not to mention it already states this clearly… “In addition, you must achieve an average result of at least 70 per half-year study period.” which also loosens their use of the term “guaranteed”.

 

[A1]

I was under the impression that there are no interviews (MMIs) for receipients of Melbourne Chancellor's scholarship with ATAR 99.90 and above. But please check current requirement online or simply email them. They say on the website "As a Chancellor's Scholar, you’ll receive a living allowance and/or a fee sponsorship, and a guaranteed place in a professional graduate degree course.".

The UMelb webpage says "Guaranteed CSP place in one of the professional master degrees (one of which is MD) for students who meet the prerequisite course and entry requirements for the master degree".

Then in the Masters link "Successfully complete your undergraduate degree at the University of Melbourne in any discipline. Perform satisfactorily in the Doctor of Medicine Multi-Mini Interview (MMI)".

How can they guarrantee if there is a MMI hurdle in year 3?

It's guaranteed subject to meeting requirements which include passing the MMI. Other unis' guaranteed provisionals are also subject to some conditions eg. GPA.

 

[dinguspingus]

Hi guys!
I’m in yr 12 rn thinking about applying for the guaranteed pathway into postgrad med from the bachelor of biomed with an atar of above 99. How hard is it to maintain a Wam of 75% and pass the Mmi? Also, if my wam and mmi are both up to par, is it still possible I am rejected bc there are too many other guaranteed pathway kids? I also saw something on here about how students who pay full tuition don’t get jobs is this true???
Thanks for any help!

 

[A1]

Hi guys!
if my wam and mmi are both up to par, is it still possible I am rejected bc there are too many other guaranteed pathway kids? I also saw something on here about how students who pay full tuition don’t get jobs is this true???
Thanks for any help!

You need not worry about Aus full-fee not getting an intern job. Only int'l full-fee graduates face this problem.

But your other concern is valid. The only people who can answer this is UMelb. Ask them directly what if the number of graduates, who are up to par on both WAM & MMI, exceeds the Aus FFP quota. (Note that it's a fairly strict quota, UMelb can't increase it at will).

My suspicion is UMelb could "bell curve" the MMI such that the passes would fit in the quota, but there isn't any data available to help prove it.

One other possibility is the top FFP ones could be given CSP places, taken from the graduate-entry intake. UMelb has around 200 CSP places, easy enough to divert 20-30 places to the supposedly FFP pool.

 

[SLM]

Another question related to the Chancellor’s.
Thank you in advance for the advice.
Do the Chancellors have a CSP or can they be given a BMP if they get into the MD? Thank you!

 

[jasmine.p]

Hi guys!
I’m in yr 12 rn thinking about applying for the guaranteed pathway into postgrad med from the bachelor of biomed with an atar of above 99. How hard is it to maintain a Wam of 75% and pass the Mmi? Also, if my wam and mmi are both up to par, is it still possible I am rejected bc there are too many other guaranteed pathway kids? I also saw something on here about how students who pay full tuition don’t get jobs is this true???
Thanks for any help!

MelbUni’s 99+ guarantee is a moderately bullshit program to convince higher scorers to do their undergrad degree at MelbUni. It works well for most graduate degrees, most of which aren’t hugely competitive anyway, but it does not in practice guarantee you an MD spot if you meet the WAM requirements.

The MMI requirement is designed to reject most people with the 99+ guarantee. If you do the math based on course enrolment numbers, the number of BBioMed students alone with 99+ ATARs is much higher than the number of places in the graduate medicine course. I’ve heard estimates that 67-75% of ppl with the 99+ guarantee get rejected. The only true guarantee is chancellor’s. Also note that the 99+ guarantee is for FFP, so you’d be paying $300k+ for your degree.

Jobs shouldn’t be an issue, as priority tier 1 for internships in Vic is domestic students who got their degree in Victoria, regardless of if they’re FFP or CSP.

 

[A1]

I’ve heard estimates that 67-75% of ppl with the 99+ guarantee get rejected.

This^ is depressing news if true. Can we get more confirmation?

I thought it'd be in the order of 20-30% fail.