UMelb UMelb Medicine: Provisional Entry Questions and Discussion

[DrDrLMG!]

Another quick question, is the MMI for chancellor's scholars (99.90+) and guaranteed pathway (99+) different from the interview for those who try to gain entry via the GAMSAT? I know that the former have to pass 5/8 stations and the other is competitive but is the interview actually different for them?

Logistically, I’d imagine they’d be the same. It means they don’t have to train two seperate sets of markers and role-players. But I highly doubt anyone here will have sat both in the same year to answer accurately, so your best bet would be to ask UMelb directly if you really want to know.

 

[oliveeee]

Hello! I'm from NSW and am eligible for the Chancellor's scholarship. After reading through this thread and the UoM website, I have a question; I'm not too sure if it makes sense as I am not too familiar with how universities work in general.

After the 3 years of my undergraduate course, if I am not able to pass the MMI to proceed into the postgraduate degree for medicine, does anyone know whether I would still be able to gain entry into the doctor of dental surgery without sitting the GAMSAT? From what I understand, this pathway for dentistry does not require me to sit the MMI like the one for medicine does. I just do not want to be left with no options after moving states and studying for 3 years etc. I guess what I am really asking is whether it is possible to apply for more than one postgraduate degree after my 3 years of biomedicine through this guaranteed entry pathway.

Thank you so much in advance! I really appreciate it.

 

[blugirl18]

Question: as a rural applicant (RA2) with a 99+ atar (but less than 99.90), would I be considered for the guaranteed pathway and chancellor's scholarship? Is there a separate/lower requirement for rural applicants? Thanks very much for your help!

 

[denosawr]

Another quick question, is the MMI for chancellor's scholars (99.90+) and guaranteed pathway (99+) different from the interview for those who try to gain entry via the GAMSAT? I know that the former have to pass 5/8 stations and the other is competitive but is the interview actually different for them?

Hey, sorry about the late reply!

The interview is the same, but like you said, you only have to pass for Chancellor's. You'll probably be in the same interview rounds as postgraduate-pathway applicants.

Could be wrong though, but that's what I've heard from Chancellor's medicine students.

 

[BobJohnson65]

Hey guys, I have a few questions about the MMI.

I am a Chancellor's Scholar, but my WAM is only 67 - I scored a H1 average in my final semester of university however. I am wondering if the MMI can be used to kick people out whose WAM doesn't suffice?

My other question: how is the "pass" score determined? Is it arbitrary or set by the performance of other students?

I am going to begin preparation for the interview now as I obviously only have one opportunity to get into Medicine.

 

[Apue]

I am a Chancellor's Scholar, but my WAM is only 67 - I scored a H1 average

My understanding is the Chancellor's scholar will need to retain 80+ WAM to be eligible to continue the med course without GAMSAT and interview. So do you need to pass the MMI and possibly pay the full fee?

 

[Caffeine]

My understanding is the Chancellor's scholar will need to retain 80+ WAM to be eligible to continue the med course without GAMSAT and interview. So do you need to pass the MMI and possibly pay the full fee?

I am not sure if that is correct. The requirement is to maintain a 75+ WAM for Full Fee pathway students. Chancellors are not in this pathway and both Chancellors and those in the Full Fee pathway must take and pass the interview.

 

[Apue]

Chancellors are not in this pathway and both Chancellors and those in the Full Fee pathway must take and pass the interview.

Ok. Maybe I was wrong. My kid got the the full fee pathway (i.e biomedicine degree). The site says my kid can proceed to the dentistry course without the interview. But the med course will require the interview.

Any idea what's the chance like to be able to continue to the med school with the full fee?
I imagine the competition would be very high from the biomedicine students as well as from other graduates.

 

[Caffeine]

Ok. Maybe I was wrong. My kid got the the full fee pathway (i.e biomedicine degree). The site says my kid can proceed to the dentistry course without the interview. But the med course will require the interview.

Any idea what's the chance like to be able to continue to the med school with the full fee?
I imagine the competition would be very high from the biomedicine students as well as from other graduates.

I believe the minimum mark changes between the Medicine and Dental Course. The interview is not the same as a standard medical interview at another university where you normally have to be in the top 25% for example to get an offer. The applicant pool considered is only the Chancellors and the other full pee pathway students. You must pass a majority of stations but historically the number of students who have passed the interview for Chancellor's has been quite high.

 

[A1]

Any idea what's the chance like to be able to continue to the med school with the full fee?
I imagine the competition would be very high from the biomedicine students as well as from other graduates.

I should describe both since there is a subtle difference between the two pathways.

While the 99.90+ Chancellors need to pass the MMI they are not places-limited. UMelb has around 250 CSP MD places, if all the 99.90+ deserve to pass their MMI they can all be passed, UMelb then adjusts down the number of GAMSAT-entry offers to suit.

Otoh they only have ~50 full-fee places. What happens if there are say 80 99.0+ students qualified for the FFP?
The MMI requires passing 5 out of 8 stations plus passing overall, but UMelb does not clearly state the overall pass marks. This leaves a possibility they can adjust the pass marks up/down to suit the situation, example even if 70 students do the MMI well enough to pass UMelb could raise the pass marks to let only 50 pass.

 

[Apue]

I should describe both since there is a subtle difference between the two pathways.

While the 99.90+ Chancellors need to pass the MMI they are not places-limited. UMelb has around 250 CSP MD places, if all the 99.90+ deserve to pass their MMI they can all be passed, UMelb then adjusts down the number of GAMSAT-entry offers to suit.

Otoh they only have ~50 full-fee places. What happens if there are say 80 99.0+ students qualified for the FFP?
The MMI requires passing 5 out of 8 stations plus passing overall, but UMelb does not clearly state the overall pass marks. This leaves a possibility they can adjust the pass marks up/down to suit the situation, example even if 70 students do the MMI well enough to pass UMelb could raise the pass marks to let only 50 pass.

Thanks for the clarification!
I heard there is a chance that the full fee paying student (>99.00) can be qualified to Chancellors' scholarship if the student does exceptionally well. I know the chance is quite slim, then the student will assure the entry to the MD is easier.

Certainly any student qualified for the full fee paying can attend the GAMSAT and apply any postgraduate uni offering MD medicine.
So the question is whether it is worth sending my kid to Melbourne (ie. we're from Sydney) to study there and enjoy the GAMSAT exemption.

 

[A1]

So the question is whether it is worth sending my kid to Melbourne (ie. we're from Sydney) to study there and enjoy the GAMSAT exemption.

It's a worthwhile option if you don't mind the $20k/year living away costs.
A 99.0+ student has chances for (1) upgrade to Chancellors as you mentioned, (2) apply for GAMSAT-entry CSP at UMelb & other unis (but this is also available if studying in Sydney), (3) proceed to UMelb dentistry, (4) reasonable chances for FFP medicine.

It's harder to pick between UMelb FFP and Bond FFP if offered. We don't know the percentages of 99.0+ getting into FFP. Med Deans data confirm UMelb has ~50 domestic full-fee a year, can we guess how many 99.0+ enter a year?

 

[Random567]

I should describe both since there is a subtle difference between the two pathways.

While the 99.90+ Chancellors need to pass the MMI they are not places-limited. UMelb has around 250 CSP MD places, if all the 99.90+ deserve to pass their MMI they can all be passed, UMelb then adjusts down the number of GAMSAT-entry offers to suit.

Otoh they only have ~50 full-fee places. What happens if there are say 80 99.0+ students qualified for the FFP?
The MMI requires passing 5 out of 8 stations plus passing overall, but UMelb does not clearly state the overall pass marks. This leaves a possibility they can adjust the pass marks up/down to suit the situation, example even if 70 students do the MMI well enough to pass UMelb could raise the pass marks to let only 50 pass.

Thank you for clarifying this I was unsure if FFP and chancellors were considered in the same pool. So even if a lot of people apply for FFP a chancellor would still have a CSP spot and they only need to 'pass' the interview and not compete with others in FFP. Also, even if many people go for chancellor's, would there still be no limit? or is there a limit but this is not official?

 

[A1]

So even if a lot of people apply for FFP a chancellor would still have a CSP spot and they only need to 'pass' the interview and not compete with others in FFP.

That's correct, the 99.9+ Chancellors and the 99.0+ are two separate pathways/pools.

Also, even if many people go for chancellor's, would there still be no limit? or is there a limit but this is not official?

By logical deduction there's no limit to Chancellors getting CSP MD. State of Victoria produces approx 80 students 99.90-.95 plus a number from interstate, I would suggest maximum 100ish potentially choose this pathway. This fits well within UMelb's 250 CSP MD spots and UMelb owes no favour to GAMSAT applicants to allocate them more spots at the expense of pruning their own Chancellors.

 

[Desperatebaby]

what about the 99.0+ there are potentially hundreds of them how can they all be 'guaranteed'?

 

[swagatronium]

what about the 99.0+ there are potentially hundreds of them how can they all be 'guaranteed'?

I might have an oversimplified understanding of how the scheme works, but since it's a FFP (full-fee paying) position, the main determinant at first glance seems like who can afford to pay it. On top of that, the fees for UMelb's MD degree keep hiking up by the year. So guaranteed may be slightly a misnomer in my opinion haha, or at least it's guaranteed under some conditions

 

[A1]

what about the 99.0+ there are potentially hundreds of them how can they all be 'guaranteed'?

I had written about this^ in this post
> UMelb - UMelb Medicine: Provisional Entry Questions and Discussion

Not sure if UMelb says guaranteed for the 99.0+ but if they do it's subject to passing the MMI, thus I suspect they could use a flexible MMI overall pass mark to regulate the number of passes. In effect making the MMI competitive for the ~50 FFP spots rather than pass/fail for the 99.9+ Chancellors.

since it's a FFP (full-fee paying) position, the main determinant at first glance seems like who can afford to pay it.

It's not insurmountable. The HECS/FEE-HELP limit is $162k, after using $30k for the undergrad there's $132k to cover two of the 4 MD years. They need to find $130k own money for the final two years, not easy but possible with medium rich parents

 

[Desperatebaby]

I had written about this^ in this post
> UMelb - UMelb Medicine: Provisional Entry Questions and Discussion

Not sure if UMelb says guaranteed for the 99.0+ but if they do it's subject to passing the MMI, thus I suspect they could use a flexible MMI overall pass mark to regulate the number of passes. In effect making the MMI competitive for the ~50 FFP spots rather than pass/fail for the 99.9+ Chancellors.


It's not insurmountable. The HECS/FEE-HELP limit is $162k, after using $30k for the undergrad there's $132k to cover two of the 4 MD years. They need to find $130k own money for the final two years, not easy but possible with medium rich parents

I believe 99.0 plus also ‘guaranteed’ for dentistry without the interviews, do they similar limited spots for dentistry or unlimited ?

 

[A1]

I believe 99.0 plus also ‘guaranteed’ for dentistry without the interviews, do they similar limited spots for dentistry or unlimited ?

I have no idea for Dentistry, sorry. Hopefully MSO's Dent guru Unluckydude can shed some light on it?

 

[Apue]

believe 99.0 plus also ‘guaranteed’ for dentistry without the interviews

I thought the Dentistry course doesn’t require an internship so there is more room to accept more students as long as the students pay the full fee.

The link explains the 4 categories of the MD pathway.

Doctor of Medicine - The University of Melbourne

The Melbourne Doctor of Medicine (MD) provides a fresh approach to medical training and creates a new benchmark in 21st century medical education.

study.unimelb.edu.au

I am not sure how Melbourne Uni put the word ‘Guaranteed’ without securing places. The standard entry category says meeting the requirement does not guarantee an offer while ATAR 99 students are guaranteed if they meet the satisfactory MMI and wam 75.
The satisfactory word implies the students pass the stations, not necessarily competing with other candidates, I guess.
Also does it mean Melbourne uni is confident they can allocate more places as long as the fee is paid?

Sydney Uni also advertises *guaranteed atar 99.50* for the Laws degree so the number of places seems uncapped.
While the number of students with atar 99 from hsc and vce is predictable but the IB can generate infinite number of atar 99 students theoretically. Melbourne uni should be cautious on using the word ‘Guaranteed’.