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UMelb UMelb Medicine: Provisional Entry Questions and Discussion

dotwingz

Google Enthusiast
Moderator
Honestly, in my opinion if you get into any other university that offers you a CSP, it would be smart to take it over UniMelb - the risk may be small but it’s not one worth taking if you have other options.

Agreed. Not to mention the outrageous cost and Victoria's archaic merit based intern allocation (ballot system ftw :p)
 

mafkyhm

Member
You should get Griffth Nathan/GC offer, Flinders offer, possibly UTas offer, Melb 99.9+ half-guaranteed offer, USyd interview, JCU depending on written application. Not enough for any UCAT schools I think.
Thank you! Sorry I am asking on behalf of my daughter...May I please ask how likely/hard it is to get into Melb MD through the chancellor's scholar pathway? It requires a pass for the MMI? Is the demands way exceeds the supply each year? Many thanks again.
 

Crow

Staff | Junior Doctor
Moderator
Thank you! Sorry I am asking on behalf of my daughter...May I please ask how likely/hard it is to get into Melb MD through the chancellor's scholar pathway? It requires a pass for the MMI? Is the demands way exceeds the supply each year? Many thanks again.
The hardest part is getting the 99.9 ATAR. Most people meet the GPA hurdle and pass the MMI, but it’s certainly not an offer I would choose over another medical school offer personally.
 

ucatboy

final year eek
Valued Member
Thank you! Sorry I am asking on behalf of my daughter...May I please ask how likely/hard it is to get into Melb MD through the chancellor's scholar pathway? It requires a pass for the MMI? Is the demands way exceeds the supply each year? Many thanks again.
You are correct in thinking the MMI is more of a pass/fail situation than a outcompete/be outcompeted one. You must "pass" 5/8 stations, how difficult it is to "pass" each one I don't know, but every year the overwhelming majority of students in the pathway pass and progress onto the MD. You will hear the occasional story of maybe 1-2 students not passing each year. I wouldn't be too worried about it, I believe Melbourne themselves states that the MMI is not a culling tool to reduce applicants but just a quick test of your social/interpersonal skills to make sure you're at least partially suitable to study medicine.

But like Crow said, it's not a pathway your daughter should put on the top of the list, there's too many hurdles to worry about, and the duration of the course is quite long (7 years), tied with UQ and USyd. At the end of the day though, the decision is entirely up to her, and a degree is a degree.
 

mafkyhm

Member
You are correct in thinking the MMI is more of a pass/fail situation than a outcompete/be outcompeted one. You must "pass" 5/8 stations, how difficult it is to "pass" each one I don't know, but every year the overwhelming majority of students in the pathway pass and progress onto the MD. You will hear the occasional story of maybe 1-2 students not passing each year. I wouldn't be too worried about it, I believe Melbourne themselves states that the MMI is not a culling tool to reduce applicants but just a quick test of your social/interpersonal skills to make sure you're at least partially suitable to study medicine.

But like Crow said, it's not a pathway your daughter should put on the top of the list, there's too many hurdles to worry about, and the duration of the course is quite long (7 years), tied with UQ and USyd. At the end of the day though, the decision is entirely up to her, and a degree is a degree.
Thanks so much for the valuable input. If she can get into the provisional uni like Griffith, UQ, USyd, would it be fair to say that there is more burden as she has to maintain the required WAM/GPA to proceed to MD compared to UMelb which only requires the MMI? Thank you again!
 

ucatboy

final year eek
Valued Member
Thanks so much for the valuable input. If she can get into the provisional uni like Griffith, UQ, USyd, would it be fair to say that there is more burden as she has to maintain the required WAM/GPA to proceed to MD compared to UMelb which only requires the MMI? Thank you again!
I believe that UniMelb also has a GPA hurdle in place, achieving parity with UQ and USyd. Correct me if I'm wrong though. So instead of just GPA hurdle, it's got GPA hurdle AND MMI. Two "requirements" instead of one. Griffith is unique in a bad way, forcing applicants to COMPETE for bonded/unbonded places in the first two years on the basis of GPA. It's not a GPA hurdle like the other unis, it's almost like Year 12 and ATAR all over again. Since everyone would prefer unbonded, the GPA required to get an unbonded place is quite high and therefore demands much more work.
 

A1

Rookie Doc
Moderator
The hardest part is getting the 99.9 ATAR. Most people meet the GPA hurdle

Iirc 75 WAM is required for the 99.0+ pathway but not the 99.9+. Apparently UMelb have high confidence in the 99.9+s they don't need to set a WAM hurdle.

there's too many hurdles to worry about, and the duration of the course is quite long (7 years)

I think it comes with a scholarship to pay for your 3 undergrad years' HECS, that can be a good incentive against the small MMI risk. Griffith has the risk of getting bonded in two years' time. All in all I think UTas wouldn't be a bad choice, relatively.
 

ucatboy

final year eek
Valued Member
mafkyhm I just took a look at the UniMelb scholarships page and an average mark of 70 is required for each semester in order to be in good standing for the Chancellor's Scholarship. Any lower and you risk losing your scholarship benefits. That's approximately equal to a distinction average, or GPA 6.

IMG_20200925_193914.jpg
 
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Hi everyone, I was just wondering if you could apply to more than one postgrad programme in third year with the chancellor's scholarship pathway. Eg. If I applied for med but failed the interview could I still get into dentistry straight away as there is no interview?
 

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But what I want to really know better is what UcatBoy alluded to - the success rate of chancellors' scholars in the post-grad interview. Is it a fact that the Melbourne interview is just ensuring you meet minimum thresholds, rather than it being competitive against others? Would this mean that chancellors' scholars are in a separate pool from non-chancellors' scholars applying to the program? Are there any concrete stats rather than rumours which confirm the idea that it's nowhere near as hard as undergrad interviews? It would really suck going down there and not getting in after three years, but is this a ridiculous fear to have if I'm a chilled-out, understanding person?
About the interview... a woman from the melbourne admissions office rang me yesterday to officially offer the scholarship and when I asked about the MMI she said that no chancellor's had ever failed it before. Not sure if she was cappin tho because I've heard many rumours both here and on atarnotes about 1 or 2 failing each year.
 
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About the interview... a woman from the melbourne admissions office rang me yesterday to officially offer the scholarship and when I asked about the MMI she said that no chancellor's had ever failed it before. Not sure if she was cappin tho because I've heard many rumours both here and on atarnotes about 1 or 2 failing each year.
That would be good if true- either way I'm getting the vibe that it is wayyy easier to succeed in this interview than others.
 

ucatboy

final year eek
Valued Member
That would be good if true- either way I'm getting the vibe that it is wayyy easier to succeed in this interview than others.
As it should be - you've done the heavy lifting (99.90 ATAR + 70 WAM over three years) after all. To then axe two-thirds of all of you (like they do for undergrad medicine) wouldn't make sense. I would be slightly wary of the lady's "no-one's failed ever" spiel though, that just sounds like reassuring/placating words to me.
 
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As it should be - you've done the heavy lifting (99.90 ATAR + 70 WAM over three years) after all. To then axe two-thirds of all of you (like they do for undergrad medicine) wouldn't make sense. I would be slightly wary of the lady's "no-one's failed ever" spiel though, that just sounds like reassuring/placating words to me.
is there a requirement to maintain 70WAM?

About the interview... a woman from the melbourne admissions office rang me yesterday to officially offer the scholarship and when I asked about the MMI she said that no chancellor's had ever failed it before. Not sure if she was cappin tho because I've heard many rumours both here and on atarnotes about 1 or 2 failing each year.
Could she provide that in writing? that will give everyone a piece of mind
 
Hi,
I heard that when you apply for grad medicine you only get one choice of Uni per year. Is this accurate? Would this apply for Chancellor's scholars at Melbourne eg can you apply for USyd postgrad but since you've got guaranteed entry you'll get the interview at Melbourne too?
Thanks

Hi,
I heard that when you apply for grad medicine you only get one choice of Uni per year. Is this accurate? Would this apply for Chancellor's scholars at Melbourne eg can you apply for USyd postgrad but since you've got guaranteed entry you'll get the interview at Melbourne too?
Thanks
Because I heard that you can only apply to one place through gemsas, would you need to do this as a chancellor's scholar for Melbourne?

On the Melbourne Website it says: "Domestic applicants (excluding Chancellor’s Scholars) are required to apply through the Graduate Entry Medical School Admission System (GEMSAS)."
 
N

nb

Guest
Hi,
I heard that when you apply for grad medicine you only get one choice of Uni per year. Is this accurate? Would this apply for Chancellor's scholars at Melbourne eg can you apply for USyd postgrad but since you've got guaranteed entry you'll get the interview at Melbourne too?
Thanks
You answered your own question in your third post. It says "excluding chancellor scholars", so no it won't apply to chancellors scholars. That pathway does not require GAMSAT, nor does the 99+ ATAR guaranteed pathway for full fee place at unimelb.
Because I heard that you can only apply to one place through gemsas, would you need to do this as a chancellor's scholar for Melbourne?
You apply for several unis through GEMSAS, but only get 1 interview at your highest preference. That interview score is used by all the other unis. So you apply for several unis not just one, but you just do 1 interview.
 

A1

Rookie Doc
Moderator
You apply for several unis through GEMSAS, but only get 1 interview at your highest preference. That interview score is used by all the other unis. So you apply for several unis not just one, but you just do 1 interview.
Adding to this, you make one Gemsas application and can indicate 6 preferences out of the ~10 Gemsas schools.

You can also make two separate applications to non-Gemsas USyd & Flinders. All of them require GAMSAT.
 

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Ohhhhh okay, that's super helpful guys.
I have another question. I'm reading through [REMOVED BY MOD] blogs and they have a clear bias against doing postgrad in favour of undergrad med. Their argument (amongst others) is that post grad is better for the uni rather than you (for various reasons). Do you think that they are genuinely looking out for their students? I was thinking that since they do not provide Gamsat courses, they have a financial interest in getting more people to do the UCAT. And Which universities require the UCAT? Ones which offer undergrad med [MOD REDACTED] I don't mean to sound all conspiracy theorist, I just want to know if their recommendation to not do postgrad has merit. If they're just instilling fear to get more students and money well then whatever
 
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A1

Rookie Doc
Moderator
Ohhhhh okay, that's super helpful guys.
I have another question. I'm reading through [REDACTED] blogs and they have a clear bias against doing postgrad in favour of undergrad med. Their argument (amongst others) is that post grad is better for the uni rather than you (for various reasons). Do you think that they are genuinely looking out for their students? I was thinking that since they do not provide Gamsat courses, they have a financial interest in getting more people to do the UCAT. And Which universities require the UCAT? Ones which offer undergrad med, those that [REDACTED] promotes... I don't mean to sound all conspiracy theorist, I just want to know if their recommendation to not do postgrad has merit. If they're just instilling fear to get more students and money well then whatever
Most students don't have a clear choice between grad or undergrad. Many do graduate med because they only develop a liking for med later in life. Many do graduate after they didn't get in undergrad so did a non-med degree first.

Few have choices like you with Chancellors' (or a provisional grad offer) and also having an undergrad offer. Their choices often come down to other factors rather than grad vs undergrad itself. Read the Choosing between Med Schools thread.
 
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Crow

Staff | Junior Doctor
Moderator
Ohhhhh okay, that's super helpful guys.
I have another question. I'm reading through [REMOVED BY MOD] blogs and they have a clear bias against doing postgrad in favour of undergrad med. Their argument (amongst others) is that post grad is better for the uni rather than you (for various reasons). Do you think that they are genuinely looking out for their students? I was thinking that since they do not provide Gamsat courses, they have a financial interest in getting more people to do the UCAT. And Which universities require the UCAT? Ones which offer undergrad med [MOD REDACTED] I don't mean to sound all conspiracy theorist, I just want to know if their recommendation to not do postgrad has merit. If they're just instilling fear to get more students and money well then whatever
Of course anyone with a commercial interest in something will market their services to suit their position and financial gain best. "Looking out for their students" over themselves is unlikely.
 

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