UQ UQ Medicine: Provisional Entry Questions and Discussion

[DrDrLMG!]

May I please have some advice? The only offer I have received is a UQ provisional CSP. I am rural RA2 applicant living in Sydney (although UNSW and WSU do not classify me as rural). My ATAR was 97.55 and UCAT 96% (which I guess doesn't matter as I need to sit UCAT again). Does anyone have an opinion on whether I should defer my UQ offer to try get a med offer in NSW so I can devote a lot more time into UCAT + Interview prep OR should I take the UQ offer, progress one year through the program and try again for NSW unis (but I will have less time for prep).

Personally I want to take the second option so I don't waste a year if I don't get any offers but my parents do not agree.

Given all the undergraduate universities in NSW accept non-standard students, you have literally nothing to lose and actually something to possibly gain by starting uni. If you max out your GPA, your equivalent academic rank for UNSW (where you're not considered rural and so 97.55 will never be competitive) could increase quite a bit. Whether it could increase ~enough, I'm not sure, and, tbh, unless you were to re-sit the HSC (which I don't believe is as easy to do in NSW as it is in some other states), then you might have to write UNSW off completely.

You could fail Uni and still be eligible for WSU on the basis of your ATAR, so there's no reason whatsoever to put off starting uni to have a tilt at WSU. And JMP have a very achievable GPA hurdle for non-standards.

Given you achieved a 96%ile UCAT, you don't have to worry too much about your skills for this test. Doing some refresher practice and isolating the things you know you found more difficult, and then probably concentrating on your interview skills (given I'm assuming you interviewed at JMP and possibly at WSU already) would be useful.

Starting your undergrad at UQ also puts you a year closer to being able to apply via GAMSAT to USyd and UNDS which are also both back in NSW.

IMO, everything points to starting an undergrad degree at UQ (with the knowledge that you have Med there up your sleeve) if you don't land an in-state offer for this year.

 

[broken_man]

Okay, if he's applied for SEAS then all he can really do is wait. As aspiringlol has already pointed out, he can't now add BMP to his preferences list.

Thank you so much.

Wow I didn't realise I had so many questions. First, if I go to UQ, is there an interview at the end of the undergraduate course - planning on doing science? Second, what are the chances that I get offered unbonded UQ in the second round? Thirdly, I heard that you can't get scholarships if you are doing the BMP course. Is this true?

 

[ucatboy]

Thank you so much.

Wow I didn't realise I had so many questions. First, if I go to UQ, is there an interview at the end of the undergraduate course - planning on doing science? Second, what are the chances that I get offered unbonded UQ in the second round?

No interview, and little to no chance of being offered unbonded UQ unfortunately - there's literally 200 people between 2850 and 2880 (the unbonded cutoff).

 

[CristinaYang]

I heard that you can't get scholarships if you are doing the BMP course. Is this true?

I don’t think this is true. UQ Academic Scholarships (which I assume you’re referring to) are given based on your Academic, Leadership & Volunteering achievements/experience. So technically if they deem you worthy of a scholarship based on those achievements the fact that you have a BMP shouldn’t matter. However, unfortunately UQ Academic Scholarship applications for 2020 commencing students closed last November. There are still other scholarships you can apply for on their scholarship application portal. All the best!

 

[mav]

Hi, I’m just a little confused on a bmp. How long is it definitely that I will have to work rurally post graduation? And how much would I have to pay to pay it out - UQ provisional entry bmp is what I’ve been offered.

 

[CristinaYang]

Hi, I’m just a little confused on a bmp. How long is it definitely that I will have to work rurally post graduation? And how much would I have to pay to pay it out - UQ provisional entry bmp is what I’ve been offered.

Hi mav please refer to this guide to bonded medical places. Congrats on your offer!

 

[broken_man]

Hi,
I have a really tough decision choosing my major for my bachelor's course. I have decided to do a bachelor of science but I am undecided between doing biochemistry and molecular biology and mathematics. Maths has been a major passion of mine since I was a child, and I am really good at it, but I'm also good at chemistry, and I've been told if I do biochemistry or biomedical sciences, it would be much more helpful in preparation for medicine. I want to know if this is true, and how much of a disadvantage doing mathematics be compared with the biochemistry and molecular biology course or even the biomedical science course.

Thanks

 

[JealousLobster]

Hi,

I've been offered a place in the Provisional Entry to MD program at UQ and was just wondering if I did my Program Change correctly. At the moment it says the request is "Pending" but I put this request in well over 2 business days ago, which is the waiting time prescribed on their website. Does this mean I was not granted entry into this program? I requested my degree to be Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours) which I am aware could have a higher cut off than the MD Program. My UCAT was 3170, so was this the issue? What should I do? Thank you.

EDIT: Also, are there any other little things that I could be forgetting about enrolling? At the moment I've only signed into my-SI.net and requested the program change; is there anything else I should have done by now? Thank you

 

[Deleted member 35034]

Hi,

I've been offered a place in the Provisional Entry to MD program at UQ and was just wondering if I did my Program Change correctly. At the moment it says the request is "Pending" but I put this request in well over 2 business days ago, which is the waiting time prescribed on their website. Does this mean I was not granted entry into this program? I requested my degree to be Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours) which I am aware could have a higher cut off than the MD Program. My UCAT was 3170, so was this the issue? What should I do? Thank you.

EDIT: Also, are there any other little things that I could be forgetting about enrolling? At the moment I've only signed into my-SI.net and requested the program change; is there anything else I should have done by now? Thank you

I think they have to arrange it with the Dental School (on your behalf), as it is not an automatic enrolment like other programs. Well, that's what I was told. So, that could be the reason for the pending status. You could always phone them to confirm.

 

[Cal]

Hi,

I've been offered a place in the Provisional Entry to MD program at UQ and was just wondering if I did my Program Change correctly. At the moment it says the request is "Pending" but I put this request in well over 2 business days ago, which is the waiting time prescribed on their website. Does this mean I was not granted entry into this program? I requested my degree to be Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours) which I am aware could have a higher cut off than the MD Program. My UCAT was 3170, so was this the issue? What should I do? Thank you.

EDIT: Also, are there any other little things that I could be forgetting about enrolling? At the moment I've only signed into my-SI.net and requested the program change; is there anything else I should have done by now? Thank you

Ok well dent is not like any of the other courses in that even if you have a higher ucat, they might not be able to get a spot for you depending on the rejection numbers from people offered a spot and whether they decided to fill the spot with other dent applications rather than med ones etc. So it is not going to be fast like the others because they will have to do some more work surrounding organisation of a spot because it is highly competitive.

 

[JealousLobster]

I think they have to arrange it with the Dental School (on your behalf), as it is not an automatic enrolment like other programs. Well, that's what I was told. So, that could be the reason for the pending status. You could always phone them to confirm.

Thank you, I was concerned about the deadline more than anything, if I have submitted the request already it should be fine right? I'll ring them up.

Ok well dent is not like any of the other courses in that even if you have a higher ucat, they might not be able to get a spot for you depending on the rejection numbers from people offered a spot and whether they decided to fill the spot with other dent applications rather than med ones etc. So it is not going to be fast like the others because they will have to do some more work surrounding organisation of a spot because it is highly competitive.

Oo if that's the case then should I have submitted another request as a backup or something? What happens if they are unable to secure me a spot?

 

[Cal]

Thank you, I was concerned about the deadline more than anything, if I have submitted the request already it should be fine right? I'll ring them up.



Oo if that's the case then should I have submitted another request as a backup or something? What happens if they are unable to secure me a spot?

Nah don't stress about it. Just choose a backup course and then if they reject then apply again\

But with your UCAT you will be top of the list to get put into dent.

 

[JealousLobster]

Nah don't stress about it. Just choose a backup course and then if they reject then apply again

Ok makes sense, thank you! Your comments have helped me out so much recently, you're a legend

 

[Avatar Aang]

Yo just asking for a friend, it says on the UQ website that the prerequisite for graduate med are 5 gpa, GAMSAT and MMI. 2 questions;

1) is the gpa requirement of 5 a guaranteed entry or just the threshold for u to be considered and in reality it’s much higher? How high is it?

2) is there such thing as a guaranteed graduate med entry from high school for UQ? If so how much UCAT and atar do u need?

Thnx!

 

[dotwingz]

Yo just asking for a friend, it says on the UQ website that the prerequisite for graduate med are 5 gpa, GAMSAT and MMI. 2 questions;

1) is the gpa requirement of 5 a guaranteed entry or just the threshold for u to be considered and in reality it’s much higher? How high is it?

2) is there such thing as a guaranteed graduate med entry from high school for UQ? If so how much UCAT and atar do u need?

1) I believe the way graduate entry for UQ works is the 5 GPA is a cutoff, then it goes from GAMSAT to decide interviews, and then a combination of GAMSAT/Interview/GPA to decide place. This is only new, so there isnt that much data about what GPA's your looking at but i suggest checking out PagingDR, which has alot more information about graduate medicine and you'll be able to see what GPA/GAMSAT combo's got in

2) Yes, the UQ provisional pathway is open to school leavers (so no nonstandards or those who took a gap year). It requires a 99 ATAR and this year an 88%tile UCAT for a bonded place, but I would probably say it would be a little higher in years to come. The ATAR is only a hurdle and its then ranked of the UCAT. Also, UQ is introducing MMI for next year so the score needed for an interview will probably go down.

Edit: according to PagingDr the formula for UQ is 25% GPA 25% GAMSAT and 50%Interview, i would assume this would be the same for provisional

 

[Avatar Aang]

1) I believe the way graduate entry for UQ works is the 5 GPA is a cutoff, then it goes from GAMSAT to decide interviews, and then a combination of GAMSAT/Interview/GPA to decide place. This is only new, so there isnt that much data about what GPA's your looking at but i suggest checking out PagingDR, which has alot more information about graduate medicine and you'll be able to see what GPA/GAMSAT combo's got in

2) Yes, the UQ provisional pathway is open to school leavers (so no nonstandards or those who took a gap year). It requires a 99 ATAR and this year an 88%tile UCAT for a bonded place, but I would probably say it would be a little higher in years to come. The ATAR is only a hurdle and its then ranked of the UCAT. Also, UQ is introducing MMI for next year so the score needed for an interview will probably go down.

Edit: according to PagingDr the formula for UQ is 25% GPA 25% GAMSAT and 50%Interview, i would assume this would be the same for provisional

Thank you!

So let’s say if a person gets a provisional entry this year by getting 99 atar and 88 %ile ucat (this year), will they have to sit the ucat or gamsat in the last year of their bachelors degree?

 

[dotwingz]

Thank you!

So let’s say if a person gets a provisional entry this year by getting 99 atar and 88 %ile ucat (this year), will they have to sit the ucat or gamsat in the last year of their bachelors degree?

Nope. All you do to progress into the MD is maintain a 5.0 GPA minumum throughout the undergraduate degree. No interviews, no tests, nothing.

 

[Avatar Aang]

Nope. All you do to progress into the MD is maintain a 5.0 GPA minumum throughout the undergraduate degree. No interviews, no tests, nothing.

Oh damn Thts solid. Thanx for the fast reply

 

[dotwingz]

Oh damn Thts solid. Thanx for the fast reply

No problem

 

[Wolverine]

What undergrad degree do most students pick for provisional medicine at UQ? Thanks.