Monash UMAT 50/50/50 rule

[medlop990]

HI guys. I'm writing this super late to get something off my chest, sorry if this is the wrong section. In 2018 I received a UMAT of 99 percentile which I was extremely happy with. I also got an ATAR of 99.45. I was really happy and had confidence that I was competitive for entry. Unfortunately, this happiness only lasted for a brief moment as I came across the dreaded 50/50/50 rule. I had got 48 in S2. My score was utterly useless. I would not be offered an interview.
I stayed hopeful. Keeping the possibility that they would forgive this S2 score, but this was fruitless. It makes me think that this rule and the UMAT is just a culling tool. Why else would they make this rule? They don't care about you aptitude, they just want to reduce the number of interviewees.
It's a section that always varied for me, some days I would get 90+ percentile while other days I would get <50. I had a bad day so my score is useless. My overall UMAT score is in the top 1% of applicants yet it is useless.
I have to now go to unimelb and take a path that is far from guaranteed to try to get into a career that I love, all because I missed out on S2 by 2 points.

Edit: I know that I was not guaranteed entry even if they ignored my s2 score. They didn't even give me an interview, a chance to prove myself, a chance to show them my personality and my passion.

[Lear]

Hey!

Firstly, I can imagine it's quite frustrating to get such amazing scores and then be told that, due to a technicality, you are ineligible. It's very unfortunate this happened to you.
Did you by any chance apply interstate? I know that there are some universities that don't have that rule and would've loved to take you.
Also, there's the option of applying interstate as a non-standard next year. There are a handful of universities that will take you despite being in first year given you have a great GPA and UCAT score. This does mean sitting the new UCAT though which has its own unknowns.
Your ATAR also means that you are eligible for the UoM 'guaranteed' pathway which you can get more information about here --> https://students.unimelb.edu.au/future/graduate-study-for-current-students/explore-graduate-study-options

I put 'guaranteed' in brackets as this isn't a 100% 'get the atar and you have a spot deal'. You still have to maintain a decent WAM and also pass the interview.
Also note that your ATAR means that you are 'guaranteed' a FFP spot which around 300k all up. This is very expensive for many many people and i'd recommend leaving this as a last resort if you do not manage to do well in the GAMSAT to get a CSP spot.

It makes me think that this rule and the UMAT is just a culling tool. Why else would they make this rule? They don't care about you aptitude, they just want to reduce the number of interviewees.

Ultimately, this is pretty accurate. There's no way universities can interview thousands of people. I really am sort of agnostic regarding whether the UMAT and a student's performance in it indicates that they may become a good doctor. I've always thought of it as more like an IQ test really. Perhaps the 50/50/50 rule is used to ensure people have all 3 skills of problem solving, empathy and abstract reasoning. Whether the UMAT or even the UCAT is a good indicator of this is debatable. I think not.

Often people joke around that perhaps there should be 'hurdle requirements' such as a 90+ ATAR and 70%+ UMAT to get a chance for an interview. And then universities should just use a lottery system. iirc some European countries actually do this.

They didn't even give me an interview, a chance to prove myself, a chance to show them my personality and my passion.

if you genuinely have a great passion, which is very admirable btw, you will absolutely eventually find a way into Medicine. It's just unfortunate that you missed out due to s2. If it's any consolation, I know at least two cases where people who scored 99.8+ ATAR and 97%+ UMAT didn't get an offer at all. The interview can really make or break you.


Good luck with your journey!