Hi!
I've just finished my first year at uni with a WAM of 72.5 (biomed). This year I've learnt a lot about how I study and I think I've learnt from making notes and studying the wrong way and hope to only move up from here but I'm afraid I've really mucked it up for myself with this lowish wam. I have always been feeling that this is a really really low wam for someone going for med at melbourne. I know that my general scores need to improve by a lot in the next years but I was just wondering if some seniors could provide some context on these type of scores in first year? Have I jeopardised my future or can I still be in a good position if I work hard? What does that mean for my second year of biomed and beyond (i.e any tips on how I can work better?)
Also any general tips for the second year of biomed? (despite my very mediocre scores I really enjoyed this year learning about all the things we learn about and I'm very excited for next year!)
Thank you!!
I think everything that you've said here is super sensible. You're quite right that your WAM will definitely need to improve over the coming years to make a shot at med realistic. It's also a really strong positive that you're enjoying biomed and that you still feel as though you're learning how to get used to uni.
In terms of med scores, first year contributes 20% to your WAM. Second year and third year scores are doubled. This is only applicable to Melbourne; however, other medical schools use similar weighting methods that effectively diminish the importance of your first year scores. I'm not entirely sure why they do this, but my expectation is that they probably do so in recognition of the fact that a lot of students do need some time to sort out what they want to do in first year and that first year scores are probably not a particularly current (by third year) impression into a student's academic abilities. So, in a practical sense, that you have a WAM of 72.5 at this point does not at all ruin your chances for med. It makes it that tiny bit harder for two reasons: one because the score is lower and two because it gives an impression of how you might score in the future.
There is probably a bit of a disconnect in how students score in their first year and then subsequent years. I'm not aware of any evidence of this, so take it as you should take any other anecdote: with a grain of salt. Personally, my first year WAM was reasonably poor relative to the other years. Indeed, in my first semester I ended up with two H3s and two H1s. After my first year I didn't dip below 80 again. That's not to big note myself, but to acknowledge that it is possible to find your groove a bit better as the degree progresses. I found this was particularly the case in biomedicine, where I struggled in chemistry, stats and physics, but excelled in Biology. If you found biology manageable this year (give yourself some extra credit if you were new to biology), you'll find the second year of biomed is a lot more easy going.
Second year biomed is a lot tougher than first year, but the subjects are a lot more interesting. The workload increases and the demands on you academically will be higher; however, most find that they rise to that challenge. The faculty is really good about warning students about this and tend to find that most students adapt really well.
If you want more info about the med application procedure, have a look at this document:
https://matrix-cms.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0025/47149/MMS_MD_Selection_Guidelines_v3.1.pdfI think particularly key to consider is whether you are eligible for access Melbourne (particularly if you're from the country), as this makes the process of getting into medicine a lot more straightforward.
Home
Help
Search
Login
