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March 28, 2024, 11:36:15 pm

Author Topic: Medicine pathways advice  (Read 2176 times)  Share 

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kha0009

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Medicine pathways advice
« on: October 14, 2018, 11:02:26 am »
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Hi all, I need advice on what to do. It has been a dream of mine, for a long time, to be a surgeon. The issue is, I don't think I will have the ATAR necessary to get into any undergrad med course. I've applied to every undergrad and provisional entry course in Australia. Currently I have an 89th percentile UMAT and my predicted ATAR is ~83. I got a SS of 35 in Bio last year. I am doing everything possible to do as well as I can in exams, but I know that my poor performance throughout and lack of effort this year is going to pull me back (by poor performance I mean nearly failing multiple SACs in English).

As it stands, here are the options I am considering:
1. Trying for undergrad internationally – I have submitted an application for University of Malaya in Malaysia and will be sitting the BMAT in February next year. However, they specifically ask that you meet a "minimum aggregate of 80%" in Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics/Physics (for VCE) to be considered. I have no idea what this means but whether they're asking for SS (of 40) or SAC average, I won't meet the criteria. I'm just hoping I can demolish the BMAT and they'll be impressed with that. I think there are options in China and Lithuania but I'm unfamiliar with them. I don't know of any other unis or countries, but I would appreciate suggestions.

2. Post-grad through science – I would take Biomed at Monash but tbh that's not happening. I think even if I take a bachelor course, I can still take the UCAT (ew, come back UMAT) during first year and then some(?) unis (dk which ones) take that and your GPA into consideration to give you an interview – this means I kind of have two chances with this option. My VTAC prefs are (in order): Monash med (normal and ERC), Monash Biomed, Melb Biomed, Monash Science, Vic Uni Biomed, Melb Science, Deakin Biomed. I think maybe I can scrape into Monash Science, but getting into medicine from there will be another story. Honestly I'm just plain scared of the horror stories I've heard of unsuccessful med admissions from science degrees, and the depressingly arduous successful ones.

3. Retake VCE – This is probably an unprecedented option, but honestly, is the most appealing one. There are a number of reasons why I'm considering this:
• it keeps all my options open – you're still considered a school leaver and can apply mostly anywhere. As soon as you start a degree, almost all the undergrad options are gone. This is applicable for international unis as well.
• it will be considerably less financially burdensome – a year of VCE is cheaper than a year of science or international study, and the extra year I get against doing postgrad means possibly a year of extra income. (This is important bc I don't have any money or a job, and my family isn't rich. But out of pride, they would likely take out dangerous loans to help me pay for the other options.)
• I have experience doing VCE and sitting medical admissions tests – This is the real sticking point for me. I know where I've gone wrong this year and what I need to do right. I will already know most of the content for the subjects I'll be doing, and I can avoid the mistakes I made this year. This gives me a distinct advantage over a lot of next years cohort bc I can spend most of my hours not trying to learn new content, but refining my knowledge and answering technique. The mistake I made for the UMAT was only preparing for the two weeks prior to it. I have already gone through some of the practice materials for the UCAT and now know to prepare with more time + some of the skills I gained for UMAT can be applied in the UCAT. Compared to trekking the uncharted territories (for me) of uni and GAMSAT, this is more appealing.
The problem with this option is that my parents would disagree with this option and rather I take the other ones.

Thinking about the likelihood of each option happening, I think it's a toss up between a science degree or retaking.
So I need to know, what are some of your experiences through some of these options, and what are your thoughts?

Lear

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Re: Medicine pathways advice
« Reply #1 on: October 14, 2018, 11:08:56 am »
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Pm'd with some information.
2018: ATAR: 99.35
Subjects
English: 44
Methods: 43
Further Maths: 50
Chemistry: 46
Legal: 40
2019: Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine @ Monash

Quantum44

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Re: Medicine pathways advice
« Reply #2 on: October 14, 2018, 10:23:59 pm »
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I’d personally avoid doing med overseas at all costs if you have any desire to return to Australia to practice medicine, as your chances at an internship will be non-existent, and these days it’s very difficult to get into the system as an internationally trained specialist.

Given your UMAT is pretty good, I’d recommend going into some kind of undergraduate science degree and taking the UCAT next year while trying your best to get a good GPA, and then applying as a non-standard applicant to WSU and JMP. This would also leave the postgraduate option available, and as you are good at the UMAT, you should also be good at the GAMSAT, and places like UQ and USyd are an option as they don’t care about GPA as long as you get more than 5.

An ATAR of 83 is quite low when you are competing with a plethora of 98+ students and with an extra year to retake VCE, you probably wouldn’t realistically be able to increase your ATAR into the more competitive 95+ range, so I don’t think the retaking VCE option is the best.
UAdel MBBS