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March 29, 2024, 01:44:23 am

Author Topic: Biomed: Melbourne or Monash  (Read 4078 times)

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tiffanyhxa

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Biomed: Melbourne or Monash
« on: December 12, 2019, 11:19:07 pm »
I want to pursue optometry after undergrad but I'm so conflicted on which path to take

Melbourne pros:
Prestige (my asian parents would prefer this)
Closer to home

Melbourne cons:
I've heard that it doesn't set you up for life after undergrad very well

Monash pros:
Scholarship
More practical than Melbourne
50 places for Biomed students in Med

Monash cons:
2 hour ptv journey

Or should I just scrap biomed altogether and just do science? Please give me some insightttt

porcupine

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Re: Biomed: Melbourne or Monash
« Reply #1 on: December 13, 2019, 12:00:19 am »
I advise against placing too much weight on prestige, especially when (even though UoM has a higher intl ranking) in terms of med/optometry there’s not much of a difference between the two.

I think Monash would be able to give you more options as they’re more selective - to get into postgrad med at Monash you must have done undergrad at Monash, but for UoM it doesn’t matter.

Finally I’ve heard that biomed at UoM doesn’t prepare you for med any more than a bachelor of science (though take this with a grain of salt). I’m not sure how true this is for Monash. Also I don’t know too much about optometry.

(I completely feel you on the asian parent thing tho 😂)
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Sine

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Re: Biomed: Melbourne or Monash
« Reply #2 on: December 13, 2019, 12:06:18 am »
I want to pursue optometry after undergrad but I'm so conflicted on which path to take

Melbourne pros:
Prestige (my asian parents would prefer this)
Closer to home

Melbourne cons:
I've heard that it doesn't set you up for life after undergrad very well

Monash pros:
Scholarship
More practical than Melbourne
50 places for Biomed students in Med

Monash cons:
2 hour ptv journey

Or should I just scrap biomed altogether and just do science? Please give me some insightttt
Based on your post personally I would say Melbourne is a better option. Although I haven't personally endured a 2 hour ptv journey I know that it is very time consuming and tiring which can impact your studies/social life. Whilst a scholarship is always nice (I am not sure how much weight you put this pro down to) I am not sure what you mean by "more practical" I think both courses are probably quite similar from what I know. Also why does med matter if you want to do optometry? so I think your last pro for monash is a moot point.

punksaint

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Re: Biomed: Melbourne or Monash
« Reply #3 on: December 15, 2019, 10:17:48 am »
If you study Biomed in Melbourne, you are not able to study MD in Monash. But if you study in Monash, you can study MD in both uni.

Lear

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Re: Biomed: Melbourne or Monash
« Reply #4 on: December 15, 2019, 10:37:02 am »
I want to pursue optometry after undergrad but I'm so conflicted on which path to take

Melbourne pros:
Prestige (my asian parents would prefer this)
Closer to home

Melbourne cons:
I've heard that it doesn't set you up for life after undergrad very well

Monash pros:
Scholarship
More practical than Melbourne
50 places for Biomed students in Med

Monash cons:
2 hour ptv journey

Or should I just scrap biomed altogether and just do science? Please give me some insightttt

As someone who travels 2+ hours to get to Monash, would highly recommend not to go to Monash for you. I think perhaps Melbourne Science might be the best option for you as it is more flexible in terms of subjects compared to biomed meaning you can do more revolving around your field of interest (optom) and avoid doing irrelevant content.
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AngelWings

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Re: Biomed: Melbourne or Monash
« Reply #5 on: December 15, 2019, 02:33:19 pm »
I'm more inclined to say Melbourne would be better in this scenario.

Optometry actually doesn't require a med degree, unless you're specifically after a specialist area like ophthalmology (which you'd be a doctor for eye conditions and disorders) or eye surgery. Optometry at the postgrad level, which is what I'm assuming what Tiffanyxha is after, is available in its own separate degree at Melbourne (Master of Clinical Optometry or Doctor of Optometry) or Deakin (Master of Optometry). I think there's a couple more beyond that, but these are the main two from major Victorian universities I can find. If you did your postgrad course at Monash, you'd be doing postgrad med, which doesn't specialise in optometry (so you'd have to do more studying on top of the postgrad med course, which costs more time and money).   

Moreover, 2 hrs is quite a commute, which if you're hoping to hold down a part-time/ casual job on top of studies and/or hoping to have much of a social life at uni (which is highly recommended), then that commute could become more of an inconvenience.

Some more things to consider that could help make this decision:
- Is the scholarship money something you desperately need?
- Was postgrad med actually your first choice before ATARs came out?
- What's your career goal at the end of the course, ultimately? Straight up optometrist, or an eye specialist that will require a med degree?   
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