UQ and Sydney Med Schools Admission and my chances

[TanawatV]

Hi all,
I'm an international student studying in a university in the US and about to complete my bachelor's degree next spring (class of 2016). I'm a bit confused about the admission cycle and requirements of these two schools. So would I be able to apply for entry of 2016-2017 class because I think I saw that they need applicants to have a bachelor's degree before January. Also, does UQ accepts MCAT scores? They listed GMAT and other standardized exams on their requirement list but I don't see MCAT on there. If they do what are my chances? Right now I have a 3.8 GPA and may be able to raise it up a bit during this last year. I took the old MCAT and I have a 7 on verbal reasoning section but with 14 on physical science section and 12 on biological section with the overall of 33. I had shadowed several physicians and volunteered in Thailand during my sophomore year and did a month of volunteering in Tanzania and also have been working in a research lab since sophomore year. But other than that I didn't do much of volunteering. Also, do they accept personal statement like the AMCAS? If anyone know other medical schools that accept MCAT scores, I would really appreciate if you could tell me on here.

(ps. I'm considering taking a gap year. I'm also finding someone to critique my personal statement)
Please help.......
thank you in advance everyone!

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[HibikiR]

As stated in the other thread: UQ does accept MCAT, as does USyd. GAMSAT (not to be confused with the U.S. GMAT) is the Aussie equivalent for the MCAT. Check the Int'l student requirements.

Most schools don't accept MCAT results that are >2years old so take that into consideration if you take a gap year. I don't see any reason why you should take that year though, your stats are impressive enough.

The 7 on verbal is a question, some schools have a minimum of 8 for the old MCAT. However your GPA might balance it out enough to get you an interview.

The only concern is that you probably won't be able to apply for 2016 since you haven't graduated yet and Aussie med schools don't accept students for Sept. entry.

You should probably start applying to U.S. schools in Spring 2016 for Sept. admittance alongside Aussie schools for 2017 admittance, unless that >2years old MCAT thing would apply.

Here's a link that might make things a bit more clear:
http://www.ellipsoid.org/gmi/university-overview

 

[TanawatV]

As stated in the other thread: UQ does accept MCAT, as does USyd. GAMSAT (not to be confused with the U.S. GMAT) is the Aussie equivalent for the MCAT. Check the Int'l student requirements.

Most schools don't accept MCAT results that are >2years old so take that into consideration if you take a gap year. I don't see any reason you should take that year though, your stats are impressive enough.

The 7 on verbal is a question, some schools have a minimum of 8 for the old MCAT. However your GPA might balance it out enough to get you an interview.

The only concern is that you probably won't be able to apply for 2016 since you haven't graduated yet and Aussie med schools don't accept students for Sept. entry.

You should probably start applying to U.S. schools in Spring 2016 for Sept. admittance alongside Aussie schools for 2017 admittance, unless that >2years old MCAT thing would apply.

Here's a link that might make things a bit more clear:
http://www.ellipsoid.org/gmi/university-overview

Thank you so much for enlighten me! I'm considering a gap year because I didn't do volunteering during the school years at all and also the 7 on my Verbal so I wanted to add some other things to my résumé. But now I think I might try to apply to schools over in Australia and Poland because they accept MCAT scores and they are all 4 years programs.
Again, thank you!

 

[emerald6392]

Most schools aside from Griffith only use GPA as a hurdle. This means that they don't care how high your GPA is as long as it meets the minimum. UQ and Sydney does this.

So in your case, like HibikiR said, you can start applying in as early as February. You want to get your application in as early as possible for UQ since they have a rolling admissions policy. For schools like Usyd, they don't do rolling admissions so just make sure you know what their deadlines are and apply by then. In your case, you can apply for the 2017 entry where you would start school around January/February depending on the school you might get into.

As far as I know, all the schools that accept internationals in australia will take the MCAT (feel free to correct me, anyone). Also, I think most schools actually just look at your overall score as long as you meet the minimum for each section. I suspect this because I see no other way ranking applicants along with their interview scores (UQ has no interview but Usyd does 50% mcat score and 50% interview score to rank applicants). However, the 7 is very low and it doesn't meet Usyd's minimum cutoff of an 8 per section (they won't invite you for interview at all) so I would retake the MCAT since you have time.


EDIT: Also, aside from the University of Wollongong, the other schools don't really care about your extracurriculars.

 

[TanawatV]

Most schools aside from Griffith only use GPA as a hurdle. This means that they don't care how high your GPA is as long as it meets the minimum. UQ and Sydney does this.

So in your case, like HibikiR said, you can start applying in as early as February. You want to get your application in as early as possible for UQ since they have a rolling admissions policy. For schools like Usyd, they don't do rolling admissions so just make sure you know what their deadlines are and apply by then. In your case, you can apply for the 2017 entry where you would start school around January/February depending on the school you might get into.

As far as I know, all the schools that accept internationals in australia will take the MCAT (feel free to correct me, anyone). Also, I think most schools actually just look at your overall score as long as you meet the minimum for each section. I suspect this because I see no other way ranking applicants along with their interview scores (UQ has no interview but Usyd does 50% mcat score and 50% interview score to rank applicants). However, the 7 is very low and it doesn't meet Usyd's minimum cutoff of an 8 per section (they won't invite you for interview at all) so I would retake the MCAT since you have time.


EDIT: Also, aside from the University of Wollongong, the other schools don't really care about your extracurriculars.

I just don't really want to retake the MCAT. Based on my score, it will be unlikely for me to get higher or 14 again on the physical science section and that applies to my biological section score as well and now that they changed the exam, I'll have to pretty much start from almost 0 again. So I think I'm just going to try to apply for it, in Australia and Poland.
Thanks for the advice! This really help me. I'll add Wollongong University to my list well. I'm trying to keep a good attitude into this.

 

[HibikiR]

Without violating any confidentiality agreements, I can say that while your extracurricular activities won't be taken into consideration for granting you an interview those same extracurricular activities will be valuable in answering any interview questions involving your experiences and ability to deal with problems.

 

[mcat_taker]

I just don't really want to retake the MCAT. Based on my score, it will be unlikely for me to get higher or 14 again on the physical science section and that applies to my biological section score as well and now that they changed the exam, I'll have to pretty much start from almost 0 again. So I think I'm just going to try to apply for it, in Australia and Poland.
Thanks for the advice! This really help me. I'll add Wollongong University to my list well. I'm trying to keep a good attitude into this.

As far as I know, UQ and Wollongong are the only schools willing to look at an MCAT with one 7 score provided the total is still above their minimum, the rest want to see at least an 8 on every section. Melbourne has some pre-reqs (biochem and anatomy) but as far as I know doesn't require a minimum MCAT to apply.

That being said, on the new MCAT, quite a few schools just want an overall minimum score and do not yet require a minimum sub-section score, so if you want to open more doors for yourself re-taking the MCAT even if you get a lower score might give you more options since you won't be auto-screened out by the 7.

I believe your MCAT score will be good for 3 years from date of application but I could be wrong.

edit: looks like schools want minimum 123 on each section of new MCAT

 

[HibikiR]

According to Griffith the MCAT score can't be more than 2 years old at time of application
https://degrees.griffith.edu.au/Program/5099/HowToApply/International#can-i-apply

According to Flinders the MCAT score can't be older than August 2012 for application for 2016 entry, so I'm guessing no older than August 2013 for 2017 entry.
http://www.flinders.edu.au/medicine/sites/medical-course/international-applicants/

 

[TanawatV]

According to Griffith the MCAT score can't be more than 2 years old at time of application
https://degrees.griffith.edu.au/Program/5099/HowToApply/International#can-i-apply

According to Flinders the MCAT score can't be older than August 2012 for application for 2016 entry, so I'm guessing no older than August 2013 for 2017 entry.
http://www.flinders.edu.au/medicine/sites/medical-course/international-applicants/

I took my MCAT on January 2015 so I think I should be able to use it. The preparation period for me back then was hell for me and I would guess that it is for everyone.
Thank you for all the help guys!

 

[HibikiR]

If you plan on trying to get into U.S. medical schools then you should start gathering letters of recommendation now. However, if you just intend to apply to Aussie medical schools then in my experience none required any letters of recommendation.

 

[TanawatV]

If you plan on trying to get into U.S. medical schools then you should start gathering letters of recommendation now. However, if you just intend to apply to Aussie medical schools then in my experience none required any letters of recommendation.

I forgot to ask: do the Aussie schools need personal statement? It's going to be pretty complicated. If I apply to both, in the U.S. and Australia, the Aussie schools going to reply by August but the U.S. Schools won't even start interviewing yet.

 

[HibikiR]

I don't recall having to write a personal statement for any Aussie schools.

You're right, it'll be complicated. Not so much if you place Aussie schools in higher priority, though there are many reasons not to do that. However, you did come to this section so you must have a concern about not getting into a U.S. school so now you'll have to decide how you want to do this.