How does the medical school offer process work for multiple offers?

[guy30]

Hi everyone! I have a general question for anyone who has gone through the application process for medical school in Australia. I'm currently a Canadian looking at applying for the January 2013 entry year and I've been looking at several of the medical school websites in Australia. I've noticed that it looks like a lot of them have different time frames for when offers go out (roughly I think Queensland can go out as early as May/June for early decision, Sydney around October/November, Melbourne around November, Flinders September to name a few?).

As I'm trying to hopefully maximize my choices in terms of choosing which school to go to, I was wondering if anyone else has had the experience of how or when to apply in order to maximize the number of offers you can choose upon (if I'm lucky enough to receive multiple offers)? Usually when you receive an offer, how long do you have until you need to reply? For example, if I received an offer from Queensland in May, I would still want to wait and see if I get anything from Sydney or Melbourne but if their offers don't go out until October/November, I may have to make a premature decision on Queensland first. Any thoughts?

Thanks a lot!

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[rayjay]

Flinders sent out offers on June 21 through their early decision scheme. Interviews were in May. I'm not sure what the regular scheme was.

Queensland sent out offers on May 18 (that was a nice birthday present). There were no interviews.
For both schools I had until roughly the end of July (UQ) and mid-August (Flinders) to accept an offer.

Sydney sent out interview invites in August but I had already accepted elsewhere to I declined that.

Accepting an offer and holding on to it is not something you'll want to do...In Canada the deposit is only $500 at most schools. My UQ deposit was $10k and Flinders was two separate deposits of $4600 and ~$6000 (the bonus with that is if you get accepted to Flinders you pay deposit 1 but if you get Melb or Syd and you want those instead you don't have to pay deposit 2).

Good luck.

 

[Canuck455]

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[rayjay]

Oh I didn't know it was partially refundable. I probably should've read that part haha.

I wouldn't stress much about UQ. They have a large class size and as such I have friends in two consecutive years who applied relatively late and were accepted. What I think probably happens is that NA students on wait lists get off the lists and then decline their UQ offers so spaces open up. A friend of mine was accepted into UQ in late september last year...which made it hard for visa and loan stuff but they sorted it out.

 

[guy30]

Thanks for the responses! I guess though its a little bit more risky, the best way to get the most offers to choose from is to apply closer to the deadlines and apply a bit later in the year for schools with rolling admissions like Queensland.

Rayjay, you bring up an interesting point about visa's and loans, how long does it usually take to get these things sorted out? If offers for Sydney and Melbourne don't come out until October/November would this be cutting it close to get these things sorted out or do offers normally come out sooner than what the website says?

 

[rayjay]

If you're Canadian then this will be applicable. I know nothing about stafford loans etc. in the US.

Some provinces now have integrated loans (one application for prov/fed). You have to send in paper applications though instead of online because the school isn't in Canada.

BCSL says it takes between 4-6 weeks for your loan to be assessed. Could take longer if you appeal your assessment.

Line of Credit (LOC) takes significantly less time because it's a bank. Some people on SDN reported getting approved overnight, others took a bit longer. Mine won't take that long because I'm getting a co-signer since I'm asking for more than the usual amount (just to be safe).

Your visa is what you should be concerned about too. Aus student visa's require you to see a specific panel doctor for a health screening. Depending on when you can get an appointment this can be a pain but most of my friends got their whole visa application from application to acceptance done in a matter of weeks.

Hope that helps.

 

[tiddilywink]

Why the hell are oz deposits so high!?

I know I sure as heck can't afford the 10k deposit!

Which sucks since I got into UQ recently... =(

 

[Rchar13]

I was given an offer for UQ's program for January 2013, and the deposit required only consisted of a $3k deposit and about $2k for student health coverage.