MD at Australian Medical School

[lachii]

I have nearly finished my first term of my first year of Medical Science (pre-medicine) at an AUS university (exams in 2 weeks). My degree is 3 years, and I have a while to go - but what sort of grades and milestones should I be striving to achieve to have the greatest chance of MD acceptance? Also, when should I start studying for GAMSAT and how much study, and should I look at doing volunteering and such (i'm already a part of the Green Team if that contributes, and am able to volunteer in the med school in 2nd and 3rd year for tutoring). Thanks !

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[Catalystik]

I have nearly finished my first term of my first year of Medical Science (pre-medicine) at an AUS university (exams in 2 weeks). My degree is 3 years, and I have a while to go - but what sort of grades and milestones should I be striving to achieve to have the greatest chance of MD acceptance? Also, when should I start studying for GAMSAT and how much study, and should I look at doing volunteering and such (i'm already a part of the Green Team if that contributes, and am able to volunteer in the med school in 2nd and 3rd year for tutoring). Thanks !

Have you noticed that SDN has an International Medicine forum? As this area is primarily serving US applicants, you might Search or get better responses here: International Medical Forums | Student Doctor Network

 

[lachii]

Have you noticed that SDN has an International Medicine forum?

Ah, I did not realise! Thanks! Im very new here.

 

[Domperidone]

Start your search here: worldwidemed.co
But don't stop there, use it to narrow down the list of schools you're either eligible for or interested in and go to their official websites. Research their admissions pages. Email their admissions officers and ask them questions.

Use the search function on SDN to look up things like GAMSAT etc. I can't answer that for you as I didn't take this particular exam.

 

[jedrek]

I have nearly finished my first term of my first year of Medical Science (pre-medicine) at an AUS university (exams in 2 weeks). My degree is 3 years, and I have a while to go - but what sort of grades and milestones should I be striving to achieve to have the greatest chance of MD acceptance? Also, when should I start studying for GAMSAT and how much study, and should I look at doing volunteering and such (i'm already a part of the Green Team if that contributes, and am able to volunteer in the med school in 2nd and 3rd year for tutoring). Thanks !

I am also a biomedical science major,hope my answer helps.

What's your definition of greatest chance? If you meant the best chance to get into medical school>>Aim for perfection. If you meant minimum competitive scores>Then,read on.

(International applicant to Australia Medical Schools)

Grades you need:
GPA: 6.0/7.0 (a good chance of admission,as you already hit beyond the minimum requirements for most schools)
GAMSAT: 55(a good chance of admission,as you hit the minimum requirements of the highest GAMSAT requirement school-ANU)

Interview component:
There's little emphasis on building up a portfolio via volunteering,unless you are aiming for portfolio schools like Wollogong,etc. In my opinion,it's still good to take up 1-2 extra-curriculars,as it will help greatly in the interviews component. Do keep a journal to pen down your experiences in your extra-curriculars and how that has helped you in personal qualities,etc.

Milestones

Y1: Give your best for studies. If your extra-curriculars take up too much time,cut back on it. During exam periods,it is wise to pause your extra-curricular activities. I will also recommend joining a regular volunteering activity that extends through your holidays,if possible. Make friends with similar interests and help each other out.

Y2: Prepare for the GAMSAT at the start of the year.(It depends on whether you want to take it early or later) early=more fall-back,can do the GAMSAT the following yr. late=do GAMSAT on the year of application. Take the GAMSAT. Go for exchange.(depends on personal choice,for me,it's a well-deserved break given that I will have survived 1.5-2.0yr of studying and exchange is usually ungraded passes,varies for different institutions)

Y3: Take GAMSAT if you haven't already done so. Keep up the momentum and go all out for the final yr.

Always reward yourself when you hit a certain milestone,keeps you going for the long hurl

 

[lachii]

Fantastic advice man! Thanks heaps! Im aiming for a really high GPA, incase it turns out I suck at the GAMSAT. Regardless, might start GAMSAT revision the day after end of year exams, Im just not sure what to expect ahah! Volunteering like first aid stuff? and community helping? - Because I volunteer for a community aid thing (Green Team) and wanna work as an ambulance officer or First aid person in the holidays; is that good enough?

 

[jedrek]

Imo,GAMSAT>GPA GPA is mainly used as minimum entry requirements,esp. in hurdle universities like Usyd,UQ. The others,might have combined weighting for GAMSAT/GPA,but regardless,I feel that the standardised GAMSAT test>GPA,since university GPA might vary across different universities but GAMSAT is taken by all. So,I am not going to stress over getting a high GPA,keeping 6.0 as a benchmark is good enough for international applicants.

I am in the Red Cross and also a regular volunteering community service group.I volunteer more frequently with the regular volunteering community service group.Personally,I feel that there isn't such a thing as the perfect co-curricular. You can have 1 co-curricular and get into med. school,as long as you demonstrate empathy,leadership qualities. For me,I find joy in committing to ad-hoc semester community projects as a planning committee member as I am pushed to work within a tight schedule and communicate effectively as a team to accomplish our goals. I also feel that volunteering regularly is important for me as it helps me appreciate how fortunate I am and better empathize with the elderly.

Red Cross- ad-hoc community projects
Community Service club- regular volunteering sessions

 

[Domperidone]

Lachii, are you an Australian or international student?
I'd suggest going directly to the source for info.
If you're international background, some schools don't really care what's on the CV. It's a bonus but it's more dependent on whether you meet cut off scores for GPA and GAMSAT. Have a gander over the requisites worldwidemed.co lists for you (this was a website put together by an Australian medical resident). Don't be afraid to ask the schools directly, as requirements do vary from school to school. i.e. some are direct high school entry, others are grad entry, some have interviews, others do not.

jedrek - are you a medical student or premed?

 

[lachii]

Jedrik -thanks for the info man, good help. I still might aim for the highest possible GPA just to allow a little bit of lee-way incase i don't do well in GAMSAT.

Domperidone - Im a domestic student, Flinders University. The MD at Flinders hugley favor Med science and Health science students at Flinders, and they give special considerations for individuals that get a good GPA (above 6.0 or 6.3 or something). Yeah, true enough, ill suss out the link now, thanks!

 

[jedrek]

International pre-medical,just keeping my plans in check.

 

[Domperidone]

Jedrik -thanks for the info man, good help. I still might aim for the highest possible GPA just to allow a little bit of lee-way incase i don't do well in GAMSAT.

Domperidone - Im a domestic student, Flinders University. The MD at Flinders hugley favor Med science and Health science students at Flinders, and they give special considerations for individuals that get a good GPA (above 6.0 or 6.3 or something). Yeah, true enough, ill suss out the link now, thanks!

Ah. Unfortunately there's not a whole lot of domestic Aussies that frequent SDN. Is there a premedical student society at Flinders?
I think the Flinders admissions staff are fairly responsive, just email and ask if you're unsure along the way (from what I'd heard from their med students).

Or see if Flinders medical student society has advising groups for premeds or will let you join their facebook group to talk to first year students who got in (and would know the most recent admission requisites). http://www.fmss.org.au/.

There's also been discussion over the last couple of years over job situation for even domestic Australian grads in South Australia. Just keep an open mind about moving interstate whether for medical school or afterwards. it's not to tell you not to go, but go into it informed. This generation will have to work harder than previous ones to continue to move up in training, unless you're wanting or happy to be a rural practitioner.
http://www.fmss.org.au/home/featured-articles/intern-crisis-2016.html

International pre-medical,just keeping my plans in check.

Jedrek, I get that you're trying to be helpful. which is great.
And definitely, continue down that track, it's a good habit to have (being helpful to your peers) throughout your career if/when you get into medical school and residency thereafter. I don't want to discourage this.

That said, you may want to predicate that you're a premed also, or let people know that when you give advice. Not to put you down or say that you can't give your perspective (it is also important), but other students deserve to know what the source is. Or in the least, provide a link to some of the relevant advice your'e offering, if Flinders says you must have XYZ - give them a way to confirm it for their own peace of mind. I'm not saying you're doing this, but be cautious about giving the wrong advice, particularly if it's anecdotal. *As it's someone else's life and career you're potentially impacting.

For instance, I'm a grad of an Australian school, but I'm also international. So, even I'm hesitant to offer advice to a domestic Australian premed. it is often harder for a domestic Australian to get into a medical school. Reason being is that their spot in medical school is subsidized heavily by the Australian government. They're also guaranteed internships (at least generally speaking at present) by their respective state governments - this means their spots are limited.

It's kinda depressing in a sense, but it's much easier for internationals to get into an Australian school becuase they're cash cows. And there's no obligation to provide any job or post-grad training after graduation. As in there's no law or contract that says one has to be provided. There's also no formal cap on international student numbers.

 

[lachii]

Thanks for all the help doperidone! Ill check out the flinders people soon! And yeah, it is pretty annoying about domestic acceptance, but I am thankful I only have to pay 10 grand, rather than 70 grand per year for an MD ($280,000 aus dollars is ****ing massive). Thanks everyone, legends x

 

[Domperidone]

G'luck

 

[jedrek]

My bad,I was answering in the perspective of an international applicant,considering that the thread is predominantly international applicants.

Yep,the requirements for domestic applicants are stricter than internationals.I have to be thankful at least,for the lower entry requirements,given that I am coming from a challenging undergraduate university programme.

Didn't know that there's no cap on the international student intake for post-graduate medicine,something new to take away for me.

@lachii

This is an interesting website to visit: Flinder's Medical Student Society Facebook Page

Flinders University Medical Science Society - FUMSS

A place to look at if you are keen on finding out any new developments of Flinder's medical programme.

I followed flinder's facebook page as I am also looking towards studying there,but as Domperidone mentioned,I am placing it as my fallback choices,given the bleak career outlook at South Australia.

Another interesting page to visit,I feel that it will apply to you more since you are a domestic applicant.

pagingdr.net >> Forum for post-grad medicine programmes for each of the individual schools and GAMSAT advice

This forum has helped me understand how the post-grad medicine system works.