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ahoymate

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Hello,
I am from Canada and will be attending UNSW in the spring to study medicine. I had a few questions to which I wanted some answers and was thinking if you all maybe able to give your insight into this.

1. How is UNSW to study medicine? Is it well regarded in Australia? Would it be known by US and Canadian PD's?

2. How do students perform in med school in Australia? Is there a big dropout rate? Are students more or less serious than students in Canada or the US? How is the workload? Looking at the schedule, it seems like there is one exam approximately every 8 weeks. That means each exam must be super high stakes

3. Is Australia (sydney) really expensive?

4. Do most students study from textbooks or from class powerpoints? Are there any books in particular you recommend? I know that there are Rapid Review/BRS books, that some of my friends studying in Canadian medical schools use to study for their exams. But they also warn that it is a basic foundation, and that it needs to be accompanied with and studied with class notes to do well on the exams. Would using Rapid Review be ample for the exams in medical schools in Australia?

5. Is there a heavy emphasis on practicals?

6. Finally, is Sydney a fun city?

Thanks for any info you can provide.

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I do have quite a few friends currently studying at UNSW, I will give insight based on my personal experience as a current graduate medical student.

1. UNSW is an undergraduate course and probably the best undergraduate course in Australia. It probably won't be that well known in the US or Canada however. Even the top 3 med schools aren't that well known overseas (Umelb, USYD, ANU)
2. Students perform in med school like a bell curve; dropout rate is really low because they want you to pass. Many med schools will have one if not two supplementary exams (i.e they let you resit your final exams each year if you fail). Students are far far far less serious than students in the US. Especially in undergraduate medical courses vs graduate. Workload is a joke, very similar to an undergraduate degree - you literally cannot fail unless you are stupid. Exams often don't count - there are 'formative' (which are compulsory and don't count) and 'summative' (which do count) exams. Usually for most medical schools - there are only two exams in the year that count.
3. Yes sydney is expensive as other internationals have said; this is also because the exchange rate isn't ideal for people coming here right now. Food and rent are amongst the highest in the OECD. Not much can be done about this - maybe if GFC2 happens and exchange rate plunges.
4. Students study from both class powerpoints and textbooks. Textbooks are a lot better; but ultimately exams are based on what was taught in class. You have to strike a balance. BRS are good, USMLE first aid is surprisngly good as well. Robbins Pathology covers a lot as well. Just ask people when you come - people will have a huge list. I have roughly 30 textbooks I use.
5. No. Practical load is quite low. There are anatomy classes; but most schools i know of learn by prosection or museum - i dont' know of any that do dissection.
6. Yes it is; but all cities are - you just need to know where to hang out.
 
I do have quite a few friends currently studying at UNSW, I will give insight based on my personal experience as a current graduate medical student.

1. UNSW is an undergraduate course and probably the best undergraduate course in Australia. It probably won't be that well known in the US or Canada however. Even the top 3 med schools aren't that well known overseas (Umelb, USYD, ANU)
2. Students perform in med school like a bell curve; dropout rate is really low because they want you to pass. Many med schools will have one if not two supplementary exams (i.e they let you resit your final exams each year if you fail). Students are far far far less serious than students in the US. Especially in undergraduate medical courses vs graduate. Workload is a joke, very similar to an undergraduate degree - you literally cannot fail unless you are stupid. Exams often don't count - there are 'formative' (which are compulsory and don't count) and 'summative' (which do count) exams. Usually for most medical schools - there are only two exams in the year that count.
3. Yes sydney is expensive as other internationals have said; this is also because the exchange rate isn't ideal for people coming here right now. Food and rent are amongst the highest in the OECD. Not much can be done about this - maybe if GFC2 happens and exchange rate plunges.
4. Students study from both class powerpoints and textbooks. Textbooks are a lot better; but ultimately exams are based on what was taught in class. You have to strike a balance. BRS are good, USMLE first aid is surprisngly good as well. Robbins Pathology covers a lot as well. Just ask people when you come - people will have a huge list. I have roughly 30 textbooks I use.
5. No. Practical load is quite low. There are anatomy classes; but most schools i know of learn by prosection or museum - i dont' know of any that do dissection.
6. Yes it is; but all cities are - you just need to know where to hang out.

Thank you for your message about UNSW. The information you provided is very helpful Are you a graduate student at UNSW? How is the teaching at UNSW? I get the impression it is excellent because of all the research and the pride UNSW takes in having such a personalized education for the students, where faculty and staff really care for the students academic and social success.

Do the native Australian students consider taking the USMLE or are they primarily interested in practicing in Australia? How difficult is it for international students graduating from UNSW to get internships? Thank you again for taking the time to answer some more of my questions
 
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Thank you for your message about UNSW. The information you provided is very helpful Are you a graduate student at UNSW? How is the teaching at UNSW? I get the impression it is excellent because of all the research and the pride UNSW takes in having such a personalized education for the students, where faculty and staff really care for the students academic and social success.

Do the native Australian students consider taking the USMLE or are they primarily interested in practicing in Australia? How difficult is it for international students graduating from UNSW to get internships? Thank you again for taking the time to answer some more of my questions

Hey, no - what I meant by current graduate medical student was that I'm studying postgraduate medicine currently at another university (I finished a science degree first). I'm not a graduate student at UNSW, but I have a few close friends who are currently studying there.

The teaching at UNSW is good from what I've heard. But don't expect medical education in Australia to be close to whats happening in the US.

Some local australian students do take the USMLE's but the majority are interested in practicing in Australia. The discrepency in knowledge and clinical skills is quite profound. You will need to study significantly more than what is taught to do well in USMLE.

Getting an internship depends state by state. In some states the system is merit based (e.g. Victoria) and in other states like NSW the system is by lottery. Regardless of merit or lottery, international students have LOWEST priority in getting an internship. That means that local students will fill spots first and then whats left over is taken by international students. Right now there is a shortfall of internships and this may not be resolved. About 100 students around Australia will not have internships. If you've read more around forums, around 2015/2016 there will be a 'tsunami of interns' which some predict will make internship spots even more competitive to secure.
 
For those of you who have been accepted to the program as international students, what is the process?

Do you need the classes to do well on the GAMSAT or would a prep course be adequate? I'm currently missing Orgo II and Physics I and II...
 
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