US Pre Med Student intending to go to Australia for Medschool

[futuredoc#1]

Hi,
I'm am an international Pre-Med student in America and I plan to go Med School in Australia.

I wanted to know what the prerequisites are for the schools there? I have looked up the requirements on their websites and what I found out was that most of the schools require a high GPA and MCAT score, and UMelb wanted courses taken in Anat, Physiology, and Biochem also.

My question is how high should the scores be? Like I wanted to know if I'm on the right track or if I need to pull my grades higher. (My current GPA is around 3.76 and I'm going to take the MCAT next year).

Is there anything else apart from the GPA and MCAT? Like Med schools here encourage students to have a strong exposure to research and expect them to have lots of clinical experience. Do schools in Australia also expect the same?

American students who got into med school in Australia pls help! 😀

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[Hikai]

I think your GPA is sufficient and every school has certain MCAT standards that differ from each other such as either overall of around 496 (like UQ) or 500 with none less than 123 per category to 123 minimum per category with a total minimum score of 492. Majority of schools do not require you to submit a CV, but it will definitely help to have a strong exposure to extracurriculars talk about during your interview. I know personally know that the University of Wollongong requires you to submit a whole portfolio of your experiences and awards to be eligible for consideration. I actually did not have many clinical experience prior to being accepted, I mainly specialized in research and getting really involved in many different populations of people (i.e. weekend programs with epileptic children). I really recommend taking a biomedical ethics course too for your interview 🙂. Best of luck!

 

[Meatballhahaha]

Hi,
I'm am an international Pre-Med student in America and I plan to go Med School in Australia.

I wanted to know what the prerequisites are for the schools there? I have looked up the requirements on their websites and what I found out was that most of the schools require a high GPA and MCAT score, and UMelb wanted courses taken in Anat, Physiology, and Biochem also.

My question is how high should the scores be? Like I wanted to know if I'm on the right track or if I need to pull my grades higher. (My current GPA is around 3.76 and I'm going to take the MCAT next year).

Is there anything else apart from the GPA and MCAT? Like Med schools here encourage students to have a strong exposure to research and expect them to have lots of clinical experience. Do schools in Australia also expect the same?

American students who got into med school in Australia pls help! 😀

USyd: GPA is hurdle, 50% MCAT, 50% interview. MCAT sitting at 80 percentile is competitive for USyd. As long as you have MCAT 500+ & GPA 2.7/4+, they will offer you an interview. If you do extremely well in interview, you may even get an offer for MCAT as low as 500.

UMelb and Monash require some prerequisite subjects, so you need to check if your subjects are recognized by them. Send an email to them to ask

UQ-Q program: Rolling base, GPA doesn't quite matter, MCAT >24 may get an offer if you apply early but MCAT >28 is pretty safe

ANU: 50% interview, 25% GPA & 25% MCAT. They rank your GPA & MCAT to see if they would grant you an interview. The score requirement is pretty high for ANU.

Flinder: They will grant you an interview if you have >80 percentile in MCAT. They have pretty high standard for MCAT. GPA doesn't quite matter but high GPA can compensate a slightly lower MCAT. 33% interview, 33% GPA, 33% MCAT.

Griffith: Minimum requirement is 492, but rumors said you need high GPA & MCAT >500 to get an interview. 50% interview, 25% GPA and 25% MCAT.

UWA: 33% GPA, 33%MCAT, 33% interview. GPA >3.5/4 and MCAT >80 percentile is very very safe. But if you achieve now than this, it really depends on interview then.

If you are taking MCAT next year then I assume you will be apply for 2018 entry. It is incredibly early to research on medical schools now lol. Hope the info helps

 

[pitman]

UQ-Q program: Rolling base, GPA doesn't quite matter, MCAT >24 may get an offer if you apply early but MCAT >28 is pretty safe

As far as I know, GPA has always been a hurdle at UQ (but a low one, so I think I see what you mean). It seems they've increased it since I went there, to 5/7 (2.86/4, but I think they still weigh year GPAs progressively, i.e. GPA = (yr1*1 + yr2*2 + yr3*3 + yr4*4) / 10 :
https://www.uq.edu.au/study/program.html?acad_prog=5578#international

USyd: GPA is hurdle, 50% MCAT, 50% interview. MCAT sitting at 80 percentile is competitive for USyd. As long as you have MCAT 500+ & GPA 2.7/4+, they will offer you an interview. If you do extremely well in interview, you may even get an offer for MCAT as low as 500.

USyd's guide as usual doesn't stoop to speak non-colloquially to internationals, simply requiring "a credit average or above":
http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/study/md/InternationalAdmissionsGuide.pdf
WTF does that even mean (apparently 2.7/4, in 'strine)?

 

[celling]

With a GPA of 3.76, why do you want to go to an Australian med school vs the US?

 

[CAnola1990]

If you plan on coming back to the US, I really wouldn't bother going to Australia with that GPA, especially without having taken the MCAT yet. If you plan on residency in the US, aim for a 25-30+(500-508, 2015 equivalents) on your MCAT, 30+(508), you'll get into an MD school if you apply intelligently(if you live in CA or NY its a bit tougher). 25+ (500+), you can probably get into some of the low tier DO's, maybe even mid-tier considering your GPA. Point is if you plan to stay in the US, it will be much easier for you 4 years from now if you attend an MD or a DO school here in the US. Disclosure, I will be an IMG but if I had the luxury of your great GPA with a chance to still take my MCAT for the first time, I wouldn't even be thinking of the IMG route yet, again assuming you want to come back to the US for residency.

 

[futuredoc#1]

Hi Celling

With a GPA of 3.76, why do you want to go to an Australian med school vs the US?

The thing is since I'm international, I cannot apply to many medical schools in the States. And the chances of me getting into a med school as an international are probably higher in Australia than here.

 

[futuredoc#1]

If you plan on coming back to the US, I really wouldn't bother going to Australia with that GPA, especially without having taken the MCAT yet. If you plan on residency in the US, aim for a 25-30+(500-508, 2015 equivalents) on your MCAT, 30+(508), you'll get into an MD school if you apply intelligently(if you live in CA or NY its a bit tougher). 25+ (500+), you can probably get into some of the low tier DO's, maybe even mid-tier considering your GPA. Point is if you plan to stay in the US, it will be much easier for you 4 years from now if you attend an MD or a DO school here in the US. Disclosure, I will be an IMG but if I had the luxury of your great GPA with a chance to still take my MCAT for the first time, I wouldn't even be thinking of the IMG route yet, again assuming you want to come back to the US for residency.

Hi! Thank you for your advice. But can suggest me a good medical school that where international students can go to? Schools that do not have extremely low acceptance rates for internationals (approx 0.5%). And what is actually the difference between MD and DO?

 

[futuredoc#1]

Hi! Thank you for the reply! Are you also a med student in Australia and did you do your undergrad in USA?

I think your GPA is sufficient and every school has certain MCAT standards that differ from each other such as either overall of around 496 (like UQ) or 500 with none less than 123 per category to 123 minimum per category with a total minimum score of 492. Majority of schools do not require you to submit a CV, but it will definitely help to have a strong exposure to extracurriculars talk about during your interview. I know personally know that the University of Wollongong requires you to submit a whole portfolio of your experiences and awards to be eligible for consideration. I actually did not have many clinical experience prior to being accepted, I mainly specialized in research and getting really involved in many different populations of people (i.e. weekend programs with epileptic children). I really recommend taking a biomedical ethics course too for your interview 🙂. Best of luck!

 

[celling]

Hi Celling

The thing is since I'm international, I cannot apply to many medical schools in the States. And the chances of me getting into a med school as an international are probably higher in Australia than here.

Are you planning to train in Australia or in the US? Are you an Australian citizen?

 

[futuredoc#1]

Are you planning to train in Australia or in the US? Are you an Australian citizen?

I'm not sure if I want to train in Australia or America. No I'm not an Australian citizen, I'm from India.

 

[CAnola1990]

I'm not sure if I want to train in Australia or America. No I'm not an Australian citizen, I'm from India.

Hey man, I dunno which international schools are good for someone that doesn't intend to return the US. Being a US citizen who intends to return for residency here in the US, I only know of the advantageous international schools from my point of view as a returning US citizen. MDs and DOs in the US are basically the same, DOs get a little bit of extra schooling concerning the musculoskeletal system but US MDs are still preffered among residency directors for the most part, especially with some of the snootier institutions. If you have any more questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[Hikai]

Hi! Thank you for the reply! Are you also a med student in Australia and did you do your undergrad in USA?

Well I was accepted for the class of 2020 at UOW and will start my program this upcoming January. I was not an international student as an undergrad; I received my honors degree in Canada as a domestic student.