What is the Undergraduate Entry Pathway into Medicine in Australia?
Although the process for undergraduate medicine may seem never-ending, the process of entering undergrad medicine is a path to a career that is truly unlike any other. While intellectually rewarding and stimulating for those who undertake it, what is perhaps the biggest pleasure will be your potential to apply your skills in a clinical environment to real patients and people.
In addition to waiting for your final ATAR at the end of the year after your exams, there are several preceding steps to obtain entry into undergraduate medical schools. Hence, applications for undergraduate medicine courses can, for many, be a daunting process. Fret not, this article ultimately serves to assist you with the undergrad medicine application process!
Table of Content:
- Who is Eligible for Undergraduate Medicine?
- How to Apply to Undergraduate Medicine?
- Undergraduate Medicine Fee Structures
- FAQs
Who is Eligible for Undergraduate Medicine?
To apply for medicine in Australia, whether as a domestic or international student, students must have completed their respective school leaving qualifications.
The application process can be quite tedious if relevant documents are not kept handy. As a quick tip, accumulate important documents before you begin the application process and make certain you have the following details:
- Proof of identity and citizenship
- Academic transcripts
Domestic Students
As a domestic applicant for undergraduate medicine, you are eligible to apply for any undergraduate medical school university in Australia. This means you satisfy the requirements of:
- Academic grades: in the form of an ATAR ranking (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank)
- UCAT scores (University Clinical Aptitude Test), with a marking scheme based on a bell-curve scale out of 3600.
Both of these scores will be the primary determinants of your success in securing a medical school interview and potentially, an undergraduate medicine place.
International Students Applying To Undergraduate Medicine
The entry requirement for an international student is not all different compared to domestic students. Similar to the domestic pathway, medical schools in Australia for international students focus on:
- Academic merit (such as grades in A-Levels or International Baccalaureate or equivalent)
- An aptitude test score (ICAT or any other international equivalent)
Both of these scores will be primary determinants of your success in securing a medical school interview and potentially, an undergraduate medicine place.
How to Apply to Undergraduate Medicine?
Each medical school in Australia has their own admissions centre relative to their respective academic authorities of each state. Hence, your Australia study options are stated below:
- Victoria : Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC)
- New South Wales : Universities Admissions Centre (UAC)
- Queensland : Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC)
- South Australia : South Australian Tertiary Admissions Centre (SATAC)
- Western Australia : Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC)
- Tasmania : University of Tasmania (UTAS)
To apply, you should seek to complete appropriate documentation by the last working day of September, and submit payment and application to your desired universities or their relative state education authorities for consideration in the January offer rounds.
What varies for different medical schools in Australia is their weighting of each of the ATAR, UCAT and interviews. While some universities equally weigh the three criteria listed above, other universities might value a certain criterion more than the other. As such, university websites and the information they provide with regard to selection criteria for medicine can often be difficult to comprehend for many students.
It is also important to note that ATAR entry requirements and cut-offs vary from year to year and the continuous impact of the COVID-19 pandemic renders these changes even more difficult to predict.
Undergraduate Medicine Fee Structures
The university education system in Australia is heavily regulated and subsidised by the government. This means that there is fixed funding that a medical school receives to run its course. Consequently, there are different tiers of payment contracts that a student can enter into with a medical school.
CSP - Commonwealth Supported Place
This is the basic university course fee structure that is familiar to most students studying in Australia.
A Commonwealth Supported Place is heavily subsidised by the government, meaning that most of your university course fees are covered by federal funding. It is important to know that while the majority of your fees are covered, there is still an outstanding balance known as the ‘student contribution amount’ that university attendees are required to pay.
Eligibility: To qualify for a medical CSP position, you must be an Australian or New Zealand citizen. Alternatively, being a permanent visa holder is also acceptable.
BMP - Bonded Medical Place
The Bonded Medical Place is a scheme that aims to improve healthcare in rural and remote areas by obligating junior doctors to spend time in a predefined ‘area of need’ following their graduation from medical school.
It is important to understand that the nature of a BMP contract is dynamic. This means that the terms of a BMP rural placement following graduation, including the duration and location of placement, are subject to change every year. But once you have accepted a BMP position, the terms of your agreement are fixed.
Beyond the employment obligation, a BMP is no different from a CSP from a financial point of view. These bonded positions have identical eligibility requirements as a CSP and are also subsidised to the same degree. Furthermore, both CSP and BMP places are eligible for HECS-HELP loans should the student require such assistance.
Domestic Full Fee Place
The domestic full-fee place is not supported by the Commonwealth government financially, but is identical to the CSP in that it is a no strings attached medical place.
The major application of such a high cost is that the fees exceed the limit of $155,448 afforded to students by the HECS-HELP loan. In practical terms, this means that by approximately the second year of a standard medicine degree, a student will no longer be able to delay medical school fee payment, and will be charged for tuition upfront.
Conclusion
If you need guidance on preparing for your UCAT, a private tutor from KIS Academics can help you! For more resources, check out these KIS Academics articles:
FAQs
How many Medical Schools should I apply to?
Our biggest recommendation is that if you are truly passionate about securing a place at one of the medical schools listed above, cast your net wide! Apply to as many medical schools as possible, as this will ultimately heighten your overall chance of securing a place at one of many prestigious medical schools in Australia.
The compounding factors of varying weighting across the three core assessment criteria, in addition to the natural subjectivity of the interview process, mean applying to multiple universities best increases your chances of securing a medical place.
Should I study Medicine?
In short, if you have the passion and determination to serve, then yes. If you're unsure, check out this KIS academics article where we discuss the factors to consider before making your decision.
Want more personalized study guidance to help drastically improve your marks? A private tutor from KIS Academics can make the biggest difference! Check out what other students and parents have to say about their experience with KIS Academics:
What Our Students & Parents Say
600+ Five-Star reviews across all our tutoring programs — hear why below !👇