Medicine degrees in Australia - don't forget important changes to ANU and UCAT applications for 2020 admission.
/the start of the new medicine year in australia
The tail end of the beginnings
The last of the medicine year commencements take place at the end of February. James Cook, the Joint Medical Program at the University of Newcastle/University of New England, Curtin and UTas all commence on 25th February. Macquarie starts the next day. Monash are not far behind with the commencement of their MedStart Program on the 28th.
Bond - later than others
The Bond medicine program, however, works on a different timeline being much later than other university medical programs. Bond interviews take place on the 26th February with offers then made on the 8th March. Make sure if you are fortunate enough to receive an offer that you accept it quickly as first round offers lapse just 4 days later on the 12th March.
Indigenous applications for Flinders
If you’re seeking entry to the Flinders medicine program as an Indigenous entrant make sure you have submitted your applications by the end of February. Interviews for places in the program take place during March. Indigenous entrants who are to undertake the Extended Learning in Science program also commence this in March.
Important changes with the introduction of UCAT
The way students are assessed for undergraduate medicine in Australia changes this year with the introduction of UCAT. The University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) replaces the UMAT and the benefit of this is it is a 2 hour computer based assessment that is conducted during the month of July (UMAT was previously conducted at a physical location on a single, specific day).
UCAT is used as a key component in assessing undergraduate students for medicine degrees by the following universities:
Curtin, Flinders, Monash, University of Adelaide, University of Newcastle/University of New England, UNSW, University of Queensland, UTas, UWA and Western Sydney University.
Bookings for UCAT open on the 1st March and close on the 17th May so make sure you book and pay within these dates as you will not be able to apply for undergraduate medicine at the above universities if you have not undertaken UCAT. There are also resources available on the UCAT website and these can be found here.
ANU admission changes
There are also important changes to the ANU domestic undergraduate admission process with the introduction of the co-curricular or service requirement. These changes take place this year for students who are wishing to commence at ANU from 2020 and beyond. Applicants need to demonstrate they have 3 out of a possible 7 skills.
The important aspect to note is that domestic undergraduate applications to ANU now also include a separate co-curricular or service submission. Even though medicine at ANU is a postgraduate degree it is important students who wish to progress through an undergraduate degree to ANU postgraduate medicine note this requirement. Applications open on the 4th March and close on the 31 May.
GAMSAT - next important testing round
The focus this month shifts to postgraduate medicine. Good luck to all graduate aspirants for medicine as you sit the GAMSAT exam on 23rd March.
