Do You Think I'll Have A Chance? (1 Viewer)

[bekahbaby]

Currently, I am in year 11 and I am sure that I want to do medicine upon finishing high school. I think I will probably get an ATAR of about 94, give or take a point or two. What I want to ask is if I drop Chem and Bio for year 12, will I still have a shot at getting into med?

My reason for dropping biology is that I feel at my school, it is quite pathetic. We spent like 5 lessons counting colourful beads in a container and the majority of the class just mucks around anyway, making it extremely difficult to actually motivate myself to the point where I can find this mundane course interesting.
I want to drop chemistry because I don't understand the way my teacher teaches it. When we have had subs I have understood every lesson, however I don't understand anything when my teacher is there. I feel like there is no use in me continuing with this if it is only going to bring my ATAR down.

That means for year 12, I will be doing 4 unit english, PDHPE, Modern History, Extension History and Society and Culture. Do you think without Bio and Chem I will still be able to do medicine? I would be willing to do a chemistry bridging course if needs be. What do you guys think?

 

[Carrotsticks]

lol. If you're going to get 94, you're gonna need a pretty high UMAT score (ie: top 1%) to get into med.

 

[bekahbaby]

I said about 94, give or take a couple. I could end up with like a 96ish.

 

[ellie1993]

im in yr 11 too and trying to get into med school. I dont think it would be a good idea to drop chem ., ive been told its important for med and a bridging course is difficult. so maybe just stick with it, read your text books and do exercises in them, or invest in an excel book. i struggle with chem to but when i read up on my own it becomes clearer. can i ask why your not doing maths?

 

[bekahbaby]

You're probably right...
I didn't do maths because I don't like it. Plus, I've never been that great at it anyway. It sucks

 

[ruchira2122]

That means for year 12, I will be doing 4 unit english, PDHPE, Modern History, Extension History and Society and Culture. Do you think without Bio and Chem I will still be able to do medicine? I would be willing to do a chemistry bridging course if needs be. What do you guys think?

yeahh i dont see any reason why u couldn't get in if you do drop chem and/or bio

but in my honest opinion, med (in most cases anyway) does require a higher atar 98+, and with the subjects ur doing (esp. s&c and pdhpe) you'd have to do extremely well because they don't scale very well and they would be included in your top 10 units if u drop bio and chem.

chem's got decent scaling and if its only coz ur teacher ur dropping.. why not get a tutor or just try doing through a good txtbook yourself, none of it is too difficult once u understand the principles behind it..

but yea. gl

 

[Cindy-123456789]

Well, there are other possibilities of getting in.
Like you could do medical science and bridge over to medicine.

OR apply for this 5 points thingy sorry not really sure of it a lot, its just basically well if you are disadvantaged in some way: e.g. Low income parents, shitty school?, emotional turmoil occurring then you can apply for it.

Dw, there are many possibilities. But if you're gonna drop chem, its gonna be kinda hard to understand the uni stuff, since its a prerequisite subject.

But all the best!

 

[Carrotsticks]

Well, there are other possibilities of getting in.
Like you could do medical science and bridge over to medicine.

OR apply for this 5 points thingy sorry not really sure of it a lot, its just basically well if you are disadvantaged in some way: e.g. Low income parents, shitty school?, emotional turmoil occurring then you can apply for it.

Dw, there are many possibilities. But if you're gonna drop chem, its gonna be kinda hard to understand the uni stuff, since its a prerequisite subject.

But all the best!

lol i can't believe someone suggested this.

that 5 points thing is primarily applicable to the other courses like engineering, and not so much medicine because the competition is so high.

Also if you do medical science, what are you going to do for money afterwards if you don't make med? My sister did pharmacy and she's going to do med postgrad. if she doesn't make it, she still has the option of being a pharmacist. Medical science doesn't have shit except to be a lab worker.

Good luck with trying to get into med with S&C and PDHPE.

 

[bekahbaby]

Good luck with trying to get into med with S&C and PDHPE.

I do really well in both of those subjects, would that still jeopardize my chances? I guess I could do biology instead of one of them if it would make any difference...

 

[kaz1]

UWS GWS students only need to get 93, non-GWS need 95.

 

[iSplicer]

currently, i am in year 11 and i am sure that i want to do medicine upon finishing high school. I think i will probably get an atar of about 94, give or take a point or two. What i want to ask is if i drop chem and bio for year 12, will i still have a shot at getting into med?

My reason for dropping biology is that i feel at my school, it is quite pathetic. We spent like 5 lessons counting colourful beads in a container and the majority of the class just mucks around anyway, making it extremely difficult to actually motivate myself to the point where i can find this mundane course interesting.
I want to drop chemistry because i don't understand the way my teacher teaches it. When we have had subs i have understood every lesson, however i don't understand anything when my teacher is there. I feel like there is no use in me continuing with this if it is only going to bring my atar down.

That means for year 12, i will be doing 4 unit english, pdhpe, modern history, extension history and society and culture. Do you think without bio and chem i will still be able to do medicine? I would be willing to do a chemistry bridging course if needs be. What do you guys think?

uws

 

[js992]

UNSW medicine has a cutoff of 96. Not too sure about UWS.

I went to some seminar UNSW set up, like an info night.

Despite the 96 cut off, realistically, a vast majority of the people that get in have a uai of 99+ and about 1-5% (from what i remember) having an atar around 96,97.

 

[mitchy_boy]

UNSW medicine has a cutoff of 96. Not too sure about UWS.

I went to some seminar UNSW set up, like an info night.

Despite the 96 cut off, realistically, a vast majority of the people that get in have a uai of 99+ and about 1-5% (from what i remember) having an atar around 96,97.

The ones getting 96 and 97, get huge UMAT scores, and are normally athletes, and rural students.

To OP, you can get in, just remember that there are another 4000 kids the same as you. Just work your ass off, getting 99 isn't impossible, if you put a lot of effort in.

 

[Daveky]

I don't think you need to do it but it helps in first year a bit if you're fresh with chem and bio so you can take it in alot easier.

I did a bridging course in chem and never did science and found it a little harder than others but still got better marks than them, maybe cause they were a little too relaxed lol, it does help though when you go into a class and they start using terms you never heard before you start to wonder why you never didn't take the time to study it in high school.

 

[Havox]

lol. If you're going to get 94, you're gonna need a pretty high UMAT score (ie: top 1%) to get into med.

Heh, I got lower than that and a lowish UMAT score...

im in yr 11 too and trying to get into med school. I dont think it would be a good idea to drop chem ., ive been told its important for med and a bridging course is difficult.

While a Chemistry background could be useful in some instances, you can certainly get by without it and just learn what you need to as you go along. The chem you end up using is pretty basic. That being said, if it isn't a prerequesite there's no reason why you should do the subject unless you want to.

Keep in mind that some Unis give special consideration to being rural, GWS or any other scheme that you may be able to take advantage of but that's some research that you'll have to go away and do on your own.

 

[Carrotsticks]

UWS GWS students only need to get 93, non-GWS need 95.

Do you really think they're going to pick someone with 95 above someone with say.... 99? There are lots of people who get 99.3+ who do not make medicine. As if they will choose a 95 over 99+

 

[Havox]

Do you really think they're going to pick someone with 95 above someone with say.... 99? There are lots of people who get 99.3+ who do not make medicine. As if they will choose a 95 over 99+

Actually they do, it's simply a threshold that you need to get past. After that its all up to ATAR and interview, afterall there's much more to being a doctor than just pure academics. Having a 99+ but being socially retarded isn't going to help you as a Dr, but that being said, the median ATAR is around 98 or so. Point is, having a low 90's score doesn't exclude you completely.

 

[pacman911]

Yeah, UWS I would say would have to be your best option if you don't manage an ATAR of 96+, however, you'll need a pretty good UMAT score. They don't use your raw score, rather a weighted system, (S1+S2+S3/2) if I recall properly. So, better get to practicing the UMAT.

Using their weighted system, GWS applicants have a cutoff of 137.5 and non-GWS applicants have a cutoff of about 150ish. In other words, if your not scoring in the 70th percentile or above (according to the last UMAT figures), you wont really have a chance at the interview.

ATAR at UWS for GWS applicants is 93.55, whilst non-GWS applicants need an atar of 95.55 (I think). Once the mark is achieved, it is no longer taken into consideration. Then your final score is based on 1/3 UMAT, and 2/3 interview. Theres about 300 interviews handed out for 100 spots.

Hope this helps

 

[Godslove]

Currently, I am in year 11 and I am sure that I want to do medicine upon finishing high school. I think I will probably get an ATAR of about 94, give or take a point or two. What I want to ask is if I drop Chem and Bio for year 12, will I still have a shot at getting into med?

My reason for dropping biology is that I feel at my school, it is quite pathetic. We spent like 5 lessons counting colourful beads in a container and the majority of the class just mucks around anyway, making it extremely difficult to actually motivate myself to the point where I can find this mundane course interesting.
I want to drop chemistry because I don't understand the way my teacher teaches it. When we have had subs I have understood every lesson, however I don't understand anything when my teacher is there. I feel like there is no use in me continuing with this if it is only going to bring my ATAR down.

That means for year 12, I will be doing 4 unit english, PDHPE, Modern History, Extension History and Society and Culture. Do you think without Bio and Chem I will still be able to do medicine? I would be willing to do a chemistry bridging course if needs be. What do you guys think?

Hey broo, speaking as someone who is in the same situation, in terms of the dream of med, i think you should keep chem and bio and strive to do better.
looking over the forums its a surprising how many people dream of med. So the bottom line is...pick up your game! your confidence seems really low, 94 you can do better man. Tell yourself that you can!

Im in your boat man...im trying too motivate myself too
mabey we will meet there someday

 

[lizajane91]

Don't forget about uni of newcastle it has a similar threshold system as UWS and i think the ATAR is around 93. I havent used any of my chemistry knowledge so far, well not that ive noticed anyway. Biology was a bit useful for the first course but nothing that cant be learnt from the lecture slides.
Also be willing to go interstate, JCU for example will accept lower ATARs (granted it is usually for rural/qld'ers) but if you really are passionate about med and interview well its definitely possible..
Basically apply everywhere, thats what i did and out of the 4 interviews i did i got 3 offers so just keep trying hard and you'll be right.