QUESTION TO ALL 2020 HSC STUDENTS (1 Viewer)

[jasminerulez]

What courses do y'all want to do next year?

 

[hscstudnet]

I was going to do medicine mainly due to parent pressure I did the UCAT got 94th percentile but my atar is going to be around 92-93. I thought of doing med sci then post grad. I also realised for me medicine is to restrictive as I am not commited for the long journey. I always had interest in STEM so probably will do flexible first year eng at usyd or unsw. Many people say I should get high GPA in uni then apply to medicine but after hearing of the long working hours, repetitiveness and less flexibility I have realised I am not suited for such a profession but on the other hand I also find med interesting. So I am still not sure what to do.

I would appreciate anyone's insights and advice as I am still not certain what to do

 

[studiesofboard]

Maybe look at other types of medicine degrees. I am sure there will be one suitable for you.

 

[studiesofboard]

Do you know what uni you want to go to?

 

[beetree1]

I was going to do medicine mainly due to peer influence and my own interest I did the UCAT got 94th percentile but my atar is going to be around 92-93. I thought of doing med sci then post grad. I also realised for me medicine is to restrictive as I am not commited for the long journey. I always had interest in STEM so probably will do flexible first year eng at usyd or unsw. Many people say I should get high GPA in uni then apply to medicine but after hearing of the long working hours, repetitiveness and less flexibility I have realised I am not suited for such a profession but on the other hand I also find med interesting. So I am still not sure what to do.

I would appreciate anyone's insights and advice as I am still not certain what to do

Unfortunately all jobs that pay well easily have hard work involved, but keep in mind it is very rewarding. May be on a complete different track, but are you interested in law? If so sign up for the LAT and if u get 94th percentile you can easily get in with a 95 atar !

 

[hscstudnet]

Do you know what uni you want to go to?

USYD or UNSW probably but dont care that much tbh

 

[#RoadTo31Atar]

Computer science for the boys

 

[Mazar97]

Was gonna do med but didn’t do great in the UCAT. So I’m going to do Nursing at ACU or UTS

 

[studiesofboard]

USYD - guides

https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/faculty-of-medicine-and-health/guides/doctor-of-medicine-and-doctor-of-dental-medicine-guide.pdf

https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/faculty-of-medicine-and-health/guides/postgraduate-education-for-healthcare-professionals-2019.pdf

 

[#RoadTo31Atar]

What is better usyd or UNSW?

 

[studiesofboard]

I know that UNSW is where all the smart people go because the people there usually get 90+

 

[jojosiwa123]

I was going to do medicine mainly due to peer influence and my own interest I did the UCAT got 94th percentile but my atar is going to be around 92-93. I thought of doing med sci then post grad. I also realised for me medicine is to restrictive as I am not commited for the long journey. I always had interest in STEM so probably will do flexible first year eng at usyd or unsw. Many people say I should get high GPA in uni then apply to medicine but after hearing of the long working hours, repetitiveness and less flexibility I have realised I am not suited for such a profession but on the other hand I also find med interesting. So I am still not sure what to do.

I would appreciate anyone's insights and advice as I am still not certain what to do

I was kinda in the same boat, I'm doing a bachelor of science I think tho if I don't get into med. I think it's good that you've considered the long term cus I think too many people jump into it having no clue what to expect. I don't think its a repetitive career at all but yeah the hours suck and u have to be very committed. The advice of getting a high GPA in uni is what I'm personally taking- because once you're in uni you get a much better understanding of where you want to go career wise.

 

[c8]

What is better usyd or UNSW?

Depends on what course

 

[hscstudnet]

Unfortunately all jobs that pay well easily have hard work involved, but keep in mind it is very rewarding. May be on a complete different track, but are you interested in law? If so sign up for the LAT and if u get 94th percentile you can easily get in with a 95 atar !

Law yea that sounds pretty good I am considering that too but I don't have full interest in it like medicince or engineering related professions. With medicine its not just the hard work but its restrictive such that it is not possible to maintain work-life balance and statistically 50% doctors regret picking their career.

 

[quickoats]

I was going to do medicine mainly due to peer influence and my own interest I did the UCAT got 94th percentile but my atar is going to be around 92-93. I thought of doing med sci then post grad. I also realised for me medicine is to restrictive as I am not commited for the long journey. I always had interest in STEM so probably will do flexible first year eng at usyd or unsw. Many people say I should get high GPA in uni then apply to medicine but after hearing of the long working hours, repetitiveness and less flexibility I have realised I am not suited for such a profession but on the other hand I also find med interesting. So I am still not sure what to do.

I would appreciate anyone's insights and advice as I am still not certain what to do

Your UCAT is really good and you might end up getting an interview at Western Sydney uni or Newcastle with those marks. If you end up getting an offer then it's all yours to decline. Probably best just to keep trying for now since you have quite a good shot at getting into med - that way you at least get some closure, rather than facing regret next year because you didn't apply. WSU need ~93.5 if you're from GWS so just keep working on your ATAR if that's something you want to consider. If you don't get in, it is what it is :/

It's much easier to go from med -> engineering than engineering -> med. It's probably easier to get a taste of engineering whilst you are in med school (just pop into their lectures. Biomedical engineering seems to combine the 2 - have you thought about that?

Also regarding working hours etc - if you love a job enough, it won't matter to you. Not too sure as I'm not a medical student, but I don't think it's repetitive as you see new cases in the hospital everyday. There is a lack of flexibility in school as you have to do a certain curriculum, but there's room for choice in your electives and future specialty.

If you're worried about having to commit to med, this guy left med school after 4 years to become a bus driver and he's loving life! It's definitely okay not being sure what you want to do and it's definitely normal to change things up. https://medstudentsonline.com.au/forum/threads/from-medicine-to-trains-cathays-journey.35605/

 

[quickoats]

statistically 50% doctors regret picking their career.

This is an American source and a big reason is because of the large student debts. In Australia we have HECS so there's nothing to worry about/regret about fees as it's really not expensive. Once you start working, the debt will slowly disappear out of your tax.

 

[hscstudnet]

Your UCAT is really good and you might end up getting an interview at Western Sydney uni or Newcastle with those marks. If you end up getting an offer then it's all yours to decline. Probably best just to keep trying for now since you have quite a good shot at getting into med - that way you at least get some closure, rather than facing regret next year because you didn't apply. WSU need ~93.5 if you're from GWS so just keep working on your ATAR if that's something you want to consider. If you don't get in, it is what it is :/

It's much easier to go from med -> engineering than engineering -> med. It's probably easier to get a taste of engineering whilst you are in med school (just pop into their lectures. Biomedical engineering seems to combine the 2 - have you thought about that?

Also regarding working hours etc - if you love a job enough, it won't matter to you. Not too sure as I'm not a medical student, but I don't think it's repetitive as you see new cases in the hospital everyday. There is a lack of flexibility in school as you have to do a certain curriculum, but there's room for choice in your electives and future specialty.

If you're worried about having to commit to med, this guy left med school after 4 years to become a bus driver and he's loving life! It's definitely okay not being sure what you want to do and it's definitely normal to change things up. https://medstudentsonline.com.au/forum/threads/from-medicine-to-trains-cathays-journey.35605/

Thanks for providing your insight and letting me know. I live in GWS and thats very convenient 93.5 ATAR I thought that all med courses required 98+ but whoa thats amazing I can definetly pull my atar up to 95-96 on the higher side. I will definitely consider that now and yea that is true we have HECS here and I did not consider that. The thing is I do not want to leave med school in the middle as I might waste some years but I guess the regret thing is true. Someone also mentioned I can do eng then go into med if I wanted to via GAMSAT however I calculated and it would take 8 years. But thanks for the 93.5 atar thing I didnt know that. Is the 93.5 like minimum cutoff and realistically you need 99 atar for competitive entry or they treat everyone as equal as long as it is above 93.5.

 

[c8]

Thanks for providing your insight and letting me know. I live in GWS and thats very convenient 93.5 ATAR I thought that all med courses required 98+ but whoa thats amazing I can definetly pull my atar up to 95-96 on the higher side. I will definitely consider that now and yea that is true we have HECS here and I did not consider that. The thing is I do not want to leave med school in the middle as I might waste some years but I guess the regret thing is true. Someone also mentioned I can do eng then go into med if I wanted to via GAMSAT however I calculated and it would take 8 years. But thanks for the 93.5 atar thing I didnt know that. Is the 93.5 like minimum cutoff and realistically you need 99 atar for competitive entry or they treat everyone as equal as long as it is above 93.5.

Everyone above 93.5 is treated the same eg 99 is the same as 95

 

[hscstudnet]

Everyone above 93.5 is treated the same eg 99 is the same as 95

That is lit

 

[jojosiwa123]

Law yea that sounds pretty good I am considering that too but I don't have full interest in it like medicince or engineering related professions. With medicine its not just the hard work but its restrictive such that it is not possible to maintain work-life balance and statistically 50% doctors regret picking their career.

I rlly don't think that stat is accurate lol...personally I know many doctors who love their jobs, I feel like its one of those professions though where the reward definitely comes later in life, u definitely start earning more money w more experience. w the work life balance... yeah that's a major issue. u would have to consider that you'll spend quite a bit of time "on-call"- u could be disturbed at any time and ur friends/family commitments have to work around that- it's something u get used to though. BTW as you said ur in GWS definitely consider WSU!!!!