How to become a doctor in medicine? (1 Viewer)

[littlesmallworld]

Hey guys,
I just wanted to ask are there any other pathways to mbbs, rather than directly? Im afraid i cant get an atar in the high 90s..
Thanks

 

[celadoncity]

Yes, definitely! In fact I think straight-out-of-school people are almost the minority in my year. You can do a year of something else (or two, or however many you want really) and transfer in. You'll still need to do the UMAT and everything, but like that you can get into an undergraduate degree.

There are also many medical schools in Australia that only offer degrees via a graduate pathway (so, you have to finish a bachelor's degree - most people would do medical science or science but you can do whatever you want) and then you do the GAMSAT (which is a little bit like the UMAT except on steroids - it takes an entire day and has a science, essay, and logic section).

Although, if you're able to, I'd still recommend giving the UMAT a go this year because you never know. It's quite difficult to guess what ATAR you'll get and often people seem to think they won't go as well as they do. Good luck!

 

[Medman]

Getting a high 90's ATAR is actually easier than doing well at uni to get the equivalent of a high 90's ATAR. Your best bet is to give it a shot this year and see how things go. If you live in the GWS region UWS's cutoff is much lower and in the end they only look at your UMAT and interview when giving offers.

Sometimes people don't do well in the HSC but they may perform better at uni so you can always apply when you're in university.

Another options aceldoncity mentioned is to apply for postgraduate medicine. GAMSAT is not an easy test much harder than the UMAT and require detailed science knowledge to do well. I suggest keep trying with the UMAT and reapply every year if you can.

I urge students to have a deep think to the reasons why they want to do medicine too. Many people do it for the wrong reasons.