Medicine at Bond University
The medical program at Bond University is different to most other Australian medical schools, both in terms of its admission requirements, as well as its educational structure. This is largely a result of its private/not for profit organisational structure.
The medical degree itself is split into two parts. The first part is known as the “Bachelor of Medical Studies”, and it has a duration of 2 years and 8 months. The second is the Doctor of Medicine (MD), which is a further 2 years. While this program appears to be deceptively brief, it is important to take into consideration that unlike most major Australian Universities, Bond operates on a trimester, rather than semester basis. This means that while total degree duration is shorter, there are more terms (and therefore less breaks) throughout the academic year.
Bond University Application Process
In order to achieve entry into the Doctor of Medicine degree at Bond University, a student must first have completed the Bachelor of Medical Studies program at Bond. While both undergraduates and postgraduates can both apply for this Bachelor program, it cannot be skipped. In other words, if you already have a Bachelor in Medical Science from a University other than Bond, you will have to repeat the Bond variant of the program in order to gain medical admission.
The application process itself consists of three parts:
Step 1 - Academic Assessment
The academic assessment of applicants is different depending on whether they are postgraduate or undergraduate students. If you are a high-school student, then your ATAR will be the subject of this evaluation. If you have completed 1.5 years of full-time study (or equivalent), then the assessment will be drawn from your university marks. Regardless of your specific circumstances, it is important to remember that your most recent study must be within 9 years of your application in order for you to be eligible. Furthermore, there is a minimum 17 years of age at the time of commencing the medical program.
The cohort split between undergraduate and graduate applicants for Bond Medical School is approximately 80% undergraduate, and 20% graduate. The average ATAR for admission is 96.
Your academic record is the basis for your invitation to sit the Bond psychometric test.
Step 2 - Psychometric Test
The psychometric test is unique to the Bond application. This test consists of 311 questions, and is split into two parts. The assessment takes place entirely online, and costs $181.50 per attempt, with each attempt score being valid for 24 months (two application cycles). Unlike the GAMSAT however, you cannot re-sit the psychometric exam within this 24 month period. In other words, you are attached to your assessment results for two years following your attempt, after which you are permitted to try again.
Your psychometric test score is the basis for your invitation to attend the MMI interview, the ATAR is no longer considered past this point.
Step 3 - MMI Interview
The Bond MMI takes place at Bond University. The campus is located on the Gold Coast, therefore travel here should be factored into your application consideration. The interview format as well as its content is very much similar to the standard MMI that you would encounter at other medical schools across Australia. This interview requires candidates to rotate between ‘mini’ interview stations, and respond to questions about teamwork, medical ethics, conflict management, as well as demonstrating a knowledge of the Australian healthcare system.
Fraser’s Interview has previously put together a series of comprehensive MMI information articles, as well as free resources. You will be able to find them towards the end of this article.
In the rest of this article, we are going to dive into an in-depth discussion of the psychometric testing required to achieve Bond University medical admission.
Bond University Psychometric Test
What is Bond Psychometric Test
While GEMSAS universities use the GAMSAT as a metric of academic, as well as psychometric performance, the Bond psychometric is distinctly different. If you call the GAMSAT a science/humanities exam with psychometric overtones, then the Bond psychometric is a pure assessment of your cognition. In other words, there are no questions that require you to think in a scientific way, rather this is a test that examines your IQ as well as your EQ (emotional intelligence).
From a technical point of view, the test itself consists of two parts, and 311 questions. While the assessments themselves are not timed, Bond states that it should take students approximately 40 minutes to complete the first part, and 30 minutes to complete the second part of the exam. Realistically however, you should allow up to 1.5 hours to navigate through the questions (taking into consideration possible technical difficulties, as well as time to adapt to the exam format).
What do they test in Bond Psychometric Test
Part 1: Evaluation of Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
Part 1 of the exam consists of 8 sections. Each of these sections evaluates the EQ of a student in a different way. For example, you may be given photographs of individuals, and be required to interpret their emotional state. Another section may require you to read a scenario and rank a list of emotions, from most relevant to least relevant with respect to the scenario. There are also abstract evaluations of nature photography, which again require you to introspect, and respond with the emotions that you feel in response to the images. As you can see, each of these sections varies slightly, but all are equally abstract. The challenge of the Bond psychometric test is less about a student’s capacity to recall facts, or reason rationally, and much more about your capacity to reflect and understand human emotional states.
Part 2: Analysis of Character
Part 2 of the exam is significantly less abstract than Part 1. Firstly - there is only one section (unlike the 8 sections in Part 1). This means that there is only one question type that populates Part 2 of the exam. This question type specifically requires you to respond to questions that analyse your character. For example, you may be presented with a statement that specifically asks whether you express your creativity in a particular way (e.g. through music), and then you will have to select one of three response options - ‘agree’, ‘disagree’, ‘undecided’.
How to Prepare for Bond University Psychometric Test
The psychometric test for Bond University medical school aims to evaluate your psychology. This means that from a syllabus perspective, there is no core content to cover. However, there are a few key preparation techniques that develop the ‘soft skills’ required for excellent psychometric performance.
Here’s an article to help you through your GAMSAT preparation. Read it now!
Foremost, any activity that develops EQ is valuable in preparation for medical school. Examples of activities include any situations requiring social involvement (such as social sports, or university society participation). This, alongside an extensive reading list, and extracurricular activities all contribute to your capacity to view other people’s perspectives, as well as reflect on your own emotions. This involvement is important, however it may take months for this method to effectively improve your psychometric performance. In brief - this is a good, but not consistent method of improving your psychometric score.
At Fraser’s Interview, we believe that becoming familiar with the psychometric questions, as well as examining your MMI responses, is an effective way to prepare for Bond admission. To this end, we have a bank of relevant practice questions for both MMI and the psychometric exam. We strongly encourage all students sitting these admission hurdles to review their responses to both evaluations, with their tutors and friends. This allows you to reflect on your own perspectives, fine-tuning your responses, and communicating with others. In effect, when Fraser’s prepares students for the psychometric, we are providing a crash course in EQ development.
Finally, while online resources are scarce, it is possible to gain an idea of what psychometric tests in general look like by searching the web. The reality is that while you may find some relevant questions, a large portion of the results will be specific to the type of psychometric you search. This format of exam is not standardised, and question formats, as well as content, will differ greatly between provider companies.
Where to from here?
Check out our article series on Bond
Interested in MMI preparation?
