A Guaranteed Entry Pathway in medicine basically signifies that you have a confirmed place to pursue the Doctor of Medicine degree, provided you have achieved the required selection rank and meet other relevant admissions criteria. This eligibility criterion incorporates your ATAR and other adjustment factors you may have obtained at the time of admissions to offer you a place.
This article aims to discuss the various Guaranteed Medical Entry pathways hosted at different postgraduate medical schools in Australia, offering a chance for students in a key bachelor's degree to begin medicine with or without necessarily attempting the UCAT or the GAMSAT - something we would all love to miss if we possible. This again solely depends on individual university requirements, so ensure you read the criterion before commencing your application process.
Moreover, this does not imply that you must only strive to enter via this pathway. This being a 'Guaranteed' pathway, it is extremely competitive, meaning that typically only the highest-scoring students are able to take up this excellent pathway option.
On the other hand, you can achieve a competitive UCAT or a GAMSAT score with adequate drills and preparation to increase your probability of acquiring a medical interview offer from medical schools that allocate more of their selected students through the traditional medical selection exams of the GAMSAT and UCAT.
You may be aware of a guaranteed pathway in your state, but not in another. We hope that this article will lay it all out of the table for you to put your best foot forward and apply as widely as possible.
Now let us further explore the Guaranteed Entry Pathway for Medicine across various Australian medical schools.
ANU Medicine Provisional Entry
Bachelor of Health Science Entry Pathway
The Bachelor of Health Science course curriculum at ANU is a science degree that provides knowledge around tackling health issues of national and global significance. Australian National University reserves up to ten of the 30 places for students from rural backgrounds to pursue the postgraduate Doctor of Medicine and Surgery through this science degree.
Eligible students will receive an offer to the Doctor of Medicine, provided their WAM, performance at the interview, application statement, and completion of the Bachelor of Health Science program are up to scratch as per ANU's requirements. In addition, the students that choose this pathway are not obliged to sit the GAMSAT exam.
Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) Entry Pathway
Students that complete or are currently enrolled in a PhB receive the opportunity to enter via the Doctor of Medicine graduate entry pathway without sitting the exhausting GAMSAT medical entrance exam. It is necessary to note that entry into the Doctor of Medicine at Australian National University mandates meeting the academic criteria and excelling in the medical interview process.
Tuckwell Scholarship
Finally, the Tuckwell Scholarship to pursue the Doctor of Medicine is awarded to successful applicants in their Tuckwell Stage 3 selection interviews. To obtain this scholarship, students must declare an interest in medicine beforehand in all three stages of the ANU Tuckwell admission procedure.
In addition, you are required to complete an undergraduate degree at ANU but are not compelled to apply through GEMSAS, undertake the GAMSAT or succeed at medical interviews.
Griffith Medical Science Provisional Entry
Griffith University's Bachelor of Medical Science program allows a smooth transition for graduates to enter the Doctor of Medicine program. This degree specifically caters to high-achieving fresh school leavers who acquired an ATAR of 99.75 to proceed directly into the Doctor of Medicine program.
To join the graduate medical program, you are expected to secure a GPA score of at least 5.0 in the Bachelor of Medical Science degree and suffice additional subject prerequisites stated by Griffith University at the time of admission:
*Subject prerequisites: English, English as an Additional Language, Literature or English & Literature Extension (Units 3&4, C); plus assumed knowledge in Mathematical Methods (Units 3&4, C); One of Biology, Chemistry, Physics (Units 3&4, C).
Monash University
Did you know that Monash Uni provides an exclusive opportunity for students who have commenced the Bachelor of Biomedical Science at Monash Uni? What this means is that a student is eligible to apply for the Graduate Entry Medicine pathway via the Biomedical Science pathway, on condition that:
- You must have begun the Bachelor of Biomedical Science degree at Monash Uni since 2014 (and so on for upcoming years)
- Accomplish all the course requirements before the end of your application year
- Must have consistently achieved a WAM of at least 70 across completed units to be selected for an interview
- Did not apply in the past to enter through the Graduate Entry Medicine pathway at Monash.
Although previously mentioned that a guaranteed entry pathway to medicine has no further assessment like the GAMSAT or an aptitude-oriented UCAT exam, students in this pathway are required to excel in a Monash version of the Situational Judgement Test and must perform well at a Multiple Mini Interview to be considered for a medical place.
The final offers will be made based on an applicant’s:
(ATAR) (40%) + (Interview + SJT band/scaled score) (60%).
University of Melbourne: Alternative Entry Pathways
UniMelb Chancellor Scholarship
The University of Melbourne Chancellor Scholarship is offered to recognise capable students who procured outstanding marks in their Year 12 or International Baccalaureate (IB).
The eligibility criteria to achieve this scholarship can be summarised as follows:
- You must be an Australian citizen, or permanent resident or a New Zealand citizen.
- Be an Australian citizen with a completed Year 12 or IB from overseas.
- Not have undertaken any subjects contained within a tertiary program.
- Must have applied for an undergraduate course at UniMelb through VTAC to commence in the following year of completing Year 12 or IB.
UniMelb Full-Fee Guaranteed Scheme
UniMelb additionally offers the Full-fee Paying Guaranteed Entry Pathway for applicants who achieved an ATAR of 99.0 or above and had undertaken an undergraduate degree at UniMelb following their Year 12 studies. You can qualify for this pathway, provided you maintain a WAM of 75% throughout your undergraduate degree and perform well at the MMI interview process.
UWA Medicine Provisional Entry
The University of Western Australia has an exclusive provision for high-achieving students to apply via the Assured Pathway to the Doctor of Medicine course. Only eligible domestic school-leaver applications are accepted via this Provisional Medical Entry Pathway.
A student can only attain entry through the Assured Pathway to the Doctor of Medicine if they successfully achieved a minimum HMS GPA of 5.5 in a UWA bachelor's degree. Besides, the students are not required to sit the psychometric GAMSAT exam or undergo additional interviews to receive the final offer.
The entry requirements for the Assured Entry Pathway go as follows:
- Applicants must achieve a minimum ATAR of 99 or equivalent for Higher Academic Achievers.
- Rural applicants must obtain a minimum ATAR of 96 or equivalent.
- Satisfactory UCAT score
- Medical Interview
- Compelling English language proficiency
- Inherent requirements for the Doctor of Medicine.
UQ Medicine Provisional Entry
The University of Queensland offers Provisional Entry on the basis of academic excellence in high school studies, the UCAT exam, and interview.
You must be a fresh school leaver to be eligible to enter via this pathway. Subsequently, the entry requirements are:
- Accomplishment of Queensland Year 12 English of equivalent
- An adjusted ATAR of 95.00 or equivalent
- Completion of UCAT and achieved a competitive score
- A multiple mini interview (MMI)
A competitive UCAT score for 2021 intake was approximately 2990, which was the aggregate score for the year. Of course, the aggregate score is prone to change annually and depends on the performance of applicants. So this score is not determined in advance by the medical university.
On the flip side, success in eligibility such as ATAR and UCAT means that you are a potential candidate for the MMI interview, however, this does not guarantee admission into the course..
However, if you encounter failure, it does not mean that the Doctor of Medicine at UQ is out of reach, as there are a significant number of Bachelor Degree programs that facilitate future transition into the Doctor of MD course.
Furthermore, the University of Queensland Academic Scholarships Program is obtainable to both domestic and international students.
University of Queensland's scholarship program also strives to confer students who have managed to achieve a remarkable score as fresh school leavers, and this also applies to gap year students.
Therefore, students who consistently attain high scores and are currently completing their Year 12 or have concluded in 2020 are encouraged to apply for a range of UQ scholarships.
USYD Medicine Provisional Entry
The University of Sydney also has a Provisional Entry Scheme which dedicates medicine positions to high achievers in the ATAR. Admissions to this course are therefore dependent upon securing an ATAR of 99.95 or equivalent, subject requirements, online assessments (including a written piece) and finally a panel interview.
Students who do achieve such a high level of academic success are encouraged to consider this pathway. Students who gain admission are first recommended to undertake a Bachelor of Science. Following this, students must maintain an Annual Average Mark of at least 65.0 in each year of study, as well as success in each of the designated foundational knowledge units for medicine in the Faculty of Science. This will automatically ensure an admission into the Doctor of Medicine.
Where To Next?
The objective behind this article was to shed light on various scholarships and Guaranteed Entry Pathways accessible for domestic applicants across different medical schools, without requiring to undertake the UCAT or the GAMSAT.
We hope that you now have a solid understanding of the Provisional Medical Entry Pathway across Australian medical schools. Our guides are focused on providing a diverse perspective to different topics that concern your medical degree.
Based on this guide, we have also accumulated other useful information that can improve your understanding towards the medicine admission process and the medical interview:
