TISC for Undergraduate Medicine

What is TISC?

The Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC) was established in 1975 by universities in Western Australia to process year 12 student applications who are enrolling in undergraduate degrees. TISC has continuously worked in conjunction with Curtin University of Technology, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University, and The University of Western Australia, and most recently, has partnered with the University of Notre Dame.

The centre is also responsible for conducting the Special Tertiary Admission Test (STAT), an aptitude test for applicants with an unsatisfactory ATAR, or mature applicants who cannot meet other entry requirements’ and are planning to undertake tertiary education. To sit the STAT, you don’t need specific academic knowledge as it only tests your competency to get into tertiary education.

Developed by ACER, the STAT exam is conducted under the supervision of TISC and allows applicants to choose a testing venue all over Western Australia. With an STAT result, you can apply to any institution across Australia. 

TISC Undergraduate Medicine and its Responsibilities 

The TISC organisation’s primary objective is to evaluate students applying to Western Australian universities for Tertiary education courses. Their roles and responsibilities also extend towards:

• Managing the Western Australian University Foundation program
•  Ranking the applications in order of merit under specified criteria of universities.
• Delivering university curriculums
• Calculating the ATAR and required grades for Western Australian universities

TISC - Undergraduate Application

Amongst the universities that TISC is partnered with, Curtin University is the only institution that offers an undergraduate medical pathway in Western Australia to prospective applicants. However, there are TISC universities that provide alternate undergraduate healthcare degrees and pathways to a career in medicine.

For example, the University of Western Australia, which is associated with the GEMSAS consortium, provides a postgraduate entry pathway into medicine.

Before applying to a medical school, it is always advised that you go through individual medical schools’ entry requirements to better understand what you need to do in order to be successful.

Eligibility for Undergraduate Medicine via TISC

A mandatory eligibility requirement to apply for a medical degree at Curtin is to be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or a permanent resident. The applicants are mainly classified as:

1. Western Australian applicants 
2. Non-Western Australia Applicants

Western Australian applicants enjoy the perks of having a pre-registered ID that declares them as residents of WA, hence making their application process less tedious on the TISC portal. In addition to this, you will require the following documents:

• A WACE certificate from your high school to highlight the completion of Year 12 in the most recent two years.
• A residency document of proof to show that you have lived for 183 days or more within WA during the application year.

These two factors are the requirements to apply as a WA applicant. Otherwise the application is processed as a Non-Western Australian application.

TISC Application Process: How Do I Apply?

With regards to applying for a medical degree at Curtin Uni, the below mentioned steps need to be followed: 

1. WA applicants are required to provide a minimum ATAR of 95, while non-WA applicants need to have a minimum of 92 to be considered for the medical program. 
2.  All Applicants must register and acquire a TISC UCAT score. The UCAT is held once a year. In order to sit the test, you need to choose a test date between July-August in the preceding academic year.
3. Another important admission requirement is proficiency in the English language. In addition, Curtin demands performance in Chemistry as a mandatory subject prerequisite. 
4. The final step in the admission process is the MMI medical interview, where applicants must demonstrate certain skills in order to receive final TISC offer rounds to medicine.

A ratio of 40:60 for UCAT score and ATAR will be used in combination to invite applicants for a medical interview. In addition, applicants with a post-secondary education or higher degree qualification are not deemed eligible for the undergraduate program. 

What is An ATAR?

Australian Tertiary Admission Ranking or ATAR is an academic rank given to year 12 students across Australia to undertake a tertiary course. The rank can range from 0 to 99.95 and clearly indicates an applicant’s position in comparison to their cohort. ATARs helps universities to select future students and is an important factor to gauge a student’s academic excellence, besides other selection criteria, such as portfolios and the medical interview, which are focused on an applicant’s lived experiences.

For Western Australian students, ATAR is used as a primary selection criteria to compare results of other students applying from interstate in Australia.

How Do I Register via TISC?

Once you register through the TISC online portal, you will be assigned a username and password to complete the application form. If you are a Western Australian applicant, your WACE candidate number will be your default USER ID to lodge your application.

Be mindful that navigating through the TISC portal can be challenging as it offers a broad spectrum of course details, therefore: 

1. Thoroughly read the instructions and understand the course structure before filling out the application form.
2. Once you log into your TISC account, you can choose up to 6 courses and can alter them at any point of your application process.
3. Be careful in filling out your personal information and academic background. This record includes the ongoing studies as well as any past qualifications.
4. After accepting the mentioned conditions, you declare the application and pay an administrative fee. You can make the payment either via credit card, mail, or in person at the TISC office.
5. The last step will ask you to print scanners, soft copies of your qualifications, identity proof, and other essential documents. 

TISC and the Medical Interview 

As previously mentioned, Curtin University ranks students for a medical interview based on a 40:60 ratio of ATAR and acquired UCAT scores. In order to gain interview offers from TISC, a score in the top decile in the UCAT is highly recommended to have better odds of getting into medicine than your cohorts.

Curtin’s Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) gives students the opportunity to demonstrate their personality to be considered for the final round. Applicants can select an interview slot from the session given by TISC for Curtin University, processed on a first-come, first-serve basis. Applicants may cancel their interview or reschedule, but are prohibited from changing it to a date or time not provided by TISC.

MMI interviews have been a face-to-face assessment; however, since COVID-19 restrictions are still in place, TISC has accommodated a few online interview requests.

TISC Medical School Offers

Based on the medical school’s assessment of your ATAR, UCAT score, and Interview performance, TISC releases first and second round offers to the future medical students. In some cases, Curtin University may directly release offers to students.

NOTE: Submitting personal statements, character certificates, testimonials, reference letters or awards to boost your chances of admission is strictly NOT allowed under TISC guidelines.

TISC Key Dates

TISC Application fees

To ensure equal and fair opportunities for all applicants during the challenging Covid period, TISC has dismissed the application fee for students applying to an undergraduate degree in the 2022 academic year.

Special Tertiary Admission Test (STAT) fees 

TISC is a government-funded statutory body, serving as a sole intermediary between students and tertiary institutions. 

We hope this guide has been useful to you and could provide insights on the undergraduate application process through TISC. If you have any questions around the tertiary admission process in other Australian states, refer to our VTAC, SATAC, QTAC and UAC guides that are highly detailed and discuss everything you need to know - from ATAR calculation to final offers and release dates.

Furthermore, on the Fraser’s platform you can freely access our articles for in-depth information regarding the UCAT, or choose a 30-minute free consultation with one of our UCAT leads.

We wish you the best of luck for your med school application process!