Undergraduate and Postgraduate Medicine Guide To UAC (Universities Admissions Centre)

UAC Medical Abbreviation

The Universities Admissions Centre, abbreviated as UAC, is the largest tertiary admissions centre that manages the application process of most undergraduate universities that follow the UAC guidelines. Most institutions under the UAC Consortium are situated in New South Wales and ACT. Furthermore, the Universities Admissions Centre is currently collaborating with universities that offer postgraduate courses, such as the University of Notre Dame and University of Sydney, to process student's medical applications.

This particular piece will shed light on the UAC medicine application for undergraduate and postgraduate courses, UAC medicine GPA, and ATAR requirements across Australian medical schools.

UAC Medicine: Key Responsibilities

1. The UAC calculates the ATAR and provides the rank to NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC) students.
2. UAC also calculates GPA scores for students who desire to undertake postgraduate medical courses.
3. UAC processes applications for Educational Access Schemes (EAS).
4. The Consortium exclusively manages Schools Recommendation Schemes and additionally manages applications for Equity Scholarships.
5. Using the UAC guide, each applicant can preference up to five UAC undergraduate and six postgraduate courses at the time of application.
6. Furthermore, UAC allows students to choose all universities from the drop-down list or any specific university of their choice. Remember to cross-check whether the university you are applying to offers an undergraduate or postgraduate medical program.

UAC Medicine Fact Sheet

UAC Undergraduate Medicine: Entry Requirements

Navigating through the UAC website is relatively easy, and if you are a Year 12 student, you will be asked specifically for entry requirements to qualify for a UAC medicine course. So let us get right into the core of the matter and discuss the eligibility criteria to apply for undergraduate medicine:

1. The first step is to provide identification proof such as your citizenship or permanent residency status to confirm that you qualify as a domestic applicant.
2. Following this, you are required to tick the box to verify your Year 12 qualification. Usually, UAC expects you to provide your Year 12 student number and UAC pin number that you received via email during the time of application.
3. Once you type in the required information, you can submit your Year 12 transcripts. This step is highly crucial, as UAC calculates your ATAR to help universities assess your application.
4. Applying to an undergraduate medical school automatically means you are expected to sit the UCAT ANZ exam, unless the medical school has its own assessment body or only features a postgraduate medicine program. Take the University of Sydney for example, the medical school does not consider the UCAT score because it only offers postgraduate medicine.
5. The universities then evaluate your ATAR and performance in the UCAT to provide a list of prospective students to be invited for a medical interview, usually a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) or in the case of Newcastle Uni, a ‘Multiple Skills Assessment’, followed by a ‘Personal Qualities Assessment’.
6. On behalf of the medical schools, UAC releases interview offers and medical places to successful applicants.

Medical Schools Under The UAC Consortium

1. Charles Sturt University and Western Sydney University - Joint Medical Program
2. University of Newcastle
3. University of Sydney (postgraduate medicine)
4. UNSW Medicine

UAC Doctor of Medicine: Entry Requirements

Now that you have a detailed understanding of the undergraduate medicine application process, let us further probe into the postgraduate medicine eligibility criteria:

1. First, you are required to submit proof of identification to confirm your citizenship status.
2. Having done that, you are obligated to provide your qualifications which include: Tertiary education, any professional awards, employment experience (optional), high school qualification (high school certificate or international baccalaureate) and English language qualification (TOEFL, IELTS or equivalent).
3. Similar to how ATAR is mandatory to process an undergraduate medicine application, the GPA score is vital for students applying to postgraduate medicine. UAC converts grades into numerical values and calculates a standardised GPA score.
4. Based on your GPA score and other academic qualifications, you will be invited for a medical interview. In the case of USyd, you must submit a written assessment and perform well in the panel interview to be considered for postgraduate medicine.

How Does UAC Calculate Your ATAR?

The first important factor about ATAR is that it is not a score but a rank you receive amongst other applicants in your cohort. Therefore, universities are then inclined to your ATAR as it eases the admission procedure to select eligible students. 

Before we dive into how UAC calculates your ATAR, it is important to understand if you are eligible to receive one.

The eligibility criteria for an ATAR in NSW can be compiled as follows:

1. Satisfactory completion at least ten units of ATAR courses, including - 8 units from category A, two units in English, 3 Board Developed courses of 2 units, and four other subjects.
2. Based on the information mentioned above, your ATAR will be calculated as an aggregate of scaled marks from your best two units of English, best eight units from your remaining units, which constitutes no more than two units of Category B courses.
3. Furthermore, IB students do not qualify for an ATAR.

After determining your eligibility to receive an ATAR, you can dedicate a brief duration to understand the ATAR scaling process. So, first, let us break down UAC's ATAR scaling procedure using a simple real-life analogy of differing currency values from across the world. 

We are certain that you know $1 (AUD) is not equal in value to $1 (US Dollar), this is because individual units of different currencies vary due to multiple factors. Similarly, you can't compare the marks allocated in different courses because the courses are entirely different. Hence, the scaling process is introduced to simplify and fairly weigh the marks achieved in different courses.

The main purpose of the UAC scaling system is to derive a mean and distribute marks obtained in the course parallel to the mean and distribution of marks a student achieves in all of their HSC subjects. Regardless of the proportion of scaled scores, you must still achieve a high HSC mark to obtain a high scaled score.

That students who achieve a higher rank usually go for these courses.

How Does UAC Calculate Your GPA Score?

Just as how significant an ATAR is to pursue an undergraduate medical degree, GPA scores are equally relevant to undertake a postgraduate medicine. Different universities have distinct approaches to compare an applicant's achievements. Hence, UAC converts these grades into numerical values and calculates a standardised grade point average (GPA). Kindly note that UAC considers the grade equivalent of a student's marks over the individual marks. 

The UAC takes the following factors into account while calculating the GPA scores:

1. The GPA is an average of all grades obtained by an applicant during the duration of the study. This also includes any applicant with an honours degree.
2. The subject's level does not influence weightings.
3. Finally, the GPA is calculated based on all the results available at the time of assessment.

The UAC's GPA calculation utilises a 7-point numeric scale, where the number 7 represents the highest level of achievement, while 0 is the lowest. 

The following table summarises the numeric equivalent to each grade:

Additionally, here’s an arithmetic way of calculating your GPA:

GPA = ∑ (credit value x grade)

∑ credit/load value

Note: The GPA is a summation of the credit value obtained in each subject multiplied by the numeric values of the grades (as mentioned above), divided by the summation of credit values for all the grades. The ∑ symbol refers to the total value obtained from adding all the grades/credit values. Additionally, some universities will weight your GPA according to the year of attainment. For example, in your first year of study, courses are weighted ⅓ of what they are weighted in your third year of university. For more information, check out the GPA section of the Ultimate Guide to University Applications.

How Can You Apply Through UAC For Medicine?

UAC Undergraduate Medicine Application Process

Now that you have assembled the relevant documents, it is time to submit your medical school application through UAC. Based on the number of preferences listed in the above section, it is highly critical to lay out the course you most likely wish to pursue on top, followed by your second, third, fourth and fifth preferences. UAC's allocation process is fair and transparent; hence if you are declined on your first preference, you will be equally considered for your following preferences amongst other eligible applicants.  

Interested applicants must visit the UAC website to create login details, upload academic transcripts and personal information to apply before the 30 September. Fortunately, as per the UAC guidelines, eligible applicants are invited for a medical interview regardless of their order of preferences.

UAC Postgraduate Medicine Application Process

The postgraduate medicine application process under UAC is no different from the undergraduate medicine process. To apply to a medical school that is participating in the UAC Consortium, you are required to apply through the UAC website, but instead of choosing undergraduate from the drop-down list, you click on the postgraduate icon. 

Once your e-application opens, the UAC website will direct you to provide personal information, upload academic transcripts and click 'Continue' to land on the course preferences page.

Once you successfully navigate your way through to the course preferences, you can now add up to six-course preferences in the order of your most favoured course, followed by your second preference, and so on. After completing this step, you can choose to apply to all universities in the drop-down list or simply stick to the specific universities that offer your preferred courses.

UAC Medicine Due Dates

Universities Admissions Centre: Application Fees?

Where To Next?

Besides the fact that UAC processes applications for more than 2,000 undergraduate courses, UAC also provides free support to schools and students through their community engagement programs.

We hope that our UAC Admissions Guide was useful, for both undergraduate and postgraduate medicine programs across Australia. Fraser's website is an information hub that generates relevant content for the UCAT, GAMSAT and the medical interview process. 

Furthermore, our website also hosts an array of useful FREE Resources and Tools that provides solid insights into GAMSAT preparation, UCAT study preparation and ways to ace panel interviews and approach MMI stations. Make certain you read our articles to familiarise yourself with admission related information and important key dates to progress with your application.