How Does GEMSAS Work? (2025 Graduate Entry Medical School Admissions System)

The Graduate Entry Medical School Admissions System or the GEMSAS is a centralised online portal where students can submit their medical school applications to enter postgraduate medicine or dentistry programs within Australia.

GEMSAS is a one-stop source that organises students' applications, calculates their GPA and applies individual medical school eligibility criteria to each medical school preference listed by an applicant.

As a matter of fact, GEMSAS has a list of six available medical school preferences per student. It also applies a complex algorithm to allocate eligible students for a medical interview at their highest preferred medical school. We have explained how this merged-rank works in our GAMSAT Scores article.

Here are some of its key features:

1. The GEMSAS consortium follows an impartial and transparent allocation process.
2. Applicants who completed their undergraduate degree from an Australian university that is part of the ARTS receive their results electronically.
3. GEMSAS uses the GPA achieved from a recent qualifying degree to invite students for a medical interview. However, UWA considers the most recent three years of full-time equivalent study to select students.
4. GEMSAS universities follow a standardised format to score applicants’ performance in the medical interview and incorporate this score into the selection procedure.
5. GEMSAS assimilates the GPA, GAMSAT score and performance in the medical interview to allocate medical offers to successful applicants based on their preferenced medical school.
6. For students who haven't completed their key degree or achieved a good GPA, the GEMSAS informs them and withdraws their conditional offer.

The GAMSAT Consortium works in conjunction with the GEMSAS. The Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test or the GAMSAT was introduced by ACER, a medical entrance exam used to select students for graduate-entry programs in Australia. Most of the GEMSAS universities consider the GAMSAT score as one of the primary selection criteria to rank applicants for a medical offer.

Here's a list of universities that fall under the GEMSAS Consortium:

• Australian National University
• Deakin University
• Griffith University
• Macquarie University
• The University of Melbourne
• The University of Notre Dame Australia (Fremantle, Sydney)
• The University of Queensland
• The University of Western Australia
• University of Wollongong

The Graduate-Entry Program is offered in most Australian medical schools and provides a range of opportunities through well-constructed medical courses for graduates to commit to the medical field. All students who wish to enter via the Graduate-Entry Pathway must have completed or should be currently in their final year of bachelor degree to be eligible for postgraduate medicine.

Students that wish to enter one of the GEMSAS universities can apply directly via the GEMSAS online portal. Typically the applications for medicine and dentistry open in early May and close by the end of May. However, the dates are subject to change annually. For instance, to commence medicine in 2025, the applications open on 1st May 2024 and the closing date is on 31st May 2024 5pm AEST/3pm AWST.

How Does GEMSAS Calculate GPA?

One of the key functions of GEMSAS is to calculate the GPA and rank each applicant from the highest preferenced medical school to the lowest. GEMSAS uses percentage results to calculate your GPA and may use grades if percentage results are not provided on the transcripts or retrieved through ARTS.

To calculate your GPA, all you need is your recent undergraduate degree transcripts and follow simple instructions laid out by GEMSAS. Although some medical schools use postgraduate studies in GPA calculation, the instructions are the same in both cases. Let us go step-by-step to understand how to calculate your GPA based on your recent degree qualification using the GEMSAS algorithm:

Step 1 - Determine your Degree Qualification

Kindly note that the three-years of full-time equivalent study are known as 'Final-minus-2', 'Final-minus-1', 'Final' years.

Step 2: Enter the Credit Points/Original Grades for Each Unit.

Once you successfully determine your recent qualifying degree, the next step in the GPA calculation involves grouping the units in chronological order from the three full-time-equivalent study years. Again, remember to add all the units within the three-year FTE, which also includes repeated or failed units.

Each degree constitutes a certain number of units and credit points offered at the first, second, and final year of the study period. Enter the credit points achieved as per your transcript based on each enrolled unit.

Step 3: Entering Actual Results for Each Unit

We are one final step away from the GPA calculation. The next step in the process is to enter your actual result received in individual units according to official transcripts. If you have both grades and percentages, use the percentage. However, if your transcripts only provide grades, use the conversion table given by GEMSAS to find the GPA per unit.

Step 4: Calculating your Weighted/Unweighted GPA

You are now in the final stage of your GPA calculation, and as of now, you must have collected the following details: Subject name/code, credit points, results, and your GPA from the conversion table.

Once you have your GPA, you need to multiply your GPA with the credit points achieved.

1. Add the unit values with the GPA achieved per year - Total (U1 + U2 + U3)
2. Add the values of GPA * credit points within each GPA year - Total (P1 + P2 + P3)
3. And finally, if you were to calculate your GPA for the first year of FTE, then the formula goes: Final-minus-2 year = Divide the total number of P values by the total number of U Values. (GPA = P/U)
4. Follow the same procedure for Final-minus-1 year and Final year and you will have three GPAs (Final-minus-2 year, Final-minus-1 year, Final year)

Kindly make a note that each GEMSAS university differs in its GPA calculation. Therefore, we recommend you to read your preferenced medical school's eligibility criteria.

• Gemsas weighted GPA = (Final-minus-2 GPA * 1) + (Final-minus-1 GPA * 2) + (Final GPA 3)/6*
• Unweighted GPA = (Final-minus-2 GPA) + (Final-minus-1 GPA) + (Final GPA)

Besides an applicant's academic achievement, the GEMSAS universities give significant preference to the GAMSAT scores. GAMSAT, as you know, is a medical school entrance exam that tests your ability to articulate essays as in Section 2 and provide logical reasoning in science and humanities, as in Section 3 and Section 1 respectively.

Every year, the GAMSAT Consortium provides two testing windows for students to sit the exam. For 2024, the first testing window was between 9 - 24 March 2024, and registrations for the GAMSAT September testing period will open during early May 2024.

Kindly note that the GAMSAT scores are valid for four years now, instead of two years previously.

Academic Transcripts

Suppose you have completed your tertiary education from a university that falls under the Automated Results Transfer System (ARTS); in that case, your results will be gathered and uploaded directly into the GEMSAS portal. This also means you are not required to send a transcript to GEMSAS to have your GPA calculated for selection into your preferenced medical school.

In contrast, if you completed your tertiary education from a university that does not belong to the ARTS domain, you need to generate original transcripts from your previous institutions and ensure that the academic transcripts are sent directly to GEMSAS.

Medical School Portfolios are Being Phased Out for 2025 Intake

While most Australian medical schools traditionally prioritise academic transcripts and GAMSAT scores in evaluating applicants for medical interviews, both the University of Notre Dame Australia and the University of Wollongong required a portfolio submission, alongside a CASPer test score.

However, there has been a notable shift in the admissions process, where universities for 2025 intake has discontinued the portfolio requirement. This change signifies a significant transformation in postgraduate medical admissions across Australia.

Moving forward, the University of Wollongong will primarily consider GAMSAT scores and GPA as initial benchmarks. Interview offers will hinge on CASPer scores and associated bonuses, indicating a streamlined approach to candidate evaluation.

For more information about these new changes, please read our comprehensive 2025 GEMSAS Guide.

The purpose of a medical school interview is to evaluate your qualities that are associated with success during medical school and in subsequent future practice. Based on your GPA, GAMSAT score and eligibility, GEMSAS releases medical interview offers to successful applicants via email. The successful applicant must present the invitation and a valid identity proof upon arrival at the medical school.

GEMSAS universities release the first offer for medical interviews during late September and typically release the final offer in early November. Medical interviews are conducted in-person during December, and successful applicants receive a medical offer from their highest to lowest preferenced university in early January.

Now that we have established how GEMSAS universities work in coalition, it is essential to understand individual universities' fee structure. The allocations for each student will be made based on the following order: CSP, BMP and FEE (where applicable).

Let us further explore what the CSP, BMP and FEE fee types offer students. The Commonwealth Supported Place or the CSP is a scheme undertaken by the Australian Government to support all domestic students financially. The Government covers a part of the student's tuition fee as a subsidy and not a loan. So if you are a domestic student, you are not required to return the tuition fee and instead must only pay a student contribution amount to the university.

The Bonded Medical Place or BMP is a subsection of the CSP. It is another scheme enforced by the Government to improve the workforce shortage of medical practitioners within rural regions of Australia. Only domestic applicants are eligible for a BMP, which means they must commit to medical practice within rural areas of Australia once they complete their postgraduate medical studies.

To understand more about individual university fee structure, check out our postgraduate medical university application guide. The article also sheds light on your eligibility for a CSP, BMP or FEE tuition fee and explains elaborately the student contribution amount you are required to pay according to the GEMSAS university.

GEMSAS FAQs

What are the Application Deadlines for GEMSAS?

For those applying to Medicine via GEMSAS, applicants must ensure that they take into consideration that GEMSAS applications open in early May 2024 and close on 31 May 2024 at 5pm AEST. Supporting documentation such as rurality documents must be emailed no later than 5pm on Monday 17th June 2024.

Are Two Bachelor’s Degrees Used To Calculate GEMSAS GPA?

Unfortunately, not. Only your most recent qualifying bachelor’s degree transcripts will be used to calculate your GPA.

Can I Apply Through GEMSAS As An International Student?

International students cannot process their applications via the GEMSAS and must directly apply to their preferred university. International applicants may sit the MCAT or the GAMSAT for admission into graduate-entry programs in Australia.

What Is The Easiest Medical School To Get Into In Australia?

Getting into medicine is quite challenging, so there is no definite way to answer which university allocates medical offers to students easily. You need to understand that each GEMSAS university has specific entry requirements. While most universities give higher preference to GAMSAT scores, few other universities focus more on your medical interview performance. Ultimately it boils down to which university suits your achievements and supports your interests.