Medicine course in USYD (1 Viewer)

sly chan

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Hi, I just got a few questions about entering medicine degree in USYD...

I am wondering how important is the profile? because I've just been in Australia for two years, and except for the school report I have nothing much I can put into it..I am now going into Year 11, so I am not sure will I have time to join any outside school groups?
If the profile is important, what will you recommend to put in there?

Is there any working experience I can do in Australia? I have search up a few sites, but they are only available for Year 10. And is there any workshop or experience in USYD that is available for Year 11 students?

Last, can I do my UMAT in Year 11 instead of 12? How can I practice UMAT? Do I have to go to tutoring place or just buy past papers? Where will you recommend me to go (either for tutor or buying resources)?

Sorry, I know there are quite a lot of questions. Thanks for reading through all of these and any of your comments will be useful for me.
Thank you very much, guys!!
 

zhertec

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Medicine in Usyd only requires 99.95 atar combined degree (unless with music, which is slightly lower at 99.55 I think or special considerations) and you just have to pass the interview as well.
 

Queenroot

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Med @ USYD requires 99.95 ATAR and no UMAT.

As for other pathways, you would need to finish an undergraduate degree and sit GAMSAT within that time.
 

Xt

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I am wondering how important is the profile? because I've just been in Australia for two years, and except for the school report I have nothing much I can put into it..I am now going into Year 11, so I am not sure will I have time to join any outside school groups?
If the profile is important, what will you recommend to put in there?

Is there any working experience I can do in Australia? I have search up a few sites, but they are only available for Year 10. And is there any workshop or experience in USYD that is available for Year 11 students?
Profile? As in a portfolio? Really, it doesn't matter - interviews are about your communication skills. But if you are keen to get some experience, go volunteer for over 6 months (St vinnies de paul, St John's, etc). Get into a team sport, and work experience is good as well. Work is not limited for year 10s, you simply just need to go out there and find it yourself.

This will give you enough experience and insight to talk about in your interview for any medical school.

Last, can I do my UMAT in Year 11 instead of 12? How can I practice UMAT? Do I have to go to tutoring place or just buy past papers? Where will you recommend me to go (either for tutor or buying resources)?

You can only do UMAT in year 12 - I would not risk doing it in year 11 since you will be banned and thus be unable to apply to the majority of undergraduate medical schools. You can practice UMAT by reading the newspaper everyday (like the Australian). You can also purchase a UMAT prep course, although their effectiveness is debated.
 

Amleops

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I am wondering how important is the profile? because I've just been in Australia for two years, and except for the school report I have nothing much I can put into it..I am now going into Year 11, so I am not sure will I have time to join any outside school groups?
If the profile is important, what will you recommend to put in there?!
You should definitely make the effort and time to join some outside school groups/extra-curricular activities. It's pretty much necessary to show that you are a well-rounded applicant. If you plan it well it shouldn't impact too much on your studies.

Unsw > Usyd :D
Mate, you're in Year 10.
 

Futureunswmedstudent

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You should definitely make the effort and time to join some outside school groups/extra-curricular activities. It's pretty much necessary to show that you are a well-rounded applicant. If you plan it well it shouldn't impact too much on your studies.



Mate, you're in Year 10.
Should i delete my sig :/


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jpham0011

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If you want to get into USYD med there are 2 options. First, you could do VERY well in your HSC (99.5 ATAR for international students), do decently in an interview/written component, and get into what's called the 'Double Degree Medicine Program.' What this means is that you do an undergraduate course at USYD (advanced science, med science, commerce, music etc) and if you keep a credit average you are guaranteed a spot in the USYD med program (which is ONLY post-grad, something I feel should have been brought up...). You also get a 10k/year scholarship for the first 3 years. The second option is to just do ANY undergraduate course you want (uni doesn't matter) then apply to USYD med as a post-graduate course. To get in you need a really good uni average for your undergraduate degree, do well in the GAMSAT (like the UMAT, but twice as long and with essay and science components too) AND do well in an interview. All up the degree will take you 7 years (3 years undergrad + 4 years med) minimum, regardless of what route you take.

Honestly, your profile matters very little. Yes, it obviously helps if you can back up things like a 'desire to help people' with actual community service history (for example), but it is DEFINITELY not necessary. In your interview/writing task you're mainly assessed on how well you understand what the course is like, the reality of being a doctor (work experience in hospitals can help, but again, not compulsory for this) AND how well you communicate. Tbh, in my interview there were people dropping so much shit about their 'passion to contribute' and profile stuff that it came off really cheesy and annoying, so it can even work against you. So I'd say do that stuff ONLY if you want to. If you're just doing stuff like work experience/sport/extra curricular stuff purely for the profile, it's not gonna come off very genuine, and interviewers can tell. Your choice.

Also, you might have noticed that UMAT is completely irrelevant for USYD med, either route. But that's not to say don't do it; don't put all your eggs in the USYD basket, you still have plenty of options (UNSW, UWS, Newcastle etc) which have FANTASTIC med programs (look up pros and cons, don't just assume USYD is best) that DO requre UMAT. Like other people said, tutoring centres CAN help, but not that much - UMAT is pretty hard to improve on that way. What WILL help is practice - find a bunch of the free papers online (most centres and ACER give free sample ones) and do them under timed conditions; and if you're really struggling to improve THEN consider a centre.

Good luck!

(Source: Just did my HSC this year and was accepted into the USYD double degree program last week)
 

sly chan

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Hi jpham,

Thanks very much for your comment!! If you don't mind sharing, what do you talk about in your interview?
 

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