How to Get Into Medical School as a Year 12 Student in Canberra

Pathways into Studying Medicine

So you're a year 12 student doing the BCC this year and want to study medicine. Fantastic, you've come to the right place!

By this stage, you should be well through your first half of the year and assessments and at the final stages of your UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test) preparation. At this point, it's pivotal that you're looking out for yourself and also recovering through the mid-year break to prepare yourself for the UCAT hurdle and your final exams.

Today we'll have a quick look through an overview of the pathways available for medicine, how to apply, and key considerations as a student based in Canberra.

If you aren't already familiar with the key pathways into medicine, we'll do a quick recap here. These are the five main pathways you can choose from:

Undergraduate Pathway

This is typically five or six years long in duration and requires the UCAT, your ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank), and an interview.

Provisional Pathway

This is essentially a postgraduate course structure, however, it has similar requirements as undergraduate entry, often including the UCAT, your ATAR, and an interview. An example of this type of pathway is the ANU Bachelor of Health Science and Medicine course in Canberra!

Gap Year Pathway

This pathway is essentially the same as the undergraduate pathway; however, you can take a gap year to resit the UCAT if your score wasn't high enough.

Non-standard Pathway

This is essentially where you start any undergraduate course (e.g., a Bachelor of Science) and transfer into an undergraduate medicine course during your second or third year. This has the same requirements as the undergraduate pathway; however, instead of using your ATAR, you will use your GPA or WAM.

Postgraduate Pathway

This is where you complete an undergraduate degree and then apply to medicine after completion of this degree, using your GPA/WAM combined with your GAMSAT score and an interview.

Applications

As a student based in Canberra, it is crucial that you maximise your chances of entry by applying to as many states as possible. Simply applying to ANU alone will not provide you with ample opportunities to gain acceptance into medicine, given its increasing competitiveness every year.

During your mid-year break, it is worth consolidating all of your application choices and your goal universities for entrance into medical school. At this stage, it is also worth setting up account portals for each of the tertiary admissions centres, as most applications will close around September.

Tertiary Admissions Centres in Australia

Here are the Tertiary Admissions Centres in Australia:

1. UAC (Universities Admissions Centre)

New South Wales (NSW) and Australian Capital Territory (ACT)

2. VTAC (Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre)

Victoria

3. QTAC (Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre)

Queensland

4. SATAC (South Australian Tertiary Admissions Centre)

South Australia and Northern Territory

5. TISC (Tertiary Institutions Service Centre)

Western Australia

6. UTAS (University of Tasmania Admissions)

Tasmania

Special Considerations

Additionally, you can consider any special considerations for your application to assist with your chances of selection. This can include things such as:

• Financial difficulties
• Health circumstances
• Location
• Schooling Circumstances
• Any other considerations that may have affected your senior studies

Note that most of these applications require supporting documentation, so it is worth getting this prepared ahead of time.

Finally, consider looking into scholarship options, accommodation, and interview dates and locations, especially if you are applying interstate. There is a lot of preparation involved, so it's always worth planning ahead!

Common Pitfalls

Especially with such a busy year, it’s easy to miss key dates or important stages in the application process. Here we've summarised some of the most common pitfalls in Year 12 students from Canberra wanting to study medicine:

• Apply outside of the ACT - Medicine is notorious for having one of the lowest acceptance rates of any university course. If you can afford the small application fee per state, it's definitely worth applying to as many locations as possible to maximise your chances.
• Summarised key dates - Each university and state admissions centre has slightly different cut-offs and deadlines for their courses. It's worth creating a summarised document to note down all of the required information so that you don't miss out on applying!

Plan Beyond the Course

As an ACT student, we should be prepared to move interstate for medical school, given the vast majority of schools are located outside of our state. This also includes applying for accommodation, sorting out travel plans and scholarships ahead of time. Trust me, it's something that people often neglect!

A Backup Plan

In the worst case that things don't go according to plan, it's always important to have backup pathways to ensure you can get into medicine in the future. This can be along the lines of taking a gap year or starting an alternative course and then transferring into medicine (the non-standard pathway)

Summary

In summary, applying to medicine is a complex process and requires significant planning and attention towards academic results. Your mid-year break is a fantastic opportunity to get a hand on organising logistics such as your applications, scholarships, and accommodation plans. Make sure to use this time wisely!

As always, feel free to comment down below or contact us if you have any questions, and look forward to seeing you next time :)