Frequently Asked Questions - Local Applicants

What is the Rural Student Entry Scheme?

The Rural Student Entry Scheme was first introduced in 1997. Students with a significant rural background compete for a separate entry quota of about 50 places in the Medicine program. Applicants must have lived in a rural area with at least five years rural residence; consecutive or cumulative. A rural area is defined as RRMA 3-7 (Rural, Remote, Metropolitan classification system). For more information please see the RRMA website. Applicants who apply to the RSES need to complete a Medicine Application Form.

The RSES is an alternative entry scheme for Medicine. Successful applicants study the same Medicine program as local entry students. Applicants must carefully read and understand the Faculty of Medicine Policy on Allocation of Students to Clinical Environments. This policy sets out the obligations of RSES students in terms of allocation to Rural Clinical settings.

Will coaching help me gain a place in the Medicine Program?

Applicants may be aware that there are courses that claim to improve performance in UMAT or in the interview. The Faculty would like applicants to be aware that:

For information on the content of UMAT, see the ACER website.

What ATAR and UMAT scores do I need to be offered an interview?

As stated previously, applicants are selected for interview on the basis of their ATAR and UMAT results. Listed below are the average results that have been required over the past three years in order to be offered an interview. This information is provided to give an indication of the scores that are likely to be required to be offered an interview.

Examples:

If the UMAT score (the raw mark not the scaled mark or the percentile rank) was 54 the ATAR required to obtain an interview was 99.95. If the UMAT score (as defined above) was 56, the ATAR required to obtain an interview was 99.50.

The following Table gives these and other scores:

What subjects should I study at High School?

Although there are no prerequisites for entry into UNSW Medicine, we recommend that students study English for their final high school examinations. There is assumed knowledge of this subject and studying it is considered desirable for successful study in the Medicine Program. Students who do not have the assumed level of knowledge are eligible to apply, be offered a place and to enrol, but may be placed at a considerable disadvantage.

In addition, study in Chemistry is recommended.

For students sitting the New South Wales Higher School Certificate, the following applies. It is assumed that students have studied English Standard, English Advanced or English Extension 1 in the HSC and have achieved a level of performance of at least Band 4. English as a Second Language (ESL) and Fundamentals of English are not considered sufficient preparation for the Medicine Program but, as stated above, will not prevent a student from enrolling in the Medicine Program.

What should I do if I don’t gain entry from the HSC?

This is an extremely difficult question to answer, and one which requires a great deal of individual assessment.

In all cases, students should consider carefully their determination to pursue a career in medicine and, in line with that, their willingness to spend one year repeating the HSC or one or more years undertaking a tertiary program in order to again attempt admission to UNSW Medicine.

An alternative to repeating the HSC is to enrol in another tertiary program. This is where the decision may become difficult. A quandary here is that students may undertake tertiary programs in which they have no particular vocational interest and, having completed one or more years, fail to achieve entry into the first year of UNSW Medicine.

The obvious problem then is that students are on a degree path in which they have little interest. As no guarantee can be given about the chances of success of students obtaining entry to UNSW Medicine, students should make careful choices of tertiary programs to ensure that if they don’t succeed in obtaining a place in UNSW Medicine, they have enrolled in programs in which they do have interest and which can be used to pursue different careers other than the practice of medicine.

Another issue to be considered is that the academic component for selection for students who commence a university degree is based on both the ATAR and tertiary results, which are combined in the ratio of 50:50. Thus if an applicant has a ATAR of less than 92.00, their tertiary results can never be sufficient to raise their academic results to the equivalent of the minimum ATAR of 96.00 required for consideration for entry. On the other hand, an applicant who scores a ATAR of around 98 would need to achieve results of high distinctions in some courses and distinctions in the rest in order to maintain the same equivalent ATAR.

Students should note that when electing to undertake tertiary studies in another program with the aim of obtaining a place in UNSW Medicine, they are not restricted to programs offered by the University of New South Wales and therefore may consider programs offered by any Australian university. Science and Arts based programs are equally acceptable. Note that there is a separate admission process for students applying from the Bachelor of Medical Science program at UNSW.

Can I gain admission after partly completing or completing another undergraduate degree?

Students may apply for admission to UNSW Medicine after completing an undergraduate degree or prior to the completion of their first undergraduate degree, and can apply during their first year of university studies. Please note that the Faculty does not set a limit to the number of years an applicant may submit an application for admission.

For details on how applications will be assessed, see the earlier section "Selection Criteria". Note that certificates, diplomas, graduate diplomas, research work, masters by research and PhDs are not used in the assessment of applications.

The formula used to rank the academic component of applications from students who, at the time of the proposed commencement of medicine, will have completed at least 75% of first year of tertiary studies, uses both the ATAR and the undergraduate results, and they are weighted equally. As stated previously, if an applicant has a ATAR of less than 92.00, their tertiary results can never be sufficient to raise their academic results to the equivalent of the minimum ATAR of 96.00 required for consideration for entry. An applicant who scores a ATAR of around 98 would need to achieve results of high distinctions in some courses and distinctions in the rest in order to maintain the same equivalent ATAR.

Applicants who have not sat the HSC (or equivalent) must be in at least their second year of full time university studies in order to be eligible to apply.

Applicants need to be aware of the assumed knowledge and recommended subject detailed in the section “What subjects should I study at High School?”

Note that there is a separate admission process for students applying from the Bachelor of Medical Science program at UNSW.

Can I gain admission after partly completing a medicine degree at another university?

Students who have partly completed another medical degree program interstate or overseas may apply. Such applications will be considered only where applicants have documented reasons such as family reunion for transferring to a medical school in New South Wales. (Such documentation is to be sent by 28 October 2011 to the Faculty of Medicine. Applications received after this date will not be accepted.) It will assist if one copy of any relevant academic records are included (not required to be certified copies).

When considering applications, the Faculty will take into account the reasons given for the request to transfer as well as considering the student’s academic merit and results of UMAT. Applicants are not required to be interviewed. The minimum academic result required to be eligible to be considered is the equivalent of an ATAR of 96.00 or 91.00 if transferring as a Rural Student Entry Scheme student.

As a guideline up to three places are generally available for this category but usually in excess of 30 applications are received. Students therefore need to carefully consider their options in the event of not being offered one of the three places.

Students who were resident in New South Wales and subsequently accepted an offer of a place in a medical school outside New South Wales are unlikely to be successful in transferring to the Medicine Program at UNSW.

Overseas-qualified medical practitioners are ineligible to apply. They are advised to contact the Australian Medical Council.

Please note that applicants must complete all of the following steps for their application to be considered (see "How to Apply and Lodge your Application" for closing dates):

• Apply for and sit UMAT (if UMAT not sat in 2010). Please note that applications will still be considered without a UMAT score.
• Submit a Medicine Application Form to the Faculty website (applications open 2 May 2011)
• Lodge an application for UNSW Medicine with UAC
• Submit documented reasons for transfer application and academic record to the Faculty by 28 October 2011 (post to Admissions Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Uni of NSW, Sydney 2052 or email to medicine.info@unsw.edu.au)
• If the short-listed applicant is in a medical school in Australia or New Zealand, a recommendation will be sought from their medical school Dean.

Can credit be given for previous studies?

Due to the structure of the curriculum, few if any credits can be granted to students transferring after partly completing or completing another degree. Exemption from all or part of the requirement to undertake 12 Units of Credit of General Education courses will be considered and granted when applicable.

Can overseas students gain admission?

Overseas students can be considered for admission to UNSW Medicine as fee-paying students. There is a separate quota of 70 places per year. The tuition fee for 2011 for a student undertaking a full-time load is AUD 48,000. For full details on calculating the tuition fee, see the international website.

Note that the Australian Government has determined that Australian citizens, Australian residents and New Zealand citizens are ineligible to apply as overseas students and must apply as local students. They are ineligible to apply as an international student irrespective of their citizenship of any other country. (New Zealand permanent residents are classed as international students.)

What occurs after gaining a medicine degree?

After completing one of the medicine programs, the new graduate usually works for at least one year as a Junior Medical Officer (otherwise known as an intern) in selected hospitals in order to obtain registration as a medical practitioner with a State Medical Board. Further study and experience is required before specialist qualifications can be obtained. For further information:

• visit the website for the NSW Health's Clinical Education and Training Institute (CETI)
• obtain a book on medical careers or
• visit the websites for the specialist colleges such as the Royal Australasian College of Physicians or the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons

When do Classes commence?

UNSW Medicine has one intake of students per year. Classes in the first three years commence in the last week of February or the first week in March and conclude in late November or early December. In 2012, classes in Year 1 will commence on Monday 27 February and the year ends with examinations which, it is anticipated, will finish on or before Friday 16 November.

What types of Accommodation options are available?

There are a number of on-campus and off-campus accommodation options. On-campus accommodation includes self-catering apartments and residential colleges. Please note that residential college accommodation is limited and there are always waiting lists. Students interested in college accommodation must apply directly to the college of their choice preferably three to six months before starting at UNSW. For more information, please see the UNSW Housing website.

Which Hospitals are used for Clinical Teaching?

The main hospitals located in Sydney which are used for clinical teaching are:

• Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick
• St George Hospital, Kogarah
• St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst
• Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool
• Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick
• Royal Hospital for Women, Randwick
• Sutherland Hospital, Caringbah
• Bankstown Hospital, Bankstown
• Fairfield Hospital, Fairfield

The main hospitals located outside of Sydney and in rural New South Wales and Victoria which are used for clinical teaching are:

• Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, Wagga Wagga
• Albury Base Hospital, Albury
• Wodonga Regional Health Service, Wodonga (Victoria)
• Port Macquarie Base Hospital, Port Macquarie
• Coffs Harbour Hospital, Coffs Harbour

It is expected that students who gain entry via the Rural Student Entry Scheme will be allocated to a rural hospital and undertake at least one of their final three years in a Rural Clinical School. Other local students may have the option or be required to also undertake at least 12 months of studies in rural hospitals. International students are not usually given the option of undertaking an extended placement in a rural hospital. However all students should expect at least 8 weeks in a rural rotation.

Students who are allocated to a rural hospital currently have as their home hospital Wagga Wagga, Albury, Coffs Harbour or Port Macquarie. Such students are also required to undertake some terms or part of terms in hospitals or health care facilities other than their home hospital. Wollongong Hospital is also being developed as a teaching hospital.

The Faculty will always consider the personal preferences of students in their allocation to home hospitals and to other hospitals on rotation. However, the Faculty reserves the right to allocate students to hospitals that are not their first preference in order to ensure that students receive the highest possible quality of teaching. Students considering applying for entry into UNSW Medicine must take this into consideration and be willing to undertake their training in a range of hospital and health care facilities. For further information please refer to the Faculty’s policy on Allocation of Students to Clinical Environments on the Faculty website.

What teaching methods and assessment are used?

The majority of teaching in Phase 1 of the curriculum (first 2 years) occurs on the main university’s Kensington campus and includes lectures, small group work, tutorials and practical classes held in laboratories. During this Phase, clinical sessions are held in hospitals.

In Phase 2 of the program (next 2 years), the clinical sessions held in hospitals increase to 3 days per week. Campus teaching (lectures, small group work, tutorials and practical classes) is held on the other 2 days per week at the Kensington campus. Phase 2 also includes the Independent Learning Project. In this unique learning experience, students undertake a supervised research project of their choosing.

In Phase 3 of the program (final 2 years), almost all teaching is conducted in hospitals. It includes bedside tutorials, classroom tutorials, ward rounds and attendance at clinics. Lectures held on the main university campus also form part of the teaching program in this Phase.

In all three phases of the program, students will be required to travel to various clinical environments associated with UNSW. These will be the predominant locations for learning in Phases 2 and 3, and will include at least 8 weeks in a non-metropolitan setting and one quarter of the local students will undertake one or two academic years in a non-metropolitan setting in Phase 3.

A wide-range of appropriate assessment methods are used to ensure students have achieved the level of knowledge and skill required. Methods include:

• Assignments
• Group Projects
• Practical Exams
• Written exams with multiple choice, short answer and essay questions
• Objective structured clinical exams
• Verbal viva exams
• Short cases, long cases and focused clinical exams.
• Thesis (Independent Learning Project)

Can I take leave during the program?

UNSW Medicine will usually permit students to take one period of leave during the program.

As courses in Phase 1 (first two years) are held only once a year or once every two years, leave taken during Phase 1 usually has to be one or in some cases two years in length. In Phases 2 and 3, leave usually has to be one year in length. An exception to these cases is where a student has not made normal progression through the program.

Students therefore need to carefully consider their options when applying for leave, given the complexity of the sequencing of courses in the program.