Selection Criteria - International Applicants

The admission process for entry to UNSW Medicine is described in detail below. Prospective applicants are also advised to regularly read the Faculty's website (Latest News) as it will contain the latest information available.

Students are selected for entry into the UNSW Medicine Program on the basis of academic merit, performance at an interview and, if applicable, results of UMAT. The criteria are equally weighted.

Applicants need to be aware that because students are selected on the basis of a combination of all applicable criteria, applicants increase their likelihood of being selected by achieving the highest possible results in each of the criteria. It is important for applicants to understand that achieving the minimum academic score will not necessarily be sufficient to be selected for interview or to be offered a place. Over the past few years the number of applicants has increased to many times more than the number of places available, and the number and quality of applications continue to rise.

UNSW Medicine continues to be an exceptionally popular program with more than 700 applicants for the 70 international student places for 2011.

Further information about the Selection Criteria

1.	Academic Merit
	(a)	Applications applying on the basis of Year 12 results
		Applicants applying on the basis of the NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC) will be required to attain a Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of at least 96.00 to be eligible for consideration for UNSW Medicine. Applicants applying on the basis of interstate or overseas school qualifications will be required to attain a score equivalent to an academic rank of at least 96.00. The minimum achievement to be eligible for consideration to UNSW Medicine for applicants applying on the basis of their high school results is listed in the following table. However, as previously stated, achieving the minimum academic score is unlikely to be sufficient to be selected for an interview. In 2010 the minimum academic requirement for an interview was an academic rank of around 98.

	Eligible for consideration	Predicted minimum for interview
New South Wales	ATAR of 96	ATAR of 98
Victoria	ENTER of 96	ENTER of 98
Queensland	OP3	OP2
South Australia, Western Australia & Tasmania	TER of 96	TER of 98
International Baccalaureate	36	38
Singapore "A" Levels	22.5 points e.g.: AABB (H2), B(H1), A(GP)	23 points e.g.: AAAB (H2), B (H1), B(GP)
Other "A" Levels	AAB	AAA

Assumed Knowledge
Note that there are no prerequisites for entry into UNSW Medicine. However, there is assumed knowledge of Standard English (in the NSW HSC). Assumed knowledge is a level of achievement at the HSC (or equivalent) considered desirable for successful study in a program or first year course. Students who do not have the assumed level of knowledge are not prevented from enrolling, but may be placed at a disadvantage.

Please also refer to the section "What subjects should I study at High School?" in the section "Frequently Asked Questions".

	(b)	Applicants applying with university results
		Applicants who apply for entry in 2012 and who will have completed one year or more of tertiary studies at undergraduate level by the end of 2011 will be assessed on the basis of both their high school results and their tertiary results. These will be combined in the ratio of 50:50. They will be required to attain an academic rank of at least 98 to be considered for an interview. Applicants who have completed less than the equivalent of three-quarters of one year full time of tertiary studies by the end of 2011 will be assessed only on the basis of their high school qualifications. Tertiary results for such students will not be taken into consideration. They will also be required to have attained an academic rank of at least 98 in their final high school results to be considered for an interview. Please also refer to the section "Can I gain admission after partly completing or completing another undergraduate degree?" in the section "Frequently Asked Questions". Please note that there is no separate quota for university students.

2. Interview

Many applicants will be offered a telephone interview. The interview will be semi-structured and will cover a wide range of relevant issues. It is anticipated that the interviews will commence in April 2011.

Unfortunately, the Faculty is unable to interview all international applicants who meet the minimum academic criteria for consideration to UNSW Medicine. Applicants are ranked on the basis of their academic results and, if applicable, their UMAT results. Telephone interviews are offered in accordance with this ranked list. In 2010, the minimum academic requirement for an interview was an academic rank of around 98.

Please note that the interview cannot take place until the applicant has submitted the UNSW Medicine Application Form to the Faculty of Medicine.

3. Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test (UMAT)

Applicants who are living in Australia or New Zealand in 2011 are required to sit UMAT. All other international students are exempt from sitting UMAT in 2011.

UMAT is designed to assess general attributes and skills gained through prior experience and learning. The three sections in UMAT assess the acquisition of skills in critical thinking and problem solving, interactions with others, and abstract non-verbal reasoning. The three sections are equally weighted. For further information about UMAT and to register for the test, visit the Australian Council for Educational Research’s (ACER) website.

Note that if a student sat UMAT in 2010 and resits it in 2011, UNSW will count the higher of the two sets of scores rather than the more recent scores as stated by ACER. Please also note that UMAT scores are only valid for two years. This means that results from UMAT 2009 and earlier are invalid when applying for entry in 2011.

UNSW uses the actual scores for the three test components, not the percentile rank.

^ Back to top