It sounds complicated, but it really isn’t.

I can only go through the Australian Graduate Entry Medical Program (GEMP) application procedures in this post. While I did attempt to apply for graduate courses in the UK (keyword being “attempted”) I failed miserably when it came to clearing the mere GPA hurdle of second class upper and above.

So, the universities offering the GEMP in Australia are:

University of Queensland
Griffith University
Bond University
University of Sydney
University of Notre Dame, Sydney
University of Western Sydney
University of New South Wales
University of Wollongong
Australian National University
Deakin University
Monash University (yay!)
University of Melbourne
Flinders University
University of Western Australia
University of Notre Dame, Fremantle

Sounds like quite a list doesn’t it? I have to break it down a little. These are the ones currently recognized by the Singapore Medical Council:

Flinders University
Monash University
University of New South Wales
University of Queensland
University of Sydney
University of Tasmania
University of Western Australia

Why is it important to be recognized by the SMC? If you’re a Singaporean planning to return after your studies, you need a degree from one of the recognized institutions in order to be allowed to practice here on any level (houseman to specialist). So as far as humanly possible, try to get one which is recognized. I was informed by the folks in IDP that the university has to be recognized by the date of your enrollment. If it is recognized sometime during the course of your studies, the degree your graduate with still cannot be used to get a job in Singapore.

Now, not all of the above mentioned universities have international places. The ones offering international places in 2010 are:

ANU – 20 places
Deakin – 10 places
Flinders – 19
Monash – 10
Queensland – 100
Sydney – 55
Wollongong – up to 12

International places are additional to the Australian government funded places. In short, internationals compete with internationals.

Every university on this list (with the exception of Bond which I will go through later) requires a minimum GPA, and a GAMSAT or MCAT score.

You can refer to the table on this page for a better view of how they calculate the overall entry score.
http://members.optusnet.com.au/pagingdr/admission/uniReqCompared.shtml

It is noteworthy that this year, Queensland did not conduct interviews. Offers were based solely on GAMSAT and GPA combined score. Also, University of Melbourne would not be accepting any application to its GEMP till 2011 when it unveils the Melbourne MD program. More about this later.

w = weighted
h = hurdle

(might be a little small. View the image alone to enlarge)

So basically, pass your undergraduate degree relatively well, pass the GAMSAT or MCAT, and do good in the interview. Sounds simple enough doesn’t it?

Okay, so there a couple of ways an international student can apply to the Universities above. One is via ACER, and the other directly to the university. ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research) is the website where you can get all the information regarding GAMSAT, apply for the GAMSAT, get GAMSAT guidebooks, and apply for universities. Local students can only apply through ACER for most of the unis, but internationals are not bound by this.

How ACER works is it gives the local student 3 and international student 2 choices of university. If you are not considered by your first choice, you get handed to the second, then the third. However, if you are accepted into the university’s applicant pool, regardless of whether you interview or not, your application is unlikely to be handed down to the next choice. So this would require a bit of strategizing.

ANU – ACER or direct
Deakin – ACER or direct
Flinders – ACER or direct
Monash – ACER only
Queensland – ACER or direct
Sydney – ACER only
Wollongong – ACER or direct

What I did was to enlist the help of an education agent. My agent was AusEd (their office is somewhere in the CBD). In Singapore there is also RELC and IDP. My friend who went through RELC managed to get help with accommodation as well, which is a big plus. The education agent will help with applications, visa, and acceptance. So it’s a big load off your shoulders and you can concentrate on studying. What I did was:

ACER:
1 – Monash
2 – Sydney

Direct:
Queensland
ANU
Flinders

Best to widen your net to catch more fish yes? =D

GAMSAT registration for 2010 has now opened. Application to universities would too once the year begins.

Now on to our exceptions. Bond University is a more or less private school. It runs on a different system from the other universities, starting later and ending later. It has no segregation between undergrad and post grad medical students which leads to a very vibrant and mixed cohort (in my opinion anyway). However, it is a very new school. And their graduates have yet to be tested long term as of yet. Bond university does NOT require a GAMSAT or MCAT score for application. However, they do require a minimum unweighted GPA of 5.5, as well as an on-campus interview.

University of Melbourne recently revamped their medical program. They stopped accepting students into their undergraduate program this year, and stopped the graduate program as well. When they relaunch in 2011, Melb Uni will offer only one course – The Melbourne MD. This follows the current American system of a graduate medical course. Students are expected to have a basic knowledge of the sciences (in particular anatomical and physiological sciences) via their undergraduate degree. Hence it is limited to students from a science degree background.

Righto! So that concludes the application process! There is much to read by yourself really. And researching all this information was what drove my interest. So go out! Read more! And prepare yourself for the ride of a lifetime!