Many students sit the UMAT for the first time thinking that they must to do well in UMAT because it is the only way for them to be accepted into their dream uni degree, medicine. This is untrue! This thinking places an enormous amount of unnecessary pressure on students. The reality is there are numerous ways to be accepted into medicine. Sitting UMAT, getting a good ATAR and smashing an interview may be the easiest and quickest way to get into medicine, but it is not the only one. Other options to be accepted into medicine can include:  • Taking...

Living in our corner of the world and having a desire to pursue medicine will mean that at some point you will encounter either the UMAT or the GAMSAT. I experienced the former a multitude of times and the latter most recently, and have achieved success in both. This blog will guide you through both exams and pathways.   If you are a student pursuing medicine in New Zealand, the UMAT will be your only concern. It is not possible to directly enter medicine as a high school leaver at either Auckland or Otago, so the UMAT is a barrier...

A lot of people think because their final year of school is such a busy one, they should forget about doing the UMAT and focus on their studies instead. Some say, “Don’t worry if you are not sitting the UMAT, you can always just sit the GAMSAT during Uni and get into Medicine that way”. Whilst this is true, the graduate entry route is no doubt harder. You compete with a far wider range of test takers. The percentage of students who actually get into Graduate Medicine is also far lower than the UMAT percentage intake. The decision to sit...

Congratulations on your decision to pursue medicine as a career! Medicine is an interesting, valued and rewarding profession. The process of getting into medicine can be confusing, so here’s an introduction.   Criteria for getting into medicine Unlike most other courses, getting into medicine doesn’t just require a high ATAR. Entry into medicine at most universities is based on three criteria: ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank) UMAT (Undergraduate Medical and Health Sciences Admission Test) Interview (some universities also require a written application) Each university differs slightly in how they go about selecting students for medicine, so it is important to...

Why doing well in English is  essential  for gaining entry into medicine and succeeding in your medical course and career. Some students love it. Others hate it: Reading books, writing essays and analysing articles where the content matter is highly subjective and there is no definitive ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer. English is the polar opposite of many subjects favoured by maths and science minded students because essay questions require a highly critical and subjective thinking style in order to write high scoring responses. However, like it or not, all students looking to study undergraduate medicine or other popular health science...

Medicine entry via GAMSAT or UMAT? what’s the difference? It’s a question anyone wanting to gain entry into medicine will inevitably ask: ‘Am I better off sitting the UMAT and doing an undergraduate medicine degree, or should I sit the GAMSAT to gain entry into a graduate medicine course?’ To make things easier, below is a comparative summary of some of the key elements of both the GAMSAT (graduate entry pathway) and the UMAT (undergraduate entry pathway) so you can make up your own mind. See our earlier blog entries for a simple comparison of  studying medicine at Monash or...

Medicine via  UMAT  or GAMSAT? For a simpler comparison of UMAT against the GAMSAT please see the following article:  ‘UMAT or GAMSAT? which is harder? which is easier?‘. Our view is that UMAT route is far superior for several reasons including: 1. No guarantee: Even if you do ace your GPA and do well in GAMSAT, there is no gurantee that you will get in: there is an interview as well. 2. More stress and uncertainty: You have just finished a hard slog for your final high school exams. Do you really want to continue to do that for another...

This is a difficult question because it depends on so many things. Overall, they are both equally hard. Some students may have strengths in some areas and it may suit certain tests. For example some students may find the writing exercise in GAMSAT matches their strengths. For some students, the abstract reasoning may be their strength and find Section 3 of UMAT particularly easy. Overall both are competitive tests but the cohort of people sitting the tests are different. Most people who sit the UMAT are school leavers whereas those who sit GAMSAT come from a wide range of backgrounds (new grads, postgrads,...

Medicine at Monash (via  UMAT ) or Melbourne (via GAMSAT)? A dilemma facing high achievers wanting to pursue medicine is whether to choose Monash University (school leaver entry) or Melbourne University (graduate route). Many parents often ask “why did some universities abandon the school leaver entry route to medicine and which route is better?” Our view is that Monash school leaver entry is far superior for several reasons including: 1. No guarantee: Melbourne Graduate medicine does NOT have guaranteed places in Medicine, even though the university claims that it has. Even those who obtain an ATAR of 99.95 have to...