Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery admissions

This year there will be significant changes to the admissions process across all Australian graduate medicine schools. Please refer to the link below for further information.

GEMSAS information

The School of Medicine, Sydney will be holding a Medicine information evening for prospective students on Wednesday 25th May, 2011 from 6:00pm - 8:30pm at our Darlinghurst Campus. Interested students should contact the prospective students office via sydney@nd.edu.au or 02 8204 4404 for further information.

Specific information on applying to the Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery program at Notre Dame is summarised below. For further information, please contact our Prospective Students Office via sydney@nd.edu.au or by calling (02) 8204 4404 to talk to a Prospective Student Advisor.

Important Dates

January 2011	GAMSAT Registration Deadline

March 2011	GAMSAT Exam

May 2011	School of Medicine online applications available and

	forms available for downloading May 9th (both required).
May 2011	GAMSAT results available

10 June 2011	Application deadline to Notre Dame Sydney Campus

August 2011	Offers for MBBS interviews are made

October 2011	Interviews are conducted

Nov-Dec 2011	Offers of places made by medical schools
	Unsuccessful applicants notified

January 2012	Semester starts late January

Eligibility

Applicants must be Australian citizens or permanent residents of Australia, New Zealand citizens or the holder of an Australian Permanent Humanitarian Visa.
Applicants must hold a Bachelor degree completed within the last ten years or must be in the final year of completing a Bachelor degree. Students who are in their final year of study must complete their degree by 1st January of the year in which they wish to commence studying the Medicine Program.
The Bachelor degree must be completed from:
An Australian Institution or Accredited Higher Education Provider listed in the Australian Qualifications Framework. Please see http://www.aqf.edu.au/ for a list of these institutions.

An overseas university listed in the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition Guide. See http://www.aei.gov.au/AEI/QualificationsRecognition/Default.htm for more information. Please be advised that overseas qualifications will need to be comparable to Australian qualifications to be considered. The onus is on applicants to provide both translated and original transcripts when applying. Transcripts must be translated by NAATI (National Accreditation Authority Translators and Interpreters). Please visit http://www.naati.com.au/ for more information.

If the bachelor degree was awarded more than ten years ago, and the applicant has completed postgraduate study within the past ten years, they are welcome to apply.

Selection process
Candidates are selected for admission on the basis of 4 criteria:

GAMSAT Score
School of Medicine Application Form
Grade Point Average (GPA)
Interview Score

The following is a guide to the requirements for admission:

1. Graduate Australian Medical Schools Admissions Test (GAMSAT).
Applicants must sit the GAMSAT to be eligible for entry to the MBBS program.

The GAMSAT has been developed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to assist Medical Schools in the selection of students to participate in Graduate Entry Programs. It assesses a student’s ability to undertake high level intellectual studies in demanding courses. The test occurs once a year only. Please be advised that the GAMSAT for 2012 MBBS applicants has already closed.
The test is divided into three sections:
I. Reasoning in Humanities and Social Sciences
II. Written Communication
III. Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences.

Satisfactory performance in the GAMSAT generally means achieving a score of 50 or above in each component and as an overall score. Please note that GAMSAT results are valid for the next two admissions years. That is, if an applicant sits the GAMSAT in 2011 for 2012 entry, the results are also valid for 2013 entry.

The GAMSAT mark forms a component of the score used to determine selection for interview. Please visit http://www.gamsat.acer.edu.au/ for more information. We also accept results from GAMSAT in the United Kingdom.

2. School of Medicine Application Form

Applicants must submit the University of Notre Dame School of Medicine Application Form. The form should outline the applicant’s motivation to pursue a career in medicine and to study at Notre Dame. The form should also detail the applicant’s involvement in their community and achievements to date.
The School of Medicine Application Forms are submitted directly to the University’s Admissions Office and are each read by two senior medical school staff members and scored.
The School of Medicine Application Form for entry into 2012 will be available in May 2011. (Please click here to access the 2012 application form).The School of Medicine Application Form score forms a component of the score used to determine selection for interview. Additional bonus scores are also allocated to applicants with a rural background or postgraduate studies.
The School of Medicine Application Form needs to be submitted directly to the University regardless of UNDA Sydney ranking on the applicant’s preference form.

3. Grade Point Average (GPA)

The GPA is calculated using the final three full-time equivalent years of study from the most recently completed undergraduate Bachelor Degree. An honours year is considered the last year of an undergraduate degree. The degree may be in any field of tertiary study and there are no prerequisite subjects.
Postgraduate study is not included in the calculation of the GPA, although postgraduate study may allow bonus points to be allocated. However, students are discouraged from enrolling in postgraduate study intentionally as a means of gaining entry to a medical course, as selection is based primarily on performance in the most current undergraduate degree.
Students who are in their final year of study will have their GPA calculated on results available.

Please be advised that the calculation of GPAs will not be completed by The University of Notre Dame, Sydney. Please direct all GPA queries directly to GEMSAS via email at info@gemsas.edu.au.

4. Interview

Applicants will be ranked for interview based on a combination of GAMSAT, GPA and the University of Notre Dame School of Medicine Application Form.
Interviews are semi-structured and each applicant offered an interview position is interviewed by a panel of trained interviewers.
The interview covers questions and scenarios covering motivation, group work, ethics and communication skills.

Offers for Admission

After interview, applicants are then ranked from highest to lowest. Offers are made on the basis of this ranked list.
Please be advised that request for deferral of an MBBS place will not be approved.

Other requirements

Students must completed the following requirements prior to their formal enrolment into the course:

An Australian registered senior first aid course, and
Have evidence of full immunisation, and
Obtain State and Federal Government Police Clearance, and
Obtain a Working with Children clearance before their final enrolment is processed. These are legal requirements mandated by State legislation.

Fees

The University of Notre Dame Sydney admits 112 medical students each year. The places available are:

Commonwealth Supported Places, (CSP,) including medical rural bonded scholarships and bonded medical places
Domestic full fee paying places

Place preferences are nominated at the interview stage. Places types are offered on a ranking basis.
Australian fee-paying students will have access to FEE-HELP, (Higher Education Loans Program,) allowing them to defer the up-front fees up to the current $108,029 limit (2011).

Please note the admission requirements for CSP and fee-paying students are exactly the same with offers for all places made on the basis of ranked position after the selection process.