from 2023 HSC student pov - Are school leaver entry unis that so much better than provisional or graduate entries? Is it really worth it financially to go graduate if not getting into direct route?
(Medicine at USyd or Other Universities? - blog on medentry sparked this question)
School leaver unis typically have 2 types, provisional and direct entry. Both have very similar admissions processes I.e Sit the UCAT, High Atar and interview
Just for clarification, when you get into Uni, since you are an Aussie citizen you are eligible for HECS which has a 150k limit? (not sure but it is quite high) that you can loan from the government to go towards university fees, so financially you won't be impacted because you'll pay that HECS debt much later in life and they only start making u repay it if you earn over a certain income.
Provisional entry entails the student completing an undergraduate degree i.e compsci, biomed, engineering etc, with a guaranteed spot in the postgraduate medicine course without the need to sit the GAMSAT, etc (Mostly 7 years (3-year undergrad and 4-year post-grad med course) and is more costly than direct entry only because of the longer time required to complete the medicine course hence an extra of paying the university).
Direct Entry are courses that basically throw the students straight into medicine with the first year mainly on medical sciences and every other year a combination of clinical and theoretical education. This pathway is the shortest and fastest a person can become a doctor and generally the cheapest because they are generally only 5 or 6 years long. This pathway doesn't require the students to sit the GAMSAT either
Post Graduate entry however, requires the student to complete an undergrad degree i.e compsci, nursing etc, as well as sitting the GAMSAT and applying through GEMSAS, sitting the interview etc. This is the longest pathway to becoming a doctor in australia, and would in turn be the most costly because it could take a person many tries to even get an interview (not to discourage you but this is the reality) in addition to 3 years of undergrad study and 4 years of postgrad medicine study.
Other than those clear differences there aren't any noticeable differences in the content each pathway delivers. Another thing I'd like to add is for post graduate entry there is an option to recieve a full fee place (FFP) into medicine instead of a commonwealth supported place (CSP) meaning that the costs of the medical degree will not be subsidised or reduced by the government, meaning that you upon recieving a ffp and accepting it means you'd need to pay around 60-70k a year. This option can be avoided by simply choosing not to receive one when you apply through gemsas I believe.
So in conclusion, no school leaver entry med courses are not in any way better than provisional or post-grad med courses, only really the time invested into getting in and finishing the medicine courses (the extra 10k or 20k your loan from your HECS, will be paid off quite quickly when you do become a doctor anyways lol). Also, I'm sure you would've heard the phrase "Med is Med", so basically don't worry about which med school you get in to, just be content you even got an offer unless of course, the offer is a full fee-paying one then well... good luck.
