Guaranteed Medicine at UQ (3 Viewers)

[sn1p]

To anyone currently doing/have done UQ med or pre-med, can you tell me what textbooks you use for science for undergrad please? I have never done bio in my life, and I failed phys too lol, I should probably familiarise myself with content so I don't die in uni..

For first year you don't really need any textbooks, but I found that the bio textbooks they tell us to buy helped me quite a bit, and the stats textbook you should get even if it's just for the midsem, since you can bring it in
Don't bother with chem/phys/psyc textbooks - I didn't touch my chem textbook, the PHYS1171 (don't do PHYS1002, do 1171 if any phys at all) book is on UQ lib if you ever need it and psyc (and everything in general) = follow lectures and you will be fine. If you didn't do bio like me, the first weeks of BIOL1020 can be quite a handful so be wary of that, but otherwise you should be fine. Just chill and look forward to uni! There's no need to do any prereading or anything, and besides the 1020 textbook is an Internet copy that gets chopped and changed.

 

[samwr]

For first year you don't really need any textbooks, but I found that the bio textbooks they tell us to buy helped me quite a bit, and the stats textbook you should get even if it's just for the midsem, since you can bring it in
Don't bother with chem/phys/psyc textbooks - I didn't touch my chem textbook, the PHYS1171 (don't do PHYS1002, do 1171 if any phys at all) book is on UQ lib if you ever need it and psyc (and everything in general) = follow lectures and you will be fine. If you didn't do bio like me, the first weeks of BIOL1020 can be quite a handful so be wary of that, but otherwise you should be fine. Just chill and look forward to uni! There's no need to do any prereading or anything, and besides the 1020 textbook is an Internet copy that gets chopped and changed.

Thanks!!

 

[T-R-O-L-O-L]

does UQ place greater emphasis on the ATAR or the UMAT or equally on both?

 

[InteGrand]

does UQ place greater emphasis on the ATAR or the UMAT or equally on both?

Both have a threshold that you have to meet to get in, and if you meet them both, you're in. There's no weighting.

Edit: More precisely, in terms of ATAR, just need 99+. Then in terms of UMAT, they'd give offers to the X highest UMAT scorers out of those who got 99+ ATAR / OP 1 Equivalent and had UQ as a suitable preference. So for example, if you could choose between super-high ATAR and high 80s-ish UMAT or 99 ATAR and 100-ish UMAT, in terms of getting in to UQ Medicine, the latter would be preferable.

 

[A1P]

does UQ place greater emphasis on the ATAR or the UMAT or equally on both?

ATAR is a threshold (OP1 or equiv), UMAT is the selection ranking

https://future-students.uq.edu.au/apply/doctor-of-medicine/pathways-and-entry-requirements

 

[sn1p]

As others have said before, you just need >99 ATAR (also 2 bonus points offered for maths ext 2 or equivalent and 2 also offered for languages, so if you get 98 and have done 4U you've met the threshold etc., this is all automatic) and somewhere in the high 80s for UMAT (about 90-92%-ile usually for unbonded). Both are thresholds, but if you're on the borderline UMAT-wise they use S1 as a tiebreaker.

 

[knightus10]

Hi everyone! I'm kinda hanging on false hope here, but with an atar of 99.00 and umat of total 157 (with the first section being 62), is there any chance i'll make it into UQ for a bonded place? I know my total umat is ~20 below the total preferred (really screwed up section 2) but can my first section mark make up for that?
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Probably not :'(

 

[Oer]

Hi everyone! I'm kinda hanging on false hope here, but with an atar of 99.00 and umat of total 157 (with the first section being 62), is there any chance i'll make it into UQ for a bonded place? I know my total umat is ~20 below the total preferred (really screwed up section 2) but can my first section mark make up for that?
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Probably not :'(

Yeah, unfortunately it won't be enough, the UMAT is taken as a whole to make the threshold, sorry

Congrats on the amazing ATAR though, you should be super proud of your efforts this year!

 

[knightus10]

Yeah, unfortunately it won't be enough, the UMAT is taken as a whole to make the threshold, sorry

Congrats on the amazing ATAR though, you should be super proud of your efforts this year!

Oh well, just needed confirmation on my chances. I'll keep trying to get into medicine though. Thanks hahaha. I'm happy about my atar, just hoped I did better in umat.

 

[A1P]

Oh well, just needed confirmation on my chances. I'll keep trying to get into medicine though.

Saw your other thread on doing opto or med sc. Maybe another option is take a gap year to preserve your ATAR, spend the next 6 months focused on getting 180+ UMAT and reapply. You'll get into UQ (or interviews with other unis) same time but without wasting a year's HECS fees.

Check with UQ first that 99.0 is okay, not >99.0

 

[sn1p]

Saw your other thread on doing opto or med sc. Maybe another option is take a gap year to preserve your ATAR, spend the next 6 months focused on getting 180+ UMAT and reapply. You'll get into UQ (or interviews with other unis) same time but without wasting a year's HECS fees.

Check with UQ first that 99.0 is okay, not >99.0

Maths Ext 2 gives 2 bonus points so the ATAR is a non-issue.

 

[Butterscotch]

So is a total UMAT of 178 borderline for UQ bonded? I thought it was rather likely as the cut-off for bonded offers in 2014 was 169ish. Also, as my Section 1 was quite average (58) does that put me at a disadvantage? Thanks for your help

 

[sn1p]

So is a total UMAT of 178 borderline for UQ bonded? I thought it was rather likely as the cut-off for bonded offers in 2014 was 169ish. Also, as my Section 1 was quite average (58) does that put me at a disadvantage? Thanks for your help

I think you'll get an offer, but unfortunately probably bonded. Your s1 only comes into play if you're borderline for unbonded/bonded or unbonded/no offer.

 

[ming mong]

Well I'm not sure how many Queensland people relatively choose NSW unis over UQ, and I also imagine there are a myriad of factors that go into every individual case.

However, to make a general statement if you're given both options of:
- A 5 or 6 year pathway where you're doing med right from the get go
- A 7 year pathway where medicine entry is slightly less assured at the outset

There are valid reasons for preferring the former over the latter.

Conversely, some people might prefer the second option if they want to stay in their home state for their degree, internships and such, or if they prefer the course structure, the university itself etc.

When if comes to picking a uni really every individual should decide based on research and their own situation (that is, if they're given the choice).

(As far as your comment on Bond goes, I haven't heard nor do I endorse that kinda rumour. As far as I'm concerned if you're a competent worker with an accredited medical degree, that doctor themself matters more than the uni they went to.
I think the most striking unattractive feature of Bond is the higher fees.)

Most people would probably just shoot for a spot in their home state because it's the most convenient and because $$

Oh right yes that makes sense
And I was also skeptical about what certain people were saying about Bond, because don't all unis learn basically the same thing and all graduates have the same qualification no matter what uni? I myself was going to try Bond before I saw the fees

And I'm just getting super paranoid, but applying to UQ just involves putting that course on your preference list on QTAC, right?
I started doubting everything after I failed to get an interview for WSU despite getting a pretty decent predicted ATAR and a UMAT score (overall score of 186 and section 1 of 60). Apparently I didn't get one because I didn't hand in a predicted ATAR sheet despite the website saying that it won't disadvantage anyone if they don't hand it in :/ Or maybe I'm just creating conspiracy and another factor got played into it...

 

[Oer]

Oh right yes that makes sense
And I was also skeptical about what certain people were saying about Bond, because don't all unis learn basically the same thing and all graduates have the same qualification no matter what uni? I myself was going to try Bond before I saw the fees

And I'm just getting super paranoid, but applying to UQ just involves putting that course on your preference list on QTAC, right?
I started doubting everything after I failed to get an interview for WSU despite getting a pretty decent predicted ATAR and a UMAT score (overall score of 186 and section 1 of 60). Apparently I didn't get one because I didn't hand in a predicted ATAR sheet despite the website saying that it won't disadvantage anyone if they don't hand it in :/ Or maybe I'm just creating conspiracy and another factor got played into it...

All unis bump out fully qualified doctors, yes.

Did you contact WSU to clarify the predicted ATAR thing? I'm sure there's probably more depth to it than that.

 

[sn1p]

Oh right yes that makes sense
And I was also skeptical about what certain people were saying about Bond, because don't all unis learn basically the same thing and all graduates have the same qualification no matter what uni? I myself was going to try Bond before I saw the fees

And I'm just getting super paranoid, but applying to UQ just involves putting that course on your preference list on QTAC, right?
I started doubting everything after I failed to get an interview for WSU despite getting a pretty decent predicted ATAR and a UMAT score (overall score of 186 and section 1 of 60). Apparently I didn't get one because I didn't hand in a predicted ATAR sheet despite the website saying that it won't disadvantage anyone if they don't hand it in :/ Or maybe I'm just creating conspiracy and another factor got played into it...

Yes UQ is just QTAC. As for WSU, I'm fairly sure they said you'll get an interview based on just UMAT score (provided your weighted score is high enough) if you didn't hand in a predicted ATAR form, so maybe check with them. What was your split?

 

[ming mong]

Yes UQ is just QTAC. As for WSU, I'm fairly sure they said you'll get an interview based on just UMAT score (provided your weighted score is high enough) if you didn't hand in a predicted ATAR form, so maybe check with them. What was your split?

Phew thank you

As for my UMAT split:
Section 1: 60
Section 2: 58
Section 3:68

Maybe my sections 2 and 1 were too low compared to section 3..
So do you think they compare the scores themselves to determine who they give an interview offer to? Since my friend who is non GWS and got lower than my scores got an interview (she handed her estimated ATAR in and was the one who told me that maybe that's why I didn't get an interview offer) :/

 

[A1P]

So do you think they compare the scores themselves to determine who they give an interview offer to? Since my friend who is non GWS and got lower than my scores got an interview

Common saying is UWS uses s1+s2 plus maybe 0.4x s3 (or even less than 0.4x) so those with high s3 lose more from their total in comparison.

But there have been odd cases that can't be explained by this formula. What are your friend's section scores, maybe we can learn something.

 

[sn1p]

Phew thank you

As for my UMAT split:
Section 1: 60
Section 2: 58
Section 3:68

Maybe my sections 2 and 1 were too low compared to section 3..
So do you think they compare the scores themselves to determine who they give an interview offer to? Since my friend who is non GWS and got lower than my scores got an interview (she handed her estimated ATAR in and was the one who told me that maybe that's why I didn't get an interview offer) :/

Yeah WSU has me all kinds of confused but speaking from last year's experience where my 1+2 is the same as yours (I got 71 47 63 rip my humanity) and my section 3 is 5 points lower, you might be just on the wrong side of borderline since I didn't get an interview offer even with GWS and I definitely handed in a predicted ATAR form :/

 

[ming mong]

Common saying is UWS uses s1+s2 plus maybe 0.4x s3 (or even less than 0.4x) so those with high s3 lose more from their total in comparison.

But there have been odd cases that can't be explained by this formula. What are your friend's section scores, maybe we can learn something.

Yeah WSU has me all kinds of confused but speaking from last year's experience where my 1+2 is the same as yours (I got 71 47 63 rip my humanity) and my section 3 is 5 points lower, you might be just on the wrong side of borderline since I didn't get an interview offer even with GWS and I definitely handed in a predicted ATAR form :/

I can't remember the exact numbers, but she got a high 80s percentile (88 or 89) with S1: 62 (or 64), S2: 51, S3: mid 50s [The last time I talked to her was November so I apologise for my crappy memory and the dodgy scores ]

Hmm...I heard somewhere that unless a particular section goes above the 100 percentile range (like 80 something for section 1 or something), then each section must be over 50 to get an interview offer.. (feel free to correct me if it's wrong )

P.S Aaalso I got an offer for the bonded place in UQ XD but should I put down the option " I accept this offer but now wish to be considered for my higher preferences if further offers are made. I understand that if I am offered a higher preference for this semester, I forfeit my right to this offer."? The unbonded place is my higher option, and I think that the experience provided by the bonded opportunity is invaluable, but staying away from my home state for too long is a bit... I am entirely 50-50 (which sounds ridiculous because I have very little chance to get into the unbonded ) and I wish to seek advice from the more experienced