Selection Criteria - Local Applicants
The admission process for entry to UNSW Medicine is described in detail below. Prospective applicants are also advised to regularly read the Faculty's website (Latest News) as it will contain the latest available information.
Students are selected for entry into the UNSW Medicine Program on the basis of:
- academic merit
- results of the UMAT and
- performance at an interview.
These are equally weighted.
Applicants need to be aware that because selection is on the basis of a combination of all three criteria (i.e. academic merit, UMAT and interview), they will increase their likelihood of being selected by achieving the highest possible result in each of the three criteria. (This is illustrated by the fact that although the minimum ATAR for eligibility is 96.00, the median ATAR r
equired for entry is always greater than 99.60. Similarly for both UMAT and the interview, the median scores required for entry are close to the top of the respective ranges.)
UNSW Medicine continues to be an exceptionally popular program and there were in excess of 3500 applicants for the 156 standard (non rural) entry places for 2012.
Further information about the Selection Criteria
| 1. | Academic Merit |
 | (a) | Applicants applying on the basis of Year 12 results |
| | For applicants seeking admission on the basis of the NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC), a minimum Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of 96.00 is required to be eligible for consideration for UNSW Medicine. For applicants seeking admission on the basis of interstate or overseas school qualifications, a score equivalent to an academic rank of at least 96.00 is required.
This table lists minimum achievements for eligibility for consideration to UNSW Medicine on the basis of high school results. However, as previously stated, the minimum academic score is unlikely to be sufficient to be selected for an interview. |
| New South Wales | ATAR of 96.00 |
| Victoria | ENTER of 96.00 |
| Queensland | OP4 |
South Australia, Western Australia
& Tasmania | TER of 96.00 |
| International Baccalaureate | 36 |
| | Assumed Knowledge
There are no prerequisites for entry into UNSW Medicine. However, there is assumed knowledge of Standard English (in the NSW HSC). Assumed knowledge is a level of achievement at the HSC (or equivalent) considered desirable for successful study. Students who do not have the assumed level of knowledge are not prevented from enrolling, but may be placed at a disadvantage.
Please also refer to the section "What subjects should I study at High School?" in the section "Frequently Asked Questions". |
| (b) | Applicants enrolled in university degrees other than the Bachelor of Medical Science at UNSW |
| | Applicants who apply for entry in 2013 and who will have completed one year or more of tertiary studies at undergraduate level by the end of 2012 will be assessed on the basis of both their high school results and their tertiary results. These will be combined in the ratio of 50:50. They will be required to attain an academic rank of at least 96 to be eligible for consideration for UNSW Medicine.
Applicants who will have completed less than the equivalent of three-quarters of one year full time of tertiary studies by the end of 2012 will be assessed only on the basis of their high school qualifications. Tertiary results for such students will not be taken into consideration. They will also be required to have obtained an academic rank of at least 96 in their final high school results to be eligible for consideration for entry to UNSW Medicine.
Please also refer to the section "Can I gain admission after partly completing or completing another undergraduate degree?" in the section "Frequently Asked Questions".
Please note that there is no separate quota for university students. |
| (c) | Applicants enrolled in the Bachelor of Medical Science at UNSW |
| | This graduate entry stream is only available to UNSW students commencing the Bachelor of Medical Science (BMedSc) from 2007 onwards. Up to 15 places will be available for students to enter year 4 of the Medicine program with advanced standing. This entry scheme is not available to international students.
Selection will be on the basis of the weighted average mark for the first two years of BMedSc, the UMAT score and interview results. These three selection criteria will be weighted equally. Please note: |
- Students must have completed all 8 core courses for Stage 2 of the BMedSc and all other required courses. The BMedSc weighted average mark will be calculated on the basis of core courses and Science electives only. It will not include results of any studies undertaken outside the BMedSc at UNSW or elsewhere. HSC (or equivalent) results will not be taken into consideration.
- For the graduate entry stream only, the UMAT result used will be the highest total score from any UMAT test undertaken in the 3 years preceding selection i.e. 2010, 2011 or 2012 for applicants applying in Year 2 of the BMedSc in 2012. However, in 2013 and beyond, UMAT results will only be valid for the year of application. Therefore, BMedSc students in Year 2 in 2013 must sit UMAT in 2013.
- The interview results used will be from the interview held during or immediately following the second year of BMedSci at UNSW.
- Students applying for the Graduate Entry Stream are not required to submit an application through the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC)
- International students are ineligible to apply for this scheme.
During Year 2 of the BMedSc, the process for application will be as for all other non-HSC applicants, with the exception of not submitting an application through UAC. That is, students will be required to:
- Submit a “Medicine Application Form” (available via the Faculty of Medicine website)
- Sit the UMAT examination (if the applicant does not have scores from an attempt in the previous 2 years - applying in 2012 only)
| | Applicants will be selected for interview in the November of Year 2 of their degree, on the basis of BMedSc results to date (weighted average mark) and UMAT score. Additional applicants may also be selected for interview early in the following January. Note that the interview may differ from that undertaken by applicants in the other categories of entry.
This entry pathway leads to the offer of a provisional place and is subject to completion of all the other requirements for the BMedSc with Honours plus additional coursework as prescribed. Further details and conditions on the graduate entry stream. |
2. Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test (UMAT)
The UMAT is designed to assess general attributes and skills gained through prior experience and learning. The three sections in UMAT assess the acquisition of skills in critical thinking and problem solving, interactions with others, and abstract non-verbal reasoning. The sections are equally weighted. For further information about UMAT and to register for the test, visit the Australian Council for Educational Research’s (ACER) website.
Note that if a student has obtained UMAT scores in both 2011 and 2012, UNSW will count the higher of the two sets of scores. With the exception of students applying via the graduate entry stream (BMedSc at UNSW), UMAT scores have been valid for only two years. This means that results from UMAT2010 and earlier cannot be used when applying for entry in 2013.
However, from 2012 UMAT scores can only be used for admission in the year following the test. Therefore UMAT2012 can only be used for entry in 2013 but not 2014 (or beyond). The following shows when scores can be used:
| UMAT2011 scores | UMAT2012 scores | UMAT2013 scores | UMAT2014 scores |
| Applying in 2012 for entry in 2013 | ü | ü | | |
| Applying in 2013 for entry in 2014 | û | û | ü | |
| Applying in 2014 for entry in 2015 | û | û | û | ü |
UNSW uses the actual scores for the three test components, not the percentile rank.
3. Interview
A number of applicants will be offered an interview (either in the main round in late November 2012 or in the final round of interviews in early January 2013). These applicants will be offered an interview on the basis of their combined predicted or actual ATAR and their actual UMAT scores. These scores are ranked and interviews are offered to the highest ranking applicants until all interview places have been filled. Therefore, students increase their likelihood of being offered an interview by achieving the highest possible results in these two selection components.
For students sitting their final high school exams in 2012, schools will be asked to submit predicted HSC ATAR (or equivalent) results to assist in the selection of students for the main round of interviews. Offers of interviews for January 2013 will be based on actual ATAR and UMAT. It is anticipated that at least 500 applicants will be interviewed, with about 100 of these in January 2013. The interview will be semi-structured and will cover a wide range of relevant issues. There will be two interviewers drawn from academic staff, medical practitioners and community representatives.
There is a special round of interviews held in late January for applicants from interstate (excluding ACT) and New Zealand. As this is after the first round offers are made, it allows interstate applicants to wait until they know whether or not they have a place in a medical school in their home state. This means that most applicants are saved the very significant time and expense of travelling from interstate to UNSW for an interview.
No applications received after 30 September 2012 will be considered. UNSW Medicine adheres strictly to the closing date. Applications received after this date will not be accepted under any circumstances.