Indicative interview cutoffs for GEMSAS unis have been released

I'm not sure how long this has been around, but I only noticed just now. GEMSAS has published the indicative scores for 2012 entry for some unis but not others.

It seems like for Melbourne, for those successful in getting an interview, the average GPA was 6.6 and GAMSAT (presumably Melbourne equal section weighted) was 65. For Monash, the cutoff (GPA hurdle 5.0) was 65 GAMSAT for urban applicants and 59 for rural. For comparison, the 2011 entry cutoff scores are here and 2010 entry cutoff are here.

It seems like UWA, Monash and both UNDS and UNDF have risen in GAMSAT cutoff (Monash) or average GPA and GAMSAT (UWA, UNDS and UNDF). Other unis haven't seem to have published averages for both years. This increase in scores has also been noted on the Paging Dr Forum, together with increases for other unis too.

There are a few possible factors in the increase. One is the GEMSAS system itself meaning relatively strong applicants did not fall through the cracks; where they would have been eligible for interview at preference 2 if they put it first in the past (for example Monash), but may not have gotten an interview after being passed on.

Another factor (especially for Melbourne, Monash and Deakin) is that there were a lot more Melbourne Biomedicine students graduating this year than last year. The number is approximately 367 this year and about 215 last year. There were also more science students at Melbourne graduating this year than last year. This increase in demand for places at Melbourne in particular without a corresponding increase in places at Melbourne, and also an increased demand for Monash and Deakin (in Victoria) as a flow on effect and a bit less so in other unis interstate, has driven up scores.

For Flinders in particular, it has been noted that provisional entry people who will enter in 2012 (prior to this there were no provisional entry people entering Flinders) has driven up scores there, due to reduced supply available to non-provisionals.


In the past, it was said that graduate entry medicine had a lot less competition than undergraduate entry medicine. I remember being told during year 11 or 12 that if I didn't get into undergraduate medicine (which I didn't), then graduate entry had a much higher success rate. Perhaps with Melbourne, an arguably prestigious uni, switching to graduate entry only (Melbourne model), and UWA following, more and more people will be persuaded to try for graduate entry medicine after initially not getting into undergraduate medicine, rather than giving up. Also it seems like more and more people know of the graduate entry path. Maybe there will be a time in the future when the success rate of graduate entry will diminish to be similar to undergraduate entry.

Christmas break

Today is Christmas Day. Around this time, the MDHS of Melbourne, who have worked hard to give offers to all the 335 people who got into MD plus topping up rejections, are also on a break. If anyone's missed it, from the facebook page of MDHS of Melbourne, this post says that if you don't have your enrollment pack yet, it will be sent next year. The deadline for enrollment is 5 February 2012, so there is plenty of time.

I hope everyone is having a safe and enjoyable Christmas break.

[update] Biomedicine degree conferred!

Today, I officially graduated with the Bachelor of Biomedicine. It was quite a formal occasion. After all the opening speeches, first the doctorate graduates got their degrees, then one master graduate, then the bachelor degrees. Interestingly though, the honors graduates got their degrees after the other bachelor degree graduates.

Since it was my first time graduating, it was quite an experience. It was interesting wearing those clothes, and taking photos from professional photographers and others with friends.

It looks like I'll probably be back there again in another four years, with a medical degree. But there will be a lot of work before that.

GEMSAS first round of top up offers released

Some of the first top up offers (ie second round offers) have started to be released. From the twitter account of Lyndal Parker-Newlyn, Associate Professor of Medical Education at the University of Wollongong (who also posts on Paging Dr), it seems like Wollongong has made 5 top up offers. Other unis should also send them out soon. Good luck if you're waiting for one.

UQ admission irregularity

Recently it has been in the news that a relative of Vice Chancellor Paul Greenfield was accepted into a program without satisfying the same requirements of other applicants. On the 9th of December, UQ released a memorandum detailing the offers of undergraduate-entry MBBS applicants (which I read from Paging Dr), and it included talk of the irregularity. http://www.uq.edu.au/about/planning-docs/2011-mbbs-program-admissions/

Regarding the irregularity itself, it seems like the Vice Chancellor and his deputy have both paid the price and stood down. Then there is debate on whether the relative who was given the irregular offer should keep their place or not. Personally, I don't have a very strong view on this.

In that memorandum, there was also noticeably a mention of people with Vice Chancellor scholarships (by achieving an ATAR of 99.95; the highest possible rank) who did not do well on the UMAT but still got irregular offers. This has never been the official policy of UQ to give such offers in such circumstances, but it should be noted that this is very similar to what is done in Melbourne (needing 99.90 and above) and USyd (needing 99.95). The main difference between Melb and USyd compared to UQ is just that UQ didn't interview for this, but UQ doesn't interview anyone except ATSI applicants anyway. It does raise eyebrows when UQ does things not in their official policy though, and it seems like they won't be doing such a thing next year. I think they could be justified if they made giving medicine places to people with Vice Chancellor scholarships regardless of UMAT official policy though.

This raises another issue. Is using UMAT a good system to select applicants? I personally do not think so, and so far the evidence seems to suggest that UMAT doesn't predict medical school performance well at all, although others have criticized the study because it possibly has "ceiling effects" there. I don't think that UMAT is any better than still using academic achievement (ATAR) even at the high levels, although I have some issues with English being compulsory primary 4 in ATAR calculations in Victoria and NSW (but not some other states; in some it is not even compulsory in year 12), without Math being compulsory at all in some states (including VIC and NSW), let alone primary 4.

Similar criticisms are sometimes applied to the GAMSAT, and I don't think the GAMSAT is as optimal as it can be either, however it does test science unlike UMAT, and that section has some modest predictive value. The MCAT in North America seems to have more solid evidence behind it though, so perhaps if we modify the GAMSAT to be more of that style then it can probably predict medical school performance better. However, it will probably also disadvantage non-science background students, so if unis here think that that type of diversity is important, then such a change in the test probably can't happen. I think a standardized test like the MCAT or GAMSAT with some science is justified in selecting med school applicants for graduate entry, especially because for GPA there hardly any scaling for differentiating between subjects which are easier or harder to score highly in, between different unis and within them.

On the other hand, for ATAR, at least in most states, there is scaling to take into account differences in difficulty between subjects, and in most cases standardized exams for most of the marks going towards a subject. So there is less need for a standardized test including a science section; it would seem to just duplicate whatever assessment is done at school, especially if chemistry is a prerequisite (as it is in some unis for medicine including Monash but not all. Funnily, biology is not a required prerequisite anywhere in Australia for undergraduate entry, and I didn't do year 12 level bio in high school, but that's a discussion for another day).

It has been argued that ATAR discriminates against people of lower socioeconomic status. This may be true, but it is also true that UMAT preparation courses are expensive, and it is hard for people of low socioeconomic status to afford those too. I think if we want to get people of low socioeconomic status into medicine and other uni courses, then we should have some sort of affirmative action instead of using some dubious selection tools which may add more noise into the selection process and being not very useful predictors.

[update] Biomed graduation eligibility confirmed.

This evening, I received the email that I am confirmed to be eligible to graduate on 20 December. Well, it's as expected, but it's always good to have the confirmation. I felt it was possible but unlikely that they might have stuffed up my graduation, because the study plan it's not 100% accurate according to the new breadth subject rules (up until 2010 under the Melbourne Model, you needed 6 breadth subjects for biomed at Melbourne including at least one at third year level, but from this year you are allowed to do 4-6, and there is no need to do one at third year level), and if some admin person was silly they might have thought I didn't complete my degree correctly according to the rules.

Anyway, it's good to see that such a mistake on the admin side has not happened. I'm yet to receive confirmation of turning the MD conditional offer into a firm offer though.

UQ makes further adjustments to cutoffs displayed on website

Again from the Paging Dr forum, I was notified that UQ made further adjustments to the cutoffs displayed on the website. http://www2.som.uq.edu.au/SOM/FUTURESTUDENTS/MBBS/ADMISSIONS/DOMESTICSTUDENTS/Pages/DomesticStudents.aspx

The non-rural cutoffs displayed have reverted to what was shown just after UQ's initial offer round (73 CSP, 66* BMP). However, the rural cutoffs have stayed the same as just after the post-interview (of other unis) round for BMP; 64*. The CSP cutoff for rurals has decreased even more to 71.

I really don't know how to analyze this now. It would appear that the first revision of the website just after the post-interview GEMSAS round of offers (UQ's first top up round) was incorrect. But now because of that, I have doubts that the initial scores posted just after UQ's main round of offers were correct. I could analyze assuming that the initial scores posted were correct, then the first revision was incorrect and these scores now were correct, but that would be pure speculation.

Unlike the earlier two score lists though, this score list displays rural students having a lower requirement than non-rural students. Since this is the case usually, I guess this list is more plausible.

GEMSAS second round offers: 12-14 December

Just in case anyone's missed it, I've read from the Paging Dr Forum that the GEMSAS "first round of top-up offers" is expected on 12-14 December. This is shown in the GEMSAS website too, which is listed under my "official websites" links.

Good luck for second round offers if you haven't received one yet. It seems like some people have declined GEMSAS offers for USyd (and also the other way around), and there has been two-way declining between med and dent too.

Exam day (poem)

I get off at Parliament today,
Not MC* like for uni,
Today's more important than usual;
The test of our ability.

All the hard work is remembered as
I walk up the longer escalator**,
Lactic acid building up in my legs,
But I press on; I will rest later.

I finally reach the end and walk,
I hear the Myki*** reader beep,
Then go outside, and see more stairs,
Two steps at a time, I leap.

The street ahead is different today,
The RACS on the left I pass,
"Will I join them in the future?"
Is something I always ask.

The sun is very bright today
As I head to the REB****,
Then I see my classmates there
Revising under a tree.

I later put away my bag
in some storage facility.
Invigilator calls us in;
The crowd goes in quickly.

Inside there, I'm on my own
I try to work efficiently,
After two hours, the deed is done,
And I leave the facility.

A few weeks pass then I will know,
Whether to cry or jump in glee.
N, P, or H2B
H2A, H1, or H3*****?



Yes, it's the first poem I have written on this blog. Not very high quality though, but there it is.

*Melbourne Central railway station; closest railway station to UniMelb
**Parliament station escalators are longer than ones in Melbourne Central.
***Electronic ticketing system (smart card) used in Melbourne public transport.
****Royal Exhibition Building, where a lot of UniMelb exams are held; closest to Parliament railway station.
*****Melbourne Grading System  (alternate link; original link may be broken. Bands for each grade also shown in GEMSAS guide for GPA calculation)

[update] Final biomed semester results

Today, all my results for semester two were unofficially released through the Study Plan. (Note: in Melbourne, results are released when finalized, rather than on one specific day, and they are often out through the Study Plan a day earlier than the "results service" page. This year, all results should be released by 9 December. Also, for Melbourne students, a tip to note if you don't want to keep clicking on the Study Plan to check if a result is up and let it take its time to load, the results being put up on the study plan coincides with the subject coming off the list on the portal home page or admin tab, so you only need to check when a subject disappears off the enrolled subject list).

Anyway, I got two H1 and one H2A. I expected more than that H2A to be honest (it was a bare H2A too; 75), but ah well. Essays are subjective I guess. It probably doesn't help that I write in pencil for all of them either, where they don't specify what to use, and my handwriting being not that neat. I think I'll try using pen next year. It probably also didn't help that I was a bit lazy revising throughout the semester, an excuse being the interviews, but then again I only had three subjects this semester. So I have finished my biomed with a weighted GPA of 6.79, and an unweighted GPA of 6.75, on the GEMSA scale.

It seems like I have passed well, and barring administrative errors, I should be eligible to graduate. I just ordered the rental for the academic gown today. I think my performance in this semester should be enough to satisfy the "maintain current academic standard" criteria for turning the conditional MD offer into a firm offer, so I'll be waiting for that in a week or two probably.