How to prepare for (distant) future medical admission advice

[TheAspiringDoc]

Hi guys! 
I'm new around here and i was wondering if anyone could pass on a few tips about how i could ensure i have a relatively easy pathway into medicine (my dream career).
I'm not yet even in VCE but i'm just doing some investigation into my options..
For VCE I'm thinking i could do Biology in yr 11 (i'd expect around 38), and English Std(maybe 39 for this??), Physics(I'm good at maths so maybe i'd do well in physics? 44?), Maths Methods (46),  Spesh Maths(39) and  Chem(40) in yr 12.
is that to many subjects in one year?
also i'd like to prepare well in advance for the UMAT, is there a particular site that is especially good? I've heard many praises for Medentry.
then, as one last measure, if i can get thru to the interviews (anyone have any idea of the thresholds, i.e. 98 ATAR and 75 UMAT or something like that) how can i have the best interview possible, i.e. by doing things like hospital volunteering now or something?
Any advice much appreciated.
TheAspiringDoc

[thushan]

Hi guys! 
I'm new around here and i was wondering if anyone could pass on a few tips about how i could ensure i have a relatively easy pathway into medicine (my dream career).
I'm not yet even in VCE but i'm just doing some investigation into my options..
For VCE I'm thinking i could do Biology in yr 11 (i'd expect around 38), and English Std(maybe 39 for this??), Physics(I'm good at maths so maybe i'd do well in physics? 44?), Maths Methods (46),  Spesh Maths(39) and  Chem(40) in yr 12.
is that to many subjects in one year?
also i'd like to prepare well in advance for the UMAT, is there a particular site that is especially good? I've heard many praises for Medentry.
then, as one last measure, if i can get thru to the interviews (anyone have any idea of the thresholds, i.e. 98 ATAR and 75 UMAT or something like that) how can i have the best interview possible, i.e. by doing things like hospital volunteering now or something?
Any advice much appreciated.
TheAspiringDoc

Hey dude, that seems like a perfectly legit combination of subjects.

Hospital volunteering and the like is great for getting experience as to what things are like in the ward, and would look good in an interview (make sure you aren't doing it just for the interview - the interviewers can see fakery a mile away).

As for UMAT preparation courses, given that you are Year 8 (right?), I wouldn't worry about it too much right now. However, if you are keen on practising and doing a UMAT prep course, I think MedEntry would be too exorbitant; it costs $395 the first year and $310 for all following years - to a total of $1,325 (from Jul 2014 to Jul 2018). I personally recommend Section Zero, which is a quality program for only $99 (for 2 years use) on this very website (link is on the top of this page).

My main tip for interview is just be yourself, show the interviewers the best part of yourself and show them that you would make a really good doctor. To get an interview at Monash, I'm actually not sure of the cutoffs since they take a combination of UMAT and ATAR, but my guess is combinations of 99.95 ATAR and 75%ile UMAT or a 97 ATAR and 100% UMAT (and all intervening ATARs and UMATs) would potentially scrape an interview.

Also - you're Year 8. Enjoy it whilst you can because as you get older you'll have less time to be carefree. Sure, study hard. But don't sacrifice your livelihood. They want doctors who can look after their own health.

[pi]

Definitely get around work experience when you are in year 10, I did mine at RCH and it was awesome!

As for anything else, I would be more focused on catching all the Pokemon than any sort of UMAT prep LOL. Who knows if the exam will even be around in 2018. Maybe play some chess and get into sudokus to keep the mind ticking

[simpak]

My advice to you: enjoy your youth.

[TheAspiringDoc]

So you all seem to be saying let it rest for now/have fun, i agree, only how can i do that  as well as keeping 'academically fit'
but then two of you got 99.90& 99.05 , one of you went to scotch college, and one went to melbourne high.. i ended up in a slightly less prestigious school, i.e. ave student ATAR of 58..
The question is how can i keep on top but still stay all rounded?
P.S. i do play chess and am near the top of the state in my performance

[Russ]

Read as much as you can on as many topics as you can. There's really nothing you can or should be doing now, other than generally developing yourself as a well rounded person. Enjoy yourself is easily the #1 thing.

You can do volunteering or placements to build up a CV and impress in interviews if you want, but it's still very early to worry about that.

[Shenz0r]

So you all seem to be saying let it rest for now/have fun, i agree, only how can i do that  as well as keeping 'academically fit'
but then two of you got 99.90& 99.05 , one of you went to scotch college, and one went to melbourne high.. i ended up in a slightly less prestigious school, i.e. ave student ATAR of 58..
The question is how can i keep on top but still stay all rounded?
P.S. i do play chess and am near the top of the state in my performance

You'll learn how to juggle these things when you're in the latter stages of high school. It comes down to time management and studying smart.

Don't be concerned about preparing early though. The UMAT is one of those weird exams where you could spend years studying and still fail. A few weeks study should be enough - going at it for years won't help as much as you think it will.

[walkec]

The question is how can i keep on top but still stay all rounded?

This may seem like common sense but my biggest piece of advice to stay at the top and have a balance is to realise that school isn't everything. Even if you do end up still wanting to do Med (who knows, you might change your mind in your later years of high school) but you don't get in as an undergraduate there are always ways to get to where you want to be.

Also keep up things that you enjoy doing that aren't related to school. For me, these are things like going out to cafes and markets and cooking, because you'll enjoy your whole high school experience more if you keep doing things that you like because you are less likely to burn out. Keeping active in you hobbies also helps you manage your time better so you are actually more productive with the time that you have.

[Shenz0r]

Also, you're not going to experience so much free time by the time you get to VCE, and the workload only increases when you get to university as well as the workforce. Enjoy the freedom of your (early) high school years and don't worry too much.

[excal]

You're 14. I'm going to echo the advice to relax!

I did find my time spent doing non academic things very helpful in developing me as a person on the other hand. Consider stuff like scouts or other community orgs that run youth programmes (CFA, defence force and St John come to mind).

And don't sacrifice your hobbies for medicine. It isn't worth it.

[PB]

I understand the popular advice of enjoying your high school years and all, but some people do have really strong ambitions for a dream career at that age (which may be you!). In which case, nothing much else really matters or satisfies other than that goal.
Personally, I endorse your long sightedness and initiative to start preparation so early, which I regretfully lacked at your age. I was bumming around up until Year 11 when I realised that I really wanted dentistry, after which, I had to really turn on the boosters to try to catch up with other competition who already had a head start on me. Lets just say that my VCE years were a terrible strain on me and I do not ever want to have to go through that again.
There are many great examples here on AN that early preparation does yield incredible results, and if that is your goal, then maybe try to learn from the likes of Lzxnl, brightsky (99.95ers) etc. both of whom finished some courses by year 9!
Then again, this is just my observation. 
Sure, it is important to enjoy the freedoms of Year 8, but don't waste away this precious couple of years that may very well be the key to your entry into med.

[datfatcat]

Definitely get around work experience when you are in year 10, I did mine at RCH and it was awesome!

Totally agree with what Pi said. I did 3 work experience in year 10 (a bit excessive but once I finished one work experience, I found a better hospital and decided to do it). I did one in Royal Dental Hospital (i was tossing between medicine and dentistry at that time) and one in Angliss Hospital in April. Then I went to Werribee Mercy Hospital in June for another 1 week work experience and I loved it a lot (got to go to operating theatre, talking to patients with kidney failures, shadowing RMOs etc.)