UoM and Monash, BSc and BBioMed - Help me order my preferences?

[VivaTequila]

Hey guys,

To put it simply, I'm lost and I can't get all the information I need from individual specific institutions. I'm hoping that you can help me by just suggesting me options or helping me rank them.

All that I really know is that when I graduate I want to be experienced in some form of biochem. It's my favorite subject despite it being my worst raw score, and that all I can see myself doing. I want the option to leave me open to take on postgraduate medicine (didn't sit the UMAT so can't get into undergrad like anywhere) or research in some way or form. Preferably, it would need to lead onto an ADF sponsorship position and I understand they take pharmacists and doctors. However, ANY SCHOLARSHIP or funding that I could receive would stop the need for ADF sponsorship which I would prefer to avoid if possible, even if it means going to a less reputable university that could offer me a similar pathway.

To my knowledge, that leaves Science and Biomedicine courses open with potential majoring areas in the generic disciplines of biology, chemistry, anatomy, physiology and the other offbeat specific majors of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences.

I've wanted to preferably study at UoM or Monash University, and I am only aware of courses in these universities. I haven't even researched others, so if people enlighten me I'll be very grateful.

My ATAR is 97.10 and my SSs are listed in my signature, just in case you need to help me discern pre-requisites.

BBioMed at UoM can lead onto postgraduate medicine, but I am unsure of what masters degrees they offer in the way of pharmaceutical sciences or pharmacology, or similar.
BSc at UoM is the same, but with a much lower ATAR and the requirement to 'double up' on subjects which you can't access unless you do BBioMed which have them coupled into one (i.e. Defence and Disease).

BSc at UoM also leads onto postgrad med, but it seems a shittier course albeit it offers the same pathway. NB: Saying 'shittier' for getting into MD purposes - lower atar, statistically weaker cohort, no 'two-in-one' subjects, etc. This is not a polemic on anyone studying Science - you may indeed be the exception to the rule.

BBioMed & BSc at Monash seems fine, and I am positive that I could receive a second-round scholarship offer as my friend who got 97.30 received a first round offer into the BSc course, which I assume I was only just shy of, or didn't meet the pre-requisites for (perhaps I needed a 40+ in Chem or Physics or Methods, raw?). This also leads onto post-graduate medicine, but it's at fucking Gippsland and that's the only place they let people study postgraduate medicine.

Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Monash Pissed off that this isn't part of the Science or BioMed because I have to pick it straight up and follow through with it, or transfer in uni having done similar subjects to BSc or BBioMed, and I'm not sure of its potential in becoming a doctor let alone being decent in further research.

Things I am unsure of:
Monash University Courses: There's like 3 courses for Science and Biomed respectively. It's like a Scholar Program, an Advance Honours Program, and a Regular Program. What do the differences actually mean, other than the ATAR difference, and are any of them scholarships or different in terms of CSPs, guaranteed entry pathways, etc?

Scholarship offers: If I receive a second round offer from Monash giving me a scholarship, where the heck am I supposed to take it with Medicine? I mean I don't particularly want to be studying at Gippsland, which is the only place postgraduate medicine is offered... could I use up my scholarship and attempt for 2nd class honours and then use that as bargaining to switch to Melbourne to do postgrad at Melbourne? Also, how do scholarship offers work? If you receive multiple offers can you only accept one, or can you only view one?

Ideally, I'll rank my preferences like this, but I'm not sure what is out there.
1. Scholarship to Undergraduate Medicine without UMAT (lol)
2. Regular Undergraduate Medicine without UMAT but must be CSP for HECS(lol)
3. Scholarship to Guaranteed Entry to Postgrad Medicine at Monash or Melb (and lord help me if I fuck up the GAMSAT)
4. Regular Guaranteed Entry to Postgrade Medicine at Monash or Melb but must be CSP for HECS (and lord help me if I fuck up the GAMSAT)

From then on in, I would like to get a scholarship with an unguaranteed path to Medicine and then just do really well to ensure I get into postgrad medicine.

Failing that, I just need a path to post grad medicine that is compatible with the ADF sponsorship, CSP or no CSP (as they pay for it anyway even if its up front full fee).

And in this realm, BBioMed > BSc for Melbourne, for me. I dunno where to slot in the Monash preferences in between. And I don't even know what other uni's are doing.

Can anyone experienced in this kind of thing help?

[dc302]

I haven't read your whole post but I'll address something that seems to be recurring with your posts:

You don't seem to understand uni courses very well. There is not such thing as 'doubling up' on subjects in science. Defence and disease is not a subject. It's a major, comprising of 4 separate subjects.


edit: In fact I'll explain it to you. The defence and disease major consists of 4 subjects that are taken from the pathology and immunology departments. You can do any combination of 1:3, 2:2, 3:1 of pathology to immunology subjects to do the major.

If you were to complete the immunology major, you would do 4 immunology subjects, and same with pathology. However, in your third year of the bachelor of science, you can easily do say, an immunology major (4x imm subjects) + another 2 elective subjects in pathology (2x path). Which effectively gives you as much depth as your defence and disease major would have given you.

[simpak]

"BSc at UoM also leads onto postgrad med, but it seems a shittier course albeit it offers the same pathway. NB: Saying 'shittier' for getting into MD purposes - lower atar, statistically weaker cohort, no 'two-in-one' subjects, etc. This is not a polemic on anyone studying Science - you may indeed be the exception to the rule."

Okay you don't have to be mean to me, because this is the last I will say on the matter:

1.  Lower ATAR cut off is not a reflection of course quality.
2.  How is the cohort /statistically/ weaker, and why should it matter?
3.  Two in one subjects in Biomed are worth 25 points, and single subjects in Science are worth 12.5 points.  I think you have misunderstood this and therefore think that it will be better to do the Biomed subjects for these because they condense more material more conveniently.  Not true.  You can still only do 300 points, so in second year of Biomed you would take three subjects but one would be doubly weighted.
4.  Having a Bachelor of Science gives no proven disadvantage to an MD applicant, just as having a Bachelor of Biomedicine gives no proven advantage to an MD applicant.

Good luck with your decision making!  From the looks of things, your mind is already made up.