Monash MBBS vs Melb Sci and MD (in terms of research...)

[paulsterio]

Why I'd choose Monash!

- 5 years (or 6 years)
- Option to take 1 year of Research (BMedSci)
- Option to take a concurrent Diploma in Liberal Arts
- If you pass everything, you'll be a doctor (no questions asked) - Melbourne's path isn't 100% guaranteed (there's an interview and apparently there are people who actually fail that)
- You don't have to maintain a certain GPA during the Undergraduate years (you need to at Melbourne)
- Less HECS debt
- You get out to the clinical setting much more quickly, if you enjoy that
- It's a more unified course - you don't spend time doing stuff you don't actually need
- It's 10 mins from where I live
- I feel as if my UMAT will go to waste if I don't use it

[thushan]

Hmm, I'm going to play devil's advocate here:
 
Rebuttal:

- Personal: I'd go 6 years with research, but it's only one year difference!
- Research: MD has compulsory research in Year 4
- You can take concurrent diplomas in Melbourne too, or you could stick in breadth
- Interview for Melbourne can now be done at year 12 at melb
- No GPA requirement anymore for Melb, they took it out
- HECS debt, not entirely sure. Monash if 6 years = $10,000 x 6 = $60,000. Melbourne for 7 years = $5000 x 3 + $10,000 x 4 = $55,000.
- Clinical Setting, you're right.
- Unified Course? True. Although I personally prefer a broader knowledge.
- Location, fair enough. I live in northern suburbs and it would take me 2 hours to get to Monash though
- LOL UMAT.

[appianway]

Yeah they've built a trachea, but...ugh, the field is a bit of a mess. Scientists cannot readily identify the different types of stem cell and we also struggle to identify the factors that control their differentiation and so forth. There have been some really brilliant advances in constructing tissues (insulin secreting B-cells, a bladder, general regenerative tissue etc.) but they've struggled to get them into effective therapies, especially for things like the lung, which is a whole clusterfuck. There are a whole lot of problems associated with the field and it's gonna be a while before it becomes viable. If you want more info I guess I could think back to my horrible stem cell block

Bahaha true. Just to clarify, this is merely for u'grad only? As far as I know there's no equivalent for a graduate entry scholarship?

There are, there are just less and they're harder to get.

Random and off topic, but I had a lecture from someone who was working on lung regeneration - they got it to work in a rat for a few hours, but it's still got a long way to go!

[Russ]

They've gotten xenotransplanted lungs from pigs to work in human models briefly, but yeah, the lung is probably the most complex organ in terms of different tissue types, so it's really hard to find all the flaws


As for the points, HECS debt would probably be very similar since 5000 a year is an underestimate for your BSc/BBiomed. Monash will have details in the undergrad course preclinical years that will be equivalent to what you'll learn in your science undergraduate (ie not entirely relevant). The advantage of the three years at UoM is that you get to enjoy a relatively stress free environment and decide whether or not your want to continue with the MD. If you decide against, you can always go into the JD etc with your guarantee.