Graduate Med or Dentistry without VCE Chemistry (through Science)

[littledreamer]

Hey guys,

I didn't do VCE chemistry but luckily I still meet the prereqs for Science at Melbourne as I did methods and biology. I'm thinking of doing science but with the ultimate goal of being accepted into Graduate Med or dentistry, however, to meet these requirements I'll have to complete anatomy, physiology and biochemistry. But because I didn't do VCE Chem will I not be allowed to take biochemistry? Or is there some bridging course that I can take? Does anyone know? I just don't want to commit to science at Melb if I can't do graduate med or dentistry after. I called up but the UniMelb lady who answered said I have to talk to a course planner but because my first round offer is with Monash I don't have access to the course planners until I change my preferences for round 2. Any advice will be appreciated!

Thank you

[2017GraduateStudent]

Hey guys,

I didn't do VCE chemistry but luckily I still meet the prereqs for Science at Melbourne as I did methods and biology. I'm thinking of doing science but with the ultimate goal of being accepted into Graduate Med or dentistry, however, to meet these requirements I'll have to complete anatomy, physiology and biochemistry. But because I didn't do VCE Chem will I not be allowed to take biochemistry? Or is there some bridging course that I can take? Does anyone know? I just don't want to commit to science at Melb if I can't do graduate med or dentistry after. I called up but the UniMelb lady who answered said I have to talk to a course planner but because my first round offer is with Monash I don't have access to the course planners until I change my preferences for round 2. Any advice will be appreciated!

Thank you

Hello~

I'm in the same situation as you (did not do VCE Chem), the 3 prerequisite subjects for grad Med or Dent are your second year subjects.

For Physiology and Anatomy, you must complete two biology subjects in your first year, which they dont have any prerequisites.

however for you to get in to Biochemistry, you must complete Chemistry Fundamentals (semester 1) -> Chemistry 1 (semester 2)-> Chemistry 2 (summer term),

I heard that if you do good in Chemistry Fundamentals you can skip to Chemistry 2. However, as subjects go for one semester each, and if you don't do that well in chemistry fundamentals in semester 1, you must do chemistry 1 in semester 2, and chemistry 2 in the summer term. So it is definitely possible for you to go into Med or Dent through Science!

Which I am planning to do!
 

[littledreamer]

Thanks so much 2017GraduateStudent! So after catching up with Chem 2 in the summer we can go straight into 2nd year biochem? Also just wondering where you got this information from? Did you have a chance to talk to a course planner?

Thanks again

[2017GraduateStudent]

Thanks so much 2017GraduateStudent! So after catching up with Chem 2 in the summer we can go straight into 2nd year biochem? Also just wondering where you got this information from? Did you have a chance to talk to a course planner?

Thanks again

Hello

No problem, I just did my research and asked the AN forum for assistance.
Also you can double check through the unimelb course handbook which shows you the subject pre requisites for Biochemistry, physiology, and also anatomy. I'm in the same situation as you! entering first year next year too.

[vox nihili]

Can vouch for the above; this is the correct pathway to satisfy the prereqs for Melbourne med

[littledreamer]

Can vouch for the above; this is the correct pathway to satisfy the prereqs for Melbourne med

Hi Vox Nihili,

I noticed on your signature that you are doing MD and I had a few questions regarding entry and the GAMSAT. With your experience when did you begin studying for the GAMSAT? Is it a good idea to begin during first year? Would you say that the GAMSAT is doable as long as you study hard or do you think you need some sort of natural ability to do well in the GAMSAT? I'm in the position right now where I don't know if I should do Arts/Law at Monash or Science at Melbourne but with the goal of becoming a doctor or dentist in the end. I have a guarantee for a spot in the full fee MD because I got an atar of 99+ but it's very expensive and I don't want to rely on it unless I really have to. The best outcome would be doing well in GAMSAT and securing a CSP but I'm honestly not sure if this would be possible for me. I didn't do VCE Chemistry or Physics so am I disadvantaged? Sorry for the long message, I hope you don't mind me asking!

[Sine]

Hi Vox Nihili,

I noticed on your signature that you are doing MD and I had a few questions regarding entry and the GAMSAT. With your experience when did you begin studying for the GAMSAT? Is it a good idea to begin during first year? Would you say that the GAMSAT is doable as long as you study hard or do you think you need some sort of natural ability to do well in the GAMSAT? I'm in the position right now where I don't know if I should do Arts/Law at Monash or Science at Melbourne but with the goal of becoming a doctor or dentist in the end. I have a guarantee for a spot in the full fee MD because I got an atar of 99+ but it's very expensive and I don't want to rely on it unless I really have to. The best outcome would be doing well in GAMSAT and securing a CSP but I'm honestly not sure if this would be possible for me. I didn't do VCE Chemistry or Physics so am I disadvantaged? Sorry for the long message, I hope you don't mind me asking!

definitely should wait on Vox to give a better run down

As for first year study I think outisde of section III it's definitely possible since it's mainly humanities and essays although a lot of people find it really difficult to improve on the humanities (section I) since its hard to explictly study for it also not many people even think about the GAMSAT in year 1 whilst adjusting to uni. MD FFP place isn't too great imo 250k+ cost and i don't think they aren't guranteed an internship like CSPs. You won't be disadavantage since in the Bsc you can do chemistry/physics anyway. Even some people go from non science backgrounds to getting high 70's+ on section III not sure what percentile that is because acer don't release percentiles for each section but i'd think  ~99+

[vox nihili]

Hi Vox Nihili,

I noticed on your signature that you are doing MD and I had a few questions regarding entry and the GAMSAT. With your experience when did you begin studying for the GAMSAT? Is it a good idea to begin during first year? Would you say that the GAMSAT is doable as long as you study hard or do you think you need some sort of natural ability to do well in the GAMSAT? I'm in the position right now where I don't know if I should do Arts/Law at Monash or Science at Melbourne but with the goal of becoming a doctor or dentist in the end. I have a guarantee for a spot in the full fee MD because I got an atar of 99+ but it's very expensive and I don't want to rely on it unless I really have to. The best outcome would be doing well in GAMSAT and securing a CSP but I'm honestly not sure if this would be possible for me. I didn't do VCE Chemistry or Physics so am I disadvantaged? Sorry for the long message, I hope you don't mind me asking!

The GAMSAT is a little odd. There's a lot of disagreement around what works and how to study for it etc. To my knowledge, there hasn't really been much research in this space to clarify what techniques help with GAMSAT (although there has been for demographics and, unfortunately, for UMAT). In the case of UMAT they showed that receiving tutoring is only really useful for section III; not entirely clear how that would play out in GAMSAT because it's an entirely different test.

I can only really talk from personal experience, which you shouldn't take as gospel. Personally, I didn't study at all for the GAMSAT. I gave it two cracks. The first time I got 66 and the second time I got 80. The difference between the two probably comes down to a number of factors:

-another year of Biomedicine was helpful for science
-I started reading a lot more during second year (not for GAMSAT, just for enjoyment—I think this likely improved section I and II)
-the experience of having done it before
-I was less invested in the test itself
-luck

The last is probably the most important factor here, to be honest. You should expect a little bit of natural variation in how you perform on a test. It would be quite a bad test if it were to the tune of 14 points, so the other factors matter too.

To answer your question about study vs natural ability; I think that you definitely need the latter. It is certainly the case though that people study to the test and end up producing a good result, so the former is also entirely valid. The GAMSAT is though; however, it is not impossible to do well. Coming in with a little bit of confidence to give it a crack would go a long way for you I think

[littledreamer]

definitely should wait on Vox to give a better run down

As for first year study I think outisde of section III it's definitely possible since it's mainly humanities and essays although a lot of people find it really difficult to improve on the humanities (section I) since its hard to explictly study for it also not many people even think about the GAMSAT in year 1 whilst adjusting to uni. MD FFP place isn't too great imo 250k+ cost and i don't think they aren't guranteed an internship like CSPs. You won't be disadavantage since in the Bsc you can do chemistry/physics anyway. Even some people go from non science backgrounds to getting high 70's+ on section III not sure what percentile that is because acer don't release percentiles for each section but i'd think  ~99+

Thanks Sine! I don't think I'll rely on the guarantee because it definitely doesn't seem worth it due to the price and then considering we might not even get an internship

The GAMSAT is a little odd. There's a lot of disagreement around what works and how to study for it etc. To my knowledge, there hasn't really been much research in this space to clarify what techniques help with GAMSAT (although there has been for demographics and, unfortunately, for UMAT). In the case of UMAT they showed that receiving tutoring is only really useful for section III; not entirely clear how that would play out in GAMSAT because it's an entirely different test.

I can only really talk from personal experience, which you shouldn't take as gospel. Personally, I didn't study at all for the GAMSAT. I gave it two cracks. The first time I got 66 and the second time I got 80. The difference between the two probably comes down to a number of factors:

-another year of Biomedicine was helpful for science
-I started reading a lot more during second year (not for GAMSAT, just for enjoyment—I think this likely improved section I and II)
-the experience of having done it before
-I was less invested in the test itself
-luck

The last is probably the most important factor here, to be honest. You should expect a little bit of natural variation in how you perform on a test. It would be quite a bad test if it were to the tune of 14 points, so the other factors matter too.

To answer your question about study vs natural ability; I think that you definitely need the latter. It is certainly the case though that people study to the test and end up producing a good result, so the former is also entirely valid. The GAMSAT is though; however, it is not impossible to do well. Coming in with a little bit of confidence to give it a crack would go a long way for you I think

Thank you so much!