Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Monash)

[b_x8348]

Hi I’m currently in year 11 so I’m not particularly worried about courses just yet, but I’d still like to get an idea so I have a goal to work towards.

The top two courses I’m most interested in at the moment is a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Biomedical Science (at Monash.) I’d like to go into postgraduate medicine but that’s a long term goal of mine and I’d like a backup just in case things go south.

Which is where my dilemma comes in: a Bachelor of Science gives me more room to major in something else that I could fall back to (since you only need to complete certain units in order to qualify for postgrad med at Monash), but at the same time Biomedical Science has the reserved spots and covers content that I find pretty interesting. (But I’ve also heard that it can end up being a useless degree with little job prospects, I’m not entirely sure how true it is, I’m being told different things.)

But then I saw that you could do a double degree of Science/Biomedical Science, and I was wondering, is it worth it? To be honest, I don’t really care for the extra time spent in uni and the extra work needed, I’m willing to put in the effort. I’ve been told that the two courses are fairly similar unless you’re majoring in something drastically different for Science, which I’d like to major in psychology and possibly go into a mental health type career as a backup. (If I do go through with med, I’d like to specialise in psychiatry so it’s still close to what I aspire to do.)

My logic is that it would mean I have the qualifications for both courses, giving me the benefits of the reserved allocations for biomedical science, while also having science as a backup so I don’t end up with a ‘useless degree’.

So yeah, is it worth it? Or is it better to just focus my efforts on one degree?

Thank you!

[student1234]

Omgg mann I have the exact same question!

I wish schools provided more information on these things (((

My dream uni is also Monash! hahahaha

[beep boop]

Here's my 5c (what I'm going to say is purely my opinion and I'm still a hs student myself.)
I know someone that did both biomed and science as a double degree and ended up dropping out of science. Due to timetable clashes and workload.

Honestly if you're really aspiring for med, then study and do the ucat. You can even start studying for it now, since its an actual exam counted at monash and other unis. Or if you don't get in, then do biomed at monash and near the end of the degree you can still apply for postgrad med school at monash and even unimelb just to have a backup plan. I won't go into the niches for unimelb med program since I don't know it too well. If the time comes for applying, its a good idea to do the gamsat as an extra precaution if you think about applying for other unis postgrad med school.

Even if things go pear shaped then go do bach of science at monash, you can still get into med postgrad at monash. On the conditions that you have a high enough wam, sit the sjt and do the mmi. However this might be harder because if you do the biomed degree, have a higher chance of getting in since out of the 72 places offered med school post grad 70% is reserved for biomed.
Personally, I don't think doing a double for science and biomed is worth it because the added stress of workload and raking up in hecs fees.

You don't have to stress about it now since you're still in yr 11 and have plenty of time before choosing preferences next yr. Just focus and try your best in school.

B.Sc of Science into med pathway

https://www.monash.edu/medicine/som/grad-entry

Hope this helps,
beep boop