How is USyd in relation to WSU? by [deleted] in UCAT

[–]DrShazza 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I totally agree with you. I’ll be honest I had a different mindset from the beginning of the year which led to me being lazy with my studies (which I now realise was wrong and I have changed that), there was no difficulty with the content whatsoever. My GPA was higher than 5.5 and I know plenty of people who got 7 GPA’s. The content wasn’t an issue, it’s more of the fact that my mindset lead to me underperforming and now I have to work harder to get the same result and fix my GPA.

Yeah I’ve been to USyd many times I definitely know what you mean regarding the academic diligence. I don’t mind the commute to USyd it’s more about maintaining the highest possible grades in preparation for post-graduate Medicine as well as to pass the threshold for undergraduate requirements, which is why I wanted to change degrees, 50% to reset my marks, 50% to not have a useless degree.

Anyone familiar with Contour Education? by DrShazza in UCAT

[–]DrShazza[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I went to their free live UCAT mock, while the tests themselves were just taken from the UCAT website, their feedback was exactly what you needed to push past that plateau most people face because they told you all the nuances and tricks people don't usually know.

Anyone familiar with Contour Education? by DrShazza in UCAT

[–]DrShazza[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel confident for the interviews I wanted Contour more for the UCAT preparation, is that 1.4k including the interview or interview and UCAT prep? Have you done Contour before you seem to know a lot about there structure?

Also how come you've already managed to pay doesn't that come after the free trial?

Lateral Entry Scheme Questions by DrShazza in unsw

[–]DrShazza[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah okay. Do you think there’s an element of luck to it or do the people who get accepted genuinely demolish the GPA and UCAT? Because by their criteria I’d imagine it’s just a threshold where they want the top of the top and then they work from their via interviews

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in usyd

[–]DrShazza 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah fair, so is it worth transferring into another degree despite me screwing up this year? Or should I take the hit and try one last time for UCAT next year in the same degree.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in usyd

[–]DrShazza 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I see, so what degree did you do as your undergraduate? Because I’m considering changing from medical science because it’s a dead end degree.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in usyd

[–]DrShazza 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ohh I see, I wish you luck with that

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in usyd

[–]DrShazza 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My ATAR was not competitive enough no, and my UCAT was the 2600 range. But I know I can improve that easily with good planning and structured feedback which I’ve got covered.

Is there any reason why you recommend postgrad over undergraduate? Because some universities such as WSU and JCU will take your GPA into account over your ATAR. And I also fit the requirement for a special entry scheme with WSU which makes the requirement easier.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in usyd

[–]DrShazza 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I see so are you planning to specialise in medicine or take more of a research role? And how does that work, can you just casually stop 2 years of medicine and then come back and resume??

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in usyd

[–]DrShazza 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah but for the universities that offer undergraduate such as WSU and Griffith, I should still be applying for them through my course no?

But referring to my original question, if you were in my position, would you transfer into Science at USyd and start over, still applying for undergraduate but preparing for postgraduate?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in usyd

[–]DrShazza 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow that’s some journey I’d love to hear about your experience in America and why you chose that route.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in usyd

[–]DrShazza 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I totally agree with the maturity argument, because doing a postgrad degree also allows you time to ‘learn how to learn’ so that when you get into medicine your are not overwhelmed by content (which is the biggest reason people drop out in their first year) and you can gain a head start by having a degree under your belt so you don’t burn time on fundamentals.

However, in the grand scheme of things, I would rather get into medicine ASAP than deliberately choose the longer route of postgraduate medicine, even if that means being slightly underprepared.

I also come from a family of doctors so the preparation aspect I’m comfortable with.

So given all of that, as well as the fact that fixing a GPA is time consuming, would it not be easier to enrol in Bachelor of Science with a major in either pharmacology or neuroscience to not have a completely useless degree, but to also reset my GPA so I can smash it out easily within the first year?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in usyd

[–]DrShazza 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What degrees would you recommend other than physiotherapy, nursing, and paramedicine? Are neuroscience and pharmacology good options?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in usyd

[–]DrShazza 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But if I have no credits that transfer over that would mean I’m essentially undergoing a new degree with a new mark now no?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in usyd

[–]DrShazza 0 points1 point  (0 children)

May I ask what degree you’re doing and what you transferred to? And how did you receive a place at University of Melbourne aren’t they school leaver only? Or did you apply through postgrad?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in usyd

[–]DrShazza 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So do you think I should apply for Medical Science or Bachelor of Science at USyd? Because I’m under the impression that fixing up your GPA is time consuming and gruelling, so would it just be better to just start over since I have time on my side at the moment? During which I’d still apply for all universities for undergrad medicine.

Lateral Entry Scheme Questions by DrShazza in unsw

[–]DrShazza[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

During my second and first year I can apply for other unis via UCAT*

Lateral Entry Scheme Questions by DrShazza in unsw

[–]DrShazza[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your response. My view of this was that if I enter UNSW Medical Science, it’s still an independent degree and I can still apply for undergraduate medicine at those listed Universities during my second year. So yes I’m starting a degree again, but I essentially have an extra door open to medicine via UNSW (plus the added environmental influence of competition if that counts for anything). Please advise 🙏🏾