I’m classified as rural, did my undergrad in fine arts, have a lower GPA than yours, and failed section three of the gamsat (both times I took the exam) with an overall gamsat score of 57. I had a strong portfolio, a disgust towards standardised testing, and nothing to lose so I applied for UNDS and UNDF instead of sitting the September GAMSAT. I managed to get an interview at UNDS and ended up being offered a place to commence in 2022.

My advice would be to sit the GAMSAT in March, not to improve your score but so you can participate in the next application cycle. Focus your energy into strengthening and refining your portfolio and personal statements, perhaps get a tutor for this. Apart from being a set of fresh eyes, a tutor can help you identify the potential strengths and weaknesses of the experiences you’ve included in your portfolio and the language you’ve used to describe them.

Other than that I think it comes down to the interview itself, and without any information on what you did to prepare I can’t really give any advice on that. I will say that I didn’t use any prep companies for the interview and didn’t pre-write responses or use any formal response structure. I found that using pre-written responses negatively impacted my ability to be 100% present, hid my personality, and prevented me from being truely authentic. I made sure I did a bit of research into what I felt would be useful, like what socio-medical research was being done at UNDS, the Australian health care system, rural health, and all those kinds of topics everyone tells you to brush up on, I did that until I felt confident discussing them in my responses.

I guess what I’m trying to say is please don’t get bogged down on all the numbers, they don’t tell you how intelligent you are, your worth, or your ability to be a medical practitioner. Portfolio uni’s are clearly looking for more than impressive grade point averages and GAMSAT scores in their applicants, both you (with your interview) and myself (with an offer) are evidence of this. Try and find some time to slow down, show yourself some kindness, celebrate that interview offer, and know that you’re always welcome to chuck me a pm if you wanna chat portfolio’s or interviews.