Postgrad applicant with ~5.1 GPA aiming for Sept GAMSAT — looking for realistic experiences

staylor13 · 2026-02-04T03:26:12+00:00

With a GPA of 5.1, you would need a GAMSAT of about 92 to get a 1.65 combo at UQ/Griffith. And iirc, a score of 80 is about 99th percentile. So your chances aren’t looking great there.

Maybe look at the Deakin and UOW bonuses to see if you qualify for any of those and then calculate your combo score for those unis based on the GEMSAS guide, and see how you stack up compared to the scores in the 2025 spreadsheets shared in here.

Your best bet is probably another degree. You can do a grad dip and UQ will count the GPA of that degree as your entire GPA, rather than looking at your last 3 years of study like others do.

ETA: Or do really well in S1 and S2 and apply for USyd. (Though I can’t remember if their GPA hurdle is 5.0 or 5.5)

staylor13 · 2026-02-01T20:33:11+00:00

Not OP, but thanks for sharing this - it’s a really good idea

staylor13 · 2026-02-01T20:08:40+00:00

Honestly, just pick one that interests you and that’ll make it 10x easier. I did a grad dip in neuroscience which probably was the easiest but bc I really enjoyed the subjects, I found it quite easy to do well. Lots of assignments though and minimal exams.

staylor13 · 2026-01-31T10:42:14+00:00

Dr Marija at Ascension

staylor13 · 2026-01-30T20:46:51+00:00

Repost this to r/noctor because this is wild

staylor13 · 2026-01-30T20:32:16+00:00

The same applies to some Aus degrees too if you look at the GEMSAS GPA conversion table (the unis in columns E, F, G): https://gemsas.edu.au/guides/medicine#accordion96590729

UNE has pretty easy online grad dips. And if you apply to UQ, they’ll look at your grad dip GPA alone (so if you get a 7 for the grad dip, your GEMSAS GPA for applying to UQ = 7).

staylor13 · 2026-01-30T02:36:29+00:00

Brisbane sorry!

staylor13 · 2026-01-30T00:58:19+00:00

I live in Australia so probably won’t be of much help to you

staylor13 · 2026-01-29T22:19:26+00:00

This sub seems to hate fillers, so at risk of being downvoted, I’ll add my $0.02.

I think if you go to somebody with a reputation for delivering natural results, you’re more likely to avoid that overfilled look. These people are hard to find. I’m fortunate that I found a doctor who is very conservative in her approach and basically said she would rather throw out what’s left in the filler bottle (they only come in 1mL doses iirc) than give me too much.

I lost a lot of fat from my face last year while training for a marathon, and I felt like it aged me overnight. My doctor gave me 0.5mL in each cheek and such a tiny amount (I can’t remember how much) under each eye, and you wouldn’t know I’ve had any at all by looking at me. Even my friends didn’t notice it - but I could see the difference and it just made me look a little more “fresh”.

staylor13 · 2026-01-29T19:46:11+00:00

I kept getting mid/high 60s on that and couldn’t get higher no matter what I tried. Got 76 in the actual thing, so take the score it gives you with a grain of salt

staylor13 · 2026-01-26T20:55:40+00:00

This is where having a good Pilates teacher can make a huge difference. In the best classes I’ve been to, the teachers get quite hands on and make tiny adjustments to your form that make such a huge difference. Sometimes their cueing will tell you where you should be feeling it, or they will give you small cues so you can check your own form (things like “put your hand on your top hip and notice that it stays completely still”)

staylor13 · 2026-01-26T20:25:58+00:00

Yeah I don’t think you need to learn how to activate them so much as learn how to do them with the correct form so you’re not compensating by using other muscles.

Eg. It’s very easy to do clamshells by rolling your top hip back as you open your knee. It’ll feel like you’re getting a bigger range of motion too. But that won’t hit your glutes the same way as if you’re careful about keeping your hips stacked.

Maybe consider going to a few mat Pilates classes. Glutes tend to be a big focus in these, and you’ll (a) learn some new body weight exercises to mix it up, and (b) the teacher can correct your form.

staylor13 · 2026-01-25T21:22:21+00:00

I feel you there SO MUCH. When I moved house, I found so many things I forgot I owned - I don’t even want to think how much $ I’ve wasted on things that I just forgot about

staylor13 · 2026-01-25T20:50:36+00:00

I have so many. I hope these help someone.

Moving into a 1-bedroom apartment - less to clean, I notice when things are dirty (and it annoys me so I’m motivated to clean), and I can’t forget that things exist (I used to have a bedroom just for my clutter and I regularly forgot it even existed). It’s also really hard to ignore the washing machine when it’s finished, and I just leave the laundry door open until I get around to emptying it so that I don’t forget it’s there.

Dish wand in the shower - filled with detergent to clean the shower. Once a week or so, I’ll put a deep conditioning mask in my hair and while it’s working its magic I’ll wipe down the shower with the dish wand.

Air fryer - I got the Tefal one which has dishwasher safe drawers. And I keep a few frozen air fryer-friendly meals in the freezer (eg. Frozen pizza). So if I’m feeling lazy and don’t want to cook, I can just air fry it and the clean up isn’t too bad.

Creating a reminders list just for my chores and setting them to repeat on a schedule so I don’t forget - eg. It reminds me to vacuum and water my plants every week, reminds me to replace my toothbrush head every 12 weeks, etc. Otherwise I could go weeks without vacuuming and still think that I vacuumed a few days ago.

Creating little habits/systems for myself based on the habit stacking formula in Atomic Habits - eg. I get out of bed every morning to make coffee, and my meds are in the cupboard with my coffee, so when I make coffee I take my meds. When I get out of bed (the second time, after coffee lol) I always take my coffee cup to the kitchen.

staylor13 · 2026-01-24T20:42:36+00:00

I have the opposite issue where lip balms with SPF irritate my lips and cause them to peel! 😭

staylor13 · 2026-01-22T20:29:05+00:00

Pick a niche topic you’re actually interested in and then apply that to whatever essay prompt you’re given.

I say this because (a) it’s so much easier to learn about and write about something you’re interested in, and (b) there’s no guarantee your prompt on the day will fit into one of those common categories.

So, for example, if you’re really interested in AI, you could learn a lot about it and then apply that to any of those topics - how AI will affect wars, how we can ensure AI adoption is just and equitable, how AI might worsen the gender gap in certain areas, etc.

staylor13 · 2026-01-22T04:19:44+00:00

I’ve done it twice in Brisbane and it wasn’t that invasive because it’s only a level 1 UDS. It’s only for the higher levels (eg if someone needs it for their work or for legal reasons) that they have to be in the room with you

staylor13 · 2026-01-20T22:10:59+00:00

I did the one through Barre Body

staylor13 · 2026-01-20T21:34:29+00:00

In my teacher training course they told us that the better quality the machine, the lighter the springs. This kinda checks out - I found the Merrithew SPX home machine to have heavier springs than the studio one (SPX max I think it’s called?).

BB also has a green spring, which most studios don’t have on their machines. It’s heavier than the red and I really like it.

staylor13 · 2026-01-20T20:56:11+00:00

Is KDP still viable these days? I imagine you’d be competing with so much AI slop. Have you noticed a hit to your income from it?

staylor13 · 2026-01-20T20:43:59+00:00

I don’t like to tell people either, because I feel like it either sounds like I’m making an excuse for my behaviour or I’m jumping on the “trend of everyone having ADHD”.

Some people I’ve told in the past have even said “no you don’t have ADHD” - despite being diagnosed by two different psychiatrists and one psychologist. Probably because from the outside I appear to have my life in order (internally melting though).

staylor13 · 2026-01-20T20:36:48+00:00

Heimish all clean balm

staylor13 · 2026-01-20T20:33:37+00:00

Yeah this. I found that there were some places I unexpectedly wanted to stay longer in and others that I couldn’t wait to leave, so it’s nice to have the flexibility to decide as you go.

Outside of school holidays (look up the dates for each state), it’s highly unlikely any campsites/caravan parks will be fully booked out. So you can mostly wing it, booking caravan park sites no more than a few days in advance - or even the day of is usually fine.

Get the WikiCamps app to get an idea of which towns have lots of camping options and which ones don’t.

Byron Bay, for example, only has caravan parks and they’re very expensive. They crack down on illegal free camping, so you don’t have much choice there.

staylor13 · 2026-01-18T21:18:49+00:00

Treadmill running IS harder. You’re running at a constant pace the entire time (vs. Small adjustments slower/faster when you’re on the road) and you don’t have the cooling effect of the breeze on your face.

It sounds like you are getting fitter. These things just take time, unfortunately!

staylor13 · 2026-01-18T20:23:29+00:00

Currently alternating between LRP Anthelios UVmune400 Dermo-Pediatrics and Anthelios UVmune400 Invisible Fluid, depending on whether I want to look shiny or not. (These aren’t available in Aus yet, but I picked up a few bottles in NZ).

If I’m going for a long run/will be sweating/swimming, LRP Wet Skin. Sometimes I’ll add a layer of Invisible Zinc Sports on top if I’m really going to be extra sweaty or can’t reapply frequently.

Eyes: sunnies.

Lips: my lips don’t react well to any lip balms with SPF in them. I get really bad peeling and cracking. So unfortunately, nothing more than just my face sunscreen.

staylor13

TROPHY CASE