This article was written by Chan May Fong '09 who is currently a student at the School of Medicine at the University of Adelaide, Australia. Thank you, May Fong!
Hi there,
I’m May Fong. I’m a graduate from the 2009 batch, and I’m currently studying medicine in the University of Adelaide in Australia. I was asked to share my experience on applying to Australian medical schools and so here I am. I’ll try my best to address the issues which I think people would want to know about, and hopefully what I cover will be sufficient.
Application
The usual agency for applying to Australian Universities would be IDP. However, via recommendation of a family friend, I went through this agency called AusEd. It works the same as IDP, it’s free (they are sponsored by the universities), and I think they ultimately still go through IDP? To be honest, I have no idea what’s the difference, other than possibly location of the office. I would say though, that AusEd was a great help in my application process. They made things pretty easy on my side and were very helpful.
These agencies will actually cover most of this portion of application better than me? They should guide you through the rest of it step by step... But I’ll just try to put the gist of it here.
Ok. So anyway, the schools available for undergraduate medicine and are recognized in Singapore are:
*Please note. These are the schools that were available for me to apply. Times may have changed, it does seem like schools have been eliminating the undergraduate entry program.
University of Tasmania (5 yr program)
University of Western Australia (6 yr)
University of Queensland (6yr)
Monash University (5yr)
University of Adelaide (6yr)
University of New South Wales (6yr)
University of Newcastle (5 yrs?)
I’ll just talk about those I’m more familiar about, because I didn’t apply to that many of them.
First up, for most of the schools, you would have to do a test called the ISAT. It’s pretty much like a logic test.. with those puzzle-like things. That’s pretty much what I remembered of it... you can check it out here: http://isat.acer.edu.au/
This test is for Monash, University of Western Australia, Tasmania and Queensland.
I would like to mention that the timing of when you take the ISAT can be quite crucial. Try to take it so that your results are available when you are doing your applications, and that would require you to plan ahead. If you don’t plan to apply in that year, don’t waste your money + time. I have heard that Australian universities are not too fond of holding places over 2 years for guys to finish to your NS, though different universities have different policies, so please do go find out from IDP/AusEd/whatever agency you are going through.
There is no set cut-off for the ISAT, so just do your best!
Different universities will have different tests/no tests. For my university, I had to do the PQA (personal qualities assessment). It includes logic questions and personality assessments. It is slightly different from the ISAT... so just give it your best shot as well if you are taking it.
I’m pretty sure New South Wales doesn’t require any testing so I think it’s pretty much just based on your results and your interview.
Just to mention, I personally didn’t prepare for any of these tests. I don’t think it’s possible to prepare for them, or if there are even opportunities/books available for practice. So once again, just show up, and give it your best shot.
The other component for application would be your school results. The universities do not appear to have a clear cut off for CAPs, though the agencies MAY be able to advice you on your chances of getting an interview based on your score. They usually will discourage you from applying if they feel that your score can’t make the cut, because it saves trouble for both you and them. However, they may not be that clear about our school diploma and how it stands due to our school still being really new to them.
The best thing about Australian universities is that that’s pretty much it! You would have to fill in a form with your personal details, educational history, etc... but no essays or Teacher recommendations are needed! :) There may be a questionnaire to fill in for New South Wales though. And if you submit your application forms at fairs (like those huge study fairs at Sg expo/Suntec), the application fees are usually waived. You would still have to pay for the tests though. The agencies should be able to guide you through all the forms and payment etc.
The deadline for these would generally be by the end of June, and may differ for each of the universities.
After you do all the submissions, you basically sit back, cross your fingers, and wait for an interview.
The rest is pretty much straight forward. You go for the interviews, and wait for a reply. :)
The course
The course has been amazing thus far, and it has been everything I expected and possibly more. And after speaking to seniors in NUS and other med schools, I have concluded that it is crucial to find a course that fits you best so you will be contented and happy. This is important because medicine is a long and arduous journey, and if you are miserable in the course, it would be extremely difficult to pull through to the end.
Read course descriptions on University websites when deciding on a school, and try to figure out if it suits your style of learning. From what I have heard about NUS, they like to focus on the theory first and make sure their students have the basics of anatomy and physiology down before starting on the other aspects like pathology, clinical skills, etc. In fact, their clinical skills are taught over a concentrated period over a few months in one of the final years.
My school, on the other hand, believes in an integrated approach, and we are doing anatomy, physiology, pathology, histology, clinical skills, and even ethics, all concurrently. That would mean the detail we go into would definitely be much less at least for the first year or so, but we are learning all aspects at once.
My university is unique in the sense that we put much focus on the CBL (case-based learning) approach. We have CBL sessions 3 times a week, 2 hours each time. In these sessions, we are split into groups of about 10 students with 1 tutor and we are given a case, which we need to discuss and learn from. The point of CBL is not so much of making a diagnosis for the case, but it is more of the idea of discussing the relevant medicine (anatomy, physiology, treatment, management, etc) that is related to the case and thus, learning from there.
There are pros and cons of each and every course, and therefore I once again stress that it is important to find what is best for you. I personally am contented where I am, and I enjoy the way the curriculum is structured. However, I have friends who feel that the curriculum is messy and disorganized, and that the school is basically trying too hard to throw everything at once at us.
Therefore, my suggestion is to talk to seniors, read up on courses, talk to the agencies, and find the school that suits you best.
Life in Adelaide
I’ll just touch on this briefly because Adelaide is unique in the sense that has pretty much been described as a “hole”. If you are looking for a place with night life, entertainment, etc, I’m sorry but Adelaide is NOT the place for you. It is pretty much well-established as one of the most boring places in Australia. If you are looking for more lively places, the universities in Sydney and Melbourne would definitely be a much better choice.
I personally am enjoying Adelaide though. I do not go to pubs/clubs so the lack of a night life doesn’t really bother me. However, there are times where I feel like tearing my hair out during the holidays when there is absolutely nothing interesting to do.... let’s just say that even the tourist attractions (or lack of) in Adelaide aren’t remotely attractive. Most of the time, they aren’t very accessible either unless you have a car.
There is a pretty good music scene in Adelaide though, if that interests anyone. Adelaide is quite popular for their music and art festivals. I also feel that a nice variety of bands come by Adelaide, so.. that may interest you especially if you are into little Indie bands that probably won’t ever play in Singapore. However, “big name” artistes do have the tendency to snub Adelaide during Australian tours because of Adelaide’s reputation of being the small/quiet/dead town.
Overall, Adelaide is quite a cosy place. It’s small, with a relatively small population as well. There are only so many places you can go, and people usually congregate in the city area. You would most likely meet someone you know every time you leave the house. For instance, I was just hanging out with my friends in the city one day after my mid-year exams and we already saw 4 medical students from our year at random locations over 2 hours.
So.. that’s pretty much it. I hope that gave you a good idea of the process of application, and also a brief slice of my life as a med student in Australia. :) :)
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