How to Get into Medical School in Australia and New Zealand: 19 Key Questions
Medical school requirements and selection process explained
Estimated reading time ≈ 7 minutes
Key takeaways:
- Only around one third of medicine applicants are successful, learn how to stand out from the crowd.
- Find out how to ace your interview and get the score you need in the UCAT.
'...there are students who would make brilliant doctors but feel in the dark about what they need in order to apply...may never have considered their talent for medicine...Medical schools want to find the best candidates and believe they can come from any background.'
Dr Paul Garrud – Chair of Medical Schools Council Selection Alliance (UK)
1. How hard is it to get into medical school?
So you’re thinking about becoming a doctor. You vividly imagine helping people and doing a meaningful job, but do you know what the medical path looks like? It’s not a straightforward decision, so we’ve listed some of the key considerations below.
Check the Academic Requirements for specifics, but you are likely to need top grades to get into a medical programme. It will be helpful for you to build evidence of your dedication to becoming a doctor way before you even apply, but it’s okay if you’ve only recently set your sights on a career in medicine.
2. How many medical school places are there in Australia and New Zealand?
Medicine has the lowest offer rate of all areas of study, with approximately one out of every three undergraduate applicants receiving an offer. There are approximately 4,500 places every year across Australia and New Zealand, but bear in mind that these are spread across both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
3. Do you have the empathy to become a doctor?
To help you answer this question, we have created an empathy test for medical students.
A doctor’s role is not limited to technical diagnosis and treatment of a disease. In fact, looking after patients’ overall health and well-being in a caring manner is just as important as technical skill. The importance of empathy will only increase in healthcare as medical technology becomes more advanced, so developing empathy now will aid you throughout your entire medical career.
Medical schools will look for evidence of empathy during your interview. Don’t be dismayed if you don't think you are a particularly empathetic person. Research has shown that empathy is not a fixed quality, and can be developed.
It’s essential to show empathy, not sympathy, in your medical interview, so make sure you know the difference!
4. How long is medical school?
Undergraduate medical degrees will generally take 5 or 6 years to complete, while postgraduate medical schools in Australia generally have 4-year programmes. You will need an undergraduate degree before you can commence a postgraduate programme, but in most cases this undergraduate degree does not need to be related to healthcare.
Remember that your medical training won’t stop once you graduate from medical school. After 4-6 years in medical school, you will need to undertake an internship, as well as spending up to 8 years in further training depending on your chosen speciality.
Before you spend the time, money and effort that are required to get into the medical profession, ask yourself if you have the determination and commitment for many years of intense learning.
5. How much does medical school cost in Australia and New Zealand?
The annual tuition fee for medicine is $11,300 in Australia for students on commonwealth supported places. Annual tuition costs around $16,500 in New Zealand, and the New Zealand government will pay for the first year of tertiary education for its citizens. Domestic students in both countries may be eligible for a tuition fee loan.
One exception to the tuition fee above is Bond University, which is a private university that charges ~$30,000 a semester for its medical programme.
Learn more about fees and medical school places.
6. How many medical schools are there in Australia and New Zealand?
The Australian Medical Council lists 23 accredited medical schools in Australia and New Zealand.
7. Are all medical schools the same?
Due to the competitiveness of medical schools, just getting in is a massive achievement. Furthermore, all medical schools in Australia and New Zealand provide their students with an excellent medical education.
That being said, if you want to choose the best medical school for you, you will need to consider: location, teaching methods, university rankings, and other factors such as extra-curricular life.
8. How do I apply to medical schools?
Most (but not all) universities in Australia use state-specific tertiary admission centres (TACs) for their application process. These centres allow applicants to apply to 5-8 courses from multiple universities in the state.
New Zealand medical schools and some Australian medical schools require applicants to apply to the university directly.
Your application can be submitted via the website of whichever TACs or universities you are applying through.
Note that applications for many graduate-entry medical programmes must be submitted via GEMSAS.
9. When are the deadlines for applying to medical schools?
Application deadlines will differ between Australian universities, and deadlines for graduate-entry medical schools are generally earlier than deadlines for direct-entry medical schools. The deadlines for New Zealand medical schools are traditionally in September or October.
Remember that the UCAT and GAMSAT also have deadlines, so make sure to register for them in time!
Our best advice for deadlines is to check and double check all the deadlines that are relevant for you.
10. How many medical schools should I apply to?
The number of medical schools you can apply to depends on your grades, pathway, and whether or not you are willing to move - for example, there would be no point applying to the University of Adelaide if you live in Sydney and have no intention of moving to Adelaide.
However, if you are willing to move in order to attend medical school then we recommend applying to as many universities as you are eligible for.
11. What are the medical school requirements?
Each university has its own requirements, but broadly speaking you need to:
- Excel in your high school or tertiary studies
- Take any prerequisite subjects
- Get a high score in the UCAT (or GAMSAT for graduate-entry programmes)
- Perform well in your medical school interview
Check Medify's free Admissions Guide for detailed information on all aspects of your medical school admissions journey.
12. How important is volunteering for medical school?
‘I’ve always been interested in the outdoors and I’m very passionate about environmental conservation, so In the last two years I’ve been volunteering with my local nature conservation group. We’ve taken on projects such as removing weeds from local bushland, picking up rubbish from wetlands, and learning more about natural species. It’s been a wonderful opportunity to learn about my environment and meet a community of people with similar interests, and I’m looking forward to continuing work with the group into the future.’
Claire, James Cook University
While voluntary work experience is not mandatory, undertaking one can help you pick up a range of skills to demonstrate during your interviews, such as communication and teamwork.
13. What are the academic requirements?
Take a deep dive into the academic requirements for medical school.
Make no mistake, to be a doctor you need to excel academically. One way to achieve academic success is to spend time working on your actual study skills - not just learning the syllabus, but learning how to learn.
Michelle Willis, a GP in training, achieved an ATAR of 92.55. For some, this would be considered an excellent ATAR, but for Michelle, this meant that she had failed to get into the University of Sydney to study medicine.
'I felt like a failed medic', she explained.
Due to her ATAR, Michelle decided to complete a bachelor’s degree then apply for graduate-entry medicine. She was not only interested in medicine, but also how culture and social determinants affect the health of people, so she commenced her Bachelor of Anthropology at Macquarie University.
This setback was not the end for Michelle. She graduated top of her class with a Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of 87, and received top marks in the GAMSAT. Due to her competitive WAM and GAMSAT score, and successful interview, Michelle received an offer to study medicine at the University of Sydney.
14. Which entrance tests do universities use?
The UCAT or GAMSAT are yet another hurdle to getting into medical school. These exams test more than just academic skills, but are an overall assessment of your suitability for medicine.
The UCAT covers:
Critically evaluating written material
44 questions in 21 minutes
Making appropriate decisions in complex situations
29 questions in 31 minutes
Assess and evaluate numerical information
36 questions in 24 minutes
Using both convergent and divergent thinking styles
55 questions in 13 minutes
Testing your reasoning against real-life situations
69 questions in 26 minutes
The GAMSAT consists of:
Reasoning in Humanities and Social Sciences
62 questions in 92 minutes
Written Communication
2 essays in 60 minutes
Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences
75 questions in 142 minutes
15. Do I need to have medical work experience?
Getting exposure to real-life medical situations can be beneficial for medical school applicants, but this is difficult in Australia and New Zealand and is not a requirement.
16. Which specialty should I choose?
There are an incredible number of specialties within medicine. Do you have a specific interest in an area of medicine? You don’t need to figure it out now, but perhaps you’re considering one of the following areas of expertise:
- Anaesthesia
- Clinical oncology
- Clinical radiology
- Community sexual health and reproductive health
- Emergency medicine
- General practice
- Intensive Care Medicine
- Obstetrics and gynaecology
- Occupational medicine
- Ophthalmology
- Paediatrics
- Pathology
- Psychiatry
- Public health
- Surgery
17. Do I need to write a personal statement/portfolio?
As of 2021, only four Australian medical schools require applicants to include a personal statement/portfolio. These four medical schools are James Cook University, University of Notre Dame (both campuses), Macquarie University and University of Wollongong.
For more information read our article on Personal Statements and Portfolios.
18. How do I prepare for my medical school interview?
One of the major purposes of the interview is to assess the potential qualities that would make you a successful doctor.
Unexpected questions are to be…expected, as the admissions team wants to see how applicants cope under pressure as they answer questions they most likely didn’t practise for.
Find out about medical school interview formats and preparation tips.
You can also use our ANZ Interviews Online Course to prepare for your medical school interview at your own pace. You’ll get access to everything you need to excel in your interview, including in-depth tutorials, authentic example video responses from real students, and an extensive Knowledge Bank.
19. Should I aim for Graduate Entry Medicine?
If you don’t feel you are ready for a medicine degree after high school, broaden your knowledge with another degree before committing yourself to medicine. You will need top grades in your first degree if you do decide to pursue medicine as a second degree.
Our article about direct vs. graduate medical school entry can help you with this decision.
Summary
- You need to understand your motivations for pursuing medicine, as these will give you focus on the long journey to become a doctor.
- Medical school requirements vary from university to university, but generally you need top grades, a high UCAT score and a solid interview performance.
- You need to plan your strategy as early as possible to position yourself well to get into medical school.
What should I do one month before my UCAT?
Keep practising! A month sounds like a long time, but time will quickly vanish. Set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely) goals such as reaching a certain score by a certain date or time.
Niche down even further on your weaknesses – by this stage you should just be focusing on what you find hardest. Make sure you factor in breaks and days off into your schedule, as well as any important events which you need to attend.
Read the 'Good medical practice' by the Medical Board of Australia if you haven’t already. It will inform you about the different duties of healthcare professionals and how they should respond to different scenarios, which is essential for the Situational Judgement Test section of the UCAT.
Try Medify's Skills Trainers, such as inference scanning for Verbal Reasoning, to maximise your score (these are included in our UCAT ANZ Online Course). Make sure you've also completed plenty of UCAT practice tests.
The UCAT exam is two hours with no breaks in between, so practise at least two hours each time to build your mental stamina. You should also simulate the exam environment as closely as possible – this means treating every mock test as if it were a real one.
For instance, you should sit mock exams at the same time of the day as your actual UCAT exam and ensure there are no distractions. By mirroring the test conditions, not only will it prepare you for what to expect on test day, it should also help to decrease any anxiety leading up to the exam. Otherwise, your brain has to process the ‘new’ way of completing the test.
What should I do one week before my UCAT?
At this point, you'll know the format of the exam inside out and will have practised the questions enough times to get used to UCAT timings. Don’t give up – keep preparing in an environment where you cannot be interrupted.
Remember, a lot of your preparation will have been done in the weeks and months before this final week, so be careful not to overdo it and become too fatigued. Your motivation may drop or you might ‘peak’ before the test. Your body needs rest too.
Now is a great time to introduce or increase self-care in your regime. Whether it’s watching Netflix, gaming, or just running a bath, it’s important to detach yourself from UCAT revision from time to time to avoid the risk of burnout.
In this week you should also prioritise your nutrition and sleep. Eat well, do not miss meals and keep hydrated. Make sure you get a good night’s sleep in the days before the test by avoiding late night cramming or staying awake into the early hours.
If it puts your mind at rest, you can check last year’s UCAT scores, but remember that this is all about your personal journey and performance, so don't get hung up on that information!
What should I do one day before my UCAT?
We do not advise doing a mock this close to the exam. Revision won't help you much at this stage and can actually leave you worse off. Instead, use this time to wind down and get yourself into a relaxed state. This will enable you to perform at your best on test day.
Try to get to bed early and avoid things that can affect sleep, such as looking at your phone before bed. If you think that you will struggle to sleep on time, you could try doing some exercise during the day to tire yourself out.
Exercise can boost your brainpower by oxygenating your brain, helping you learn and aid sleep. Plus, activity makes your body release endorphins, which can reduce anxiety and stress levels.
Make sure you double check your UCAT test centre information, the travel route to the test centre, the time of your UCAT exam, and so on, so you’re well prepared for test day. If someone else is giving you a ride to the test centre, it’s worth reminding them.
What should I do on the day of my UCAT?
You should start the day off with a nutritious breakfast and give yourself enough time to arrive early to the test centre to avoid feeling flustered, rushed or stressed.
Remember that buses and trains can be late and that traffic may be heavier than you had hoped, so allow extra time whichever way you are travelling. Find out how to choose a UCAT test centre.
Make sure you know how to get to the test centre – for instance you could consider taking a map with you. If you’re using your phone for directions, make sure it’s sufficiently charged and that you have spare data (otherwise you can download the map ahead of time to use offline).
On test day you will be expected to arrive 30 minutes before your scheduled test time to complete the check-in process.
You need to bring:
- Your test confirmation email
- Photographic ID from the approved list
When you arrive at the test centre, it’s likely that you’ll be experiencing a heightened sense of adrenaline. his is completely normal, but it could be helpful to learn some strategies for adopting a winning mindset on test day to reduce your stress levels, and enable you to perform at your best. For instance, you could focus on your breathing to help you relax.
Don’t forget, during your test there are one minute introductions between each subtest. You can skip these, but we recommend using the time to mentally refresh yourself.
If you’ve stuck to your revision plan, and followed our advice above, the best thing you can do on test day is to try and keep as calm as possible. Take solace in the fact that you have prepared for weeks/months to get to this point, and channel any nervous energy into doing the best you can during your UCAT test.
What should I eat and drink leading up to the UCAT?
You should think about your diet well ahead of UCAT test day. Focus on foods that release energy slowly (that is, which have a low glycaemic index, or GI) which will stop you from feeling hungry. These are ideal for UCAT preparation, as well as on test day itself.
Try eating protein and low-GI carbohydrates, such as meat or baked beans, brown (whole grain) rice or pasta, or wholegrain breakfast cereals or muesli. However, do not stray far from your usual diet on the day of the test in case you feel sick. You may want to try these foods out at the same time of day a few weeks in advance.
Be wary of energy drinks and coffee. If you’re not used to them then don’t drink them, especially in large quantities. Caffeine can acutely increase anxiety, and the sugar rush of an energy drink is soon followed by insulin slamming on the brakes, leaving you feeling worse than before. These products are no substitute for a good night’s sleep, eating properly and exercising.
No food or drink is allowed in the test room so eat a healthy meal before your UCAT test and ensure you’re hydrated. While you should make sure you’re drinking enough water, do not overdo it, otherwise you might need the toilet while the timer is ticking.
Please note, access arrangements are available if you have a disability, learning difficulty or long-term medical condition. You may be entitled to extra time and/or rest breaks, and allowed certain items, such as water, at your test centre workstation.
What happens at the UCAT test centre?
- At the registration desk, you will be asked to show a valid photographic ID and a printed/electronic copy of your confirmation email from Pearson VUE.
- You will be asked to sign a signature pad and take a photograph.
- You will be given a laminated notebook and a black marker pen. You may also request earplugs.
- Do not take anything other than your ID into the examination room. A locker or a coat hanger will be available.
- Go to the bathroom if you need to.
- Once the staff have prepared your exam, you may enter the exam room. You may be asked to undergo a body check (e.g. turning up your pockets and rolling your sleeves).
- The staff will guide you to the seat, or you may be able to choose your desk. Take some time to prepare yourself and relax. Your two hours have not yet started.
What is the UCAT test environment like?
This image shows a typical UCAT test environment:
There is no audio element to the test, but you can request earplugs to block out any noise that might disrupt your concentration.
You will have access to a basic onscreen calculator which may be useful for the Quantitative Reasoning and Decision Making sections.
You will be given a laminated notebook and marker pen. Consider using these for:
- Quantitative Reasoning: Noting down numbers during multi-step workings
- Abstract Reasoning: Writing down mnemonics for pattern recognition
- Decision Making: Noting calculations and drawing diagrams
If you require an additional notebook and pen, you can raise your hand and ask the invigilator. Although the invigilator will check that your pen is working before the test, we advise double-checking this to avoid seeking assistance during the test.
What happens during my UCAT test?
- Once you are ready, follow the on-screen instructions.
- Your exam will be in the following order:
- Verbal Reasoning
- Decision Making
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Abstract Reasoning
- Situational Judgement
- You will have one minute before each section to read the instructions. You can skip it, but this will not give you an extra minute to answer the questions. Use this time to give your mind a quick break.
- If you have any issues, such as requiring a toilet break, you can quietly raise your hand. However, your time will continue running.
- After your exam, there may be an opportunity to answer a short optional survey on UCAT ANZ preparation and the quality of the venue.
- Raise your hand when you've finished and the examiner will guide you out of the exam room. You need to return your laminated board and marker pen.
- Collect your belongings and leave the test centre.
- Your UCAT ANZ results will be available in your Pearson VUE account within 24 hours. You will receive an email with instructions to access your score report through your account. All results will be delivered to UCAT ANZ Consortium universities automatically.
- If you’ve achieved the scores that you desire, well done.
- Even if you haven’t achieved the scores you wanted, congratulate yourself for getting through a really tough process. You've done exceptionally well just to get to this point. Plus, you can always take the UCAT again next year or consider graduate entry to medicine – do not give up on your dream!
Do you need help preparing for the UCAT ANZ? Head over to our UCAT ANZ Online Course and we’ll get you signed up to guide you through the whole process.
We provide a huge bank of 20,000+ questions, 24 unique full mock exams, 40+ mini-mock exams, 50+ hours of video tutorials, and performance feedback. We've also upgraded our UCAT mock exams 13-24 and revised our practice question bank to enrich your preparation journey.
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