The two ways into medicine in Australia
There is not one path into medicine — there are two, and which one your child takes depends almost entirely on their age and whether they have a degree yet.
- Strong ATAR (usually 99+)
- Sit the UCAT ANZ test
- Receive an interview invitation
- Complete a 5 or 6-year medical degree
- Do 2 years of intern/residency work
- Practise as a doctor
- Complete any bachelor's degree (usually science or health)
- Sit the GAMSAT exam
- Apply for a 4-year graduate MD
- Complete 2 years of intern/residency work
- Practise as a doctor
Many families do not realise that Path B exists — or that some students deliberately choose it. A student who does not get into medicine directly from school can complete a three-year science degree and apply for graduate entry. This is not a failure or a fallback. It is a well-trodden route, and some students who take it are better doctors for having done another degree first.
How long until they are actually a doctor
This is one of the most important things parents do not fully grasp at the start. The degree is not the end. Here is the real timeline for a school leaver starting medicine from Year 12:
What UCAT is — in plain English
UCAT stands for University Clinical Aptitude Test. In Australia and New Zealand it is called UCAT ANZ. It is a two-hour computer-based test sat in a test centre — usually in July of Year 12, though some students resit it the following year.
Crucially: it does not test medical knowledge. It tests thinking skills — the kind of fast, accurate reasoning that medicine requires under pressure. There are four sections:
| Section | What it tests | In practice |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal Reasoning | Reading comprehension under time pressure | Read a passage, answer True/False/Can't Tell — very fast |
| Decision Making | Logic, probability, syllogisms | Evaluate arguments, solve logic puzzles quickly |
| Quantitative Reasoning | Numerical problem solving | Not complex maths — reading charts, ratios, percentages |
| Situational Judgement | Professional ethics and priorities | Medical scenarios — what should a doctor do? Rank options. |
Scores range from 900 to 2700 (the sum of the three cognitive sections). The average score nationally is around 1890. A score of 2100 or above puts a student in the top 20–25%, which is competitive for most Australian medical schools. Top schools like Sydney and Monash typically see accepted students with scores of 2300 and above.
What happens if the UCAT score is low?
A low UCAT score does not necessarily end the path to medicine, but it narrows it. Some schools weight UCAT heavily, others less so. Options include resitting the following year (with better preparation), targeting schools with lower UCAT weighting, or switching to the graduate-entry path via GAMSAT which does not use UCAT at all. We cover this in detail in our low UCAT score guide.
What GAMSAT is — and who needs it
GAMSAT stands for Graduate Medical School Admissions Test. Despite the similarity to UCAT, it is a completely different beast — harder, longer, and designed for students who have already completed at least one year of a university degree.
Your child will only need GAMSAT if they are taking Path B — doing a bachelor's degree first, then applying for a 4-year graduate medical program (called a Doctor of Medicine or MD). They do not need GAMSAT and UCAT. It is one or the other, depending on which path they take.
| UCAT ANZ | GAMSAT | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sits it | School leavers (Year 12) | University graduates (or students in final year) |
| Length | 2 hours | 5.5 hours (full day) |
| What it tests | Reasoning speed and logic | Sciences, essay writing, and reasoning |
| Science knowledge needed? | No | Yes — chemistry, biology, physics to first-year degree level |
| Can be resit? | Once per year, result used that year only | Yes — best score can be used for up to 2 years |
| Cost (approx.) | ~A$210 | ~A$540 |
The graduate entry path is worth knowing about even if your child is currently in Year 12. If they do not get into medicine directly from school — which happens to the majority of applicants — the graduate path is not a failure. It is a realistic and well-supported alternative that many excellent doctors have taken.
ATAR and grades — what is actually required
For school-leaver entry, most Australian medical schools require an ATAR of 99 or above. That means your child needs to be in the top 1% of students in their state. This is a high bar, and it is not softened by saying so.
However, ATAR alone does not secure a place. Most schools use a combined ranking of ATAR plus UCAT score to determine who gets an interview invitation. After interview, the final offer weighs the interview performance heavily. A student with a 99.5 ATAR and a low UCAT will often be passed over in favour of a student with a 99.0 ATAR and a very high UCAT.
Subject requirements
Most medical schools require or strongly recommend Chemistry at Year 12 level. Some require a second science (Biology or Physics). Check each school's prerequisites carefully in Year 10 when your child chooses their senior subjects — getting this wrong means being ineligible for certain schools regardless of ATAR.
What it costs — the real numbers
For domestic (Australian) students
Most Australian medical students study in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP). This means the government subsidises most of the fee — your child pays only a student contribution, which is covered by HECS-HELP and repaid through the tax system once their income exceeds the repayment threshold (around $54,000 per year as of 2025).
For international students in Australia
International students pay full fees — no government subsidy. Annual fees range from $60,000 at Griffith University to $86,000 at the University of Sydney. Over 4 to 5 years, this is $280,000 to $430,000 in tuition alone, before living costs. This is a serious financial decision that warrants very careful research. Use our cost and loan calculator for a full breakdown.
What happens if they don't get in
This is the section most families need most, and the one most medicine resources underserve. The honest truth is that most applicants do not get into medicine on their first attempt. At major Australian schools, acceptance rates for undergraduate entry are often below 10%. Not getting in from Year 12 does not mean your child cannot become a doctor.
Option 1 — Reapply the following year
Students can resit the UCAT and reapply. A year of meaningful clinical work experience — volunteering in a hospital, aged care, or community health setting — strengthens the application significantly. Many students who are rejected improve their UCAT score substantially on resit with proper preparation.
Option 2 — Complete a degree and apply via GAMSAT
This is the most underrated option. A three-year Bachelor of Biomedical Science, Nursing, Health Science, or any other degree, followed by GAMSAT and an application to a 4-year graduate MD program. The total time is the same as the undergraduate path — they qualify around the same age. And many graduate-entry programs are prestigious: Sydney, Monash, UQ, and Melbourne all offer graduate-entry medicine.
Option 3 — Allied health career
Nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, paramedicine, physician associate roles — these are genuinely rewarding careers, not consolation prizes. If your child's primary goal is working with patients in health care, medicine is not the only route. Worth an honest conversation.
Option 4 — Interstate or overseas schools
Some Australian students study medicine overseas — Ireland, the UK, and parts of Europe — and return to practise in Australia. This requires completing the Australian Medical Council (AMC) assessment on return. It is a viable path but a complex one. Our rejection guide covers this in full.
Red flags — what to watch out for
Where there is a desperate, high-stakes decision and a family with money, there are people who will take advantage of it. Medicine admissions has more than its share of predatory operators. Here is what to watch for:
Questions to ask your child's school
Many school careers advisers are not fully up to date on medicine-specific admissions requirements. These are the questions worth asking specifically — and worth following up with independent research:
- 1Does my child's current subject selection include the prerequisites (usually Chemistry, sometimes Biology) for Australian medical schools? Can we still change subjects if not?
- 2When does the school recommend students register for UCAT — and is there any school support for UCAT preparation?
- 3Does the school have contacts for clinical work experience placements — hospital volunteering, GP shadowing, aged care? This is required by most medical schools.
- 4Does the school run mock MMI interviews, or can it connect my child with someone who has been through the process?
- 5If my child does not get into medicine in Year 12, what degree programs would best position them for graduate-entry via GAMSAT?
- 6Are there any rural or equity bonuses that apply to our postcode — and does the school know which medical schools offer these?
Free tools that might help
Everything on this site is free and runs in the browser — nothing is sent anywhere, no account needed. These tools were built specifically for this situation:
- Free UCAT ANZ practice materials: ucat.edu.au/prepare/practice-tests
- GAMSAT information: gamsat.acer.org
- AMC list of recognised overseas schools: amc.org.au
- AHPRA (medical registration body): ahpra.gov.au
- GEMSAS (graduate entry medical applications): gemsas.edu.au