Medicine and dentistry admissions, Australia wide
Getting into med is the hardest part! It doesn't have to be confusing!
I'm a fifth year medical student at JCU. I help students prepare for interviews and applications at medical and dental schools around Australia, and I answer questions from people who just want a straight answer.
Surgical Scrubbing Workshop!
Coaching
Ways I can help!
Every session is just you and me, online, and you book them one at a time. There's no package you have to commit to before you know whether it's useful. If you bring a friend, enjoy a discounted rate for both of you!
Mock interview
A full practice interview in the format your school actually uses, then we go back through it together while it's fresh.
- MMI circuits for UNSW, Monash, Curtin and others
- Panel format for JCU and similar
- Recorded so you can watch yourself back
- Written feedback within two days
JCU interview prep
JCU sits a health practitioner, an academic and a community member in front of you, and asks about the things JCU cares about.
- Rural, remote and Indigenous health
- Tropical medicine and why it matters up here
- Ethical reasoning and advocacy questions
- Getting comfortable with the Kira Talent platform
Dental application review
Dental applications rest almost entirely on written work and referees. I'll go through yours properly, line by line.
- JCU's 300 word statements and three letters of support
- Personal statements for other dental schools
- Who to ask for a letter, and how to ask
- Your words stay yours. I edit, I don't ghostwrite
Application strategy
A working session on preferences, portals and deadlines. Plenty of students miss out at this stage rather than at interview.
- Ordering your preferences across offer rounds
- Checking prerequisites and eligibility
- Rural and equity schemes, if they apply to you
- A dated plan you leave with
Not sure which one you need? Or your question doesn't fit any of them? Ask anyway. I answer everything that comes in and I don't mind giving a straight answer to a straight question!
Teddy Bear Hospital! It's come full circle :)
2027 intake
Where you can study, and when things are due
There are three quite different ways into medicine in Australia, each with its own calendar. Start with the tab that matches you.
Every medical school in Australia, grouped by how you get in. Requirements shift from year to year, so treat this as a map rather than a rulebook, and check the details with each university before you preference anything. Information is correct as of August 2026.
Straight from school
You start medicine in first year and graduate with a medical degree. Most of these want the UCAT.
James Cook University
MBBS at Townsville and Cairns. Academic results plus an online panel interview, with a strong rural and tropical health focus.
Bond University
Medical Studies and MD on the Gold Coast. Its own application and interview, and one of the few undergraduate programs with no admissions test.
Monash University
The only direct entry program in Victoria. Roughly equal weighting between ATAR, UCAT and interview, applied for through VTAC.
UNSW Sydney
Medicine at Kensington, through UAC. UCAT and ATAR decide who gets an interview.
Western Sydney University
MD with an MMI. Shares an application with Charles Sturt through UAC, and you can indicate a preference between them.
Charles Sturt University
Based at Orange, with a rural focus and a purpose built medical facility. Applied for alongside Western Sydney.
Newcastle and New England
The Joint Medical Program, run across both universities with an MMI. Applied for through UAC.
University of Adelaide
Selection weighted at UCAT 20 per cent, academic results 40 per cent and interview 40 per cent, through SATAC.
Flinders University
Clinical Sciences into the MD, with entry available in Adelaide and in the Northern Territory.
Charles Darwin University
Direct entry through the Northern Territory Medical Program, delivered with Flinders. You start the MD from the beginning.
Curtin University
The only direct entry medical program in Western Australia. MMI invitations are based on UCAT, with a minimum ATAR to apply.
University of Tasmania
MBBS in Hobart, applied for through UAC, with rural and Tasmanian entry schemes available.
Provisional and assured pathways
You apply in Year 12 and hold a place in medicine, but you complete a bachelor degree first. These usually want a very high ATAR, and some skip the admissions tests entirely.
University of Queensland
Provisional entry to the MD for school leavers, with an undergraduate degree in between.
University of Western Australia
The Assured Pathway into the MD, taken up in Year 12 and confirmed on completion of your bachelor degree.
University of Melbourne
The Chancellor's Scholars provisional pathway, aimed at students around 99.90 and above.
University of Sydney
A small number of combined Science or Arts and MD places for school leavers at 99.95, with no UCAT or GAMSAT required.
Graduate entry
For students who have finished, or are finishing, a bachelor degree. Ten schools apply together through GEMSAS, and you rank them within a single application. Three run their own process. GAMSAT results last four years.
Australian National University
MD in Canberra.
Deakin University
MD at Geelong, with a strong regional Victorian footprint.
Griffith University
MD on the Gold Coast.
Macquarie University
MD in Sydney, offered on a full fee basis.
University of Melbourne
MD at Parkville, the largest graduate program in the country.
University of Notre Dame
MD at both the Fremantle and Sydney campuses, each with its own selection approach.
University of Queensland
MD in Brisbane, also taking students through the provisional pathway above.
University of Western Australia
MD in Perth.
University of Wollongong
MD with a rural and regional emphasis, using GAMSAT as a hurdle rather than a ranking score.
University of Sydney
MD offered in a Sydney metropolitan stream and a Dubbo stream. Applications open around April and close in early June.
Flinders University
Graduate entry MD in Adelaide and the Northern Territory. Applications typically run from late May to late June.
Monash University
Graduate entry limited to students from specified Monash degrees, with applications open from May to late July.
The school leaver calendar. You sit the UCAT, apply through your state admissions centre, and for most medical schools you also lodge a separate application directly with the university. That last step catches people out every single year.
| What | Where | When |
|---|---|---|
| UCAT ANZ bookings openPassed | UCAT ANZ | 3 Mar 2026 |
| Concession scheme applications closePassed | UCAT ANZ | 11 May 2026 |
| Access arrangements close, late applications 29 MayPassed | UCAT ANZ | 15 May 2026 |
| Standard booking deadlinePassed | UCAT ANZ | 15 May 2026 |
| Final bookings closePassed | UCAT ANZ | 5 Jun 2026 |
| UCAT ANZ testing windowPassed | UCAT ANZ | 1 Jul to 5 Aug 2026 |
| UCAT results go to the universitiesSoon | UCAT ANZ | Early Sep 2026 |
| Schools Recommendation Scheme closesSoon | UAC, NSW and ACT | 11 Sep 2026 |
| Admissions centre applications close for most medicine coursesSoon | UAC, VTAC, QTAC, SATAC, TISC | 30 Sep 2026 |
| Separate direct applications to individual medical facultiesCheck now | Each university | Varies, mostly September |
| Interview invitations and interviews | Each university | Oct 2026 to Jan 2027 |
| Main offer rounds | All centres | Dec 2026 to Jan 2027 |
The graduate calendar. Most of it runs through GEMSAS, where one application covers ten schools. Sydney, Flinders and Monash sit outside that and set their own dates.
| What | Where | When |
|---|---|---|
| March GAMSAT sittingPassed | ACER | Mar 2026 |
| GEMSAS Admissions Guide published, the document to read firstPassed | GEMSAS | Apr 2026 |
| March GAMSAT resultsPassed | ACER | Late May 2026 |
| GEMSAS applications close, 5pm AEST and 3pm AWSTPassed | GEMSAS | 29 May 2026 |
| Sydney applications close, approximatelyPassed | USyd | Early Jun 2026 |
| Flinders applications close, approximatelyPassed | Flinders | Late Jun 2026 |
| Monash graduate applications close, approximatelyNow | Monash | Late Jul 2026 |
| September GAMSAT sitting, counting toward 2028 entry onwardSoon | ACER | Sep 2026 |
| Interview invitations releasedSoon | GEMSAS schools | Early Sep 2026 |
| Interviews heldSoon | GEMSAS schools | Sep to early Oct 2026 |
| Place offers released | GEMSAS schools | From late 2026 |
JCU runs on its own rules and uses neither the UCAT nor the GAMSAT. You apply in two places, QTAC and the JCU portal, and both have to be finished by the deadline. JCU doesn't accept late applications.
| What | Who | When |
|---|---|---|
| Applications open in both the QTAC and JCU portalsOpen now | Med and Dent | 4 Aug 2026 |
| Rural Access Scheme applications closeSoon | Med and Dent | 29 Sep 2026 |
| Applications close, 11.59pm AESTSoon | Med and Dent | 30 Sep 2026 |
| Prediction of Academic Achievement due from your school | Medicine | 19 Oct 2026 |
| First round interview invitations sent | Medicine | 6 Nov 2026 |
| First round of interviews | Medicine | 24 Nov to 1 Dec 2026 |
| Final results due to QTAC | Med and Dent | 7 Dec 2026 |
| Second round interview invitations sent | Medicine | 21 Dec 2026 |
| Second round of interviews | Medicine | 6 and 7 Jan 2027 |
| Last day to change QTAC preferences | Med and Dent | 7 Jan 2027 |
| Offers released | Med and Dent | 14 Jan 2027 |
| Deadline to accept or defer | Med and Dent | 18 Jan 2027 |
Last checked August 2026. These change every cycle, and a date on my site is never a substitute for the date on theirs. If you spot something wrong here, tell me and I'll fix it.
Students
In their words
Quotes from students I've worked with, shared with their permission.
[ “Really good tutor and easy to talk to. I was struggling with MMI stations and tended to keep talking, but Arnav's feedback helped me make my answers much clearer and more structured. I ended up getting an offer!”]A.S, 2025
[Great interview prep!! The mocks and feedback helped heaps and I felt so much more confident going into my actual interview. Would definitely recommend :)]S.A, 2025
[Really enjoyed my sessions with Arnav. Super approachable and great for interview prep!]M.D, 2024
Get in touch
Tell me what you need
Fill this in and I'll come back to you within a day or so with some times. Nothing is locked in until we've both agreed on one, and there's no payment at this stage.
- No obligation, and no payment to enquire
- I reply to every message, including the ones that turn out not to need a session
- Your details stay with me and go nowhere else
- Happy to hear from parents as well as students
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The interview brief
A short guide to what medical and dental interviews are really assessing, with practice questions and the reading that's actually worth your time. Send me your email and I'll send it over.
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Or just ask
Any question, no charge
Stuck on something small, like a prerequisite or a preference order, or whether it's even worth applying? Ask me. I'll give you a proper answer, and if you don't need to book anything I'll say so.
Use the form aboveQuestions
Things people ask me
Do you only help with JCU?
Not at all. I coach interviews for medical schools right across Australia, in whatever format yours uses, and I keep the dates for every pathway on this site. JCU is just where I can add a bit extra, because I went through its process and I'm five years into the course.
What makes your knowledge current?
I'm in the degree right now, on clinical placement, sitting next to people who went through selection in the last couple of years. When JCU dropped the written application for Medicine in 2024, I knew because it happened around me. These processes change constantly, and a lot of the advice online describes a system that no longer exists.
Do you help with dentistry too?
Yes. JCU Dentistry is the one I know best. There's no interview, so the 300 word statements and the three compulsory letters of support carry all of the weight. I'll also look over personal statements and prepare you for interviews at other dental schools.
Do I really not need the UCAT for JCU?
Correct. Neither JCU Medicine nor JCU Dentistry uses the UCAT or the GAMSAT, and sitting them gives you no advantage in a JCU application. Most other Australian schools do use one or the other, so whether you need it depends on your whole preference list.
Do you know what the selection panels want?
No, and I'd be cautious about anyone who says they do. I have no involvement in selection at JCU or anywhere else, and no access to how those decisions get made. What I have is recent experience and five years of context, and I'll always be upfront about the difference.
Will you write my application for me?
No. I'll help you shape it, sharpen it and cut it down, but the words stay yours. JCU asks applicants to answer honestly and in their own words, and an application that doesn't sound like you is a weaker application anyway.
I'm not from a rural background. Should I still apply to JCU?
Yes. JCU does consider rurality, but there's no fixed quota for regional or metropolitan students and school type isn't part of it. Caring about rural, regional and Indigenous health isn't the same as having grown up somewhere small. What matters is whether you can talk about it with something behind you.
What if I don't get an interview?
Then we work out what's next, whether that's applying again, the graduate pathway, or a different preference that suits you better. Most schools won't give individual feedback, so having someone help you read the situation is genuinely worth it. A lot of good doctors got in on their second try.