Question 1

What admission tests do Sydney Dental and UQ Dental use?

Accepted Answer

Sydney Dental uses GAMSAT. UQ Dental uses UCAT-ANZ. The test mismatch means you may need to prep two assessments simultaneously, or you can pick the school whose admission test you're stronger in. GAMSAT is graduate-only and sat in March/September; UCAT-ANZ is undergraduate-leaning and sat in July; some schools (notably Bond and JCU) run their own selection model with no national test.

Question 2

What GAMSAT score do I need for Sydney Dental vs UQ Dental?

Accepted Answer

Sydney Dental — Minimum 50 in each section is a hard eligibility hurdle for standard applicants. The guide exempts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants from that hurdle, but this is not a blanket waiver of GAMSAT: under the Indigenous Facilitated Entry Scheme for applicants with a bachelor's degree, eligible GAMSAT results must still be submitted and 50 per section is 'preferred', with the Indigenous Admissions Advisory Group able to recommend applicants who score lower. Only the postgraduate-degree and Bachelor of Oral Health Indigenous schemes require no GAMSAT result at all. USyd ranks DMD applicants on individual section scores. For 2027 entry, eligible GAMSAT sittings are September 2024, March 2025, September 2025 and March 2026 only — USyd requires results from the past two years "despite any contrary advice from ACER or GAMSAT", and notes this requirement may change for future cycles. (International applicants may instead submit US DAT or Canadian CDAT results; see the international admission-test note for the current minima.) UQ Dental — does not publish a GAMSAT cut-off (may not use GAMSAT; check the admission-test question above). These are the requirements on record for 2027-entry applicants. GAMSAT results are valid for four years with ACER, but some graduate MD programs accept only the most recent two cycles — verify before relying on an older sitting.

Question 3

What UCAT-ANZ score do I need for Sydney Dental vs UQ Dental?

Accepted Answer

Sydney Dental — does not publish a UCAT-ANZ cut-off (may not use UCAT-ANZ; check the admission-test question above). UQ Dental — Mandatory. All applicants at/above the ATAR floor are ranked directly on UCAT-ANZ aggregate — ATAR acts as a hurdle, not a differentiator. UCAT section scores may separate tied applicants. UQ has never published a UCAT cut-off or percentile for this program, and no Tier-1 source supports one — QTAC says only that 'entry to this course is highly competitive' and that 'UCAT scores are used for selection'. For calibration, official UCAT ANZ 2026 (2027-entry) Total Cognitive Scaled Scores are out of 2700: median 1,950, 8th decile 2,220, 9th decile 2,340. Treat any quoted 'UQ Dental UCAT percentile' as an estimate, never a published threshold — and note that UQ's published rule aggregates 'all 4 sections' of the UCAT, which it has not reconciled with the current three-subtest cognitive total. These are the requirements on record for 2027-entry applicants. UCAT-ANZ cut-offs are cohort-dependent, so the headline number from one cycle is not guaranteed for the next — use it as a planning anchor, not a guarantee.

Question 4

What ATAR do I need for Sydney Dental vs UQ Dental?

Accepted Answer

Sydney Dental — ATAR data not published in the structured AU requirements; see free-text admission requirements on the school page. UQ Dental — 2026 entry: lowest rank offered 95.70 (unadjusted) → 99.00 (with adjustments); median rank offered 99.30 (unadjusted) → 99.95 (with adjustments); highest rank offered 99.95. ATAR floor 99.00 adjusted for QLD Year 12 — one of the highest in Australian dentistry. These are the requirements on record for 2027-entry applicants. Selection rank typically includes Educational Access Scheme bonuses, rural-origin uplift, and (where applicable) Indigenous-pathway adjustments — your raw ATAR is rarely the final figure used.

Question 5

What GPA do I need for Sydney Dental vs UQ Dental?

Accepted Answer

Sydney Dental — Minimum GPA 5.0/7.0 as calculated by UAC's Qualifications Assessment Service, assessed as at 4 June 2026 for 2027 entry — a hard hurdle, and the same one the USyd MD applies, not a lower one. The 4.5 figure applies to the Rural Applicants Facilitated Entry Scheme; the Indigenous schemes also work to 4.5, and the IAAG may recommend applicants with a lower GPA who demonstrate improvement over the duration of their tertiary studies. UQ Dental — GPA not published in the structured AU requirements. These are the requirements on record for 2027-entry applicants. Many AU graduate MD programs treat the GPA as a hurdle (above the floor, all candidates are weighted equally on GAMSAT and interview) rather than as a sliding-scale rank — confirm each school's specific model.

Question 6

How do interviews differ between Sydney Dental and UQ Dental?

Accepted Answer

Sydney Dental uses: No interview for standard domestic applicants — ranked on GAMSAT section scores (international applicants submit a portfolio and may be interviewed). UQ Dental uses: No interview — ATAR threshold then UCAT-ANZ aggregate ranking. Different formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each. Interview windows: No interview (domestic) (Sydney Dental); No interview (UQ Dental).

Question 7

What place types (CSP / BMP / Full-fee) do Sydney Dental and UQ Dental offer?

Accepted Answer

Sydney Dental — For 2027 entry USyd anticipates 76 domestic offers — 30 Commonwealth Supported Places (a number that 'includes places reserved for undergraduate Double Degree Dentistry students') and 46 Domestic Fee-Paying places, both marked TBC, with the University reserving the right to make more or fewer at the Dean's discretion. Identical admission criteria apply to both types, and applicants nominate a preference order at the confirmation-page stage. USyd publishes no anticipated number of international offers. Rural and Indigenous applicants are not separate place types but facilitated entry schemes whose ranking lists may differ from the standard pathway, and under which offers may be made to applicants scoring below the standard cut-off. UQ Dental — Semester 1, 2026 cohort (QTAC/UQ Student Profile): 111 students in total — 72 (64.9%) from recent secondary education admitted where both ATAR/rank and additional criteria were considered, and 24 international (21.6%). The total includes international students, leaving roughly 87 domestic commencers, all in Commonwealth supported places. Domestic places are all Commonwealth supported. QTAC's Feb 2027 intake listing shows a first-year student contribution of $10,140; UQ's own program page gives an indicative annual fee of $11,670 for 2026 and states that 2027 fee information is not yet available. The two official sources are on different bases, so treat both as indicative and check UQ's fee page before quoting a 2027 figure. CSP (Commonwealth Supported Place) is the lowest student contribution; BMP (Bonded Medical Program) adds a 1-year return-of-service obligation in a Modified Monash Model 2-7 area after Fellowship; Full-fee places carry no bond but the highest tuition.

Question 8

What Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entry pathways do Sydney Dental and UQ Dental offer?

Accepted Answer

Sydney Dental — Three separate Indigenous Facilitated Entry Schemes, overseen by the Indigenous Admissions Advisory Group (IAAG): (1) bachelor's degree plus GAMSAT — GPA 4.5 and 50 per section are both 'preferred' rather than required, and an interview may be required; (2) postgraduate master's or PhD completed within three years — no bachelor's degree and no GAMSAT needed, GPA of at least 4.5 subject to IAAG discretion, résumé required and an interview may be required; (3) Bachelor of Oral Health — no GAMSAT, plus a compulsory written assessment and panel discussion. The requirement to have completed two years FTE at the awarding institution is waived across the schemes. No quota is published. UQ Dental — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants who apply through QTAC and identify automatically receive 5 selection-rank adjustments. On UCAT: UQ's program page states that applicants applying via the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Admissions Scheme are not required to sit UCAT, while UQ's scheme page ties the dentistry exemption specifically to its separate Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours) admission pathway — complete UQ's admission pathway application form and email it to atsisaltentry@uq.edu.au, with applications closing 1 December in the year before you commence. Because UQ's two pages differ, lodge the pathway form by 1 December and confirm the exemption with UQ Admissions rather than relying on the QTAC application alone. Both schools accept ATSI applicants through the standard pathway as well; the dedicated pathway typically offers adjusted academic thresholds plus wrap-around academic support.

Question 9

Does Sydney Dental or UQ Dental offer bonded / rural-entry places?

Accepted Answer

Sydney Dental — Rural Applicants Facilitated Entry Scheme: at least 5 consecutive or 10 cumulative years from birth in an ASGS Edition 3 Inner Regional, Outer Regional, Remote or Very Remote area, certified on a Confirmation of Rural Origin form completed by a registered medical practitioner, dentist, pharmacist, lawyer, school principal or current/former employer. USyd audits these forms by contacting the author; family members cannot complete them and statutory declarations are not accepted. Rural applicants get a lower GPA hurdle (4.5 vs 5.0), their ranking list may differ from the standard pathway, and offers may be made below the standard cut-off. USyd publishes no bonded places for the DMD — the only domestic place types in the 2027 Offer Preferences are Commonwealth Supported and Domestic Fee-Paying. UQ Dental — No bonded places and no rural quota for dentistry: UQ states all domestic places are Commonwealth supported, QTAC lists the fee as CSP only, and UQ's Rural Background Sub-quota is offered only to Doctor of Medicine (Provisional Entry) applicants. Rural applicants do get relief, because the 99.0 minimum is an ADJUSTED ATAR — UQ's Rural Access Scheme adds 2 adjustments (each worth 1 rank). For the Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours), however, that adjustment is not automatic: you must provide documents proving you lived in a designated rural or remote area for 5 years consecutively or 10 years cumulatively, submitted through QTAC. The federal BMP allocates ~28.5% of CSP places nationally; individual schools sit above or below that benchmark depending on their workforce remit.

Question 10

When does each school release decisions?

Accepted Answer

Sydney Dental typically releases dentistry offers September (domestic first round) / October (international), rolling to January. UQ Dental releases dentistry offers January — QTAC offer round 14 January 2027 (UQ: offers to the main offer round in January 2027). AU MD offers run through GEMSAS (graduate consortium) or direct school portals; if one is earlier than the other you may need to defer a decision while waiting for the second.

Question 11

What curriculum style do Sydney Dental and UQ Dental use?

Accepted Answer

Sydney Dental runs a Integrated curriculum. UQ Dental runs a Integrated curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. Sydney Dental specifics: 4-year graduate DMD. 4-year graduate-entry DMD (192 credit points). The curriculum is structured around seven integrated themes — clinical sciences and skills; oral and systemic biosciences; evidence- UQ Dental specifics: 5-year undergraduate Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours). Students attend both the Herston and St Lucia campuses throughout the five years. Clinical skills begin in the first semester in UQ's simulat

Question 12

Should I apply to both Sydney Dental and UQ Dental?

Accepted Answer

Yes — AU medical applicants typically lodge preferences across multiple schools via GEMSAS (graduate) or direct-undergraduate portals + state TACs (UAC for NSW, VTAC for VIC, QTAC for QLD, etc.). The two schools' selection mechanics differ enough that listing both is a legitimate diversification strategy. A common mistake is over-indexing on schools with the same test-and-interview profile; Sydney Dental and UQ Dental differ in their selection mechanics, so prepping both adds genuine optionality.

Comparison field	Sydney DentalSydney	UQ DentalHerston & St Lucia
Quick comparison
Location	Sydney, Australia	Herston & St Lucia, Australia
Entry pathway	Graduate	Undergraduate
Admission tests	GAMSAT	UCAT-ANZ
GAMSAT	Minimum 50 in each section is a hard eligibility hurdle for standard applicants. The guide exempts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants from that hurdle, but this is not a blanket waiver of GAMSAT: under the Indigenous Facilitated Entry Scheme for applicants with a bachelor's degree, eligible GAMSAT results must still be submitted and 50 per section is 'preferred', with the Indigenous Admissions Advisory Group able to recommend applicants who score lower. Only the postgraduate-degree and Bachelor of Oral Health Indigenous schemes require no GAMSAT result at all. USyd ranks DMD applicants on individual section scores. For 2027 entry, eligible GAMSAT sittings are September 2024, March 2025, September 2025 and March 2026 only — USyd requires results from the past two years "despite any contrary advice from ACER or GAMSAT", and notes this requirement may change for future cycles. (International applicants may instead submit US DAT or Canadian CDAT results; see the international admission-test note for the current minima.)	-
UCAT-ANZ	-	Mandatory. All applicants at/above the ATAR floor are ranked directly on UCAT-ANZ aggregate — ATAR acts as a hurdle, not a differentiator. UCAT section scores may separate tied applicants. UQ has never published a UCAT cut-off or percentile for this program, and no Tier-1 source supports one — QTAC says only that 'entry to this course is highly competitive' and that 'UCAT scores are used for selection'. For calibration, official UCAT ANZ 2026 (2027-entry) Total Cognitive Scaled Scores are out of 2700: median 1,950, 8th decile 2,220, 9th decile 2,340. Treat any quoted 'UQ Dental UCAT percentile' as an estimate, never a published threshold — and note that UQ's published rule aggregates 'all 4 sections' of the UCAT, which it has not reconciled with the current three-subtest cognitive total.
ATAR	-	2026 entry: lowest rank offered 95.70 (unadjusted) → 99.00 (with adjustments); median rank offered 99.30 (unadjusted) → 99.95 (with adjustments); highest rank offered 99.95. ATAR floor 99.00 adjusted for QLD Year 12 — one of the highest in Australian dentistry.
Interview format	No interview for standard domestic applicants — ranked on GAMSAT section scores (international applicants submit a portfolio and may be interviewed)	No interview — ATAR threshold then UCAT-ANZ aggregate ranking
Post-interview chance	Not applicable — there is no interview stage for domestic applicants, and USyd publishes no applicant-to-offer ratio.	N/A — no interview.
Decision date	September (domestic first round) / October (international), rolling to January	January — QTAC offer round 14 January 2027 (UQ: offers to the main offer round in January 2027)

ATAR	-	2026 entry: lowest rank offered 95.70 (unadjusted) → 99.00 (with adjustments); median rank offered 99.30 (unadjusted) → 99.95 (with adjustments); highest rank offered 99.95. ATAR floor 99.00 adjusted for QLD Year 12 — one of the highest in Australian dentistry.
Contextual ATAR	-	UQ applies adjustments through QTAC and caps them: 'You may be eligible for multiple schemes, up to a maximum of 5 adjustment points in total.' The Rural Access Scheme gives 2 adjustments (1 rank each), the Educational Access Scheme up to 5, the School Opportunity Scheme up to 4, the Subject Incentive Scheme up to 3, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants 5 — but never more than 5 combined, so the lowest unadjusted ATAR that can reach the 99.0 adjusted minimum is 94.0. Important: for Dental Science the rural adjustment is NOT automatic — you must document 5 consecutive or 10 cumulative years of residence in a designated rural or remote area. For Semester 1, 2026 QTAC published a lowest offer of 95.70 excluding adjustment factors and 99.00 including them; these are two separate published statistics, not one applicant's measured adjustment. UQ also lists 'applicants without adjustments will be considered before applicants with adjustments' among the detailed measures it uses when applicants outnumber places.
GAMSAT	Minimum 50 in each section is a hard eligibility hurdle for standard applicants. The guide exempts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants from that hurdle, but this is not a blanket waiver of GAMSAT: under the Indigenous Facilitated Entry Scheme for applicants with a bachelor's degree, eligible GAMSAT results must still be submitted and 50 per section is 'preferred', with the Indigenous Admissions Advisory Group able to recommend applicants who score lower. Only the postgraduate-degree and Bachelor of Oral Health Indigenous schemes require no GAMSAT result at all. USyd ranks DMD applicants on individual section scores. For 2027 entry, eligible GAMSAT sittings are September 2024, March 2025, September 2025 and March 2026 only — USyd requires results from the past two years "despite any contrary advice from ACER or GAMSAT", and notes this requirement may change for future cycles. (International applicants may instead submit US DAT or Canadian CDAT results; see the international admission-test note for the current minima.)	-
UCAT-ANZ	-	Mandatory. All applicants at/above the ATAR floor are ranked directly on UCAT-ANZ aggregate — ATAR acts as a hurdle, not a differentiator. UCAT section scores may separate tied applicants. UQ has never published a UCAT cut-off or percentile for this program, and no Tier-1 source supports one — QTAC says only that 'entry to this course is highly competitive' and that 'UCAT scores are used for selection'. For calibration, official UCAT ANZ 2026 (2027-entry) Total Cognitive Scaled Scores are out of 2700: median 1,950, 8th decile 2,220, 9th decile 2,340. Treat any quoted 'UQ Dental UCAT percentile' as an estimate, never a published threshold — and note that UQ's published rule aggregates 'all 4 sections' of the UCAT, which it has not reconciled with the current three-subtest cognitive total.
CASPer	-	-
ISAT	-	-
GPA	Minimum GPA 5.0/7.0 as calculated by UAC's Qualifications Assessment Service, assessed as at 4 June 2026 for 2027 entry — a hard hurdle, and the same one the USyd MD applies, not a lower one. The 4.5 figure applies to the Rural Applicants Facilitated Entry Scheme; the Indigenous schemes also work to 4.5, and the IAAG may recommend applicants with a lower GPA who demonstrate improvement over the duration of their tertiary studies.	-
Prerequisites	-	-
Place types	For 2027 entry USyd anticipates 76 domestic offers — 30 Commonwealth Supported Places (a number that 'includes places reserved for undergraduate Double Degree Dentistry students') and 46 Domestic Fee-Paying places, both marked TBC, with the University reserving the right to make more or fewer at the Dean's discretion. Identical admission criteria apply to both types, and applicants nominate a preference order at the confirmation-page stage. USyd publishes no anticipated number of international offers. Rural and Indigenous applicants are not separate place types but facilitated entry schemes whose ranking lists may differ from the standard pathway, and under which offers may be made to applicants scoring below the standard cut-off.	Semester 1, 2026 cohort (QTAC/UQ Student Profile): 111 students in total — 72 (64.9%) from recent secondary education admitted where both ATAR/rank and additional criteria were considered, and 24 international (21.6%). The total includes international students, leaving roughly 87 domestic commencers, all in Commonwealth supported places. Domestic places are all Commonwealth supported. QTAC's Feb 2027 intake listing shows a first-year student contribution of $10,140; UQ's own program page gives an indicative annual fee of $11,670 for 2026 and states that 2027 fee information is not yet available. The two official sources are on different bases, so treat both as indicative and check UQ's fee page before quoting a 2027 figure.
Indigenous pathway	Three separate Indigenous Facilitated Entry Schemes, overseen by the Indigenous Admissions Advisory Group (IAAG): (1) bachelor's degree plus GAMSAT — GPA 4.5 and 50 per section are both 'preferred' ra…	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants who apply through QTAC and identify automatically receive 5 selection-rank adjustments. On UCAT: UQ's program page states that applicants applying via…
Bonded / rural	Rural Applicants Facilitated Entry Scheme: at least 5 consecutive or 10 cumulative years from birth in an ASGS Edition 3 Inner Regional, Outer Regional, Remote or Very Remote area, certified on a Conf…	No bonded places and no rural quota for dentistry: UQ states all domestic places are Commonwealth supported, QTAC lists the fee as CSP only, and UQ's Rural Background Sub-quota is offered only to Doct…

Interview window	No interview (domestic)	No interview
Interview details	The Sydney DMD has no interview stage for standard domestic applicants. The 2027 Domestic Admissions Guide sets three eligibility requirements — an eligible bachelor's degree with a UAC-assessed GPA h…	UQ Dent does not interview. Step 1: applicants must hit adjusted ATAR ≥ 99.00. Step 2: all qualifying applicants are ranked directly on UCAT-ANZ aggregate; ATAR acts as a hurdle, not a differentiator.…

Specialities	Oral Surgery, Orthodontics, Public Dental Health, Indigenous Oral Health, Periodontics	Oral Surgery, Orthodontics, Paediatric Dentistry, Dental Research, Public Dental Health
Established	1901	1936
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Sydney runs a 4-year graduate-entry Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) co-located with Sydney Dental Hospital. Domestic selection is unusually mechanical: GPA and a minimum of 50 in every GAMSAT section…	UQ Dental sits at the very top of the Australian dental entry range: a minimum ADJUSTED ATAR of 99.0, a median adjusted offer rank of 99.95 at the Semester 1, 2026 intake, and no guaranteed-entry scor…
Official course page	https://www.sydney.edu.au/courses/courses/pc/doctor-of-dental-medicine0.html	https://study.uq.edu.au/study-options/programs/bachelor-dental-science-honours-2367

Sydney Dental vs UQ Dental

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