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GAMSAT vs UCAT-ANZ — which test should I sit?

2027 Entry · Decision matrix · Schools · Prep time · Cost

For most Australian medical applicants, the choice between GAMSAT and UCAT-ANZ is decided by pathway rather than preference. School leavers applying to a 5-6 year undergraduate Doctor of Medicine sit UCAT-ANZ; graduates applying to a 4-year postgraduate MD sit GAMSAT. This guide walks through the decision matrix, lists every Australian medical school by the test it uses, compares prep time and cost head-to-head, and identifies the small group of dual-pathway schools where sitting both tests opens additional options.

Browse schools by test
22
AU medical programmes
2 hrs / 5.5 hrs
UCAT-ANZ / GAMSAT
July / Mar+Sep
Test windows
$310 / $560
AUD per sitting

The decision matrix

Three variables drive the choice: your degree status (already hold a bachelor or finishing year 12), your target programme length (4-year graduate or 5-6 year undergraduate), and your strongest academic profile (sciences vs humanities, depth vs speed).

If you…Recommended testWhy
Finish year 12 in 2026, target undergraduate MDUCAT-ANZEvery Australian undergraduate medical programme uses UCAT-ANZ + ATAR for school-leaver entry.
Hold a bachelor degree, target graduate-entry MDGAMSATEvery 4-year graduate-entry Australian MD uses GAMSAT (plus GPA and interview).
Hold a bachelor but want maximum school flexibilityBothSitting both unlocks undergraduate MDs (Monash, UWA, USyd) and graduate-entry MDs in one cycle.
Hold a bachelor and prefer a shorter, faster programmeGAMSATGraduate-entry MD = 4 years vs undergraduate MD = 5-6 years. Eight programmes available across the country.
Apply to dual-pathway schools (Monash, UWA)Depends on streamUndergraduate stream uses UCAT-ANZ + CASPer; graduate stream uses GAMSAT. Commit to one stream.

Head-to-head — what each test is

GAMSAT

Graduate Medical School Admissions Test · ACER

  • Length: 5.5 hours, single sitting
  • Sections: Humanities (62 MCQ), Written communication (2 essays), Sciences (75 MCQ)
  • Frequency: March + September each year
  • Cost: ~AUD $560 / sitting
  • Score validity: 2 years
  • Schools: 14 Australian medical programmes

UCAT-ANZ

University Clinical Aptitude Test - ANZ · Pearson VUE

  • Length: 2 hours, single sitting
  • Sections: Verbal reasoning, Decision making, Quantitative reasoning, Situational judgement
  • Frequency: July window each year
  • Cost: ~AUD $310 / sitting
  • Score validity: Current cycle only — one shot per year
  • Schools: 9 Australian medical programmes

Cost — total spend, not just registration

Registration is the smallest line item. The full cost of a competitive prep cycle includes materials, mocks, tutoring hours and (for some) a year of postgraduate science to bridge into GAMSAT Section 3.

GAMSAT — typical total cost

  • Registration: AUD $560 per sitting (often x2)
  • ACER practice papers: AUD $80-200
  • Third-party question banks: AUD $250-600
  • Tutoring (10-30 hours): AUD $800-3,000
  • Realistic total: AUD $2,000-4,500 over 6-12 months

UCAT-ANZ — typical total cost

  • Registration: AUD $310 (single sitting)
  • Question bank subscription: AUD $200-450
  • Mock-test platform: AUD $100-250
  • Tutoring (10-25 hours): AUD $700-2,500
  • Realistic total: AUD $1,200-3,500 over 2-3 months

Every Australian medical school by test (2027 entry)

22 programmes across two streams (3 dual-pathway) — click any school for the full how-to-get-in guide including UCAT-ANZ/GAMSAT cut-offs, interview format and intake size.

Prep time and study load

GAMSAT and UCAT-ANZ ask completely different things of your prep. The mistake is to budget the same hours for each — UCAT-ANZ rewards a sharp, short build; GAMSAT rewards a structured, sustained one.

  1. UCAT-ANZ — 6 to 12 weeks. 60-90 minutes per day, mostly question banks and timed mini-sections. The skill is pacing and pattern recognition: a candidate who has done 3,000+ practice questions under timed conditions will out-score one who has memorised theory but never raced the clock.
  2. GAMSAT (science background) — 6 months. 90-120 minutes per day. Content review on Section 3, daily reading practice for Section 1, weekly essay practice for Section 2 from month four onwards. Three full timed practice papers in the final month.
  3. GAMSAT (humanities background) — 12 months. First-year university biology + chemistry + physics from scratch in months 1-6, then reasoning practice from month 7 onwards. The longest, hardest prep path of any Australian medicine route.

See the full preparation timelines in our UCAT-ANZ guide and GAMSAT guide.

Which test plays to your strengths?

The honest answer comes from sitting a diagnostic of each — not from guessing. If you can spare the AUD $870 in combined registration, sit a March GAMSAT diagnostic AND a UCAT-ANZ practice mock in your first month of prep. The score gap will tell you the right test more reliably than any self-assessment.

That said, the heuristics are real:

  • Strong science degree + comfortable with timed essays? GAMSAT plays to your hand.
  • Fast quantitative thinker + good under time pressure? UCAT-ANZ rewards that profile.
  • Humanities degree + slow careful reader? GAMSAT Section 1 will favour you, but Section 3 is a real climb.
  • Anxious under timed conditions + need recovery time? GAMSAT's longer breaks suit you better than UCAT-ANZ's rapid-fire pacing.

Frequently asked questions

Free GAMSAT and UCAT-ANZ diagnostics

Sample GAMSAT and UCAT-ANZ questions from our tutoring team — built to the same difficulty as official released materials. Sit both, then book a one-to-one with a tutor who has cleared the test you choose.

Free sample questions Book a diagnostic

Related Australian medicine guides

Reviewed by Isaac Butler-King, medical student at the University of Glasgow. Last reviewed: 12 July 2026