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Australian Medical school comparison

Adelaide vs Griffith

Adelaide and Griffith are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Both sit in England, so location and clinical-placement breadth are similar — the differentiation comes from selection methodology, interview style and curriculum philosophy. Their A-Level requirements (Minimum vs Bachelor) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers. Adelaide is the older institution (founded 1885); the other (founded 2005) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Adelaide

Adelaide

Quick comparison

Location
Adelaide, Australia
Entry pathway
Undergraduate
Admission tests
UCAT-ANZ
GAMSAT
-
UCAT-ANZ
Strong bonus-region effect: ~2730 SA applicants vs ~3140 interstate (2024-2026 entry on old /3600 scale; MedView aggregator consensus). ~410-point gap (~10th percentile) is the most material datapoint for SA applicants. Adelaide does not officially publish cut-offs. UCAT cognitive subtests drive interview shortlist; Situational Judgement used only as tiebreaker at the lowest rank.
ATAR
Minimum entry ATAR 90.00 (adjusted selection rank). Successful applicants typically ~99.75 (commonly cited; not officially published). Adelaide explicitly does not publish ATAR cut-offs.
Interview format
Multi-Mini Interview (8 stations)
Post-interview chance
~35% interview-to-offer.
Decision date
January

Griffith

Gold Coast

Quick comparison

Location
Gold Coast, Australia
Entry pathway
Graduate
Admission tests
GAMSAT
GAMSAT
Minimum 50 in each section AND 50 overall. Interview shortlist rank: 50:50 unweighted GPA (as %) + overall GAMSAT (out of 100). Final offer rank: 50% interview-selection rank + 50% GUMSAA interview score. 2025 intake average GAMSAT 66.39.
UCAT-ANZ
-
ATAR
-
Interview format
Multi-Mini Interview (typically 8-10 stations; exact count varies cycle to cycle per GUMSAA framework)
Post-interview chance
~38% interview-to-offer.
Decision date
November

Adelaide vs Griffith - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Adelaide requires Minimum entry ATAR 90.00 (adjusted) + UCAT-ANZ cognitive + MMI. English and Chemistry prerequisites; Wirltu Yarlu Aboriginal Education Access Pathway for ATSI applicants.. Griffith requires Bachelor degree with minimum GPA 5.0/7.0; GAMSAT overall 50+ with section minima 50; MMI.. Griffith is the stricter A-Level offer; Adelaide is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Adelaide carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

Interview formats

Both Adelaide and Griffith use MMI interviews, so the underlying prep approach is the same — practise ethics frameworks, NHS hot-topic answers and (for MMI) structured station responses against a timer. That said, the specifics differ slightly: Adelaide runs multi-mini interview (8 stations); Griffith runs multi-mini interview (typically 8-10 stations; exact count varies cycle to cycle per gumsaa framework). Mock practice tailored to each school's exact format is the highest-leverage prep. Interview windows: Adelaide interviews in November-December; Griffith in September-October.

Curriculum and teaching style

Both schools deliver a Integrated-style curriculum, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar across years 1-3. Specifics: 6-year undergraduate Bachelor of Medical Studies + Doctor of Medicine (BMS/MD; 3 + 3). Years 1-3 foundations and clinical skills at North Terrace. Yea 4-year graduate MD. Years 1-2 hospital-integrated foundations at the Gold Coast (Southport) campus and Gold Coast University Hospital. Years 3-4 clini Intake size: Adelaide — 136 domestic places per year (Adelaide degree finder); ~600 applicants invited to interview annually. Admission offer weighting: Academic 40% + UCAT cognitive 20% + Interview 40%.; Griffith — 2027 cycle: 148 CSP + 60 BMP + 80 BMedSci pathway + up to 35 international = ~323 total (GEMSAS Griffith).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

Adelaide: ~35% interview-to-offer.. Griffith: ~38% interview-to-offer.. Post-interview odds give you the clearest signal of how competitive each school is at the final stage — a school with a 60% post-interview success rate is structurally easier to convert than one at 25%, even if the interview thresholds look identical on paper.

What makes each distinctive

Adelaide: Adelaide runs South Australia's oldest medical school (est. 1885) as a 6-year undergraduate BMS+MD (3+3). Admission offer weighting: Academic 40% + UCAT cognitive 20% + Interview 40%. Strong rural pipeline via the Rural Clinical School (Whyalla, Port Lincoln, Mount Gambier). Indigenous entry via Wirltu Yarlu Aboriginal Education Access Pathway. From January 2026, the University of Adelaide and University of South Australia merge to form "Adelaide University"; both schools stopped accepting applications on 4 August 2025. Griffith: Griffith's 4-year graduate MD is co-located with Gold Coast University Hospital, giving students hospital-integrated training from year 1. Strong rural and Indigenous pathways with bespoke MMI streams. Pre-interview ranking weights GAMSAT and GPA broadly equally; the MMI then carries substantial weight in the final composite.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Adelaide is the lower-risk academic option. Both schools sit in the same England foundation-programme catchment, so post-graduation training paths overlap heavily. Your firm/insurance choice should ultimately weight: where your UCAT and predicted grades sit relative to each school's threshold, which interview format you can prepare for most credibly, and where you'd actually want to live for five or six years.

Common questions

What admission tests do Adelaide and Griffith use?+
Adelaide uses UCAT-ANZ. Griffith uses GAMSAT. 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.
What GAMSAT score do I need for Adelaide vs Griffith?+
Adelaide — does not publish a GAMSAT cut-off (may not use GAMSAT; check the admission-test question above). Griffith — Minimum 50 in each section AND 50 overall. Interview shortlist rank: 50:50 unweighted GPA (as %) + overall GAMSAT (out of 100). Final offer rank: 50% interview-selection rank + 50% GUMSAA interview score. 2025 intake average GAMSAT 66.39. 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.
What UCAT-ANZ score do I need for Adelaide vs Griffith?+
Adelaide — Strong bonus-region effect: ~2730 SA applicants vs ~3140 interstate (2024-2026 entry on old /3600 scale; MedView aggregator consensus). ~410-point gap (~10th percentile) is the most material datapoint for SA applicants. Adelaide does not officially publish cut-offs. UCAT cognitive subtests drive interview shortlist; Situational Judgement used only as tiebreaker at the lowest rank. Griffith — does not publish a UCAT-ANZ cut-off (may not use UCAT-ANZ; check the admission-test question above). 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.
What ATAR do I need for Adelaide vs Griffith?+
Adelaide — Minimum entry ATAR 90.00 (adjusted selection rank). Successful applicants typically ~99.75 (commonly cited; not officially published). Adelaide explicitly does not publish ATAR cut-offs. Griffith — ATAR data not published in the structured AU requirements; see free-text admission requirements on the school page. 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.
What GPA do I need for Adelaide vs Griffith?+
Adelaide — GPA not published in the structured AU requirements. Griffith — Minimum 5.0/7.0. Griffith explicitly states "a GPA required for interview selection is likely to be significantly higher than 5.0". 2025 intake average GPA 6.68. 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.
How do interviews differ between Adelaide and Griffith?+
Adelaide uses: Multi-Mini Interview (8 stations). Griffith uses: Multi-Mini Interview (typically 8-10 stations; exact count varies cycle to cycle per GUMSAA framework). Different formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each. Interview windows: November-December (Adelaide); September-October (Griffith).
What place types (CSP / BMP / Full-fee) do Adelaide and Griffith offer?+
Adelaide — 136 domestic places per year (CSP + BMP; specific split not publicly broken out). International fee AUD $94,300/year (2026). Griffith — 2027 cycle: 148 CSP + 60 BMP + 80 BMedSci pathway (incl. 28.5% BMP) + up to 35 international. 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.
What Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entry pathways do Adelaide and Griffith offer?+
Adelaide — Wirltu Yarlu Aboriginal Education Access Pathway — alternative entry to medicine, dentistry and oral health degrees, administered with the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences (links to Yaitya Purruna Indigenous Health Unit). Quota qualitative, not numeric. Griffith — Bespoke Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entry pathway via GEMSAS. Both schools accept ATSI applicants through the standard pathway as well; the dedicated pathway typically offers adjusted academic thresholds plus wrap-around academic support.
Does Adelaide or Griffith offer bonded / rural-entry places?+
Adelaide — BMP included in the 136 domestic intake — specific count not publicly broken out. At least 50% of interview offers to SA school leavers. Griffith — BMP places carry rural-bonded service obligations. Rural priority: ≥5 consecutive or ≥10 cumulative years in MM2-MM7 area (2019 MMM). BMedSci provisional UG pathway has 28.5% BMP-reserved places. ATAR for BMedSci pathway: 99.85 for school-leaver entry. The federal BMP allocates ~28.5% of CSP places nationally; individual schools sit above or below that benchmark depending on their workforce remit.
When does each school release decisions?+
Adelaide typically releases medicine offers January. Griffith releases medicine offers November. 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.
What curriculum style do Adelaide and Griffith use?+
Adelaide runs a Integrated curriculum. Griffith runs a Integrated curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. Adelaide specifics: 6-year undergraduate Bachelor of Medical Studies + Doctor of Medicine (BMS/MD; 3 + 3). Years 1-3 foundations and clinical skills at North Terrace. Years 4-6 clinical placements across Royal Adelaide, Griffith specifics: 4-year graduate MD. Years 1-2 hospital-integrated foundations at the Gold Coast (Southport) campus and Gold Coast University Hospital. Years 3-4 clinical placements across Gold Coast Health, Logan, To
Should I apply to both Adelaide and Griffith?+
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; Adelaide and Griffith differ in their selection mechanics, so prepping both adds genuine optionality.