Skip to main content
Australian Medical school comparison

ANU vs Curtin

ANU and Curtin are both Australian medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. ANU is in the ACT while Curtin is in Western Australia. State of origin matters here: several schools rank local applicants ahead of interstate ones. ANU uses GAMSAT; Curtin uses UCAT-ANZ and CASPer.

That mismatch means either preparing two assessments or choosing the school whose test suits you. They also recruit at different stages: ANU runs graduate entry, Curtin runs school-leaver (undergraduate) entry. The interview formats diverge — Panel vs MMI — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different.

Side-by-side comparison

ANU

Canberra

Quick comparison

Location
Canberra, Australia
Entry pathway
Graduate
Admission tests
GAMSAT
GAMSAT
Minimum Overall 50 AND minimum 50 in each section to be considered for interview; meeting the minimum does not guarantee an interview. ANU accepts GAMSAT results as valid for four years. Used at 50% weight in the interview-ranking composite alongside the standardised weighted GPA (50%), with a higher-degree research bonus applied to the combined score (standalone Honours 2%, Masters by Research 2%, PhD 4%; highest only). ANU publishes no median or cut-off GAMSAT for offer-holders. International applicants have a published interview guarantee at GAMSAT 60 overall with 50+ per section (or MCAT 515 with 125+ per section) alongside weighted GPA 6.0.
UCAT-ANZ
-
ATAR
-
Interview format
Online interview, held in two parts (2027 entry) — ANU does not publish the format
Post-interview chance
ANU does not publish interview-to-offer conversion. On the standard graduate pathway, offers are ranked on 50% interview score + 50% GPA/GAMSAT composite, so a strong pre-interview composite still carries half the final rank.
Decision date
November-December (domestic); August (international and Indigenous) — 2027 entry

Curtin

Bentley

Quick comparison

Location
Bentley, Australia
Entry pathway
Undergraduate
Admission tests
UCAT-ANZ + CASPer
GAMSAT
-
UCAT-ANZ
No official Curtin-published cut-off. Curtin ranks total UCAT score, not a fixed threshold. Curtin publishes no UCAT-ANZ cut-off, minimum or competitive band in any year — the 2027 guide contains no quartile, decile or percentile figure. Note the scale change: UCAT-ANZ dropped Abstract Reasoning at the UCAT ANZ 2025 sitting (2026 entry), so the cognitive total is now out of 2700, not 3600, and Curtin's 2027 guide ranks on the "UCAT ANZ score (out of 2700)". Any figure in the 2900-3000 range comes from the retired /3600 scale and exceeds the current maximum, so it is neither achievable nor comparable. For orientation only, the official all-candidate UCAT ANZ 2026 statistics (the sitting that feeds 2027 entry) show a mean cognitive total of 1,964, a 3rd quartile of 2,170 and a 9th decile of 2,340 — national figures for every test-taker, not a Curtin applicant profile. Interview shortlist ratio 35 ATAR : 35 Casper : 30 UCAT-ANZ, per Curtin's own guide.. Interview shortlist ratio 35 ATAR : 35 CASPer : 30 UCAT (per MedEntry / Curtin official Q&A — Fraser's 35:35:40 reporting is an error).
ATAR
Minimum ATAR 95.00 for every school-leaver applicant, WA and interstate alike — Curtin publishes one figure with no domicile split, and adjustment points are added on top of it rather than included in it. The 92.00 figure is the minimum notional ATAR for the non-school-leaver (graduate) pathway only; Curtin course switchers are assessed on a course weighted average of 80 instead. Rural or StepUp adjustment points (up to 5, from one scheme only) apply on top, capped at an adjusted 99.95. TISC 2026 Admission Ranks (Main Round, December 2025) for CUMBS: minimum rank for consideration n/a, lowest selection rank offered n/a — selection is NOT solely on ATAR.
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interview (station count not published)
Post-interview chance
Not publicly disclosed.
Decision date
December-January

ANU vs Curtin - in detail

Admission tests compared

UCAT-ANZ cut-offs. ANU — no published cut-off. Curtin — No official Curtin-published cut-off. Curtin ranks total UCAT score, not a fixed threshold. Curtin publishes no UCAT-ANZ cut-off, minimum or competitive band in any year — the 2027 guide contains no…

GAMSAT cut-offs. ANU — Minimum Overall 50 AND minimum 50 in each section to be considered for interview; meeting the minimum does not guarantee an interview. ANU accepts GAMSAT results as valid for four years. Used at 50%… Curtin — not used or not published.

Timing shapes the choice as much as the score. GAMSAT is graduate-only and sits in March and September; UCAT-ANZ is mostly undergraduate and sits in July. A few schools run their own selection model with no national test at all.

ATAR and academic profile

ANU requires AQF Level 7 bachelor degree of at least 3.0 FTE, normally completed within 10 years of the application closing date; no prerequisite subjects are listed and no particular degree is preferred.

Minimum 3-year weighted GPA 5.0/7.0 (4.5 for Indigenous applicants); GAMSAT overall 50+ with 50+ in every section (international applicants may substitute MCAT 125+ per section); online interview whose format ANU does not publish; rural sub-quota and a dedicated Indigenous entry pathway.

Curtin requires Minimum ATAR 95.00 for all school leavers, WA and interstate alike, plus an ESSENTIAL Chemistry prerequisite (approximately 220 hours), met by ONE of: Chemistry ATAR with a final scaled score of 50 or higher; IB Chemistry HL/SL grade 4 or higher; NCEA Level 3 Chemistry with 24 achieved credit points; or TWO first-year AQF Level 7 university Chemistry units at 60 or higher in both — bridging units are explicitly not equivalent (the international guide additionally accepts GCE A-Level Chemistry at grade E or above).

STAT is not accepted except for English competency. UCAT-ANZ + Casper required for domestic applicants; 35:35:30 interview shortlist ratio (ATAR : Casper : UCAT-ANZ). Graduates enter on a minimum notional ATAR of 92, Curtin course switchers on a course weighted average of 80.

ATAR. ANU — no published cut-off. Curtin — Minimum ATAR 95.00 for every school-leaver applicant, WA and interstate alike — Curtin publishes one figure with no domicile split, and adjustment points are added on top of it rather than included…

Graduate-entry GPA. ANU — Minimum weighted GPA 5.0 to be considered for interview — ANU states plainly that meeting it "does not guarantee an interview". The GPA is a 3-year weighted calculation over 3.0 FTE of the most… Curtin — not applicable or not published.

Read every ATAR figure as a selection rank, not a raw score. Educational access bonuses, rural-origin uplift and Indigenous pathways all adjust it, so the published number is rarely the one that decides your application.

Interview formats

ANU uses Panel (Online interview, held in two parts (2027 entry) — ANU does not publish the format); Curtin uses MMI (Multiple Mini Interview (station count not published)). These two formats reward different skills — Panel emphasises narrative coherence and the ability to develop a thread under follow-up questioning, while MMI rewards breadth and quick recovery.

If your strengths lie in conversational depth, ANU may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Curtin is the better fit.

Interview windows: ANU interviews in Early-mid September (domestic); mid-late July (international); late July (Indigenous) — 2027 entry: domestic window 4-11 Sept 2026; Curtin in December-January (domestic); July-August (international full-fee).

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: 4-year graduate Doctor of Medicine and Surgery (MChD), AQF Level 9, Semester 1 intake only. Years 1-2 are built around clinical case studies at Acton 5-year undergraduate Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). The first three years are delivered at Curtin Perth (Bentley) with occasional v

Intake size: ANU — 2027 entry: 63 CSP + 26 BMP (89 domestic) + up to 30 international full-fee, plus uncapped Indigenous places offered in addition…; Curtin — 2027 intake: approximately 110 domestic places (CSP, inclusive of Bonded Medical Places), plus 10-15 international full-fee places. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

ANU: ANU does not publish interview-to-offer conversion. On the standard graduate pathway, offers are ranked on 50% interview score + 50% GPA/GAMSAT composite, so a strong pre-interview composite still carries half the final rank. Curtin: Not publicly disclosed.

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

ANU: ANU runs a 4-year graduate-entry MChD (Doctor of Medicine and Surgery) with a research-intensive identity — students complete a research project in Years 1-2, and completed higher research degrees attract a selection bonus (standalone Honours 2%, Masters by Research 2%, PhD 4%; highest only).

The Rural Clinical School runs six campuses — Eurobodalla, Bega, Cooma, Goulburn, Cowra and Young — alongside a Sydney Clinical School at Sydney Adventist Hospital, and GEMSAS states ANU offers 29% of its domestic places to students from a rural background. Predominantly CSP intake (63 CSP vs 26 BMP for 2027 entry).

Pre-interview ranking is an exact 50:50 of standardised weighted GPA and standardised Overall GAMSAT (plus any research bonus), and the interview then counts for exactly 50% of the final offer score. Note that approximately 40 of the available places are reserved for students arriving via an ANU undergraduate pathway.

Curtin: Curtin is one of the newest Australian medical schools (first intake 2017) and runs a 5-year undergraduate MBBS for outer-metropolitan Perth, rural WA, and Indigenous workforce service. CASPer required alongside UCAT-ANZ and ATAR — Casper required alongside UCAT-ANZ and ATAR.

Curtin is not one of only two Australian Casper users — Casper is also required by the graduate-entry MD programmes at the University of Notre Dame Australia (Fremantle and Sydney) and the University of Wollongong, per those universities' own admission pages, and the list may not be exhaustive. Of the programmes confirmed, Curtin is the only direct-entry undergraduate course.

Pre-interview ratio 35 (ATAR) : 35 (Casper) : 30 (UCAT-ANZ), per Curtin's own 2027 Domestic Admissions Guide. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants are exempt from BOTH the UCAT-ANZ and Casper and apply directly to Curtin Medical School rather than through TISC.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants are exempt from BOTH the Casper Test and the UCAT-ANZ, and apply directly to Curtin Medical School rather than through TISC.

Which is right for you?

Start with the admission test: ANU needs GAMSAT, Curtin needs UCAT-ANZ and CASPer. Preparing for one well beats splitting your time across two. Check your state of origin before you apply — ANU draws heavily on the ACT applicants and Curtin on Western Australia, and an interstate application often faces a materially higher bar.

They suit different stages too: ANU is graduate entry, Curtin is school-leaver (undergraduate) entry. Your preference list should ultimately weight: which admission test you can realistically score well in, whether your state of origin gives you a bonus at either school, and where you'd actually want to live for four to six years.

Common questions

ANU uses GAMSAT. Curtin uses UCAT-ANZ and CASPer. 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.

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed .