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Australian Medical school comparison

Bond vs Curtin

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

That mismatch means either preparing two assessments or choosing the school whose test suits you. The interview formats diverge — Panel vs MMI — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different.

Side-by-side comparison

Bond

Gold Coast

Quick comparison

Location
Gold Coast, Australia
Entry pathway
Undergraduate
Admission tests
Bond-Test
GAMSAT
-
UCAT-ANZ
-
ATAR
Undergraduate (Year 12): ATAR 96+ / IB 38+ / OP 1-3. Graduate: cumulative GPA ≥ 6.0/7.0 from recognised tertiary program.
Interview format
Bond psychometric assessment + Multiple Mini Interview (in person at Gold Coast)
Post-interview chance
~35% interview-to-offer.
Decision date
24-26 March 2026 (Round 1 offers); rolling intakes May + September (no February intake)

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. Aggregator-derived competitive score ~2970 for local WA applicants (2024-2026 entry, old /3600 scale). Interview shortlist ratio 35 ATAR : 35 CASPer : 30 UCAT (per MedEntry / Curtin official Q&A — Fraser's 35:35:40 reporting is an error). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants are exempt from BOTH the UCAT ANZ and the Casper test.
ATAR
Minimum ATAR (WA applicants) 95.00 (inclusive of bonus points); minimum ATAR (non-WA applicants) 92.00. TISC 2025 (Dec 2024 round) for CUMBS: min rank n/a, lowest n/a — selection is NOT solely on ATAR.
Interview format
Multi-Mini Interview (8 stations)
Post-interview chance
Not publicly disclosed.
Decision date
December-January
Compare different schools

Bond vs Curtin - in detail

Admission tests compared

UCAT-ANZ cut-offs. Bond — no published cut-off. Curtin — No official Curtin-published cut-off. Curtin ranks total UCAT score, not a fixed threshold. Aggregator-derived competitive score ~2970 for local WA applicants (2024-2026 entry, old /3600 scale)…

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

Bond requires Undergraduate (Year 12) ATAR 96+ / IB 38+ / OP 1-3, OR Graduate cumulative GPA ≥ 6.0/7.0 from recognised tertiary program. English (Units 3/4, C) or equivalent prerequisite. Bond psychometric test (~$346.50 inc. GST, 2025) + MMI in person at Gold Coast.

Lateral entry available from Bond BBiomedSci PHP / MOT / DPT / MNDP / MHI with GPA ≥ 3.00/4.00 (Bond scale) → Year 2 BMedSt.

Curtin requires ATAR 95.00 (WA-domiciled) / 92.00 (non-WA), plus UCAT-ANZ + CASPer; 35:35:30 shortlist ratio (ATAR : CASPer : UCAT-ANZ).

ATAR. Bond — Undergraduate (Year 12): ATAR 96+ / IB 38+ / OP 1-3. Graduate: cumulative GPA ≥ 6.0/7.0 from recognised tertiary program. Curtin — Minimum ATAR (WA applicants) 95.00 (inclusive of bonus points); minimum ATAR (non-WA applicants) 92.00. TISC 2025 (Dec 2024 round) for CUMBS: min rank n/a, lowest n/a — selection is NOT solely on…

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

Bond uses Panel (Bond psychometric assessment + Multiple Mini Interview (in person at Gold Coast)); Curtin uses MMI (Multi-Mini Interview (8 stations)). 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, Bond may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Curtin is the better fit.

Interview windows: Bond interviews in Early March (MMI; 2026 cycle); psychometric testing 7-12 Feb 2026; MMI invitations 21 Feb 2026; Curtin in October-November.

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: ~4.5-year accelerated Bachelor of Medical Studies (BMedSt) + Doctor of Medicine (MD) on a three-semester (Jan/May/Sep teaching) calendar — though inta 5-year undergraduate Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). Years 1-2 foundations and clinical skills at Bentley with early community place

Intake size: Bond — Up to ~180 places/year across two intakes (May + September), 80% undergraduate / 20% graduate. Full-fee only — does NOT participate in BMP.; Curtin — 2024 intake ~110 places (CSP + BMP combined). Curtin 2024 Domestic Admissions Guide.. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

Bond: ~35% interview-to-offer. 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

Bond: Bond is Australia's only private medical school with two intakes per year (May, September — NO February intake) on an accelerated calendar (~3 semesters/year, 14 semesters total, about 4 years 8 months end to end). No UCAT-ANZ or GAMSAT — Bond runs its own psychometric test (Clinical Personality + Emotional Intelligence).

All places are full-fee (no CSP, FEE-HELP eligible for domestic; no BMP). 2026 fees: $33,610/semester × 14 = ~$470,540 total program.

ELIGIBILITY: direct entry is limited to Australian citizens and permanent residents, Australian Humanitarian visa holders, and New Zealand CITIZENS (not NZ permanent residents) — it is NOT open to international students applying for a student visa, who must instead complete a prerequisite Bond degree and enter at Year 2.

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 — one of only 2 AU med schools using CASPer (other: Notre Dame Fremantle/Sydney).

Pre-interview ratio 35 (ATAR) : 35 (CASPer) : 30 (UCAT) per MedEntry/Curtin official. ATSI applicants exempt from CASPer.

Which is right for you?

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

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

Bond uses Bond-Test. 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.

Where to go next

BondEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in fullCurtinEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Other medical school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 25 August 2026.