Question 1

What admission tests do Bond and Deakin use?

Accepted Answer

Bond uses Bond-Test. Deakin uses GAMSAT and MCAT. 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 Bond vs Deakin?

Accepted Answer

Bond — does not publish a GAMSAT cut-off (may not use GAMSAT; check the admission-test question above). Deakin — Minimum 50 in each section + 50 overall. Minimum 50 in each of the three GAMSAT sections and 50 overall, obtained within four years preceding the year of application. Deakin publishes the average GAMSAT of its commencing cohort, not a cut-off: 65.9 for the 2026 intake and 66.39 for the 2025 intake (Deakin course page). These are cohort averages, not thresholds — Deakin publishes no competitive or guaranteed score. General-stream interview shortlist: GPA + GAMSAT + adjustments, equally weighted. General-stream interview shortlist: GPA + GAMSAT + adjustments equally weighted. 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 ATAR do I need for Bond vs Deakin?

Accepted Answer

Bond — Undergraduate (Year 12): minimum competitive academic rank OP 1-3 / ATAR 96+ / IB Dip 38+ — Bond frames this as the bar to be competitive for psychometric-test selection, not a guaranteed offer. Graduate: cumulative GPA greater than 6.0 on a 7-point scale, converted to an academic rank by QTAC. For the 2025 intake Bond published a cut-off academic rank of 96.75 (undergraduate) and 98.50 (graduate); Bond states the final cut-off depends on the strength of each applicant pool and does not say whether that rank is the threshold to progress or the final entry rank. Deakin — ATAR data not published in the structured AU requirements; see free-text admission requirements on the school page. 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 4

What GPA do I need for Bond vs Deakin?

Accepted Answer

Bond — GPA not published in the structured AU requirements. Deakin — Minimum 5.0/7.0 weighted. GEMSAS weighting (Final-2 × 1 + Final-1 × 2 + Final × 3) / 6; each GPA year must contain at least 0.25 FTE of graded results and 2020 calendar-year results are excluded. The degree must have been awarded within 10 years of the projected commencement date; applicants outside that window may still be considered if they complete the equivalent of 0.5 FTE of AQF Level 8 or higher study, finished by 31 July in the year of application. This currency rule does not apply to RTS Tier 1 applicants. Minimum weighted GPA 5.0/7.0 over the most recent three FTE years, progressively weighted x1, x2, x3. A GPA year must contain at least 0.25 FTE of graded results, and 2020 calendar-year results are excluded from the calculation. Deakin publishes the average GPA of its commencing cohort, not a cut-off: 6.72 for the 2026 intake and 6.68 for the 2025 intake (Deakin course page). 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 5

How do interviews differ between Bond and Deakin?

Accepted Answer

Bond uses: Bond psychometric assessment + online selection interview (~90 min including registration and debriefing; Bond does not publish the interview structure). Deakin uses: Multiple Mini Interview (up to 6 stations, 5 minutes each; held online for 2027 entry). Different formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each. Interview windows: 2027 entry: online interviews 9-12 March 2027 (technical checks 4, 5 and 8 March); psychometric testing online 12-17 Feb 2027; psychometric invitations 9 Feb 2027; interview invitations 26 Feb 2027 (Bond); September (domestic MMI, online, per GEMSAS). International applicants are interviewed in Deakin's own rounds instead — for the 2027 cycle Deakin published rounds in May, August and October 2026; round dates are set on Deakin's international course page and change each cycle. (Deakin).

Question 6

What place types (CSP / BMP / Full-fee) do Bond and Deakin offer?

Accepted Answer

Bond — Bond quotes up to 180 domestic places a year across the May + September intakes on its entry-requirements page and up to 200 in its FAQ — treat 180-200 domestic places as the range. About 80% go to undergraduate applicants and 20% to graduate applicants. Full-fee only: as a private not-for-profit university Bond has no Commonwealth Supported Places and does not participate in the BMP; domestic students may use FEE-HELP, which Bond states does not cover the full tuition cost. Deakin — 2027 intake: up to 100 CSP + 45 BMP + 15 International + 30 RTS (reserved subset of domestic) ≈ 160 total. Indigenous Entry Stream holds up to seven domestic places; a minimum 25% of domestic places goes to rural-background applicants over and above the 30 places reserved for the Rural Training Stream, and Deakin states that a minimum 50% of all course places (RTS + general stream combined) are offered to students meeting rural background criteria. 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 7

What Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entry pathways do Bond and Deakin offer?

Accepted Answer

Bond — Bond runs a First Nations Australian pathway into the Medical Program, initiated automatically when you identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander on the QTAC form. On top of academic rank, psychometric testing and the standard interview, it adds a First Nations Candidate Statement and a Community-Based Interview. Two Bond University First Nations Medical Partial Scholarships (including a $5,500 living allowance for the first semester if living away from home) are available in each of 2027, 2028 and 2029. Confirmation of Indigeneity is required. Deakin — Indigenous Entry Stream (IES) holds up to seven domestic places. IES applicants apply directly to the School of Medicine rather than through GEMSAS, may apply with a degree in any discipline (bachelor, or bachelor plus a higher-level coursework postgraduate degree, normally completed within 10 years of commencement), and are NOT required to sit GAMSAT — though GAMSAT results may be submitted if held. Ranking is on weighted GPA (5.0+), the IES application form and an interview, with a minimum overall interview score of 50%. Deakin's IES page listed a Doctor of Medicine close date of 5pm, 31 July 2026 for the 2027 intake — confirm the current date on that page each cycle. First Nations applicants may instead apply through GEMSAS, in which case Confirmation of Aboriginality and/or Torres Strait Islander Descent must be supplied by 30 June 2026. 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 8

Does Bond or Deakin offer bonded / rural-entry places?

Accepted Answer

Bond — bonded/rural data not published in the structured AU requirements. Deakin — 45 of the 145 domestic places for 2027 entry (about 31%) are Bonded Medical Program places — Commonwealth Supported Places carrying a return-of-service obligation of 156 weeks (3 years) as a medical practitioner in an eligible regional, rural or remote area, to be completed within 18 years of finishing the medical course. Separately, the Rural Training Stream (RTS) three-tier system: Tier 1 (Deakin's rural footprint, all locations in the Western Victoria Primary Health Network classified MM3-MM6, plus MM2 locations in and surrounding Ballarat; all other MM1 and MM2 locations in that PHN, and the MM3 and MM4 locations on the Bellarine Peninsula, are excluded) — NO GAMSAT required + 10-year currency waived. Tier 2 (MM2-7 Rural Victoria) and Tier 3 (MM2-7 other Rural Australia) require GAMSAT and currency. Every RTS applicant, all tiers, must also submit a written application (1000-character limit per section, covering rural community connection, interest in rural medicine, and evidence of capability to undertake postgraduate study) assessed by rural community members, academics and clinicians — it is worth 50% of the aggregate score used to shortlist for interview and 25% of the final offer score. Accepting an RTS place is a binding written commitment to all four years at a rural site: Years 1-2 are delivered blended (online plus 1-2 days a week face-to-face) at Deakin's Warrnambool Campus or East Grampians Health Service, Ararat (preference collected after offer, not guaranteed); Years 3-4 at Ballarat-Grampians, Warrnambool-South West or Rural Communities. Geelong-Barwon and Eastern Health are not available to RTS students, and transfer to the general stream is not possible — exiting the RTS forfeits the place. Adjustment bonuses (added to the combined GPA and GAMSAT score): Prior Clinical Experience +4% (12 months full-time AHPRA-registered practice, or speech pathology/dietetics); Work Experience +2% (2 years full-time, or 3744 hours over 4 years); Deakin Graduate +4% (degree completed at Deakin with at least two-thirds of course requirements at Deakin); Rural/Regional residency +4% (Geelong MM1 or MM2) or +8% (MM3-7); Financial Disadvantage +2% (approved Centrelink/StudyLink benefit for at least 12 months during recent study). Prior Clinical Experience and Work Experience are mutually exclusive — claiming one disqualifies you from the other — and there is no cap on the total adjustment points an eligible applicant can receive. The federal BMP allocates ~28.5% of CSP places nationally; individual schools sit above or below that benchmark depending on their workforce remit.

Question 9

When does each school release decisions?

Accepted Answer

Bond typically releases medicine offers 23 March 2027 (Round 1 / QTAC Round 650 offers, lapsing 30 March 2027; further direct offers from 5 April 2027); one annual selection round feeding two fixed intakes — classes commence 17 May or 13 September 2027 (no February intake). Deakin releases medicine offers Late October-early November (GEMSAS main round), with further offers through November, December and January. 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 10

What curriculum style do Bond and Deakin use?

Accepted Answer

Bond runs a PBL curriculum. Deakin runs a PBL curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. Bond specifics: 4-year-8-month accelerated Bachelor of Medical Studies (BMedSt, 8 semesters) + Doctor of Medicine (MD, 6 semesters, AQF extended Level 9) on a three-semester (Jan/May/Sep teaching) calendar — though d Deakin specifics: 4-year graduate MD with problem-based learning. Years 1-2 at Waurn Ponds (Geelong) for General Entry Stream students. Rural Training Stream students do Years 1-2 elsewhere: blended online learning wit

Question 11

Should I apply to both Bond and Deakin?

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; Bond and Deakin differ in their selection mechanics, so prepping both adds genuine optionality.

Comparison field	BondGold Coast	DeakinGeelong
Quick comparison
Location	Gold Coast, Australia	Geelong, Australia
Entry pathway	Dual (UG + Grad)	Graduate
Admission tests	Bond-Test	GAMSAT + MCAT
GAMSAT	-	Minimum 50 in each section + 50 overall. Minimum 50 in each of the three GAMSAT sections and 50 overall, obtained within four years preceding the year of application. Deakin publishes the average GAMSAT of its commencing cohort, not a cut-off: 65.9 for the 2026 intake and 66.39 for the 2025 intake (Deakin course page). These are cohort averages, not thresholds — Deakin publishes no competitive or guaranteed score. General-stream interview shortlist: GPA + GAMSAT + adjustments, equally weighted. General-stream interview shortlist: GPA + GAMSAT + adjustments equally weighted.
UCAT-ANZ	-	-
ATAR	Undergraduate (Year 12): minimum competitive academic rank OP 1-3 / ATAR 96+ / IB Dip 38+ — Bond frames this as the bar to be competitive for psychometric-test selection, not a guaranteed offer. Graduate: cumulative GPA greater than 6.0 on a 7-point scale, converted to an academic rank by QTAC. For the 2025 intake Bond published a cut-off academic rank of 96.75 (undergraduate) and 98.50 (graduate); Bond states the final cut-off depends on the strength of each applicant pool and does not say whether that rank is the threshold to progress or the final entry rank.	-
Interview format	Bond psychometric assessment + online selection interview (~90 min including registration and debriefing; Bond does not publish the interview structure)	Multiple Mini Interview (up to 6 stations, 5 minutes each; held online for 2027 entry)
Post-interview chance	Bond does not publish an interview-to-offer rate. Inferring from its own figures — the 2026 guide's approximately 400 applicants invited to interview against up to 180-200 domestic places — roughly half of interviewees end up with a place, but that is an inference across two separately published numbers, offers are not places, and Bond publishes no conversion figure.	Not publicly disclosed. Deakin interviews a maximum of 220 applicants for the roughly 145 domestic places (100 CSP + 45 BMP) available for 2027 entry; neither Deakin nor GEMSAS publishes an interview-to-offer conversion rate.
Decision date	23 March 2027 (Round 1 / QTAC Round 650 offers, lapsing 30 March 2027; further direct offers from 5 April 2027); one annual selection round feeding two fixed intakes — classes commence 17 May or 13 September 2027 (no February intake)	Late October-early November (GEMSAS main round), with further offers through November, December and January

ATAR	Undergraduate (Year 12): minimum competitive academic rank OP 1-3 / ATAR 96+ / IB Dip 38+ — Bond frames this as the bar to be competitive for psychometric-test selection, not a guaranteed offer. Graduate: cumulative GPA greater than 6.0 on a 7-point scale, converted to an academic rank by QTAC. For the 2025 intake Bond published a cut-off academic rank of 96.75 (undergraduate) and 98.50 (graduate); Bond states the final cut-off depends on the strength of each applicant pool and does not say whether that rank is the threshold to progress or the final entry rank.	-
Contextual ATAR	None. Bond states "Adjustment factors cannot be used for the Bond Medical Program" — QTAC Educational Access Scheme points, elite-athlete adjustments and school bonus points do not lift your rank for medicine.	-
GAMSAT	-	Minimum 50 in each section + 50 overall. Minimum 50 in each of the three GAMSAT sections and 50 overall, obtained within four years preceding the year of application. Deakin publishes the average GAMSAT of its commencing cohort, not a cut-off: 65.9 for the 2026 intake and 66.39 for the 2025 intake (Deakin course page). These are cohort averages, not thresholds — Deakin publishes no competitive or guaranteed score. General-stream interview shortlist: GPA + GAMSAT + adjustments, equally weighted. General-stream interview shortlist: GPA + GAMSAT + adjustments equally weighted.
UCAT-ANZ	-	-
CASPer	-	-
ISAT	-	-
GPA	-	Minimum 5.0/7.0 weighted. GEMSAS weighting (Final-2 × 1 + Final-1 × 2 + Final × 3) / 6; each GPA year must contain at least 0.25 FTE of graded results and 2020 calendar-year results are excluded. The degree must have been awarded within 10 years of the projected commencement date; applicants outside that window may still be considered if they complete the equivalent of 0.5 FTE of AQF Level 8 or higher study, finished by 31 July in the year of application. This currency rule does not apply to RTS Tier 1 applicants. Minimum weighted GPA 5.0/7.0 over the most recent three FTE years, progressively weighted x1, x2, x3. A GPA year must contain at least 0.25 FTE of graded results, and 2020 calendar-year results are excluded from the calculation. Deakin publishes the average GPA of its commencing cohort, not a cut-off: 6.72 for the 2026 intake and 6.68 for the 2025 intake (Deakin course page).
Prerequisites	Year 12 English, English as an Additional Language, Literature, or English & Literature Extension (QCAA General Subject, Units 3 and 4 at Grade C or equivalent). No Chemistry, Biology or Maths prerequisite. Applicants who do not meet the English prerequisite must complete an approved bridging course before their application can be considered.	-
Place types	Bond quotes up to 180 domestic places a year across the May + September intakes on its entry-requirements page and up to 200 in its FAQ — treat 180-200 domestic places as the range. About 80% go to undergraduate applicants and 20% to graduate applicants. Full-fee only: as a private not-for-profit university Bond has no Commonwealth Supported Places and does not participate in the BMP; domestic students may use FEE-HELP, which Bond states does not cover the full tuition cost.	2027 intake: up to 100 CSP + 45 BMP + 15 International + 30 RTS (reserved subset of domestic) ≈ 160 total. Indigenous Entry Stream holds up to seven domestic places; a minimum 25% of domestic places goes to rural-background applicants over and above the 30 places reserved for the Rural Training Stream, and Deakin states that a minimum 50% of all course places (RTS + general stream combined) are offered to students meeting rural background criteria.
Indigenous pathway	Bond runs a First Nations Australian pathway into the Medical Program, initiated automatically when you identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander on the QTAC form. On top of academic rank,…	Indigenous Entry Stream (IES) holds up to seven domestic places. IES applicants apply directly to the School of Medicine rather than through GEMSAS, may apply with a degree in any discipline (bachelor…
Bonded / rural	-	45 of the 145 domestic places for 2027 entry (about 31%) are Bonded Medical Program places — Commonwealth Supported Places carrying a return-of-service obligation of 156 weeks (3 years) as a medical p…

Interview window	2027 entry: online interviews 9-12 March 2027 (technical checks 4, 5 and 8 March); psychometric testing online 12-17 Feb 2027; psychometric invitations 9 Feb 2027; interview invitations 26 Feb 2027	September (domestic MMI, online, per GEMSAS). International applicants are interviewed in Deakin's own rounds instead — for the 2027 cycle Deakin published rounds in May, August and October 2026; round dates are set on Deakin's international course page and change each cycle.
Interview details	Bond's 3-stage selection: (1) academic screen via QTAC reviewing ATAR/GPA, (2) Bond psychometric test — Bond says "approximately 50% of applicants will be offered the opportunity to complete an online…	Deakin runs a Multiple Mini Interview of up to 6 consecutive stations with 5 minutes per interaction. For 2027 entry GEMSAS states interviews are held online in September 2026, so there is no on-campu…

Specialities	General Practice, Surgery, Emergency Medicine, Health Innovation	Rural Medicine, General Practice, Regional Health, Indigenous Health
Established	2005	2008
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Bond is a private, not-for-profit university and its medical program is entirely full-fee — no Commonwealth Supported Places and no Bonded Medical Program participation (Macquarie's MD is the other Au…	Deakin was established as a rural-focused graduate-entry MD and remains one of the strongest pipelines into Victorian rural practice. Deakin's Years 3-4 clinical partners are named health services — B…
Official course page	https://bond.edu.au/program/medical-program-bachelor-of-medical-studies-doctor-of-medicine	https://www.deakin.edu.au/course/doctor-medicine

Bond vs Deakin

Side-by-side comparison

Bond

Deakin

Bond vs Deakin - in detail

Admission tests compared

ATAR and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

Post-interview offer rate

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

Where to go next

Other medical school comparisons