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Australian Medical school comparison

Charles Darwin University vs Monash

Charles Darwin University and Monash are both Australian medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Charles Darwin University is in the Northern Territory while Monash is in Victoria. State of origin matters here: several schools rank local applicants ahead of interstate ones.

Charles Darwin University uses no national admission test; Monash uses UCAT-ANZ and ISAT. That mismatch means either preparing two assessments or choosing the school whose test suits you. They also recruit at different stages: Charles Darwin University runs school-leaver (undergraduate) entry, Monash runs both undergraduate and graduate entry.

The interview formats diverge — Panel vs MMI — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different.

Side-by-side comparison

Charles Darwin University

Darwin, Northern Territory

Quick comparison

Location
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Entry pathway
Undergraduate
Admission tests
None
GAMSAT
-
UCAT-ANZ
-
ATAR
85 or above after adjustment factors (recent school leavers).
Interview format
Panel interview, 30 minutes
Post-interview chance
-
Decision date
-

Monash

Clayton

Quick comparison

Location
Clayton, Australia
Entry pathway
Dual (UG + Grad)
Admission tests
UCAT-ANZ + ISAT
GAMSAT
Not required and not accepted on any Monash pathway - both Graduate Entry pages state applicants are not required to sit the GAMSAT, and Direct Entry has never used it. Monash publishes no date for its removal.
UCAT-ANZ
Domestic Direct Entry only (international applicants sit ISAT). Monash publishes its December-round interview cut-offs. On the current three-subtest /2700 scale, 2026 entry cleared at 2380 (94th percentile, 192 interview offers) for Victorian-based non-DRL applicants and 2050 (66th percentile, 193 offers) for Dean's Rural List applicants. The 2027-entry cut-offs are not yet published - invitations are scheduled for release on 12 and 14 October 2026. Earlier cycles sat on the retired /3600 four-subtest scale (2025 entry 3140 non-DRL / 2730 DRL; 2024 entry 3020 / 2670; 2023 entry 2990 / 2620) and are NOT convertible: UCAT-ANZ dropped Abstract Reasoning from the test sat in 2025 (first used for 2026 entry), so no ratio conversion between the scales is valid. Situational Judgement is banded separately and is used only to break ties on equal cognitive totals.
ATAR
Direct Entry minimum eligibility ATAR 90. Monash publishes lowest-offer ATARs rather than a competitive cut-off: for 2026 entry the lowest ATAR to receive an offer was 96.10 (standard School Leaver Entry), 95.05 (CSP Extended Rural Cohort) and 91.25 (CSP Bonded School Leaver Entry). Monash notes these are the lowest ATAR BEFORE equity-scheme/Dean's Rural List adjustment, while ranking itself uses the adjusted ATAR. No median and no guaranteed ATAR is published.
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interview, online via Zoom (6 stations × 8 min interview + 2 min reading; 4 stations for international applicants)
Post-interview chance
Monash does not publish an interview-to-offer conversion rate. It does publish round volumes: for 2026 entry it made 192 December interview offers to Victorian-based non-DRL applicants and 193 to Dean's Rural List applicants, before two further interview rounds in January, against approximately 234 domestic places - so more applicants are interviewed than there are places. January-round interview volumes are not published, so no conversion percentage can be stated.
Decision date
Direct Entry mid-to-late January (VTAC January Rounds 1 and 2); Graduate Entry early December
Compare different schools

Charles Darwin University vs Monash - in detail

Admission tests compared

UCAT-ANZ cut-offs. Charles Darwin University — no published cut-off. Monash — Domestic Direct Entry only (international applicants sit ISAT). Monash publishes its December-round interview cut-offs. On the current three-subtest /2700 scale, 2026 entry cleared at 2380 (94th…

GAMSAT cut-offs. Charles Darwin University — not used or not published. Monash — Not required and not accepted on any Monash pathway - both Graduate Entry pages state applicants are not required to sit the GAMSAT, and Direct Entry has never used it. Monash publishes no date for…

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

Charles Darwin University requires Recent school leavers need an ATAR of 85 or above after the addition of any relevant adjustment factors. Applications go through SATAC (code 113371) and must be accompanied by a CDU Menzies Medical Program Application Pack.

40 Commonwealth Supported Places, allocated NT First Nations 40%, NT residency 30%, NT residency MMM 4–7 15%, non-NT First Nations 10%, rural and remote 5%. Not available to international students.

Monash requires Direct Entry (domestic): school-leavers only - Year 12 completed no more than two years earlier and NO commenced tertiary study (Certificate IV and above disqualifies). Minimum ATAR 90 (2026-entry lowest offers: 96.10 standard, 95.05 ERC, 91.25 BMP); VCE English (study score 35 EAL or 30 non-EAL) and Chemistry (30) prerequisites, Biology not required; UCAT-ANZ; MMI.

Monash states the three components - ATAR aggregate (including adjustment factors), UCAT-ANZ total and MMI - are equally weighted. Direct Entry (international): ISAT (170 overall, 165 per section) instead of UCAT-ANZ, with published equivalents of VCE 97.50 / IB 39.

Graduate Entry (domestic): a nominated Monash degree (Bachelor of Biomedical Science, Pharmacy (Hons), Physiotherapy (Hons), or Bachelor of Science with five specified units) or Federation University's Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Gippsland Partnership Program), WAM ≥ 70, ranked on WAM 40% + MMI 60%; at least 70% of places are reserved for Monash Bachelor of Biomedical Science graduates.

Graduate Entry (international): any internationally recognised bachelor degree with significant, broad biomedical science content at GPA ≥ 6.0/7.0. No GAMSAT and no SJT on any pathway; Graduate Entry applicants can be considered only twice, and the MMI may be attended only once per course.

ATAR. Charles Darwin University — 85 or above after adjustment factors (recent school leavers). Monash — Direct Entry minimum eligibility ATAR 90. Monash publishes lowest-offer ATARs rather than a competitive cut-off: for 2026 entry the lowest ATAR to receive an offer was 96.10 (standard School Leaver…

Graduate-entry GPA. Charles Darwin University — not applicable or not published. Monash — Graduate Entry (domestic): minimum WAM 70 to be eligible, but Monash publishes the non-DRL WAM cut-off to be INVITED TO INTERVIEW - 82.313 for 2026 entry (81.179 for 2025, 80.313 for 2024, 82.386 for…

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

Charles Darwin University uses Panel (Panel interview, 30 minutes); Monash uses MMI (Multiple Mini Interview, online via Zoom (6 stations × 8 min interview + 2 min reading; 4 stations for international applicants)).

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, Charles Darwin University may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Monash is the better fit.

Curriculum and teaching style

Intake size: Charles Darwin University — 40 Commonwealth Supported Places; 160 candidates interviewed.; Monash — Direct Entry (Clayton): approximately 234 domestic places, inclusive of 30 Extended Rural Cohort and approximately 67 Bonded Medical Program places. Graduate Entry (Churchill/Gippsland): approximately 72 domestic places, inclusive of 35 End-to-End Rural places.

Roughly 306 domestic places across both pathways; Monash does not publish international intake numbers.. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Which is right for you?

Start with the admission test: Charles Darwin University needs no national admission test, Monash needs UCAT-ANZ and ISAT. Preparing for one well beats splitting your time across two.

Check your state of origin before you apply — Charles Darwin University draws heavily on the Northern Territory applicants and Monash on Victoria, and an interstate application often faces a materially higher bar. They suit different stages too: Charles Darwin University is school-leaver (undergraduate) entry, Monash is both undergraduate and graduate 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

Charles Darwin University uses no admission test. Monash uses UCAT-ANZ and ISAT. 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

Charles Darwin UniversityEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in fullMonashEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Other medical school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 13 September 2026.