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Charles Darwin University vs Newcastle / JMP

Charles Darwin University and Newcastle / JMP 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 Newcastle / JMP is in New South Wales. State of origin matters here: several schools rank local applicants ahead of interstate ones.

Charles Darwin University uses no national admission test; Newcastle / JMP uses UCAT-ANZ. 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

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Charles Darwin University and Newcastle / JMP.
Comparison field	Charles Darwin UniversityDarwin, Northern Territory	Newcastle / JMPNewcastle
Quick comparison
Location	Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia	Newcastle, Australia
Entry pathway	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Admission tests	None	UCAT-ANZ
GAMSAT	-	-
UCAT-ANZ	-	No published cut-off: once the ATAR hurdle is met, invitation to the JMP Assessment is decided on the UCAT ANZ aggregate of Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning alone, with no minimum on any individual subtest. The JMP states the cut-off is not set until after direct applications close because it depends on the applicant cohort that year, and that separate, lower thresholds apply to rural (RRAS), Communities Entry List and UoN Biomedical Science Pathway applicants. It does not publish past cut-offs, and no lowest-UCAT-to-interview figure is published by the university, UAC or UCAT ANZ. For scale, UCAT ANZ 2026 (2027 entry) had a mean total of 1,964 and a 9th decile of 2,340 out of 2,700.
ATAR	85 or above after adjustment factors (recent school leavers).	ATAR hurdle: 94.30 standard; 85.00 under the Rural Bonus Scheme, which turns on the Modified Monash MM2-7 location of the high school where you sat Year 12, not where you live. Applicants with at least one full-time year of university study are assessed on their tertiary results instead (UAC describes the bar as results averaging close to credit level; the JMP Admission and Selection Policy states a UAC (ATAR-based) Rank of 88.40 or better). Once the hurdle is met, academic results no longer rank at all: UCAT ANZ alone decides who is invited, and the final selection rank comes from assessment-day performance, with UCAT used only to sub-rank ties.
Interview format	Panel interview, 30 minutes	Multiple Skills Assessment (MSA) - rotating 8-minute stations (six, per the JMP's Applicant Assessment Guide)
Post-interview chance	-	Not published - the JMP discloses 170 places against more than 3,000 applicants, but not how many are invited to the assessment day, so no interview-to-offer rate can be stated.
Decision date	-	January (UAC Round 1, offer information 8 Jan 2027; a later January round for applicants assessed in mid-January). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants receive offers in UAC December Round 2.

ATAR	85 or above after adjustment factors (recent school leavers).	ATAR hurdle: 94.30 standard; 85.00 under the Rural Bonus Scheme, which turns on the Modified Monash MM2-7 location of the high school where you sat Year 12, not where you live. Applicants with at least one full-time year of university study are assessed on their tertiary results instead (UAC describes the bar as results averaging close to credit level; the JMP Admission and Selection Policy states a UAC (ATAR-based) Rank of 88.40 or better). Once the hurdle is met, academic results no longer rank at all: UCAT ANZ alone decides who is invited, and the final selection rank comes from assessment-day performance, with UCAT used only to sub-rank ties.
Contextual ATAR	-	Rural Bonus Scheme drops the ATAR floor to 85.00, based on the Modified Monash MM2-7 location of the school where you sat Year 12. The Educational Access Scheme adds up to four adjustment points, applied to academic eligibility. The Regional Excellence Pathway offers an assessment place with no UCAT ANZ score at all to school leavers who complete Year 12 at a school in the Hunter New England or Central Coast LHD footprint and achieve an ATAR of 99.00 or higher, in the intake year immediately following.
GAMSAT	-	-
UCAT-ANZ	-	No published cut-off: once the ATAR hurdle is met, invitation to the JMP Assessment is decided on the UCAT ANZ aggregate of Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning alone, with no minimum on any individual subtest. The JMP states the cut-off is not set until after direct applications close because it depends on the applicant cohort that year, and that separate, lower thresholds apply to rural (RRAS), Communities Entry List and UoN Biomedical Science Pathway applicants. It does not publish past cut-offs, and no lowest-UCAT-to-interview figure is published by the university, UAC or UCAT ANZ. For scale, UCAT ANZ 2026 (2027 entry) had a mean total of 1,964 and a 9th decile of 2,340 out of 2,700.
CASPer	-	-
ISAT	-	-
GPA	-	-
Prerequisites	No Year 12 subject prerequisites are published.	-
Place types	-	170 places a year across the JMP (UoN + UNE combined), for more than 3,000 applicants. Published sub-quotas: up to 17 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants, 30 starting at the Central Coast Clinical School, a minimum 30% rural/remote target (33 at Newcastle, 18 at UNE), up to 6 Excellence through Equity places and up to 10 Regional Health Professional places. The JMP does not publish a BMP count; the national 28.5% CSP rule implies roughly 48. International places are a separate, smaller quota.
Indigenous pathway	NT First Nations 40% and non-NT First Nations 10% of the 40 Commonwealth Supported Places.	Miroma Bunbilla is a separate admission process for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants, with up to 17 places set aside each year. Applicants are NOT required to sit the UCAT ANZ and do n…
Bonded / rural	Quota-based: NT residency 30%, NT residency MMM 4–7 15%, rural and remote 5%.	Rural Bonus Scheme (ATAR 85). The JMP does not publish a Bonded Medical Program place count. The national rule requires universities to allocate 28.5% of commencing medical Commonwealth Supported Plac…

Interview window	-	Late November - early December (30 Nov - 11 Dec 2026 for 2027 entry); mid-January 2027 for interstate non-rural applicants, and w/c 11 Jan 2027 for Excellence through Equity and Regional Excellence Pathway applicants. Invitations go out early-to-mid November. International applicants sit the MSA online 30 Sep - 2 Oct 2026.
Interview details	A 30-minute panel interview at CDU’s Casuarina campus, with an online Teams option. 160 candidates are interviewed for the 40 Commonwealth Supported Places. For 2027 entry interviews run 16–20 Novembe…	The JMP Assessment is a half-day, in-person session held at the University of Newcastle (Callaghan) or the University of New England (Armidale) - you nominate a preferred location on the direct applic…

Specialities	Remote and rural medicine, First Nations health, Tropical health	Rural Medicine, Indigenous Health, Population Health, General Practice
Established	2003	1978
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	-	The Joint Medical Program is delivered jointly by the University of Newcastle and the University of New England, but admission is administered at Newcastle through one common process: a direct JMP app…
Official course page	https://www.cdu.edu.au/study/course/bachelor-clinical-science-medicinedoctor-medicine-smed01	https://www.newcastle.edu.au/degrees/bachelor-of-medical-science-doctor-of-medicine-joint-medical-program

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: -

Newcastle / JMP

Newcastle

Quick comparison

Location: Newcastle, Australia
Entry pathway: Undergraduate
Admission tests: UCAT-ANZ
GAMSAT: -
UCAT-ANZ: No published cut-off: once the ATAR hurdle is met, invitation to the JMP Assessment is decided on the UCAT ANZ aggregate of Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning alone, with no minimum on any individual subtest. The JMP states the cut-off is not set until after direct applications close because it depends on the applicant cohort that year, and that separate, lower thresholds apply to rural (RRAS), Communities Entry List and UoN Biomedical Science Pathway applicants. It does not publish past cut-offs, and no lowest-UCAT-to-interview figure is published by the university, UAC or UCAT ANZ. For scale, UCAT ANZ 2026 (2027 entry) had a mean total of 1,964 and a 9th decile of 2,340 out of 2,700.
ATAR: ATAR hurdle: 94.30 standard; 85.00 under the Rural Bonus Scheme, which turns on the Modified Monash MM2-7 location of the high school where you sat Year 12, not where you live. Applicants with at least one full-time year of university study are assessed on their tertiary results instead (UAC describes the bar as results averaging close to credit level; the JMP Admission and Selection Policy states a UAC (ATAR-based) Rank of 88.40 or better). Once the hurdle is met, academic results no longer rank at all: UCAT ANZ alone decides who is invited, and the final selection rank comes from assessment-day performance, with UCAT used only to sub-rank ties.
Interview format: Multiple Skills Assessment (MSA) - rotating 8-minute stations (six, per the JMP's Applicant Assessment Guide)
Post-interview chance: Not published - the JMP discloses 170 places against more than 3,000 applicants, but not how many are invited to the assessment day, so no interview-to-offer rate can be stated.
Decision date: January (UAC Round 1, offer information 8 Jan 2027; a later January round for applicants assessed in mid-January). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants receive offers in UAC December Round 2.

ATAR: ATAR hurdle: 94.30 standard; 85.00 under the Rural Bonus Scheme, which turns on the Modified Monash MM2-7 location of the high school where you sat Year 12, not where you live. Applicants with at least one full-time year of university study are assessed on their tertiary results instead (UAC describes the bar as results averaging close to credit level; the JMP Admission and Selection Policy states a UAC (ATAR-based) Rank of 88.40 or better). Once the hurdle is met, academic results no longer rank at all: UCAT ANZ alone decides who is invited, and the final selection rank comes from assessment-day performance, with UCAT used only to sub-rank ties.
Contextual ATAR: Rural Bonus Scheme drops the ATAR floor to 85.00, based on the Modified Monash MM2-7 location of the school where you sat Year 12. The Educational Access Scheme adds up to four adjustment points, applied to academic eligibility. The Regional Excellence Pathway offers an assessment place with no UCAT ANZ score at all to school leavers who complete Year 12 at a school in the Hunter New England or Central Coast LHD footprint and achieve an ATAR of 99.00 or higher, in the intake year immediately following.
GAMSAT: -
UCAT-ANZ: No published cut-off: once the ATAR hurdle is met, invitation to the JMP Assessment is decided on the UCAT ANZ aggregate of Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning alone, with no minimum on any individual subtest. The JMP states the cut-off is not set until after direct applications close because it depends on the applicant cohort that year, and that separate, lower thresholds apply to rural (RRAS), Communities Entry List and UoN Biomedical Science Pathway applicants. It does not publish past cut-offs, and no lowest-UCAT-to-interview figure is published by the university, UAC or UCAT ANZ. For scale, UCAT ANZ 2026 (2027 entry) had a mean total of 1,964 and a 9th decile of 2,340 out of 2,700.
CASPer: -
ISAT: -
GPA: -
Prerequisites: -
Place types: 170 places a year across the JMP (UoN + UNE combined), for more than 3,000 applicants. Published sub-quotas: up to 17 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants, 30 starting at the Central Coast Clinical School, a minimum 30% rural/remote target (33 at Newcastle, 18 at UNE), up to 6 Excellence through Equity places and up to 10 Regional Health Professional places. The JMP does not publish a BMP count; the national 28.5% CSP rule implies roughly 48. International places are a separate, smaller quota.
Indigenous pathway: Miroma Bunbilla is a separate admission process for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants, with up to 17 places set aside each year. Applicants are NOT required to sit the UCAT ANZ and do n…
Bonded / rural: Rural Bonus Scheme (ATAR 85). The JMP does not publish a Bonded Medical Program place count. The national rule requires universities to allocate 28.5% of commencing medical Commonwealth Supported Plac…

Compare different schools

Charles Darwin University vs Newcastle / JMP - in detail

Admission tests compared

UCAT-ANZ cut-offs. Charles Darwin University — no published cut-off. Newcastle / JMP — No published cut-off: once the ATAR hurdle is met, invitation to the JMP Assessment is decided on the UCAT ANZ aggregate of Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning alone, with no…

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.

Newcastle / JMP requires Minimum ATAR 94.30 (85.00 if you sat Year 12 at an MM2-7 rural/remote school under the Rural Bonus Scheme), or tertiary results at roughly credit level after one full-time year of university study; no subject prerequisites.

UCAT ANZ decides who is invited; the half-day in-person JMP Assessment - a rotating-station Multiple Skills Assessment plus an online Personal Qualities Assessment - then sets the final rank. 2027 entry.

ATAR. Charles Darwin University — 85 or above after adjustment factors (recent school leavers). Newcastle / JMP — ATAR hurdle: 94.30 standard; 85.00 under the Rural Bonus Scheme, which turns on the Modified Monash MM2-7 location of the high school where you sat Year 12, not where you live. Applicants with at…

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); Newcastle / JMP uses MMI (Multiple Skills Assessment (MSA) - rotating 8-minute stations (six, per the JMP's Applicant Assessment Guide)). 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, Newcastle / JMP is the better fit.

Curriculum and teaching style

Intake size: Charles Darwin University — 40 Commonwealth Supported Places; 160 candidates interviewed.; Newcastle / JMP — 170 places a year across the JMP (UoN + UNE combined) for more than 3,000 applicants. The JMP publishes no BMP count of its own; the national 28.5% rule for commencing medical CSPs would imply roughly 48. International places sit outside the 170..

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, Newcastle / JMP needs UCAT-ANZ. 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 Newcastle / JMP on New South Wales, 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

Charles Darwin University uses no admission test. Newcastle / JMP uses UCAT-ANZ. 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.

Charles Darwin University — does not publish a UCAT-ANZ cut-off (may not use UCAT-ANZ; check the admission-test question above). Newcastle / JMP — No published cut-off: once the ATAR hurdle is met, invitation to the JMP Assessment is decided on the UCAT ANZ aggregate of Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning alone, with no minimum on any individual subtest. The JMP states the cut-off is not set until after direct applications close because it depends on the applicant cohort that year, and that separate, lower thresholds apply to rural (RRAS), Communities Entry List and UoN Biomedical Science Pathway applicants. It does not publish past cut-offs, and no lowest-UCAT-to-interview figure is published by the university, UAC or UCAT ANZ. For scale, UCAT ANZ 2026 (2027 entry) had a mean total of 1,964 and a 9th decile of 2,340 out of 2,700. 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.

Charles Darwin University — 85 or above after adjustment factors (recent school leavers). Newcastle / JMP — ATAR hurdle: 94.30 standard; 85.00 under the Rural Bonus Scheme, which turns on the Modified Monash MM2-7 location of the high school where you sat Year 12, not where you live. Applicants with at least one full-time year of university study are assessed on their tertiary results instead (UAC describes the bar as results averaging close to credit level; the JMP Admission and Selection Policy states a UAC (ATAR-based) Rank of 88.40 or better). Once the hurdle is met, academic results no longer rank at all: UCAT ANZ alone decides who is invited, and the final selection rank comes from assessment-day performance, with UCAT used only to sub-rank ties. 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.

Charles Darwin University uses: Panel interview, 30 minutes. Newcastle / JMP uses: Multiple Skills Assessment (MSA) - rotating 8-minute stations (six, per the JMP's Applicant Assessment Guide). Different formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each. Interview windows: see school page (Charles Darwin University); Late November - early December (30 Nov - 11 Dec 2026 for 2027 entry); mid-January 2027 for interstate non-rural applicants, and w/c 11 Jan 2027 for Excellence through Equity and Regional Excellence Pathway applicants. Invitations go out early-to-mid November. International applicants sit the MSA online 30 Sep - 2 Oct 2026. (Newcastle / JMP).

Charles Darwin University — place-type breakdown not published. Newcastle / JMP — 170 places a year across the JMP (UoN + UNE combined), for more than 3,000 applicants. Published sub-quotas: up to 17 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants, 30 starting at the Central Coast Clinical School, a minimum 30% rural/remote target (33 at Newcastle, 18 at UNE), up to 6 Excellence through Equity places and up to 10 Regional Health Professional places. The JMP does not publish a BMP count; the national 28.5% CSP rule implies roughly 48. International places are a separate, smaller quota. 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.

Charles Darwin University — NT First Nations 40% and non-NT First Nations 10% of the 40 Commonwealth Supported Places. Newcastle / JMP — Miroma Bunbilla is a separate admission process for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants, with up to 17 places set aside each year. Applicants are NOT required to sit the UCAT ANZ and do not lodge the direct JMP application, but they DO sit both the Multiple Skills Assessment and the Personal Qualities Assessment, and must attend the Miroma Bunbilla pre-admission program (a five-day series of activities, 30 November - 4 December 2026 for 2027 entry). UAC applications close 31 October 2026 and offers are released in UAC December Round 2. Both schools accept ATSI applicants through the standard pathway as well; the dedicated pathway typically offers adjusted academic thresholds plus wrap-around academic support.

Charles Darwin University — Quota-based: NT residency 30%, NT residency MMM 4–7 15%, rural and remote 5%. Newcastle / JMP — Rural Bonus Scheme (ATAR 85). The JMP does not publish a Bonded Medical Program place count. The national rule requires universities to allocate 28.5% of commencing medical Commonwealth Supported Places to the BMP (and allows that to be averaged over three consecutive years), which on the JMP's 170 places would imply roughly 48 - a derivation, not a published figure, and one the two universities apply separately. You lodge a BMP expression of interest with the direct application, with 4 December 2026 the last date to submit one for 2027 entry. The main rural route is the Rural and Remote Admissions Scheme: five consecutive or ten cumulative years living in an MM2-7 location, verified by a rural community leader, which lowers your UCAT ANZ threshold rather than your final rank. JMP is one of Australia's longest-standing rural-focused programs. Note: Situational Judgement Test excluded for 2026 entry applicants. The federal BMP allocates ~28.5% of CSP places nationally; individual schools sit above or below that benchmark depending on their workforce remit.

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; Charles Darwin University and Newcastle / JMP differ in their selection mechanics, so prepping both adds genuine optionality.

Where to go next

Charles Darwin UniversityEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full Newcastle / JMPEntry 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.

Charles Darwin University vs Newcastle / JMP

Side-by-side comparison

Charles Darwin University vs Newcastle / JMP - in detail

Admission tests compared

ATAR and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What admission tests do Charles Darwin University and Newcastle / JMP use?

What UCAT-ANZ score do I need for Charles Darwin University vs Newcastle / JMP?

What ATAR do I need for Charles Darwin University vs Newcastle / JMP?

How do interviews differ between Charles Darwin University and Newcastle / JMP?

What place types (CSP / BMP / Full-fee) do Charles Darwin University and Newcastle / JMP offer?

What Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entry pathways do Charles Darwin University and Newcastle / JMP offer?

Does Charles Darwin University or Newcastle / JMP offer bonded / rural-entry places?

Should I apply to both Charles Darwin University and Newcastle / JMP?

Where to go next

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