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Australian Medical school comparison

Charles Darwin University vs Western Sydney

Charles Darwin University and Western Sydney 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 Western Sydney 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; Western Sydney 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

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
-

Western Sydney

Campbelltown

Quick comparison

Location
Campbelltown, Australia
Entry pathway
Undergraduate
Admission tests
UCAT-ANZ
GAMSAT
-
UCAT-ANZ
No published cut-off. WSU states the threshold "is not made public to applicants since it is determined each year according to the performance of all other applicants for the program" (FAQ), and that it "is not determined by your overall UCAT ANZ score; individual sections may be subject to weighting" (General Applicants); GWS applicants may face a lower threshold than non-GWS applicants. UCAT-ANZ performance alone decides who is invited to interview; it is then weighted at 25% of the final offer ranking alongside 75% interview. UCAT-ANZ must be sat in the application year. For scale only — these are whole-cohort figures for every UCAT-ANZ candidate, not WSU applicants and not a WSU threshold — the official UCAT-ANZ 2026 sitting (2027 entry, 17,341 candidates) on the current three-subtest /2700 cognitive scale had mean 1,964, median 1,950, 8th decile 2,220 and 9th decile 2,340. Situational Judgement is reported separately and is not part of the /2700 total.
ATAR
Academic threshold, assessed only after the MMI: non-Greater Western Sydney applicants 95.50 (this band, not a lower one, catches interstate and regional applicants who are not REAS-eligible); Greater Western Sydney applicants 93.50, on a multi-year residence test against WSU's published list of GWS areas; Rural Entry Admission Scheme 91.50, requiring ASGS-RA 2-5 residence for five consecutive or ten cumulative years since age five; international applicants 93.50 ATAR-equivalent. Once met, ATAR no longer influences ranking — the offer is 75% interview / 25% UCAT-ANZ.
Interview format
Multi-Mini Interview (MMI), online via Zoom — approximately 8 minutes per station; station count not published by WSU
Post-interview chance
Not published. WSU releases neither the number of applicants interviewed nor the number of offers made, so no interview-to-offer rate can be stated. WSU publishes only that there are approximately 120 places across Commonwealth Supported, Bonded Medical and International categories, and UAC records "N/A" for the course's lowest selection rank because non-ATAR criteria are used.
Decision date
January
Compare different schools

Charles Darwin University vs Western Sydney - in detail

Admission tests compared

UCAT-ANZ cut-offs. Charles Darwin University — no published cut-off. Western Sydney — No published cut-off. WSU states the threshold "is not made public to applicants since it is determined each year according to the performance of all other applicants for the program" (FAQ), and that…

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.

Western Sydney requires Academic threshold ATAR 95.50 (93.50 Greater Western Sydney, 91.50 Rural Entry Admission Scheme, 93.50-equivalent international) plus UCAT-ANZ sat in the application year; no prerequisite or assumed-knowledge subjects are published; MMI online in late November.

95.50 is a minimum threshold, not a lowest selection rank — UAC records "N/A" for 725505 in its January Round 1 2026 lowest-selection-rank table because selection criteria other than ATAR are used. UAC location and subject adjustment factors do not apply to 725505.

ATAR. Charles Darwin University — 85 or above after adjustment factors (recent school leavers). Western Sydney — Academic threshold, assessed only after the MMI: non-Greater Western Sydney applicants 95.50 (this band, not a lower one, catches interstate and regional applicants who are not REAS-eligible)…

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); Western Sydney uses MMI (Multi-Mini Interview (MMI), online via Zoom — approximately 8 minutes per station; station count not published by WSU). 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, Western Sydney is the better fit.

Curriculum and teaching style

Intake size: Charles Darwin University — 40 Commonwealth Supported Places; 160 candidates interviewed.; Western Sydney — ~120 places total per year (CSP + BMP + ~20 international); specific split not published by WSU (WSU MD Enrolment Places page).. 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, Western Sydney 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 Western Sydney 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. Western Sydney 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.

Where to go next

Charles Darwin UniversityEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in fullWestern SydneyEntry 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.