Q: What admission tests do CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program and Notre Dame Sydney use?

CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program uses UCAT-ANZ. Notre Dame Sydney uses GAMSAT, CASPer 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.

Q: How do interviews differ between CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program and Notre Dame Sydney?

CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program uses: No interview — ranked on ATAR (90%) and UCAT-ANZ derived score (10%). Notre Dame Sydney uses: MMI (recorded/asynchronous online); live online panel for international applicants. Different formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each. Interview windows: see school page (CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program); September-October (GEMSAS: interview offers released early September 2026) (Notre Dame Sydney).

Question 1

What admission tests do CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program and Notre Dame Sydney use?

Accepted Answer

CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program uses Interview (No interview — ranked on ATAR (90%) and UCAT-ANZ derived score (10%)); Notre Dame Sydney uses MMI (MMI (recorded/asynchronous online); live online panel for international applicants). These two formats reward different skills — Interview emphasises academic reasoning and thinking aloud through unfamiliar problems, while MMI rewards breadth and quick recovery.

If your strengths lie in conversational depth, either may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Notre Dame Sydney is the better fit.

Question 2

What GAMSAT score do I need for CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program vs Notre Dame Sydney?

Accepted Answer

CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program — does not publish a GAMSAT cut-off (may not use GAMSAT; check the admission-test question above). Notre Dame Sydney — Minimum total of 52 with at least 50 in each subsection; UNDA uses the unweighted average of the three GAMSAT sections, not the overall weighted score. Notre Dame publishes the average GAMSAT of applicants OFFERED AN INTERVIEW at Sydney: 67.84 (2024 entry), 68.08 (2025 entry), 68.23 (2026 entry). These are interview-shortlist averages, not the scores of applicants who received a place, and UNDA states they exclude applicants considered on additional criteria including rurality and facilitated interview pathway eligibility. No cut-off is published. 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 UCAT-ANZ score do I need for CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program vs Notre Dame Sydney?

Accepted Answer

CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program — Contributes 10% of the admission rank; no cut-off published. Notre Dame Sydney — does not publish a UCAT-ANZ cut-off (may not use UCAT-ANZ; check the admission-test question above). 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.

Question 4

What ATAR do I need for CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program vs Notre Dame Sydney?

Accepted Answer

CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program — Competitive at 90 or above; 85 or above for First Nations applicants. CDU frames these as competitive levels, not a published floor. Notre Dame Sydney — ATAR data not published in the structured AU requirements; see free-text admission requirements on the school page. 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 5

What GPA do I need for CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program vs Notre Dame Sydney?

Accepted Answer

CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program — GPA not published in the structured AU requirements. Notre Dame Sydney — Minimum weighted GPA of 5.2/7.0 over three FTE years, with GPA years progressively weighted Final-minus-2 x1, Final-minus-1 x2, Final x3. Notre Dame publishes the average GPA of applicants OFFERED AN INTERVIEW at Sydney: 6.68 (2024 entry), 6.76 (2025 entry), 6.74 (2026 entry). These are shortlist averages, not thresholds, and UNDA states they exclude applicants considered on additional criteria including rurality and facilitated interview pathway eligibility. No official source supports a ~6.3 'competitive target' or any 2023 figure. 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 6

How do interviews differ between CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program and Notre Dame Sydney?

Accepted Answer

CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program uses Interview (No interview — ranked on ATAR (90%) and UCAT-ANZ derived score (10%)); Notre Dame Sydney uses MMI (MMI (recorded/asynchronous online); live online panel for international applicants). These two formats reward different skills — Interview emphasises academic reasoning and thinking aloud through unfamiliar problems, while MMI rewards breadth and quick recovery.

If your strengths lie in conversational depth, either may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Notre Dame Sydney is the better fit.

Question 7

What place types (CSP / BMP / Full-fee) do CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program and Notre Dame Sydney offer?

Accepted Answer

CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program — place-type breakdown not published. Notre Dame Sydney — 2027: 40 CSP + 17 BMP + up to 57 full-fee domestic + up to 35 full-fee international (at most about 149), subject to change; international places are offered direct by UNDA, not through GEMSAS. Offers are made CSP first, BMP second, full-fee third, and once an offer is accepted the fee category is confirmed and cannot be changed for the duration of the program. 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 8

What Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entry pathways do CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program and Notre Dame Sydney offer?

Accepted Answer

CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program — 5 of the 12 places are NT First Nations and 2 are national First Nations. Notre Dame Sydney — Dedicated Indigenous entry pathway led by UNDA's Indigenous Health and Medicine team, applied for DIRECTLY to Notre Dame rather than through GEMSAS. With Commonwealth Supported Places uncapped for First Nations students from 1 January 2026, GEMSAS states Notre Dame will offer CSPs to all successful Indigenous applicants over and above the quoted place numbers. Entry criteria: proof of Aboriginality; a three-year FTE undergraduate degree completed within the last 10 years (later tertiary study can restore eligibility); minimum GPA 5.0, with below-5.0 considered case by case; personal statement; CV; and a successful interview. Applications open 1 May, with rounds closing 31 May, 30 June, 31 August and 31 October 2026, and interviews commencing from June. 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 9

Does CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program or Notre Dame Sydney offer bonded / rural-entry places?

Accepted Answer

CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program — NT origin status is an eligibility requirement for the programme. Notre Dame Sydney — 17 Bonded Medical Program places for 2027, listed by GEMSAS as a separate line from the 40 CSPs — not a percentage of them. Separately from bonding, GEMSAS states that the equivalent of at least 28.5% of the University's Commonwealth-supported medical student allocation must be of rural background as defined by the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) Program, and applicants of demonstrated rural background (MM2-MM7) receive bonus points, which sit in the 10% bonus component alongside Higher Degree by Research completion. The federal BMP allocates ~28.5% of CSP places nationally; individual schools sit above or below that benchmark depending on their workforce remit.

Question 10

Should I apply to both CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program and Notre Dame Sydney?

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; CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program and Notre Dame Sydney differ in their selection mechanics, so prepping both adds genuine optionality.

Comparison field	CDU / Flinders — NT Medical ProgramDarwin, Northern Territory	Notre Dame SydneySydney
Quick comparison
Location	Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia	Sydney, Australia
Entry pathway	Undergraduate	Graduate
Admission tests	UCAT-ANZ	GAMSAT + CASPer + MCAT
GAMSAT	-	Minimum total of 52 with at least 50 in each subsection; UNDA uses the unweighted average of the three GAMSAT sections, not the overall weighted score. Notre Dame publishes the average GAMSAT of applicants OFFERED AN INTERVIEW at Sydney: 67.84 (2024 entry), 68.08 (2025 entry), 68.23 (2026 entry). These are interview-shortlist averages, not the scores of applicants who received a place, and UNDA states they exclude applicants considered on additional criteria including rurality and facilitated interview pathway eligibility. No cut-off is published.
UCAT-ANZ	Contributes 10% of the admission rank; no cut-off published.	-
ATAR	Competitive at 90 or above; 85 or above for First Nations applicants. CDU frames these as competitive levels, not a published floor.	-
Interview format	No interview — ranked on ATAR (90%) and UCAT-ANZ derived score (10%)	MMI (recorded/asynchronous online); live online panel for international applicants
Post-interview chance	-	Not publicly disclosed.
Decision date	-	Late October-early November (main round); additional offers November 2026-January 2027

ATAR	Competitive at 90 or above; 85 or above for First Nations applicants. CDU frames these as competitive levels, not a published floor.	-
Contextual ATAR	-	-
GAMSAT	-	Minimum total of 52 with at least 50 in each subsection; UNDA uses the unweighted average of the three GAMSAT sections, not the overall weighted score. Notre Dame publishes the average GAMSAT of applicants OFFERED AN INTERVIEW at Sydney: 67.84 (2024 entry), 68.08 (2025 entry), 68.23 (2026 entry). These are interview-shortlist averages, not the scores of applicants who received a place, and UNDA states they exclude applicants considered on additional criteria including rurality and facilitated interview pathway eligibility. No cut-off is published.
UCAT-ANZ	Contributes 10% of the admission rank; no cut-off published.	-
CASPer	-	Required from 2024 entry, weighted at 30% of the interview-shortlist composite, and mandatory — GEMSAS states applicants without a Casper score will not be considered. No quartile threshold is published for general entry. The only explicit Casper hurdle Notre Dame publishes sits in the Priority Entry Pathway, which requires a score no lower than 1 standard deviation below the mean; the facilitated interview pathways set GPA and GAMSAT hurdles but no Casper hurdle. Four 2026 sittings are accepted (12 April, 5 May, 14 May, 11 June), the 11 June 2026 test being the last accepted for domestic applicants in the 2026-27 cycle.
ISAT	-	-
GPA	-	Minimum weighted GPA of 5.2/7.0 over three FTE years, with GPA years progressively weighted Final-minus-2 x1, Final-minus-1 x2, Final x3. Notre Dame publishes the average GPA of applicants OFFERED AN INTERVIEW at Sydney: 6.68 (2024 entry), 6.76 (2025 entry), 6.74 (2026 entry). These are shortlist averages, not thresholds, and UNDA states they exclude applicants considered on additional criteria including rurality and facilitated interview pathway eligibility. No official source supports a ~6.3 'competitive target' or any 2023 figure.
Prerequisites	-	-
Place types	-	2027: 40 CSP + 17 BMP + up to 57 full-fee domestic + up to 35 full-fee international (at most about 149), subject to change; international places are offered direct by UNDA, not through GEMSAS. Offers are made CSP first, BMP second, full-fee third, and once an offer is accepted the fee category is confirmed and cannot be changed for the duration of the program.
Indigenous pathway	5 of the 12 places are NT First Nations and 2 are national First Nations.	Dedicated Indigenous entry pathway led by UNDA's Indigenous Health and Medicine team, applied for DIRECTLY to Notre Dame rather than through GEMSAS. With Commonwealth Supported Places uncapped for Fir…
Bonded / rural	NT origin status is an eligibility requirement for the programme.	17 Bonded Medical Program places for 2027, listed by GEMSAS as a separate line from the 40 CSPs — not a percentage of them. Separately from bonding, GEMSAS states that the equivalent of at least 28.5%…

Interview window	-	September-October (GEMSAS: interview offers released early September 2026)
Interview details	Entry is by rank, not interview. Completing the first two years of the Bachelor of Clinical Sciences to the required GPA within the specified time frame guarantees entry into the NT Medical Program fr…	Interview shortlist composite (2024+ cycles): 30% GAMSAT + 30% GPA + 30% CASPer + 10% bonus points. Final offer: 50% shortlist composite + 50% MMI. Interview shortlist composite: 30% GAMSAT + 30% GPA…

Specialities	Remote and rural medicine, First Nations health	Medical Ethics, Indigenous Health, Rural Medicine, Palliative Care
Established	2011	2008
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	-	Notre Dame retired its selection Portfolio from the 2024 intake and put Casper in its place as the non-academic component; the interview format was not part of that change. Casper is 30% of the pre-in…
Official course page	https://www.cdu.edu.au/study/course/bachelor-clinical-sciences-wcsci1	https://www.notredame.edu.au/programs/school-of-medicine/postgraduate/doctor-of-medicine

CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program vs Notre Dame Sydney

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CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program

Notre Dame Sydney

CDU / Flinders — NT Medical Program vs Notre Dame Sydney - in detail

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