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Australian Medical school comparison

Curtin vs Melbourne

Curtin and Melbourne are both Australian medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Curtin is in Western Australia while Melbourne is in Victoria. State of origin matters here: several schools rank local applicants ahead of interstate ones. Curtin uses UCAT-ANZ and CASPer; Melbourne uses GAMSAT.

That mismatch means either preparing two assessments or choosing the school whose test suits you. They also recruit at different stages: Curtin runs school-leaver (undergraduate) entry, Melbourne runs graduate entry.

Side-by-side comparison

Curtin

Bentley

Quick comparison

Location
Bentley, Australia
Entry pathway
Undergraduate
Admission tests
UCAT-ANZ + CASPer
GAMSAT
-
UCAT-ANZ
No official Curtin-published cut-off. Curtin ranks total UCAT score, not a fixed threshold. Aggregator-derived competitive score ~2970 for local WA applicants (2024-2026 entry, old /3600 scale). Interview shortlist ratio 35 ATAR : 35 CASPer : 30 UCAT (per MedEntry / Curtin official Q&A — Fraser's 35:35:40 reporting is an error). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants are exempt from BOTH the UCAT ANZ and the Casper test.
ATAR
Minimum ATAR (WA applicants) 95.00 (inclusive of bonus points); minimum ATAR (non-WA applicants) 92.00. TISC 2025 (Dec 2024 round) for CUMBS: min rank n/a, lowest n/a — selection is NOT solely on ATAR.
Interview format
Multi-Mini Interview (8 stations)
Post-interview chance
Not publicly disclosed.
Decision date
December-January

Melbourne

Parkville

Quick comparison

Location
Parkville, Australia
Entry pathway
Graduate
Admission tests
GAMSAT
GAMSAT
Minimum 50 in each of the three sections. Ranking formula uses GAMSAT at 25% post-interview (MMI 50%, GPA 25%, GAMSAT 25%). Aggregated average accepted GAMSAT: 67 (2024), 65 (2023), 67 (2022), 69.35 (2021) per Fraser's.
UCAT-ANZ
-
ATAR
-
Interview format
Multi-Mini Interview (8 stations × ~5 min)
Post-interview chance
~37% of interviewees receive an offer.
Decision date
October-November
Compare different schools

Curtin vs Melbourne - in detail

Admission tests compared

UCAT-ANZ cut-offs. Curtin — No official Curtin-published cut-off. Curtin ranks total UCAT score, not a fixed threshold. Aggregator-derived competitive score ~2970 for local WA applicants (2024-2026 entry, old /3600 scale)… Melbourne — no published cut-off.

GAMSAT cut-offs. Curtin — not used or not published. Melbourne — Minimum 50 in each of the three sections. Ranking formula uses GAMSAT at 25% post-interview (MMI 50%, GPA 25%, GAMSAT 25%). Aggregated average accepted GAMSAT: 67 (2024), 65 (2023), 67 (2022), 69.35…

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

Curtin requires ATAR 95.00 (WA-domiciled) / 92.00 (non-WA), plus UCAT-ANZ + CASPer; 35:35:30 shortlist ratio (ATAR : CASPer : UCAT-ANZ).

Melbourne requires Bachelor degree with minimum weighted GPA 5.0/7.0; GAMSAT overall 50+ with each section 50+; MMI.

ATAR. Curtin — Minimum ATAR (WA applicants) 95.00 (inclusive of bonus points); minimum ATAR (non-WA applicants) 92.00. TISC 2025 (Dec 2024 round) for CUMBS: min rank n/a, lowest n/a — selection is NOT solely on… Melbourne — no published cut-off.

Graduate-entry GPA. Curtin — not applicable or not published. Melbourne — Minimum weighted GPA 5.0/7.0. UoM weighting formula: (Final-2 × 1 + Final-1 × 2 + Final × 2) / 5. PhD / Masters in a related discipline can adjust GPA in applicant's favour (strict quotas).

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

Both Curtin and Melbourne use MMI interviews, so the underlying prep approach is the same — practise ethics frameworks, Australian health-system topics (Medicare, rural workforce, Indigenous health) and (for MMI) structured station responses against a timer.

That said, the specifics differ slightly: Curtin runs multi-mini interview (8 stations); Melbourne runs multi-mini interview (8 stations × ~5 min). Mock practice tailored to each school's exact format is the highest-leverage prep.

Interview windows: Curtin interviews in October-November; Melbourne in August-September.

Curriculum and teaching style

Both schools deliver a Integrated-style curriculum, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar across years 1-3.

Specifics: 5-year undergraduate Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). Years 1-2 foundations and clinical skills at Bentley with early community place 4-year graduate MD. Year 1 foundations and clinical skills at Parkville. Years 2-3 clinical placements across Royal Melbourne, Austin, Western, St Vin

Intake size: Curtin — 2024 intake ~110 places (CSP + BMP combined). Curtin 2024 Domestic Admissions Guide.; Melbourne — 2027 cycle: 179 CSP + 71 BMP + up to 105 Full-fee domestic ≈ ~355 total (GEMSAS UoM page). 2024 intake was 177 CSP + 70 BMP — year-on-year delta within ±2 places..

A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

Curtin: Not publicly disclosed. Melbourne: ~37% of interviewees receive an offer.

Post-interview odds give you the clearest signal of how competitive each school is at the final stage — a school with a 60% post-interview success rate is structurally easier to convert than one at 25%, even if the interview thresholds look identical on paper.

What makes each distinctive

Curtin: Curtin is one of the newest Australian medical schools (first intake 2017) and runs a 5-year undergraduate MBBS for outer-metropolitan Perth, rural WA, and Indigenous workforce service. CASPer required alongside UCAT-ANZ and ATAR — one of only 2 AU med schools using CASPer (other: Notre Dame Fremantle/Sydney).

Pre-interview ratio 35 (ATAR) : 35 (CASPer) : 30 (UCAT) per MedEntry/Curtin official. ATSI applicants exempt from CASPer.

Melbourne: Melbourne runs Australia's flagship 4-year graduate-entry MD anchored across the Parkville biomedical precinct (Royal Melbourne, Royal Children's, Peter MacCallum) and extending to the Austin, Western, and St Vincent's clinical schools. Pre-interview ranking is a weighted composite of GAMSAT and GPA; the MMI then carries a substantial weight in the final offer composite.

Strong Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) entry stream via the Murrup Barak portal.

Which is right for you?

Start with the admission test: Curtin needs UCAT-ANZ and CASPer, Melbourne needs GAMSAT. Preparing for one well beats splitting your time across two. Check your state of origin before you apply — Curtin draws heavily on Western Australia applicants and Melbourne on Victoria, and an interstate application often faces a materially higher bar.

They suit different stages too: Curtin is school-leaver (undergraduate) entry, Melbourne is 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

Curtin uses UCAT-ANZ and CASPer. Melbourne uses GAMSAT. 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

CurtinEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in fullMelbourneEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Other medical school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 25 August 2026.