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Australian Medical school comparison

Curtin vs UWA

Curtin and UWA are both Australian medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Both sit in Western Australia, so the state bonus schemes and clinical-placement networks broadly overlap — the differentiation comes from selection, interview and curriculum. Curtin uses UCAT-ANZ and CASPer; UWA uses UCAT-ANZ and 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, UWA runs both undergraduate and 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

UWA

Crawley

Quick comparison

Location
Crawley, Australia
Entry pathway
Dual (UG + Grad)
Admission tests
UCAT-ANZ + GAMSAT
GAMSAT
Graduate Pathway: minimum 55 overall, 50 each section. 2027 interview shortlist: 60% GPA + 40% GAMSAT (changed from prior 50/50). 2026 successful interview cohort average GAMSAT 68.53.
UCAT-ANZ
Direct Pathway only — competitive UCAT ~3000+ with effective cut-off ~2970 for local WA applicants (old /3600 scale; aggregator-derived). UCAT cut-off year-on-year not officially published.
ATAR
Direct Pathway: HAA / Broadway / Rural streams require ATAR 98 minimum; Indigenous Pathway via CAMDH ATAR 90. Underlying Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) UP056 TISC ranks: 92.00 minimum / lowest selected 96.65 (2024) → 97.50 (2025) — a +0.85 year-on-year tightening.
Interview format
Multi-Mini Interview (8 stations)
Post-interview chance
Not publicly disclosed.
Decision date
December-January
Compare different schools

Curtin vs UWA - 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)… UWA — Direct Pathway only — competitive UCAT ~3000+ with effective cut-off ~2970 for local WA applicants (old /3600 scale; aggregator-derived). UCAT cut-off year-on-year not officially published.

GAMSAT cut-offs. Curtin — not used or not published. UWA — Graduate Pathway: minimum 55 overall, 50 each section. 2027 interview shortlist: 60% GPA + 40% GAMSAT (changed from prior 50/50). 2026 successful interview cohort average GAMSAT 68.53.

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).

UWA requires Direct Pathway: ATAR 98 minimum for the HAA / Broadway / Rural streams (Indigenous Pathway via CAMDH is ATAR 90), plus UCAT-ANZ for domestic applicants or ISAT for international applicants, plus MMI.

Graduate MD: bachelor degree with sGPA 5.5/7.0, plus GAMSAT at 55 overall with no section below 50 (international applicants may instead submit MCAT at 500 overall with no section below 124), plus interview. English and Chemistry prerequisites apply to the Direct Pathway.

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… UWA — Direct Pathway: HAA / Broadway / Rural streams require ATAR 98 minimum; Indigenous Pathway via CAMDH ATAR 90.

Underlying Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) UP056 TISC ranks: 92.00 minimum / lowest…

Graduate-entry GPA. Curtin — not applicable or not published. UWA — Graduate Pathway minimum 5.5 unweighted. 2026 successful interview cohort average GPA 6.82. Direct Pathway: students enrol in Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) UG056 for 2 years, then progress to…

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 UWA 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.

Interview windows: Curtin interviews in October-November; UWA in October-November.

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 Direct Pathway: Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) (UG056) 2 years with GPA 5.5 minimum to progress, then MD. Graduate Pathway: 4-year MD. Both con

Intake size: Curtin — 2024 intake ~110 places (CSP + BMP combined). Curtin 2024 Domestic Admissions Guide.; UWA — 2027 cycle (Graduate): 74 CSP + 29 BMP + up to 40 international ≈ 143-145 domestic. Note: gradready reports ~103 domestic and Fraser's reports 143 — discrepancy likely reflects different counting bases (graduate-only vs combined Direct + Graduate).

Direct Pathway via UP056 Bachelor of Biomedicine TISC ranks 96.65 (2024) → 97.50 (2025).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

Curtin: Not publicly disclosed. UWA: Not publicly disclosed.

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.

UWA: UWA is one of only a handful of Australian medical schools with a true dual-pathway entry: a 7-year combined Bachelor + MD Direct Pathway from school (UCAT-ANZ + ATAR 96.00 + interview) and a 4-year Graduate MD (GAMSAT). Both streams converge into the same MD clinical years.

Strong rural pipeline via the Rural Clinical School of Western Australia (one of the largest rural clinical networks in Australia, spanning Albany, Bunbury, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, and the Kimberley). Aboriginal Health entry stream with bespoke MMI.

Which is right for you?

Start with the admission test: Curtin needs UCAT-ANZ and CASPer, UWA needs UCAT-ANZ and GAMSAT. Preparing for one well beats splitting your time across two. Both sit in Western Australia, so a local applicant gets the same state bonus at each. They suit different stages too: Curtin is school-leaver (undergraduate) entry, UWA 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

Curtin uses UCAT-ANZ and CASPer. UWA uses UCAT-ANZ and 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 fullUWAEntry 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.