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, GAMSAT, ISAT and MCAT.
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
Side-by-side comparison: Curtin and UWA.
Comparison field
CurtinBentley
UWACrawley
Quick comparison
Location
Bentley, Australia
Crawley, Australia
Entry pathway
Undergraduate
Dual (UG + Grad)
Admission tests
UCAT-ANZ + CASPer
UCAT-ANZ + GAMSAT + ISAT + MCAT
GAMSAT
-
Graduate Pathway: minimum GAMSAT 55 overall with no section below 50. Scores are valid for four years as at the application closing date — for 2028 commencement the earliest accepted sitting is September 2023 and the latest March 2027. Applicants holding more than one valid score may use their best, not necessarily the most recent. 2027 interview shortlist: 60% GPA + 40% GAMSAT (both GAMSAT and GPA are standardised before shortlisting, and all scores are standardised prior to final ranking). Domestic applicants who were successful in obtaining an interview for 2026 entry averaged GAMSAT 68.53 (GEMSAS) — an interview-invite average, not an offer-holder average; UWA and GEMSAS publish no offer-holder figures.
UCAT-ANZ
No official Curtin-published cut-off. Curtin ranks total UCAT score, not a fixed threshold. Curtin publishes no UCAT-ANZ cut-off, minimum or competitive band in any year — the 2027 guide contains no quartile, decile or percentile figure. Note the scale change: UCAT-ANZ dropped Abstract Reasoning at the UCAT ANZ 2025 sitting (2026 entry), so the cognitive total is now out of 2700, not 3600, and Curtin's 2027 guide ranks on the "UCAT ANZ score (out of 2700)". Any figure in the 2900-3000 range comes from the retired /3600 scale and exceeds the current maximum, so it is neither achievable nor comparable. For orientation only, the official all-candidate UCAT ANZ 2026 statistics (the sitting that feeds 2027 entry) show a mean cognitive total of 1,964, a 3rd quartile of 2,170 and a 9th decile of 2,340 — national figures for every test-taker, not a Curtin applicant profile. Interview shortlist ratio 35 ATAR : 35 Casper : 30 UCAT-ANZ, per Curtin's own guide.. Interview shortlist ratio 35 ATAR : 35 CASPer : 30 UCAT (per MedEntry / Curtin official Q&A — Fraser's 35:35:40 reporting is an error).
Required only for the domestic Assured Pathway (High Academic Achiever, Rural and Broadway quotas), and it must be sat in the year of application — a score cannot be carried over. UWA publishes no threshold: 'There is no set minimum score requirement; the UCAT ANZ threshold is set by ranking within each quota each year. Minimum results from previous years are not published.' Ranking uses the cognitive total only — the sum of Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning, scored 900-2700 — while Situational Judgement is reported separately (300-900) and UWA 'reserves the right' to use it in future. Figures on the retired /3600 four-subtest scale are not comparable and cannot be ratio-converted to /2700. International school leavers sit ISAT, not UCAT-ANZ.
ATAR
Minimum ATAR 95.00 for every school-leaver applicant, WA and interstate alike — Curtin publishes one figure with no domicile split, and adjustment points are added on top of it rather than included in it. The 92.00 figure is the minimum notional ATAR for the non-school-leaver (graduate) pathway only; Curtin course switchers are assessed on a course weighted average of 80 instead. Rural or StepUp adjustment points (up to 5, from one scheme only) apply on top, capped at an adjusted 99.95. TISC 2026 Admission Ranks (Main Round, December 2025) for CUMBS: minimum rank for consideration n/a, lowest selection rank offered n/a — selection is NOT solely on ATAR.
Direct Pathway: HAA / Broadway / Rural streams require ATAR 98 minimum; Indigenous school-leaver pathway minimum ATAR 90, with the School of Indigenous Studies (or askUWA) as first contact. The Boola Boola Djinda / CAMDH route is the GRADUATE Indigenous pathway and uses no ATAR at all. TISC publishes no rank data for UG056 (Doctor of Medicine via Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) Assured Pathway) — both the minimum rank for consideration and the lowest selection rank offered are listed as n/a, because selection is not rank-only. The separate standalone Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) (UP056) ran 92.00 minimum / 96.65 lowest selection rank (2024 admission), 92.00 / 97.50 (2025) and 95.00 / 97.70 (2026).
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interview (station count not published)
Multi-Mini Interview (8 stations x 7 minutes) for domestic applicants; panel of two interviewers (~50 minutes) for international applicants
Post-interview chance
Not publicly disclosed.
Not publicly disclosed.
Decision date
December-January
November-January (domestic: graduate offer rounds from November via GEMSAS, school-leaver offers on TISC timelines in December/January); international offers from late May and early August
ATAR
Minimum ATAR 95.00 for every school-leaver applicant, WA and interstate alike — Curtin publishes one figure with no domicile split, and adjustment points are added on top of it rather than included in it. The 92.00 figure is the minimum notional ATAR for the non-school-leaver (graduate) pathway only; Curtin course switchers are assessed on a course weighted average of 80 instead. Rural or StepUp adjustment points (up to 5, from one scheme only) apply on top, capped at an adjusted 99.95. TISC 2026 Admission Ranks (Main Round, December 2025) for CUMBS: minimum rank for consideration n/a, lowest selection rank offered n/a — selection is NOT solely on ATAR.
Direct Pathway: HAA / Broadway / Rural streams require ATAR 98 minimum; Indigenous school-leaver pathway minimum ATAR 90, with the School of Indigenous Studies (or askUWA) as first contact. The Boola Boola Djinda / CAMDH route is the GRADUATE Indigenous pathway and uses no ATAR at all. TISC publishes no rank data for UG056 (Doctor of Medicine via Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) Assured Pathway) — both the minimum rank for consideration and the lowest selection rank offered are listed as n/a, because selection is not rank-only. The separate standalone Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) (UP056) ran 92.00 minimum / 96.65 lowest selection rank (2024 admission), 92.00 / 97.50 (2025) and 95.00 / 97.70 (2026).
Contextual ATAR
Three special entry pathways: Rural entry (up to 25% of places; WA, NT and SA applicants of rural background, MM 2-7), Equity entry (WA school leavers qualifying for Curtin's StepUp Bonus scheme), and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entry pathway. Rural applicants receive up to 5 adjustment points via CMS's Rural adjustment scheme OR Curtin's StepUp bonus scheme (StepUp within this route is WA school leavers only) — one scheme only, never both; StepUp alone adjusts by 5 points. All adjustments cap at an adjusted 99.95 and apply only to the Curtin MBBS. WA school leavers eligible for both rural and equity entry are considered under both. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants are exempt from BOTH the UCAT-ANZ and the Casper Test, and apply directly to Curtin Medical School rather than through TISC.
Indigenous school-leaver Assured Pathway minimum ATAR 90 (vs 98 standard), via the School of Indigenous Studies. For the Broadway and Rural quotas the ATAR 98 minimum is assessed AFTER applicable Broadway adjustments, and EAS or Uway adjustments are taken into account for all quotas. Rural school leavers carry a 25% rurality rating in the final ranking (ATAR 22.5% + interview 37.5% + UCAT-ANZ 15% + rurality 25%).
GAMSAT
-
Graduate Pathway: minimum GAMSAT 55 overall with no section below 50. Scores are valid for four years as at the application closing date — for 2028 commencement the earliest accepted sitting is September 2023 and the latest March 2027. Applicants holding more than one valid score may use their best, not necessarily the most recent. 2027 interview shortlist: 60% GPA + 40% GAMSAT (both GAMSAT and GPA are standardised before shortlisting, and all scores are standardised prior to final ranking). Domestic applicants who were successful in obtaining an interview for 2026 entry averaged GAMSAT 68.53 (GEMSAS) — an interview-invite average, not an offer-holder average; UWA and GEMSAS publish no offer-holder figures.
UCAT-ANZ
No official Curtin-published cut-off. Curtin ranks total UCAT score, not a fixed threshold. Curtin publishes no UCAT-ANZ cut-off, minimum or competitive band in any year — the 2027 guide contains no quartile, decile or percentile figure. Note the scale change: UCAT-ANZ dropped Abstract Reasoning at the UCAT ANZ 2025 sitting (2026 entry), so the cognitive total is now out of 2700, not 3600, and Curtin's 2027 guide ranks on the "UCAT ANZ score (out of 2700)". Any figure in the 2900-3000 range comes from the retired /3600 scale and exceeds the current maximum, so it is neither achievable nor comparable. For orientation only, the official all-candidate UCAT ANZ 2026 statistics (the sitting that feeds 2027 entry) show a mean cognitive total of 1,964, a 3rd quartile of 2,170 and a 9th decile of 2,340 — national figures for every test-taker, not a Curtin applicant profile. Interview shortlist ratio 35 ATAR : 35 Casper : 30 UCAT-ANZ, per Curtin's own guide.. Interview shortlist ratio 35 ATAR : 35 CASPer : 30 UCAT (per MedEntry / Curtin official Q&A — Fraser's 35:35:40 reporting is an error).
Required only for the domestic Assured Pathway (High Academic Achiever, Rural and Broadway quotas), and it must be sat in the year of application — a score cannot be carried over. UWA publishes no threshold: 'There is no set minimum score requirement; the UCAT ANZ threshold is set by ranking within each quota each year. Minimum results from previous years are not published.' Ranking uses the cognitive total only — the sum of Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning, scored 900-2700 — while Situational Judgement is reported separately (300-900) and UWA 'reserves the right' to use it in future. Figures on the retired /3600 four-subtest scale are not comparable and cannot be ratio-converted to /2700. International school leavers sit ISAT, not UCAT-ANZ.
CASPer
Required and ranked on actual score (only quartile band shown to applicant). Required and ranked on the Casper score in conjunction with ATAR and UCAT-ANZ; Curtin makes no adjustments or special consideration for Casper. Curtin publishes no Casper quartile threshold, minimum or competitive band in any year — the 2027 guide contains no quartile, decile or percentile figure at all — so no competitive band can be stated on the record, and the quartile guidance circulating on student forums is unconfirmable and should not be planned around. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants are exempt from Casper.. ATSI applicants exempt.
-
ISAT
-
-
GPA
-
Graduate Pathway minimum GPA 5.5 at the time of interview selection, unweighted, calculated over the most recent three full-time-equivalent years (3 FTE = 144 credit points at UWA), excluding credit/advanced standing. A completed PhD, or a completed UWA Doctor of Dental Medicine, is deemed a GPA of 7.0; a completed Masters by research adds a 0.2 bonus. There is no 10-year rule. Domestic applicants who were successful in obtaining an interview for 2026 entry averaged GPA 6.82 (GEMSAS) — an interview-invite average, not an offer-holder average and not a threshold; the published minimum is GPA 5.5 at the time of interview selection. Assured Pathway: students complete the 3-year Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) with the Integrated Medical Sciences and Clinical Practice major (TISC application code UG056; UWA course code BP056), holding the conditional MD place by achieving a selection GPA of at least 5.5 within the first two years; the major carries one year of credit into the MD, so both degrees finish in six years.
Prerequisites
-
-
Place types
2027 intake: approximately 110 domestic places (CSP, inclusive of BMP), plus 10-15 international full-fee places. Curtin states approximately 28% of Commonwealth Supported Places in Australian medical programs are set aside for the Bonded Medical Program; the Commonwealth's current published rate is 28.5%. Bonded places are allocated by the university across all MBBS entry pathways and cannot be applied for directly. Curtin prioritises WA candidates from rural and regional areas, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, and students with long-term educational disadvantage — it does not publish a ranking between these groups.
2027 cycle: 206 domestic places plus approximately 40 international across both pathways, with up to 50% of places filled by school-leaver (Assured Pathway) entry and the remainder by graduate entry — GEMSAS lists up to 103 domestic graduate places. UWA designates 28.5% of Commonwealth supported places as Bonded Medical Places (the page also words this as 28.5% of all domestic places); within the domestic quota up to 10% is Indigenous and 30% rural, and 20 school-leaver places are reserved for Broadway schools. (Fraser's). Indigenous allocation up to 10% of domestic places.
Indigenous pathway
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants apply DIRECTLY to Curtin Medical School — no TISC application, no UCAT-ANZ and no Casper Test — submitting the CMS Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islande…
Boola Boola Djinda ('Many, Many Stars'), established in 2025 as the successor to the Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health (CAMDH, established 1996) and still referred to as CAMDH on UWA's M…
Bonded / rural
Curtin offers "the only direct-entry Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in Western Australia" (Curtin's own wording). The rural quota IS published: up to 25 per cent of places are alloca…
~30% of domestic places allocated rural; eligibility requires a principal home address in a Modified Monash Model (MMM 2023) MM-2 to MM-7 area for five consecutive years or at least ten cumulative yea…
Interview window
December-January (domestic); July-August (international full-fee)
Late September-early October (graduate MD, expected online); 30 November-11 December 2026 (domestic school leaver). International: main round May, second round late July/early August.
Interview details
Curtin runs a Multiple Mini Interview but publishes no station count and no per-station timing — treat any specific figure with caution. Curtin describes the MMI as an opportunity to "demonstrate thei…
UWA MMI uses 8 numbered stations of 7 minutes each — 2 minutes to consider the written question, then 5 minutes with the interviewer — with the whole process taking approximately 70-75 minutes includi…
Specialities
Rural Medicine, Indigenous Health, Outer-Metropolitan Health, General Practice, Health Equity
Rural and Remote Medicine, Indigenous Health, Tropical Medicine, Clinical Research, General Practice
Established
2017
1957
Course type
Undergraduate
Undergraduate
What makes it different
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 require…
UWA is one of only a handful of Australian medical schools with a true dual-pathway entry: a 6-year Assured Pathway from school (3-year Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) then the MD with one year…
No official Curtin-published cut-off. Curtin ranks total UCAT score, not a fixed threshold. Curtin publishes no UCAT-ANZ cut-off, minimum or competitive band in any year — the 2027 guide contains no quartile, decile or percentile figure. Note the scale change: UCAT-ANZ dropped Abstract Reasoning at the UCAT ANZ 2025 sitting (2026 entry), so the cognitive total is now out of 2700, not 3600, and Curtin's 2027 guide ranks on the "UCAT ANZ score (out of 2700)". Any figure in the 2900-3000 range comes from the retired /3600 scale and exceeds the current maximum, so it is neither achievable nor comparable. For orientation only, the official all-candidate UCAT ANZ 2026 statistics (the sitting that feeds 2027 entry) show a mean cognitive total of 1,964, a 3rd quartile of 2,170 and a 9th decile of 2,340 — national figures for every test-taker, not a Curtin applicant profile. Interview shortlist ratio 35 ATAR : 35 Casper : 30 UCAT-ANZ, per Curtin's own guide.. Interview shortlist ratio 35 ATAR : 35 CASPer : 30 UCAT (per MedEntry / Curtin official Q&A — Fraser's 35:35:40 reporting is an error).
ATAR
Minimum ATAR 95.00 for every school-leaver applicant, WA and interstate alike — Curtin publishes one figure with no domicile split, and adjustment points are added on top of it rather than included in it. The 92.00 figure is the minimum notional ATAR for the non-school-leaver (graduate) pathway only; Curtin course switchers are assessed on a course weighted average of 80 instead. Rural or StepUp adjustment points (up to 5, from one scheme only) apply on top, capped at an adjusted 99.95. TISC 2026 Admission Ranks (Main Round, December 2025) for CUMBS: minimum rank for consideration n/a, lowest selection rank offered n/a — selection is NOT solely on ATAR.
Interview format
Multiple Mini Interview (station count not published)
Post-interview chance
Not publicly disclosed.
Decision date
December-January
ATAR
Minimum ATAR 95.00 for every school-leaver applicant, WA and interstate alike — Curtin publishes one figure with no domicile split, and adjustment points are added on top of it rather than included in it. The 92.00 figure is the minimum notional ATAR for the non-school-leaver (graduate) pathway only; Curtin course switchers are assessed on a course weighted average of 80 instead. Rural or StepUp adjustment points (up to 5, from one scheme only) apply on top, capped at an adjusted 99.95. TISC 2026 Admission Ranks (Main Round, December 2025) for CUMBS: minimum rank for consideration n/a, lowest selection rank offered n/a — selection is NOT solely on ATAR.
Contextual ATAR
Three special entry pathways: Rural entry (up to 25% of places; WA, NT and SA applicants of rural background, MM 2-7), Equity entry (WA school leavers qualifying for Curtin's StepUp Bonus scheme), and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entry pathway. Rural applicants receive up to 5 adjustment points via CMS's Rural adjustment scheme OR Curtin's StepUp bonus scheme (StepUp within this route is WA school leavers only) — one scheme only, never both; StepUp alone adjusts by 5 points. All adjustments cap at an adjusted 99.95 and apply only to the Curtin MBBS. WA school leavers eligible for both rural and equity entry are considered under both. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants are exempt from BOTH the UCAT-ANZ and the Casper Test, and apply directly to Curtin Medical School rather than through TISC.
GAMSAT
-
UCAT-ANZ
No official Curtin-published cut-off. Curtin ranks total UCAT score, not a fixed threshold. Curtin publishes no UCAT-ANZ cut-off, minimum or competitive band in any year — the 2027 guide contains no quartile, decile or percentile figure. Note the scale change: UCAT-ANZ dropped Abstract Reasoning at the UCAT ANZ 2025 sitting (2026 entry), so the cognitive total is now out of 2700, not 3600, and Curtin's 2027 guide ranks on the "UCAT ANZ score (out of 2700)". Any figure in the 2900-3000 range comes from the retired /3600 scale and exceeds the current maximum, so it is neither achievable nor comparable. For orientation only, the official all-candidate UCAT ANZ 2026 statistics (the sitting that feeds 2027 entry) show a mean cognitive total of 1,964, a 3rd quartile of 2,170 and a 9th decile of 2,340 — national figures for every test-taker, not a Curtin applicant profile. Interview shortlist ratio 35 ATAR : 35 Casper : 30 UCAT-ANZ, per Curtin's own guide.. Interview shortlist ratio 35 ATAR : 35 CASPer : 30 UCAT (per MedEntry / Curtin official Q&A — Fraser's 35:35:40 reporting is an error).
CASPer
Required and ranked on actual score (only quartile band shown to applicant). Required and ranked on the Casper score in conjunction with ATAR and UCAT-ANZ; Curtin makes no adjustments or special consideration for Casper. Curtin publishes no Casper quartile threshold, minimum or competitive band in any year — the 2027 guide contains no quartile, decile or percentile figure at all — so no competitive band can be stated on the record, and the quartile guidance circulating on student forums is unconfirmable and should not be planned around. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants are exempt from Casper.. ATSI applicants exempt.
ISAT
-
GPA
-
Prerequisites
-
Place types
2027 intake: approximately 110 domestic places (CSP, inclusive of BMP), plus 10-15 international full-fee places. Curtin states approximately 28% of Commonwealth Supported Places in Australian medical programs are set aside for the Bonded Medical Program; the Commonwealth's current published rate is 28.5%. Bonded places are allocated by the university across all MBBS entry pathways and cannot be applied for directly. Curtin prioritises WA candidates from rural and regional areas, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, and students with long-term educational disadvantage — it does not publish a ranking between these groups.
Indigenous pathway
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants apply DIRECTLY to Curtin Medical School — no TISC application, no UCAT-ANZ and no Casper Test — submitting the CMS Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islande…
Bonded / rural
Curtin offers "the only direct-entry Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in Western Australia" (Curtin's own wording). The rural quota IS published: up to 25 per cent of places are alloca…
Interview window
December-January (domestic); July-August (international full-fee)
Interview details
Curtin runs a Multiple Mini Interview but publishes no station count and no per-station timing — treat any specific figure with caution. Curtin describes the MMI as an opportunity to "demonstrate thei…
Specialities
Rural Medicine, Indigenous Health, Outer-Metropolitan Health, General Practice, Health Equity
Established
2017
Course type
Undergraduate
What makes it different
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 require…
Graduate Pathway: minimum GAMSAT 55 overall with no section below 50. Scores are valid for four years as at the application closing date — for 2028 commencement the earliest accepted sitting is September 2023 and the latest March 2027. Applicants holding more than one valid score may use their best, not necessarily the most recent. 2027 interview shortlist: 60% GPA + 40% GAMSAT (both GAMSAT and GPA are standardised before shortlisting, and all scores are standardised prior to final ranking). Domestic applicants who were successful in obtaining an interview for 2026 entry averaged GAMSAT 68.53 (GEMSAS) — an interview-invite average, not an offer-holder average; UWA and GEMSAS publish no offer-holder figures.
UCAT-ANZ
Required only for the domestic Assured Pathway (High Academic Achiever, Rural and Broadway quotas), and it must be sat in the year of application — a score cannot be carried over. UWA publishes no threshold: 'There is no set minimum score requirement; the UCAT ANZ threshold is set by ranking within each quota each year. Minimum results from previous years are not published.' Ranking uses the cognitive total only — the sum of Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning, scored 900-2700 — while Situational Judgement is reported separately (300-900) and UWA 'reserves the right' to use it in future. Figures on the retired /3600 four-subtest scale are not comparable and cannot be ratio-converted to /2700. International school leavers sit ISAT, not UCAT-ANZ.
ATAR
Direct Pathway: HAA / Broadway / Rural streams require ATAR 98 minimum; Indigenous school-leaver pathway minimum ATAR 90, with the School of Indigenous Studies (or askUWA) as first contact. The Boola Boola Djinda / CAMDH route is the GRADUATE Indigenous pathway and uses no ATAR at all. TISC publishes no rank data for UG056 (Doctor of Medicine via Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) Assured Pathway) — both the minimum rank for consideration and the lowest selection rank offered are listed as n/a, because selection is not rank-only. The separate standalone Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) (UP056) ran 92.00 minimum / 96.65 lowest selection rank (2024 admission), 92.00 / 97.50 (2025) and 95.00 / 97.70 (2026).
Interview format
Multi-Mini Interview (8 stations x 7 minutes) for domestic applicants; panel of two interviewers (~50 minutes) for international applicants
Post-interview chance
Not publicly disclosed.
Decision date
November-January (domestic: graduate offer rounds from November via GEMSAS, school-leaver offers on TISC timelines in December/January); international offers from late May and early August
ATAR
Direct Pathway: HAA / Broadway / Rural streams require ATAR 98 minimum; Indigenous school-leaver pathway minimum ATAR 90, with the School of Indigenous Studies (or askUWA) as first contact. The Boola Boola Djinda / CAMDH route is the GRADUATE Indigenous pathway and uses no ATAR at all. TISC publishes no rank data for UG056 (Doctor of Medicine via Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) Assured Pathway) — both the minimum rank for consideration and the lowest selection rank offered are listed as n/a, because selection is not rank-only. The separate standalone Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) (UP056) ran 92.00 minimum / 96.65 lowest selection rank (2024 admission), 92.00 / 97.50 (2025) and 95.00 / 97.70 (2026).
Contextual ATAR
Indigenous school-leaver Assured Pathway minimum ATAR 90 (vs 98 standard), via the School of Indigenous Studies. For the Broadway and Rural quotas the ATAR 98 minimum is assessed AFTER applicable Broadway adjustments, and EAS or Uway adjustments are taken into account for all quotas. Rural school leavers carry a 25% rurality rating in the final ranking (ATAR 22.5% + interview 37.5% + UCAT-ANZ 15% + rurality 25%).
GAMSAT
Graduate Pathway: minimum GAMSAT 55 overall with no section below 50. Scores are valid for four years as at the application closing date — for 2028 commencement the earliest accepted sitting is September 2023 and the latest March 2027. Applicants holding more than one valid score may use their best, not necessarily the most recent. 2027 interview shortlist: 60% GPA + 40% GAMSAT (both GAMSAT and GPA are standardised before shortlisting, and all scores are standardised prior to final ranking). Domestic applicants who were successful in obtaining an interview for 2026 entry averaged GAMSAT 68.53 (GEMSAS) — an interview-invite average, not an offer-holder average; UWA and GEMSAS publish no offer-holder figures.
UCAT-ANZ
Required only for the domestic Assured Pathway (High Academic Achiever, Rural and Broadway quotas), and it must be sat in the year of application — a score cannot be carried over. UWA publishes no threshold: 'There is no set minimum score requirement; the UCAT ANZ threshold is set by ranking within each quota each year. Minimum results from previous years are not published.' Ranking uses the cognitive total only — the sum of Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning, scored 900-2700 — while Situational Judgement is reported separately (300-900) and UWA 'reserves the right' to use it in future. Figures on the retired /3600 four-subtest scale are not comparable and cannot be ratio-converted to /2700. International school leavers sit ISAT, not UCAT-ANZ.
CASPer
-
ISAT
-
GPA
Graduate Pathway minimum GPA 5.5 at the time of interview selection, unweighted, calculated over the most recent three full-time-equivalent years (3 FTE = 144 credit points at UWA), excluding credit/advanced standing. A completed PhD, or a completed UWA Doctor of Dental Medicine, is deemed a GPA of 7.0; a completed Masters by research adds a 0.2 bonus. There is no 10-year rule. Domestic applicants who were successful in obtaining an interview for 2026 entry averaged GPA 6.82 (GEMSAS) — an interview-invite average, not an offer-holder average and not a threshold; the published minimum is GPA 5.5 at the time of interview selection. Assured Pathway: students complete the 3-year Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) with the Integrated Medical Sciences and Clinical Practice major (TISC application code UG056; UWA course code BP056), holding the conditional MD place by achieving a selection GPA of at least 5.5 within the first two years; the major carries one year of credit into the MD, so both degrees finish in six years.
Prerequisites
-
Place types
2027 cycle: 206 domestic places plus approximately 40 international across both pathways, with up to 50% of places filled by school-leaver (Assured Pathway) entry and the remainder by graduate entry — GEMSAS lists up to 103 domestic graduate places. UWA designates 28.5% of Commonwealth supported places as Bonded Medical Places (the page also words this as 28.5% of all domestic places); within the domestic quota up to 10% is Indigenous and 30% rural, and 20 school-leaver places are reserved for Broadway schools. (Fraser's). Indigenous allocation up to 10% of domestic places.
Indigenous pathway
Boola Boola Djinda ('Many, Many Stars'), established in 2025 as the successor to the Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health (CAMDH, established 1996) and still referred to as CAMDH on UWA's M…
Bonded / rural
~30% of domestic places allocated rural; eligibility requires a principal home address in a Modified Monash Model (MMM 2023) MM-2 to MM-7 area for five consecutive years or at least ten cumulative yea…
Interview window
Late September-early October (graduate MD, expected online); 30 November-11 December 2026 (domestic school leaver). International: main round May, second round late July/early August.
Interview details
UWA MMI uses 8 numbered stations of 7 minutes each — 2 minutes to consider the written question, then 5 minutes with the interviewer — with the whole process taking approximately 70-75 minutes includi…
Specialities
Rural and Remote Medicine, Indigenous Health, Tropical Medicine, Clinical Research, General Practice
Established
1957
Course type
Undergraduate
What makes it different
UWA is one of only a handful of Australian medical schools with a true dual-pathway entry: a 6-year Assured Pathway from school (3-year Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) then the MD with one year…
UCAT-ANZ cut-offs. Curtin — No official Curtin-published cut-off. Curtin ranks total UCAT score, not a fixed threshold.
Curtin publishes no UCAT-ANZ cut-off, minimum or competitive band in any year — the 2027 guide contains no… UWA — Required only for the domestic Assured Pathway (High Academic Achiever, Rural and Broadway quotas), and it must be sat in the year of application — a score cannot be carried over. UWA publishes no…
GAMSAT cut-offs. Curtin — not used or not published. UWA — Graduate Pathway: minimum GAMSAT 55 overall with no section below 50. Scores are valid for four years as at the application closing date — for 2028 commencement the earliest accepted sitting is…
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 Minimum ATAR 95.00 for all school leavers, WA and interstate alike, plus an ESSENTIAL Chemistry prerequisite (approximately 220 hours), met by ONE of: Chemistry ATAR with a final scaled score of 50 or higher; IB Chemistry HL/SL grade 4 or higher; NCEA Level 3 Chemistry with 24 achieved credit points; or TWO first-year AQF Level 7 university Chemistry units at 60 or higher in both — bridging units are explicitly not equivalent (the international guide additionally accepts GCE A-Level Chemistry at grade E or above).
STAT is not accepted except for English competency. UCAT-ANZ + Casper required for domestic applicants; 35:35:30 interview shortlist ratio (ATAR : Casper : UCAT-ANZ). Graduates enter on a minimum notional ATAR of 92, Curtin course switchers on a course weighted average of 80.
UWA requires Assured Pathway (domestic school leaver): minimum ATAR 98 for the HAA, Broadway and Rural quotas (90 for the Indigenous school-leaver pathway) plus UCAT-ANZ plus MMI; for the Broadway and Rural quotas the minimum is assessed after applicable Broadway adjustments. Meeting the minimum does not guarantee entry — final ranking is interview 50% + ATAR 30% + UCAT-ANZ 20%.
Graduate MD: Bachelor degree with GPA 5.5/7.0 plus GAMSAT plus MMI. Assured Pathway subject requirements are Chemistry ATAR and Mathematics Applications ATAR (or higher-level mathematics), for the Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) / Integrated Medical Sciences and Clinical Practice major that Assured Pathway students must complete; either can instead be met with a first-year bridging unit (CHEM1003 / MATH1720).
UWA labels them 'Prerequisites' on the Assured Pathways page and 'WACE prerequisite' on the major page but 'recommended' on the MD course page. English is a separate English-language-competency requirement, not a subject prerequisite.
ATAR.
Curtin — Minimum ATAR 95.00 for every school-leaver applicant, WA and interstate alike — Curtin publishes one figure with no domicile split, and adjustment points are added on top of it rather than included… UWA — Direct Pathway: HAA / Broadway / Rural streams require ATAR 98 minimum; Indigenous school-leaver pathway minimum ATAR 90, with the School of Indigenous Studies (or askUWA) as first contact.
The Boola…
Graduate-entry GPA. Curtin — not applicable or not published. UWA — Graduate Pathway minimum GPA 5.5 at the time of interview selection, unweighted, calculated over the most recent three full-time-equivalent years (3 FTE = 144 credit points at UWA), excluding…
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.
That said, the specifics differ slightly: Curtin runs multiple mini interview (station count not published); UWA runs multi-mini interview (8 stations x 7 minutes) for domestic applicants; panel of two interviewers (~50 minutes) for international applicants. Mock practice tailored to each school's exact format is the highest-leverage prep.
Interview windows: Curtin interviews in December-January (domestic); July-August (international full-fee); UWA in Late September-early October (graduate MD, expected online); 30 November-11 December 2026 (domestic school leaver). International: main round May, second round late July/early August..
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). The first three years are delivered at Curtin Perth (Bentley) with occasional v Assured Pathway: 3-year Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) with the Integrated Medical Sciences and Clinical Practice major (TISC code UG056, UWA c
Intake size: Curtin — 2027 intake: approximately 110 domestic places (CSP, inclusive of Bonded Medical Places), plus 10-15 international full-fee places; UWA — 2027 cycle: 206 domestic places plus about 40 international. 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 — Casper required alongside UCAT-ANZ and ATAR.
Curtin is not one of only two Australian Casper users — Casper is also required by the graduate-entry MD programmes at the University of Notre Dame Australia (Fremantle and Sydney) and the University of Wollongong, per those universities' own admission pages, and the list may not be exhaustive. Of the programmes confirmed, Curtin is the only direct-entry undergraduate course.
Pre-interview ratio 35 (ATAR) : 35 (Casper) : 30 (UCAT-ANZ), per Curtin's own 2027 Domestic Admissions Guide. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants are exempt from BOTH the UCAT-ANZ and Casper and apply directly to Curtin Medical School rather than through TISC.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants are exempt from BOTH the Casper Test and the UCAT-ANZ, and apply directly to Curtin Medical School rather than through TISC.
UWA: UWA is one of only a handful of Australian medical schools with a true dual-pathway entry: a 6-year Assured Pathway from school (3-year Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) then the MD with one year of credit; UCAT-ANZ + minimum ATAR 98, or 90 via the Indigenous school-leaver pathway, + interview — the ATAR minimum is for consideration only and does not guarantee entry) and a 4-year Graduate MD (GAMSAT).
Both streams converge into the same MD clinical years. In year 3, 25% of the UWA MD cohort undertake their studies in a Western Australian rural setting, in hospitals and general practices from Esperance to Kununurra, completing the same curriculum in a longitudinal integrated clinical setting.
Dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entry routes: a school-leaver pathway at minimum ATAR 90 (first contact the School of Indigenous Studies) and a graduate pathway through Boola Boola Djinda / CAMDH assessed on GPA 5.0 or above and a one-day panel interview at the centre, with GAMSAT and ATAR not required. There is no Indigenous-specific MMI.
Which is right for you?
Start with the admission test: Curtin needs UCAT-ANZ and CASPer, UWA needs UCAT-ANZ, GAMSAT, ISAT and MCAT. 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, GAMSAT, ISAT 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.
Curtin — does not publish a GAMSAT cut-off (may not use GAMSAT; check the admission-test question above). UWA — Graduate Pathway: minimum GAMSAT 55 overall with no section below 50. Scores are valid for four years as at the application closing date — for 2028 commencement the earliest accepted sitting is September 2023 and the latest March 2027. Applicants holding more than one valid score may use their best, not necessarily the most recent. 2027 interview shortlist: 60% GPA + 40% GAMSAT (both GAMSAT and GPA are standardised before shortlisting, and all scores are standardised prior to final ranking). Domestic applicants who were successful in obtaining an interview for 2026 entry averaged GAMSAT 68.53 (GEMSAS) — an interview-invite average, not an offer-holder average; UWA and GEMSAS publish no offer-holder figures. These are the requirements on record for 2027-entry applicants. 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.
Curtin — No official Curtin-published cut-off. Curtin ranks total UCAT score, not a fixed threshold. Curtin publishes no UCAT-ANZ cut-off, minimum or competitive band in any year — the 2027 guide contains no quartile, decile or percentile figure. Note the scale change: UCAT-ANZ dropped Abstract Reasoning at the UCAT ANZ 2025 sitting (2026 entry), so the cognitive total is now out of 2700, not 3600, and Curtin's 2027 guide ranks on the "UCAT ANZ score (out of 2700)". Any figure in the 2900-3000 range comes from the retired /3600 scale and exceeds the current maximum, so it is neither achievable nor comparable. For orientation only, the official all-candidate UCAT ANZ 2026 statistics (the sitting that feeds 2027 entry) show a mean cognitive total of 1,964, a 3rd quartile of 2,170 and a 9th decile of 2,340 — national figures for every test-taker, not a Curtin applicant profile. Interview shortlist ratio 35 ATAR : 35 Casper : 30 UCAT-ANZ, per Curtin's own guide.. Interview shortlist ratio 35 ATAR : 35 CASPer : 30 UCAT (per MedEntry / Curtin official Q&A — Fraser's 35:35:40 reporting is an error). UWA — Required only for the domestic Assured Pathway (High Academic Achiever, Rural and Broadway quotas), and it must be sat in the year of application — a score cannot be carried over. UWA publishes no threshold: 'There is no set minimum score requirement; the UCAT ANZ threshold is set by ranking within each quota each year. Minimum results from previous years are not published.' Ranking uses the cognitive total only — the sum of Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning, scored 900-2700 — while Situational Judgement is reported separately (300-900) and UWA 'reserves the right' to use it in future. Figures on the retired /3600 four-subtest scale are not comparable and cannot be ratio-converted to /2700. International school leavers sit ISAT, not UCAT-ANZ. These are the requirements on record for 2027-entry applicants. 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.
Curtin — Minimum ATAR 95.00 for every school-leaver applicant, WA and interstate alike — Curtin publishes one figure with no domicile split, and adjustment points are added on top of it rather than included in it. The 92.00 figure is the minimum notional ATAR for the non-school-leaver (graduate) pathway only; Curtin course switchers are assessed on a course weighted average of 80 instead. Rural or StepUp adjustment points (up to 5, from one scheme only) apply on top, capped at an adjusted 99.95. TISC 2026 Admission Ranks (Main Round, December 2025) for CUMBS: minimum rank for consideration n/a, lowest selection rank offered n/a — selection is NOT solely on ATAR. UWA — Direct Pathway: HAA / Broadway / Rural streams require ATAR 98 minimum; Indigenous school-leaver pathway minimum ATAR 90, with the School of Indigenous Studies (or askUWA) as first contact. The Boola Boola Djinda / CAMDH route is the GRADUATE Indigenous pathway and uses no ATAR at all. TISC publishes no rank data for UG056 (Doctor of Medicine via Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) Assured Pathway) — both the minimum rank for consideration and the lowest selection rank offered are listed as n/a, because selection is not rank-only. The separate standalone Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) (UP056) ran 92.00 minimum / 96.65 lowest selection rank (2024 admission), 92.00 / 97.50 (2025) and 95.00 / 97.70 (2026). These are the requirements on record for 2027-entry applicants. 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.
Curtin — GPA not published in the structured AU requirements. UWA — Graduate Pathway minimum GPA 5.5 at the time of interview selection, unweighted, calculated over the most recent three full-time-equivalent years (3 FTE = 144 credit points at UWA), excluding credit/advanced standing. A completed PhD, or a completed UWA Doctor of Dental Medicine, is deemed a GPA of 7.0; a completed Masters by research adds a 0.2 bonus. There is no 10-year rule. Domestic applicants who were successful in obtaining an interview for 2026 entry averaged GPA 6.82 (GEMSAS) — an interview-invite average, not an offer-holder average and not a threshold; the published minimum is GPA 5.5 at the time of interview selection. Assured Pathway: students complete the 3-year Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) with the Integrated Medical Sciences and Clinical Practice major (TISC application code UG056; UWA course code BP056), holding the conditional MD place by achieving a selection GPA of at least 5.5 within the first two years; the major carries one year of credit into the MD, so both degrees finish in six years. These are the requirements on record for 2027-entry applicants. 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.
Curtin uses: Multiple Mini Interview (station count not published). UWA uses: Multi-Mini Interview (8 stations x 7 minutes) for domestic applicants; panel of two interviewers (~50 minutes) for international applicants. Different formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each. Interview windows: December-January (domestic); July-August (international full-fee) (Curtin); Late September-early October (graduate MD, expected online); 30 November-11 December 2026 (domestic school leaver). International: main round May, second round late July/early August. (UWA).
Curtin — 2027 intake: approximately 110 domestic places (CSP, inclusive of BMP), plus 10-15 international full-fee places. Curtin states approximately 28% of Commonwealth Supported Places in Australian medical programs are set aside for the Bonded Medical Program; the Commonwealth's current published rate is 28.5%. Bonded places are allocated by the university across all MBBS entry pathways and cannot be applied for directly. Curtin prioritises WA candidates from rural and regional areas, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, and students with long-term educational disadvantage — it does not publish a ranking between these groups. UWA — 2027 cycle: 206 domestic places plus approximately 40 international across both pathways, with up to 50% of places filled by school-leaver (Assured Pathway) entry and the remainder by graduate entry — GEMSAS lists up to 103 domestic graduate places. UWA designates 28.5% of Commonwealth supported places as Bonded Medical Places (the page also words this as 28.5% of all domestic places); within the domestic quota up to 10% is Indigenous and 30% rural, and 20 school-leaver places are reserved for Broadway schools. (Fraser's). Indigenous allocation up to 10% of domestic places. 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.
Curtin — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants apply DIRECTLY to Curtin Medical School — no TISC application, no UCAT-ANZ and no Casper Test — submitting the CMS Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Entry Application Form by the published deadline (13 October 2026, 5pm AWST for 2027 entry) with a letter confirming descent stamped with the common seal of an Indigenous community organisation. Selection runs through a Formal Yarning Session with the CMS Aboriginal Health Team, after which shortlisted candidates sit MMIs in the December or January round. The Indigenous Pre-Medicine and Health Sciences Enabling Course (EN-INPMHE), 1 year full-time and the only enabling course Curtin accepts for the MBBS, is one route in; applicants using it must pass all units. Curtin's Centre for Aboriginal Studies (Karda) provides on-campus support. Successful candidates attend the three-day "Ngullar Moorditj Koorliny Keny" Medicine Pre-Orientation Program in February. UWA — Boola Boola Djinda ('Many, Many Stars'), established in 2025 as the successor to the Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health (CAMDH, established 1996) and still referred to as CAMDH on UWA's MD page and by GEMSAS, runs the graduate Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander pathway for both the UWA MD and DMD: GPA 5.0 or above, no GAMSAT and no ATAR required, and a one-day panel interview at the centre. Two intakes (July and September) with applications due mid-June and mid-August and interviews at the end of July and end of September. Final ranking for Indigenous graduate applicants is on GPA and interview only. The school-leaver Indigenous route is separate — minimum ATAR 90 (vs 98 standard), with the School of Indigenous Studies as first contact. 2027 Indigenous allocation up to 10% of domestic places. Both schools accept ATSI applicants through the standard pathway as well; the dedicated pathway typically offers adjusted academic thresholds plus wrap-around academic support.
Curtin — Curtin offers "the only direct-entry Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in Western Australia" (Curtin's own wording). The rural quota IS published: up to 25 per cent of places are allocated to the Rural entry pathway, open to Western Australian, Northern Territorian and South Australian applicants who, as of 31 December prior to the admission year, have spent at least 10 years cumulatively or any five years consecutively in a Modified Monash Model MM 2-7 area since Year 1. Rural applicants compete only against other rural applicants, must lodge a separate Rural entry application form with community-verified proof of origin by the published deadline (13 October 2026, 5.00pm AWST for 2027 entry), and receive up to 5 ATAR adjustment points. UWA — ~30% of domestic places allocated rural; eligibility requires a principal home address in a Modified Monash Model (MMM 2023) MM-2 to MM-7 area for five consecutive years or at least ten cumulative years, with school leavers lodging UWA's Rural Eligibility form via TISC by the TISC closing date and graduates submitting supporting documentation via GEMSAS (due 15 June 2026 for 2027 entry). 2027 final ranking (rural graduate): GPA 22.5% + GAMSAT 15% + Interview 37.5% + Rurality rating 25%. Rural school leavers: ATAR 22.5% + Interview 37.5% + UCAT-ANZ 15% + Rurality rating 25%. Standard non-rural final ranking: GPA 30% + GAMSAT 20% + Interview 50%. The federal BMP allocates ~28.5% of CSP places nationally; individual schools sit above or below that benchmark depending on their workforce remit.
Curtin typically releases medicine offers December-January. UWA releases medicine offers November-January (domestic: graduate offer rounds from November via GEMSAS, school-leaver offers on TISC timelines in December/January); international offers from late May and early August. AU MD offers run through GEMSAS (graduate consortium) or direct school portals; if one is earlier than the other you may need to defer a decision while waiting for the second.
Curtin runs a Integrated curriculum. UWA runs a Integrated curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. Curtin specifics: 5-year undergraduate Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). The first three years are delivered at Curtin Perth (Bentley) with occasional visits to clinical sites and structured community a UWA specifics: Assured Pathway: 3-year Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised) with the Integrated Medical Sciences and Clinical Practice major (TISC code UG056, UWA code BP056), needing a selection GPA of 5.5 within
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; Curtin and UWA differ in their selection mechanics, so prepping both adds genuine optionality.
