Question 1

What admission tests do Deakin and Monash use?

Accepted Answer

Deakin uses GAMSAT and MCAT. Monash uses UCAT-ANZ and ISAT. 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.

Question 2

What GAMSAT score do I need for Deakin vs Monash?

Accepted Answer

Deakin — Minimum 50 in each section + 50 overall. Minimum 50 in each of the three GAMSAT sections and 50 overall, obtained within four years preceding the year of application. Deakin publishes the average GAMSAT of its commencing cohort, not a cut-off: 65.9 for the 2026 intake and 66.39 for the 2025 intake (Deakin course page). These are cohort averages, not thresholds — Deakin publishes no competitive or guaranteed score. General-stream interview shortlist: GPA + GAMSAT + adjustments, equally weighted. General-stream interview shortlist: GPA + GAMSAT + adjustments equally weighted. Monash — Not required and not accepted on any Monash pathway - both Graduate Entry pages state applicants are not required to sit the GAMSAT, and Direct Entry has never used it. Monash publishes no date for its removal. 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.

Question 3

What UCAT-ANZ score do I need for Deakin vs Monash?

Accepted Answer

Deakin — does not publish a UCAT-ANZ cut-off (may not use UCAT-ANZ; check the admission-test question above). Monash — Domestic Direct Entry only (international applicants sit ISAT). Monash publishes its December-round interview cut-offs. On the current three-subtest /2700 scale, 2026 entry cleared at 2380 (94th percentile, 192 interview offers) for Victorian-based non-DRL applicants and 2050 (66th percentile, 193 offers) for Dean's Rural List applicants. The 2027-entry cut-offs are not yet published - invitations are scheduled for release on 12 and 14 October 2026. Earlier cycles sat on the retired /3600 four-subtest scale (2025 entry 3140 non-DRL / 2730 DRL; 2024 entry 3020 / 2670; 2023 entry 2990 / 2620) and are NOT convertible: UCAT-ANZ dropped Abstract Reasoning from the test sat in 2025 (first used for 2026 entry), so no ratio conversion between the scales is valid. Situational Judgement is banded separately and is used only to break ties on equal cognitive totals. 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.

Question 4

What ATAR do I need for Deakin vs Monash?

Accepted Answer

Deakin — ATAR data not published in the structured AU requirements; see free-text admission requirements on the school page. Monash — Direct Entry minimum eligibility ATAR 90. Monash publishes lowest-offer ATARs rather than a competitive cut-off: for 2026 entry the lowest ATAR to receive an offer was 96.10 (standard School Leaver Entry), 95.05 (CSP Extended Rural Cohort) and 91.25 (CSP Bonded School Leaver Entry). Monash notes these are the lowest ATAR BEFORE equity-scheme/Dean's Rural List adjustment, while ranking itself uses the adjusted ATAR. No median and no guaranteed ATAR is published. 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.

Question 5

What GPA do I need for Deakin vs Monash?

Accepted Answer

Deakin — Minimum 5.0/7.0 weighted. GEMSAS weighting (Final-2 × 1 + Final-1 × 2 + Final × 3) / 6; each GPA year must contain at least 0.25 FTE of graded results and 2020 calendar-year results are excluded. The degree must have been awarded within 10 years of the projected commencement date; applicants outside that window may still be considered if they complete the equivalent of 0.5 FTE of AQF Level 8 or higher study, finished by 31 July in the year of application. This currency rule does not apply to RTS Tier 1 applicants. Minimum weighted GPA 5.0/7.0 over the most recent three FTE years, progressively weighted x1, x2, x3. A GPA year must contain at least 0.25 FTE of graded results, and 2020 calendar-year results are excluded from the calculation. Deakin publishes the average GPA of its commencing cohort, not a cut-off: 6.72 for the 2026 intake and 6.68 for the 2025 intake (Deakin course page). Monash — Graduate Entry (domestic): minimum WAM 70 to be eligible, but Monash publishes the non-DRL WAM cut-off to be INVITED TO INTERVIEW - 82.313 for 2026 entry (81.179 for 2025, 80.313 for 2024, 82.386 for 2023); check Monash's table for the 2027-entry figure. Dean's Rural List applicants clear a lower WAM and are assessed separately. WAM is taken from the undergraduate degree only, measured at the end of Semester 1 of the application year. Graduate Entry (international): minimum GPA 6.0/7.0. 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.

Question 6

How do interviews differ between Deakin and Monash?

Accepted Answer

Deakin uses: Multiple Mini Interview (up to 6 stations, 5 minutes each; held online for 2027 entry). Monash uses: Multiple Mini Interview, online via Zoom (6 stations × 8 min interview + 2 min reading; 4 stations for international applicants). Different formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each. Interview windows: September (domestic MMI, online, per GEMSAS). International applicants are interviewed in Deakin's own rounds instead — for the 2027 cycle Deakin published rounds in May, August and October 2026; round dates are set on Deakin's international course page and change each cycle. (Deakin); Direct Entry December-January; Graduate Entry September (2027-entry cycle) (Monash).

Question 7

What place types (CSP / BMP / Full-fee) do Deakin and Monash offer?

Accepted Answer

Deakin — 2027 intake: up to 100 CSP + 45 BMP + 15 International + 30 RTS (reserved subset of domestic) ≈ 160 total. Indigenous Entry Stream holds up to seven domestic places; a minimum 25% of domestic places goes to rural-background applicants over and above the 30 places reserved for the Rural Training Stream, and Deakin states that a minimum 50% of all course places (RTS + general stream combined) are offered to students meeting rural background criteria. Monash — Direct Entry: approximately 234 domestic places in total per Monash's FAQs - the 30 Extended Rural Cohort places and the approximately 67 Bonded Medical Program places sit INSIDE that 234, not on top of it. Graduate Entry: approximately 72 domestic places, of which 35 are End-to-End Rural (30 north-west, 5 Gippsland from the 2027 intake) and at least 70% are held for Monash Bachelor of Biomedical Science graduates. All domestic places on both pathways are Commonwealth Supported Places. At least 27% of domestic medicine places are reserved for Dean's Rural List applicants. Monash does not publish an international place count. 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 Deakin and Monash offer?

Accepted Answer

Deakin — Indigenous Entry Stream (IES) holds up to seven domestic places. IES applicants apply directly to the School of Medicine rather than through GEMSAS, may apply with a degree in any discipline (bachelor, or bachelor plus a higher-level coursework postgraduate degree, normally completed within 10 years of commencement), and are NOT required to sit GAMSAT — though GAMSAT results may be submitted if held. Ranking is on weighted GPA (5.0+), the IES application form and an interview, with a minimum overall interview score of 50%. Deakin's IES page listed a Doctor of Medicine close date of 5pm, 31 July 2026 for the 2027 intake — confirm the current date on that page each cycle. First Nations applicants may instead apply through GEMSAS, in which case Confirmation of Aboriginality and/or Torres Strait Islander Descent must be supplied by 30 June 2026. Monash — Monash Indigenous Entry Scheme: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants are exempt from competitive ranking and instead complete a panel interview with an all-Indigenous panel (academics, student engagement staff and a community member). On Direct Entry that panel interview replaces BOTH the MMI and the UCAT-ANZ; on Graduate Entry it replaces the MMI. Applicants register for the interview through a Monash form. Monash publishes no ATAR threshold for the scheme, and GAMSAT is not used at Monash so nothing is "waived". Support during the degree comes from the William Cooper Institute and the Gukwonderuk Indigenous Health Workforces Centre. 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 Deakin or Monash offer bonded / rural-entry places?

Accepted Answer

Deakin — 45 of the 145 domestic places for 2027 entry (about 31%) are Bonded Medical Program places — Commonwealth Supported Places carrying a return-of-service obligation of 156 weeks (3 years) as a medical practitioner in an eligible regional, rural or remote area, to be completed within 18 years of finishing the medical course. Separately, the Rural Training Stream (RTS) three-tier system: Tier 1 (Deakin's rural footprint, all locations in the Western Victoria Primary Health Network classified MM3-MM6, plus MM2 locations in and surrounding Ballarat; all other MM1 and MM2 locations in that PHN, and the MM3 and MM4 locations on the Bellarine Peninsula, are excluded) — NO GAMSAT required + 10-year currency waived. Tier 2 (MM2-7 Rural Victoria) and Tier 3 (MM2-7 other Rural Australia) require GAMSAT and currency. Every RTS applicant, all tiers, must also submit a written application (1000-character limit per section, covering rural community connection, interest in rural medicine, and evidence of capability to undertake postgraduate study) assessed by rural community members, academics and clinicians — it is worth 50% of the aggregate score used to shortlist for interview and 25% of the final offer score. Accepting an RTS place is a binding written commitment to all four years at a rural site: Years 1-2 are delivered blended (online plus 1-2 days a week face-to-face) at Deakin's Warrnambool Campus or East Grampians Health Service, Ararat (preference collected after offer, not guaranteed); Years 3-4 at Ballarat-Grampians, Warrnambool-South West or Rural Communities. Geelong-Barwon and Eastern Health are not available to RTS students, and transfer to the general stream is not possible — exiting the RTS forfeits the place. Adjustment bonuses (added to the combined GPA and GAMSAT score): Prior Clinical Experience +4% (12 months full-time AHPRA-registered practice, or speech pathology/dietetics); Work Experience +2% (2 years full-time, or 3744 hours over 4 years); Deakin Graduate +4% (degree completed at Deakin with at least two-thirds of course requirements at Deakin); Rural/Regional residency +4% (Geelong MM1 or MM2) or +8% (MM3-7); Financial Disadvantage +2% (approved Centrelink/StudyLink benefit for at least 12 months during recent study). Prior Clinical Experience and Work Experience are mutually exclusive — claiming one disqualifies you from the other — and there is no cap on the total adjustment points an eligible applicant can receive. Monash — Bonded Medical Program: the Australian Government requires participating universities to allocate 28.5% of commencing Commonwealth supported medical places to the Program (Monash's own page states "at least 28% of CSP places"). At Monash that is approximately 67 of the ~234 domestic Direct Entry places, applied for under a separate VTAC code (2800311251). Participants owe a 156-week (3-year) return of service in eligible MM2-MM7 areas, completable at any time within 18 years of finishing the medical course. Rural cohorts: Direct Entry Extended Rural Cohort, 30 places (first two years at Clayton, then at least 2.5 of the 3 clinical years in regional and rural Victoria); Graduate Entry End-to-End Rural Cohorts, 35 of the ~72 graduate places (30 north-west, 5 Gippsland from the 2027 intake). Separately, the Dean's Rural List reserves at least 27% of domestic medicine places for applicants who lived at an MM2-MM7 address for 5 consecutive or 10 cumulative years. 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

When does each school release decisions?

Accepted Answer

Deakin typically releases medicine offers Late October-early November (GEMSAS main round), with further offers through November, December and January. Monash releases medicine offers Direct Entry mid-to-late January (VTAC January Rounds 1 and 2); Graduate Entry early December. 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.

Question 11

What curriculum style do Deakin and Monash use?

Accepted Answer

Deakin runs a PBL curriculum. Monash runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Deakin specifics: 4-year graduate MD with problem-based learning. Years 1-2 at Waurn Ponds (Geelong) for General Entry Stream students. Rural Training Stream students do Years 1-2 elsewhere: blended online learning wit Monash specifics: Both pathways award the same degree, Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine, and share the same four clinical schools. Direct Entry (5 years; years 1, 2, 3B, 4C, 5D): years 1-2 largely cam

Question 12

Should I apply to both Deakin and Monash?

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; Deakin and Monash differ in their selection mechanics, so prepping both adds genuine optionality.

Comparison field	DeakinGeelong	MonashClayton
Quick comparison
Location	Geelong, Australia	Clayton, Australia
Entry pathway	Graduate	Dual (UG + Grad)
Admission tests	GAMSAT + MCAT	UCAT-ANZ + ISAT
GAMSAT	Minimum 50 in each section + 50 overall. Minimum 50 in each of the three GAMSAT sections and 50 overall, obtained within four years preceding the year of application. Deakin publishes the average GAMSAT of its commencing cohort, not a cut-off: 65.9 for the 2026 intake and 66.39 for the 2025 intake (Deakin course page). These are cohort averages, not thresholds — Deakin publishes no competitive or guaranteed score. General-stream interview shortlist: GPA + GAMSAT + adjustments, equally weighted. General-stream interview shortlist: GPA + GAMSAT + adjustments equally weighted.	Not required and not accepted on any Monash pathway - both Graduate Entry pages state applicants are not required to sit the GAMSAT, and Direct Entry has never used it. Monash publishes no date for its removal.
UCAT-ANZ	-	Domestic Direct Entry only (international applicants sit ISAT). Monash publishes its December-round interview cut-offs. On the current three-subtest /2700 scale, 2026 entry cleared at 2380 (94th percentile, 192 interview offers) for Victorian-based non-DRL applicants and 2050 (66th percentile, 193 offers) for Dean's Rural List applicants. The 2027-entry cut-offs are not yet published - invitations are scheduled for release on 12 and 14 October 2026. Earlier cycles sat on the retired /3600 four-subtest scale (2025 entry 3140 non-DRL / 2730 DRL; 2024 entry 3020 / 2670; 2023 entry 2990 / 2620) and are NOT convertible: UCAT-ANZ dropped Abstract Reasoning from the test sat in 2025 (first used for 2026 entry), so no ratio conversion between the scales is valid. Situational Judgement is banded separately and is used only to break ties on equal cognitive totals.
ATAR	-	Direct Entry minimum eligibility ATAR 90. Monash publishes lowest-offer ATARs rather than a competitive cut-off: for 2026 entry the lowest ATAR to receive an offer was 96.10 (standard School Leaver Entry), 95.05 (CSP Extended Rural Cohort) and 91.25 (CSP Bonded School Leaver Entry). Monash notes these are the lowest ATAR BEFORE equity-scheme/Dean's Rural List adjustment, while ranking itself uses the adjusted ATAR. No median and no guaranteed ATAR is published.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interview (up to 6 stations, 5 minutes each; held online for 2027 entry)	Multiple Mini Interview, online via Zoom (6 stations × 8 min interview + 2 min reading; 4 stations for international applicants)
Post-interview chance	Not publicly disclosed. Deakin interviews a maximum of 220 applicants for the roughly 145 domestic places (100 CSP + 45 BMP) available for 2027 entry; neither Deakin nor GEMSAS publishes an interview-to-offer conversion rate.	Monash does not publish an interview-to-offer conversion rate. It does publish round volumes: for 2026 entry it made 192 December interview offers to Victorian-based non-DRL applicants and 193 to Dean's Rural List applicants, before two further interview rounds in January, against approximately 234 domestic places - so more applicants are interviewed than there are places. January-round interview volumes are not published, so no conversion percentage can be stated.
Decision date	Late October-early November (GEMSAS main round), with further offers through November, December and January	Direct Entry mid-to-late January (VTAC January Rounds 1 and 2); Graduate Entry early December

ATAR	-	Direct Entry minimum eligibility ATAR 90. Monash publishes lowest-offer ATARs rather than a competitive cut-off: for 2026 entry the lowest ATAR to receive an offer was 96.10 (standard School Leaver Entry), 95.05 (CSP Extended Rural Cohort) and 91.25 (CSP Bonded School Leaver Entry). Monash notes these are the lowest ATAR BEFORE equity-scheme/Dean's Rural List adjustment, while ranking itself uses the adjusted ATAR. No median and no guaranteed ATAR is published.
Contextual ATAR	-	Adjustment factors come through VTAC equity schemes (formerly SEAS): Monash states the maximum available adjustment is 20 aggregate points (up to 10 ATAR points), applied to the combined study scores before the ATAR is recalculated, and that it uses this adjusted ATAR during selection. Dean's Rural List (DRL) applicants receive a further adjustment (Monash refers to "SEAS equity and/or Dean Rural List (DRL) adjustments") and are ranked in a separate rural pool, with at least 27% of domestic medicine places reserved for them. There is no scheme called the "Monash Access Scheme". Indigenous Australian applicants are exempt from competitive ranking rather than admitted at a stated ATAR - Monash publishes no ATAR threshold for them.
GAMSAT	Minimum 50 in each section + 50 overall. Minimum 50 in each of the three GAMSAT sections and 50 overall, obtained within four years preceding the year of application. Deakin publishes the average GAMSAT of its commencing cohort, not a cut-off: 65.9 for the 2026 intake and 66.39 for the 2025 intake (Deakin course page). These are cohort averages, not thresholds — Deakin publishes no competitive or guaranteed score. General-stream interview shortlist: GPA + GAMSAT + adjustments, equally weighted. General-stream interview shortlist: GPA + GAMSAT + adjustments equally weighted.	Not required and not accepted on any Monash pathway - both Graduate Entry pages state applicants are not required to sit the GAMSAT, and Direct Entry has never used it. Monash publishes no date for its removal.
UCAT-ANZ	-	Domestic Direct Entry only (international applicants sit ISAT). Monash publishes its December-round interview cut-offs. On the current three-subtest /2700 scale, 2026 entry cleared at 2380 (94th percentile, 192 interview offers) for Victorian-based non-DRL applicants and 2050 (66th percentile, 193 offers) for Dean's Rural List applicants. The 2027-entry cut-offs are not yet published - invitations are scheduled for release on 12 and 14 October 2026. Earlier cycles sat on the retired /3600 four-subtest scale (2025 entry 3140 non-DRL / 2730 DRL; 2024 entry 3020 / 2670; 2023 entry 2990 / 2620) and are NOT convertible: UCAT-ANZ dropped Abstract Reasoning from the test sat in 2025 (first used for 2026 entry), so no ratio conversion between the scales is valid. Situational Judgement is banded separately and is used only to break ties on equal cognitive totals.
CASPer	-	-
ISAT	-	-
GPA	Minimum 5.0/7.0 weighted. GEMSAS weighting (Final-2 × 1 + Final-1 × 2 + Final × 3) / 6; each GPA year must contain at least 0.25 FTE of graded results and 2020 calendar-year results are excluded. The degree must have been awarded within 10 years of the projected commencement date; applicants outside that window may still be considered if they complete the equivalent of 0.5 FTE of AQF Level 8 or higher study, finished by 31 July in the year of application. This currency rule does not apply to RTS Tier 1 applicants. Minimum weighted GPA 5.0/7.0 over the most recent three FTE years, progressively weighted x1, x2, x3. A GPA year must contain at least 0.25 FTE of graded results, and 2020 calendar-year results are excluded from the calculation. Deakin publishes the average GPA of its commencing cohort, not a cut-off: 6.72 for the 2026 intake and 6.68 for the 2025 intake (Deakin course page).	Graduate Entry (domestic): minimum WAM 70 to be eligible, but Monash publishes the non-DRL WAM cut-off to be INVITED TO INTERVIEW - 82.313 for 2026 entry (81.179 for 2025, 80.313 for 2024, 82.386 for 2023); check Monash's table for the 2027-entry figure. Dean's Rural List applicants clear a lower WAM and are assessed separately. WAM is taken from the undergraduate degree only, measured at the end of Semester 1 of the application year. Graduate Entry (international): minimum GPA 6.0/7.0.
Prerequisites	-	-
Place types	2027 intake: up to 100 CSP + 45 BMP + 15 International + 30 RTS (reserved subset of domestic) ≈ 160 total. Indigenous Entry Stream holds up to seven domestic places; a minimum 25% of domestic places goes to rural-background applicants over and above the 30 places reserved for the Rural Training Stream, and Deakin states that a minimum 50% of all course places (RTS + general stream combined) are offered to students meeting rural background criteria.	Direct Entry: approximately 234 domestic places in total per Monash's FAQs - the 30 Extended Rural Cohort places and the approximately 67 Bonded Medical Program places sit INSIDE that 234, not on top of it. Graduate Entry: approximately 72 domestic places, of which 35 are End-to-End Rural (30 north-west, 5 Gippsland from the 2027 intake) and at least 70% are held for Monash Bachelor of Biomedical Science graduates. All domestic places on both pathways are Commonwealth Supported Places. At least 27% of domestic medicine places are reserved for Dean's Rural List applicants. Monash does not publish an international place count.
Indigenous pathway	Indigenous Entry Stream (IES) holds up to seven domestic places. IES applicants apply directly to the School of Medicine rather than through GEMSAS, may apply with a degree in any discipline (bachelor…	Monash Indigenous Entry Scheme: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants are exempt from competitive ranking and instead complete a panel interview with an all-Indigenous panel (academics, stu…
Bonded / rural	45 of the 145 domestic places for 2027 entry (about 31%) are Bonded Medical Program places — Commonwealth Supported Places carrying a return-of-service obligation of 156 weeks (3 years) as a medical p…	Bonded Medical Program: the Australian Government requires participating universities to allocate 28.5% of commencing Commonwealth supported medical places to the Program (Monash's own page states "at…

Interview window	September (domestic MMI, online, per GEMSAS). International applicants are interviewed in Deakin's own rounds instead — for the 2027 cycle Deakin published rounds in May, August and October 2026; round dates are set on Deakin's international course page and change each cycle.	Direct Entry December-January; Graduate Entry September (2027-entry cycle)
Interview details	Deakin runs a Multiple Mini Interview of up to 6 consecutive stations with 5 minutes per interaction. For 2027 entry GEMSAS states interviews are held online in September 2026, so there is no on-campu…	Monash interviews by Multiple Mini Interview on every pathway, delivered online via Zoom. Domestic applicants sit SIX stations on both Direct and Graduate Entry; Monash publishes the timing on the Dir…

Specialities	Rural Medicine, General Practice, Regional Health, Indigenous Health	Rural Medicine, Clinical Research, Global Health, Indigenous Health, General Practice
Established	2008	1961
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Deakin's School of Medicine began in 2008 with a four-year graduate-entry BMBS (first AMC accreditation 2007), and the MD replaced it for new students from 2019; the course states a focus on rural and…	Monash says it is the only Victorian university offering both a direct-entry school-leaver pathway and a graduate-entry pathway to the SAME degree - Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine.…
Official course page	https://www.deakin.edu.au/course/doctor-medicine	https://www.monash.edu/medicine/medical-school

Deakin vs Monash

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Deakin

Monash

Deakin vs Monash - in detail

Admission tests compared

ATAR and academic profile

Interview formats

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Post-interview offer rate

What makes each distinctive

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