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Australian Medical school comparison

Deakin vs Notre Dame Fremantle

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

That mismatch means either preparing two assessments or choosing the school whose test suits you.

Side-by-side comparison

Deakin

Geelong

Quick comparison

Location
Geelong, Australia
Entry pathway
Graduate
Admission tests
GAMSAT
GAMSAT
Minimum 50 in each section + 50 overall. Aggregated average accepted GAMSAT (Fraser's): 66 (2024), 62 (2023), 68.4 (2022), 66.9 (2021). General-stream interview shortlist: GPA + GAMSAT + adjustments equally weighted.
UCAT-ANZ
-
ATAR
-
Interview format
Multi-Mini Interview (~8 stations)
Post-interview chance
~38% interview-to-offer.
Decision date
November-December

Notre Dame Fremantle

Fremantle

Quick comparison

Location
Fremantle, Australia
Entry pathway
Graduate
Admission tests
GAMSAT + CASPer
GAMSAT
Minimum 52 overall + 50 in each subsection (UNDA averages the three sections rather than using the overall weighted GAMSAT). 2023 intake average successful GAMSAT 66 (3-year avg ~60+).
UCAT-ANZ
-
ATAR
-
Interview format
MMI (asynchronous online via Modern Hire)
Post-interview chance
Not publicly disclosed; aggregator estimate ~200-250 interviewed for ~100 places.
Decision date
November-December

Deakin vs Notre Dame Fremantle - in detail

Admission tests compared

GAMSAT cut-offs. Deakin — Minimum 50 in each section + 50 overall. Aggregated average accepted GAMSAT (Fraser's): 66 (2024), 62 (2023), 68.4 (2022), 66.9 (2021). General-stream interview shortlist: GPA + GAMSAT + adjustments… Notre Dame Fremantle — Minimum 52 overall + 50 in each subsection (UNDA averages the three sections rather than using the overall weighted GAMSAT).

2023 intake average successful GAMSAT 66 (3-year avg ~60+).

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

Deakin requires Bachelor degree with minimum GPA 5.0/7.0; GAMSAT overall 50+ with section minima; MMI; rural pathway available.

Notre Dame Fremantle requires Bachelor degree with minimum GPA 5.2/7.0; GAMSAT 52 overall + 50 in each subsection (unweighted average of 3 sections); CASPer; MMI (Modern Hire asynchronous).

Graduate-entry GPA. Deakin — Minimum 5.0/7.0 weighted. GEMSAS weighting (Final-2 × 1 + Final-1 × 2 + Final × 3) / 6. Aggregated average accepted GPA: 6.67 (2024), 6.6 (2023), 6.76 (2022), 6.74 (2021). Notre Dame Fremantle — Minimum 5.2/7.0. 2023 intake average successful GPA 6.70 (3-year avg ~6.7); competitive ≥6.3.

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 Deakin and Notre Dame Fremantle 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: Deakin runs multi-mini interview (~8 stations); Notre Dame Fremantle runs mmi (asynchronous online via modern hire). Mock practice tailored to each school's exact format is the highest-leverage prep.

Interview windows: Deakin interviews in September-October; Notre Dame Fremantle in September-November.

Curriculum and teaching style

Deakin runs a PBL curriculum; Notre Dame Fremantle runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Deakin leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Notre Dame Fremantle uses a more traditional lecture-led structure.

Specifics: 4-year graduate MD with problem-based learning. Years 1-2 foundations and clinical skills at Waurn Ponds. Year 3 Rural Community Clinical School — stu 4-year graduate MD. Years 1-2 foundations and clinical skills at Fremantle with early clinical immersion. Years 3-4 hospital and rural placements acro

Intake size: Deakin — 2027: ~160 total (up to 100 CSP + 45 BMP + 15 international + 30 RTS reserved subset).

Maximum 220 interview offers; implied interview-to-place ratio ≈ 1.6:1 (GEMSAS Deakin page; Fraser's Deakin 2027 guide).; Notre Dame Fremantle — 2027 cycle ~127 total: 80 CSP (60 Fremantle + 20 KCRMT Broome) + 32 BMP + up to 15 international + uncapped Indigenous. Significant +17 expansion vs 2026 (110) driven by KCRMT Broome pathway and Commonwealth Indigenous policy change..

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

Post-interview offer rate

Deakin: ~38% interview-to-offer. Notre Dame Fremantle: Not publicly disclosed; aggregator estimate ~200-250 interviewed for ~100 places.

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

Deakin: Deakin was established as a rural-focused graduate-entry MD and remains one of the strongest pipelines into Victorian rural practice. The program partners closely with the Rural Workforce Agency Victoria and GP Education programs. A substantial proportion of places are reserved for rural-origin applicants, with bonded service options. Year 3 includes the distinctive Rural Community Clinical School experience.

Notre Dame Fremantle: Notre Dame Fremantle replaced its portfolio + panel system with CASPer from the 2024 intake — one of the heaviest CASPer weightings in Australian medicine (30% of pre-interview composite). 2027 cycle introduces 20 new CSP places at the Kimberley Centre for Rural and Remote Medicine and Training (KCRMT) Broome — Kimberley-region remote-workforce expansion.

From 1 January 2026 Indigenous CSP allocation is uncapped (Commonwealth policy change). Assured Pathway: from 2024, 40 places nationally (20 Fremantle + 20 Sydney) reserved for Assured Pathway undergraduate pre-MD applicants.

Which is right for you?

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

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

Deakin uses GAMSAT. Notre Dame Fremantle uses GAMSAT and CASPer. 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.

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