Deakin and Notre Dame Sydney are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Both sit in England, so location and clinical-placement breadth are similar — the differentiation comes from selection methodology, interview style and curriculum philosophy.
| Comparison field | DeakinGeelong | Notre Dame SydneySydney |
|---|---|---|
Quick comparison | ||
| Location | Geelong, Australia | Sydney, Australia |
| Entry pathway | Graduate | Graduate |
| Admission tests | GAMSAT | GAMSAT + CASPer |
| 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. | 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. |
| UCAT-ANZ | - | - |
| ATAR | - | - |
| Interview format | Multi-Mini Interview (~8 stations) | MMI (asynchronous online via Modern Hire) |
| Post-interview chance | ~38% interview-to-offer. | Not publicly disclosed. |
| Decision date | November-December | November-December |
Geelong
Quick comparison
Sydney
Quick comparison
Deakin requires Bachelor degree with minimum GPA 5.0/7.0; GAMSAT overall 50+ with section minima; MMI; rural pathway available.. Notre Dame Sydney requires Bachelor degree with minimum GPA 5.2/7.0 (weighted from 3 years FTE); GAMSAT 52 overall + 50 in each subsection; CASPer; MMI (Modern Hire asynchronous).. Both demand the same A-Level grade band, so academic prediction is unlikely to differentiate your application between them — provided you meet the required subject combination at each.
Both Deakin and Notre Dame Sydney use MMI interviews, so the underlying prep approach is the same — practise ethics frameworks, NHS hot-topic answers and (for MMI) structured station responses against a timer. That said, the specifics differ slightly: Deakin runs multi-mini interview (~8 stations); Notre Dame Sydney 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 Sydney in September-November.
Deakin runs a PBL curriculum; Notre Dame Sydney runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Deakin leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Notre Dame Sydney 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 with clinical immersion; years 3-4 hospital and rural placements. Mandatory medical ethics thread runs acros 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 Sydney — 2027 cycle: 40 CSP + 17 BMP + up to 57 Full-fee domestic + up to 35 international = ~149 total (Fraser's Notre Dame MD 2027 Guide; GEMSAS Notre Dame Sydney).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.
Deakin: ~38% interview-to-offer.. Notre Dame Sydney: 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.
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 Sydney: Notre Dame Sydney 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). Catholic ethos shapes the curriculum (medical ethics, end-of-life care, social justice) but the program is open to applicants of all faiths and none. Strong placement network in Sydney Catholic and public hospitals. 2027 cycle: 40 CSP + 17 BMP + 57 FFP + 35 international = ~149 total.
Both schools sit in the same England foundation-programme catchment, so post-graduation training paths overlap heavily. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Deakin; if you prefer lecture-led foundations, the other suits better. Your firm/insurance choice should ultimately weight: where your UCAT and predicted grades sit relative to each school's threshold, which interview format you can prepare for most credibly, and where you'd actually want to live for five or six years.
