Question 1

What admission tests do Deakin and Tasmania use?

Accepted Answer

Deakin uses GAMSAT and MCAT. Tasmania 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.

Question 2

What GAMSAT score do I need for Deakin vs Tasmania?

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. Tasmania — Previous-higher-education route: minimum score of 50 in all three sections of GAMSAT. Accepted sittings are the same as those used by GEMSAS, although the application itself goes direct to UTAS, not through GEMSAS. From 2027 the UTAS Bachelor of Biomedicine (M3X) quota also requires GAMSAT 50 in all three sections; the retiring BMedRes (53E) pathway required no admission test. UTAS publishes no offer-holder GAMSAT score. 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 Tasmania?

Accepted Answer

Deakin — does not publish a UCAT-ANZ cut-off (may not use UCAT-ANZ; check the admission-test question above). Tasmania — No published domestic cut-off — UCAT-ANZ only separates applicants who share an ATAR, so there is no threshold to quote. UTAS sums the three cognitive subtests only (Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning); Situational Judgement is excluded. International applicants must reach the 50th percentile or above: on the official UCAT ANZ 2026 distribution — the sitting used for 2027 entry — the 5th decile (median) total was 1,950/2700 (mean 1,964; 9th decile 2,340; 17,341 candidates). 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 Tasmania?

Accepted Answer

Deakin — ATAR data not published in the structured AU requirements; see free-text admission requirements on the school page. Tasmania — Domestic: minimum adjusted ATAR 95 — explicitly the minimum needed for an application to be considered, not a guarantee of an offer (UTAS: "achieving the minimum entry requirements does not guarantee an offer of a place"). International: minimum ATAR or equivalent rank 90. UTAS publishes no competitive cut-off, median or lowest-offer ATAR for this course, and no ATAR/selection-rank or student profile is published for it on CourseSeeker. 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 Tasmania?

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). Tasmania — Previous-higher-education entry: minimum unweighted GPA 5.25 — the bar for an application to be considered, not a competitive GPA. Calculated across all tertiary study at AQF 7 and above (the first Bachelor degree is calculated at its completion). A completed Masters by Research adds 0.2 points; a completed PhD adds 0.4 points. UTAS publishes no offer-holder GPA. 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 Tasmania?

Accepted Answer

Deakin uses: Multiple Mini Interview (up to 6 stations, 5 minutes each; held online for 2027 entry). Tasmania uses: No interview in standard selection — ATAR-first ranking with UCAT-ANZ tiebreaker (Aboriginal Entry Pathway applicants are interviewed; UTAS publishes no format). 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); No interview (standard entry). Aboriginal Entry Pathway applicants are interviewed by representatives of the Medicine Admissions Committee; UTAS does not publish an interview window. (Tasmania).

Question 7

What place types (CSP / BMP / Full-fee) do Deakin and Tasmania 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. Tasmania — UTAS does not publish a total number of places. Published figures only: at least 75% of domestic places to Tasmanians; a 50% rural quota (MM2-7) including 25% from MM3-7; 20 Tasmanian Rural Training Stream places at Cradle Coast; approximately 30% of domestic students enrolled into the Bonded Medical Program each year; Aboriginal Entry Pathway uncapped. UTAS announced 29 first-year students commencing at Launceston in February 2026, that campus's first first-year intake. 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 Tasmania 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. Tasmania — Aboriginal Entry Pathway (AEP), open to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander applicants and run on a separate application form alongside the standard UTAS application. No clinical aptitude test is required — neither UCAT-ANZ nor GAMSAT. In exchange the pathway adds requirements: a Confirmation of Eligibility, a personal supporting statement, Year 12 English and Chemistry or equivalent (within the last 5 years; the KRA161 foundation unit accepted for chemistry), a competitive ATAR for school leavers, or health-field qualifications and experience plus a referee report for non-school leavers — and, for both, an interview with representatives of the Medicine Admissions Committee. No cap published. 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 Tasmania 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. Tasmania — Two separate things. Bonded Medical Program: UTAS is required by the Commonwealth to enrol approximately 30% of domestic BMedScMD students each year into the BMP, which carries a 156-week (3-year) return-of-service obligation in eligible regional, rural and remote areas; bonded offers go to both school leavers and previous-higher-education applicants, and the BMP is not a scholarship. Tasmanian Rural Training Stream: 20 domestic places at Cradle Coast only, assessed on the same ATAR/UCAT (or GPA/GAMSAT) criteria and prioritised over four tiers — Tier 1 Tasmanian MM3-7 plus Tasmanian postcodes beginning 72xx/73xx; Tier 2 other Tasmanian MM2; Tier 3 interstate MM3-7; Tier 4 interstate MM1-2. TRTS is not itself a Bonded Medical Program place, but accepting one requires a written commitment to complete all five years at the Cradle Coast campus (Burnie) and its associated training sites. Separately, a 50% rural quota (MM2-7, including 25% from MM3-7) applies across the whole domestic intake. 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. Tasmania releases medicine offers Mid-December (first-round offers to Tasmanian Year 12 applicants on ATAR); January (interstate Year 12 and IB applicants) — the pattern UTAS publishes on its application-dates table each cycle. International applicants are handled in four offer rounds across the preceding year (rounds closing 30 May, 31 July, 30 September and 30 November), with offers made within two weeks of each round closing.. 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 Tasmania use?

Accepted Answer

Deakin runs a PBL curriculum. Tasmania 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 Tasmania specifics: 5-year undergraduate Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine (course code H3X; minimum 5 years, maximum 7; AQF level 7; 500 credit points — 300 from the BMedSc, 200 from the MD — awarded on

Question 12

Should I apply to both Deakin and Tasmania?

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 Tasmania differ in their selection mechanics, so prepping both adds genuine optionality.

Comparison field	DeakinGeelong	TasmaniaHobart
Quick comparison
Location	Geelong, Australia	Hobart, Australia
Entry pathway	Graduate	Dual (UG + Grad)
Admission tests	GAMSAT + MCAT	UCAT-ANZ + GAMSAT + ISAT + MCAT
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.	Previous-higher-education route: minimum score of 50 in all three sections of GAMSAT. Accepted sittings are the same as those used by GEMSAS, although the application itself goes direct to UTAS, not through GEMSAS. From 2027 the UTAS Bachelor of Biomedicine (M3X) quota also requires GAMSAT 50 in all three sections; the retiring BMedRes (53E) pathway required no admission test. UTAS publishes no offer-holder GAMSAT score.
UCAT-ANZ	-	No published domestic cut-off — UCAT-ANZ only separates applicants who share an ATAR, so there is no threshold to quote. UTAS sums the three cognitive subtests only (Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning); Situational Judgement is excluded. International applicants must reach the 50th percentile or above: on the official UCAT ANZ 2026 distribution — the sitting used for 2027 entry — the 5th decile (median) total was 1,950/2700 (mean 1,964; 9th decile 2,340; 17,341 candidates).
ATAR	-	Domestic: minimum adjusted ATAR 95 — explicitly the minimum needed for an application to be considered, not a guarantee of an offer (UTAS: "achieving the minimum entry requirements does not guarantee an offer of a place"). International: minimum ATAR or equivalent rank 90. UTAS publishes no competitive cut-off, median or lowest-offer ATAR for this course, and no ATAR/selection-rank or student profile is published for it on CourseSeeker.
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interview (up to 6 stations, 5 minutes each; held online for 2027 entry)	No interview in standard selection — ATAR-first ranking with UCAT-ANZ tiebreaker (Aboriginal Entry Pathway applicants are interviewed; UTAS publishes no format)
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.	N/A — no interview.
Decision date	Late October-early November (GEMSAS main round), with further offers through November, December and January	Mid-December (first-round offers to Tasmanian Year 12 applicants on ATAR); January (interstate Year 12 and IB applicants) — the pattern UTAS publishes on its application-dates table each cycle. International applicants are handled in four offer rounds across the preceding year (rounds closing 30 May, 31 July, 30 September and 30 November), with offers made within two weeks of each round closing.

ATAR	-	Domestic: minimum adjusted ATAR 95 — explicitly the minimum needed for an application to be considered, not a guarantee of an offer (UTAS: "achieving the minimum entry requirements does not guarantee an offer of a place"). International: minimum ATAR or equivalent rank 90. UTAS publishes no competitive cut-off, median or lowest-offer ATAR for this course, and no ATAR/selection-rank or student profile is published for it on CourseSeeker.
Contextual ATAR	-	The Rural Application Process (RAP) is the only ATAR adjustment UTAS makes for any course: 4 additional ATAR points for Year 12 applicants from MM2 areas and 5 for MM3-7, for applicants who have lived in an MM2-7 area for 5 consecutive or 10 cumulative years (maximum RAP adjustment five points). Non-school-leaver rural applicants should still apply via RAP for quota and funding eligibility but receive no ATAR adjustment. Special consideration is assessed separately and cannot waive the subject prerequisites.
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.	Previous-higher-education route: minimum score of 50 in all three sections of GAMSAT. Accepted sittings are the same as those used by GEMSAS, although the application itself goes direct to UTAS, not through GEMSAS. From 2027 the UTAS Bachelor of Biomedicine (M3X) quota also requires GAMSAT 50 in all three sections; the retiring BMedRes (53E) pathway required no admission test. UTAS publishes no offer-holder GAMSAT score.
UCAT-ANZ	-	No published domestic cut-off — UCAT-ANZ only separates applicants who share an ATAR, so there is no threshold to quote. UTAS sums the three cognitive subtests only (Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning); Situational Judgement is excluded. International applicants must reach the 50th percentile or above: on the official UCAT ANZ 2026 distribution — the sitting used for 2027 entry — the 5th decile (median) total was 1,950/2700 (mean 1,964; 9th decile 2,340; 17,341 candidates).
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).	Previous-higher-education entry: minimum unweighted GPA 5.25 — the bar for an application to be considered, not a competitive GPA. Calculated across all tertiary study at AQF 7 and above (the first Bachelor degree is calculated at its completion). A completed Masters by Research adds 0.2 points; a completed PhD adds 0.4 points. UTAS publishes no offer-holder GPA.
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.	UTAS does not publish a total number of places. Published figures only: at least 75% of domestic places to Tasmanians; a 50% rural quota (MM2-7) including 25% from MM3-7; 20 Tasmanian Rural Training Stream places at Cradle Coast; approximately 30% of domestic students enrolled into the Bonded Medical Program each year; Aboriginal Entry Pathway uncapped. UTAS announced 29 first-year students commencing at Launceston in February 2026, that campus's first first-year intake.
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…	Aboriginal Entry Pathway (AEP), open to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander applicants and run on a separate application form alongside the standard UTAS application. No clinical aptitude test is…
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…	Two separate things. Bonded Medical Program: UTAS is required by the Commonwealth to enrol approximately 30% of domestic BMedScMD students each year into the BMP, which carries a 156-week (3-year) ret…

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.	No interview (standard entry). Aboriginal Entry Pathway applicants are interviewed by representatives of the Medicine Admissions Committee; UTAS does not publish an interview window.
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…	UTAS is one of very few Australian medical schools that does not interview: "The University of Tasmania does not conduct interviews during selection for the Medicine Program." There is no CASPer and n…

Specialities	Rural Medicine, General Practice, Regional Health, Indigenous Health	Rural Medicine, Regional Health, General Practice, Aged Care, Indigenous Health
Established	2008	1965
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Deakin was established as a rural-focused graduate-entry MD and remains one of the strongest pipelines into Victorian rural practice. Deakin's Years 3-4 clinical partners are named health services — B…	Tasmania is the only medical school in the state, and from 2026 it runs at all three campuses — Hobart, Launceston and Cradle Coast (Burnie) — with applicants ranked and offers made separately against…
Official course page	https://www.deakin.edu.au/course/doctor-medicine	https://www.utas.edu.au/courses/health/courses/h3x-bachelor-of-medical-science-and-doctor-of-medicine

Deakin vs Tasmania

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Deakin

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Deakin vs Tasmania - in detail

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