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Australian Medical school comparison

Griffith vs Notre Dame Fremantle

Griffith and Notre Dame Fremantle 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.

Side-by-side comparison

Griffith

Gold Coast

Quick comparison

Location
Gold Coast, Australia
Entry pathway
Graduate
Admission tests
GAMSAT
GAMSAT
Minimum 50 in each section AND 50 overall. Interview shortlist rank: 50:50 unweighted GPA (as %) + overall GAMSAT (out of 100). Final offer rank: 50% interview-selection rank + 50% GUMSAA interview score. 2025 intake average GAMSAT 66.39.
UCAT-ANZ
-
ATAR
-
Interview format
Multi-Mini Interview (typically 8-10 stations; exact count varies cycle to cycle per GUMSAA framework)
Post-interview chance
~38% interview-to-offer.
Decision date
November

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

Griffith vs Notre Dame Fremantle - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Griffith requires Bachelor degree with minimum GPA 5.0/7.0; GAMSAT overall 50+ with section minima 50; MMI.. 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).. 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.

Interview formats

Both Griffith and Notre Dame Fremantle 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: Griffith runs multi-mini interview (typically 8-10 stations; exact count varies cycle to cycle per gumsaa framework); 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: Griffith interviews in September-October; Notre Dame Fremantle in September-November.

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: 4-year graduate MD. Years 1-2 hospital-integrated foundations at the Gold Coast (Southport) campus and Gold Coast University Hospital. Years 3-4 clini 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: Griffith — 2027 cycle: 148 CSP + 60 BMP + 80 BMedSci pathway + up to 35 international = ~323 total (GEMSAS Griffith).; 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

Griffith: ~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

Griffith: Griffith's 4-year graduate MD is co-located with Gold Coast University Hospital, giving students hospital-integrated training from year 1. Strong rural and Indigenous pathways with bespoke MMI streams. Pre-interview ranking weights GAMSAT and GPA broadly equally; the MMI then carries substantial weight in the final composite. 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?

Both schools sit in the same England foundation-programme catchment, so post-graduation training paths overlap heavily. 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.

Common questions

What admission tests do Griffith and Notre Dame Fremantle use?+
Griffith 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.
What GAMSAT score do I need for Griffith vs Notre Dame Fremantle?+
Griffith — Minimum 50 in each section AND 50 overall. Interview shortlist rank: 50:50 unweighted GPA (as %) + overall GAMSAT (out of 100). Final offer rank: 50% interview-selection rank + 50% GUMSAA interview score. 2025 intake average GAMSAT 66.39. 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+). 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.
What GPA do I need for Griffith vs Notre Dame Fremantle?+
Griffith — Minimum 5.0/7.0. Griffith explicitly states "a GPA required for interview selection is likely to be significantly higher than 5.0". 2025 intake average GPA 6.68. Notre Dame Fremantle — Minimum 5.2/7.0. 2023 intake average successful GPA 6.70 (3-year avg ~6.7); competitive ≥6.3. 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.
How do interviews differ between Griffith and Notre Dame Fremantle?+
Griffith uses: Multi-Mini Interview (typically 8-10 stations; exact count varies cycle to cycle per GUMSAA framework). Notre Dame Fremantle uses: MMI (asynchronous online via Modern Hire). Different formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each. Interview windows: September-October (Griffith); September-November (Notre Dame Fremantle).
What place types (CSP / BMP / Full-fee) do Griffith and Notre Dame Fremantle offer?+
Griffith — 2027 cycle: 148 CSP + 60 BMP + 80 BMedSci pathway (incl. 28.5% BMP) + up to 35 international. Notre Dame Fremantle — 2027 cycle: 80 CSP (60 Fremantle + 20 KCRMT Broome pathway) + 32 BMP (Fremantle only) + up to 15 International (Fremantle only) + uncapped Indigenous (from 1 Jan 2026) ≈ ~127 total (up from 110 in 2026, +17 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.
What Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entry pathways do Griffith and Notre Dame Fremantle offer?+
Griffith — Bespoke Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entry pathway via GEMSAS. Notre Dame Fremantle — Uncapped Indigenous CSP allocation from 1 January 2026 (Commonwealth policy change). Bespoke Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entry pathway. Both schools accept ATSI applicants through the standard pathway as well; the dedicated pathway typically offers adjusted academic thresholds plus wrap-around academic support.
Does Griffith or Notre Dame Fremantle offer bonded / rural-entry places?+
Griffith — BMP places carry rural-bonded service obligations. Rural priority: ≥5 consecutive or ≥10 cumulative years in MM2-MM7 area (2019 MMM). BMedSci provisional UG pathway has 28.5% BMP-reserved places. ATAR for BMedSci pathway: 99.85 for school-leaver entry. Notre Dame Fremantle — 32 BMP places (Fremantle only) + 20 CSP at KCRMT Broome from 2027 (Kimberley-region remote-workforce expansion). Bonus points (10% of interview shortlist) awarded for rurality, WA residency, and higher degrees research completion. The federal BMP allocates ~28.5% of CSP places nationally; individual schools sit above or below that benchmark depending on their workforce remit.
When does each school release decisions?+
Griffith typically releases medicine offers November. Notre Dame Fremantle releases medicine offers November-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.
What curriculum style do Griffith and Notre Dame Fremantle use?+
Griffith runs a Integrated curriculum. Notre Dame Fremantle runs a Integrated curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. Griffith specifics: 4-year graduate MD. Years 1-2 hospital-integrated foundations at the Gold Coast (Southport) campus and Gold Coast University Hospital. Years 3-4 clinical placements across Gold Coast Health, Logan, To Notre Dame Fremantle specifics: 4-year graduate MD. Years 1-2 foundations and clinical skills at Fremantle with early clinical immersion. Years 3-4 hospital and rural placements across St John of God Fremantle, Joondalup, Rockingham
Should I apply to both Griffith and Notre Dame Fremantle?+
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; Griffith and Notre Dame Fremantle differ in their selection mechanics, so prepping both adds genuine optionality.