Question 1

What admission tests do JCU and Monash use?

Accepted Answer

JCU uses no admission test. 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 JCU vs Monash?

Accepted Answer

JCU — does not publish a GAMSAT cut-off (may not use GAMSAT; check the admission-test question above). 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 JCU vs Monash?

Accepted Answer

JCU — 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 JCU vs Monash?

Accepted Answer

JCU — JCU publishes no ATAR threshold — 'JCU does not have set ATAR thresholds for entry to Medicine, Dentistry or Veterinary Science courses'. Published entry-score range for Semester 1 2026 entry, covering recent secondary students offered a place: Townsville highest 99.95 / median 97.90 / lowest 84.15; Cairns highest 99.95 / median 97.65 / lowest 88.00 — identical with and without adjustments, because no adjustment factors apply to Medicine. JCU notes the table includes deferred offers that may have been assessed against an earlier year's threshold, and that meeting a threshold does not guarantee admission; these are historical lowest-offer figures, not a cut-off to aim at. Non-school-leavers need a minimum unweighted GPA of 5.75/7 for tertiary results to be assessed — JCU explicitly calls this 'not a threshold or benchmark'. Earlier figures in this entry belong to a superseded cycle. 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 JCU vs Monash?

Accepted Answer

JCU — GPA not published in the structured AU requirements. 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 JCU and Monash?

Accepted Answer

JCU uses: Live online panel interview run on the Kira Talent platform (not a recorded one-way video task). JCU states that panels 'typically include a health practitioner, an academic staff member and a member of the community'; it described the interview as 'live, with three panel members' for the 2026 cycle and states that international interviews run 'live, with two panel members'. JCU does not publish a panel size, station count or duration for the current 2027 cycle.. 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: 2027 entry (current cycle): round 1 invites 6 November 2026, interviews 24 November - 1 December 2026; round 2 invites 21 December 2026, interviews 6-7 January 2027. Both rounds occur before any offers are determined. International applicants are interviewed earlier and on a separate timeline — check JCU's international capped-courses page for the current dates. (JCU); Direct Entry December-January; Graduate Entry September (2027-entry cycle) (Monash).

Question 7

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

Accepted Answer

JCU — Approximately 170 domestic Commonwealth Supported Places across Townsville and Cairns for 2027 entry (~180 in 2026), plus approximately 35 international places in Townsville and ~5 in Cairns, on JCU's own figures. Nationally, 28.5% of commencing medical CSPs must be allocated to the Bonded Medical Program; JCU also reserves a small number of places under the QTAC Rural Access Scheme. Applicants cannot request whether their offer is a bonded or a standard place, and declining a bonded offer means declining the JCU Medicine offer altogether. 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 JCU and Monash offer?

Accepted Answer

JCU — Indigenous Selection Pathway — Medicine only (JCU has no equivalent pathway for Dentistry or Veterinary Science, though it encourages applications). To be considered, applicants must complete all four steps: apply through QTAC for the MBBS; identify to QTAC as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander; apply directly to JCU; and email an endorsed Confirmation of Indigenous Status (COI) letter to indigenoushealthpathway@jcu.edu.au. The COI letter must be issued by an incorporated Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community organisation, signed by an official delegate and stamped with the common seal; applicants whose circumstances make a COI letter hard to obtain are told to contact the College of Medicine and Dentistry to discuss alternatives. Ongoing academic and pastoral support is available through the JCU Indigenous Education and Research Centre. 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 JCU or Monash offer bonded / rural-entry places?

Accepted Answer

JCU — Bonded places run through the federal Bonded Medical Program: universities must allocate 28.5% of commencing Commonwealth Supported Places in medicine to the Program, in return for a 156-week (3-year) Return of Service Obligation in eligible regional, rural or remote areas (Department of Health conditions document, December 2025). JCU applicants cannot request a bonded or non-bonded place, and declining the bond means declining the JCU Medicine offer. Separately, a small number of places are reserved under the QTAC Rural Access Scheme for applicants who have lived in an MM2-7 area for 5 consecutive years (60 months) or 10 cumulative years (120 months); 2027 Rural Access Scheme applications close 29 September 2026. MRBS is a closed legacy scheme nationally, replaced by the Bonded Medical Program. JCU does not publish the share of its own intake that is bonded. On graduate outcomes, published research on JCU's first 20 years (Woolley, Sen Gupta & Paton, Rural and Remote Health 2021, article 6642) followed 931 graduates of the 2005-2014 cohorts at PGY5-14 and found 54.0% practising in MMM1 metro, 29.1% in MMM2 regional cities, 14.1% in MMM3-5 rural towns and 2.9% in MMM6-7 remote communities. 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

JCU typically releases medicine offers Domestic: a single QTAC January offer round — offers released 14 January 2027, accept or defer by 18 January 2027 (preferences lock 7 January 2027). JCU makes no provisional or conditional offers for Medicine; all decisions rest on actual results with prerequisites met. Accepted Medicine offers may be deferred for one year on request. International offers run earlier and on a separate timeline — check JCU's international capped-courses page.. 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 JCU and Monash use?

Accepted Answer

JCU runs a Integrated curriculum. Monash runs a Integrated curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. JCU specifics: 6-year undergraduate MBBS, offered in full at both the Townsville and Cairns campuses (QTAC 317012 and 327012), with hands-on facilities at both from first year. Placements occur in every year of the  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 JCU 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; JCU and Monash differ in their selection mechanics, so prepping both adds genuine optionality.

Comparison field	JCUTownsville & Cairns	MonashClayton
Quick comparison
Location	Townsville & Cairns, Australia	Clayton, Australia
Entry pathway	Undergraduate	Dual (UG + Grad)
Admission tests	None	UCAT-ANZ + ISAT
GAMSAT	-	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	JCU publishes no ATAR threshold — 'JCU does not have set ATAR thresholds for entry to Medicine, Dentistry or Veterinary Science courses'. Published entry-score range for Semester 1 2026 entry, covering recent secondary students offered a place: Townsville highest 99.95 / median 97.90 / lowest 84.15; Cairns highest 99.95 / median 97.65 / lowest 88.00 — identical with and without adjustments, because no adjustment factors apply to Medicine. JCU notes the table includes deferred offers that may have been assessed against an earlier year's threshold, and that meeting a threshold does not guarantee admission; these are historical lowest-offer figures, not a cut-off to aim at. Non-school-leavers need a minimum unweighted GPA of 5.75/7 for tertiary results to be assessed — JCU explicitly calls this 'not a threshold or benchmark'. Earlier figures in this entry belong to a superseded cycle.	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	Live online panel interview run on the Kira Talent platform (not a recorded one-way video task). JCU states that panels 'typically include a health practitioner, an academic staff member and a member of the community'; it described the interview as 'live, with three panel members' for the 2026 cycle and states that international interviews run 'live, with two panel members'. JCU does not publish a panel size, station count or duration for the current 2027 cycle.	Multiple Mini Interview, online via Zoom (6 stations × 8 min interview + 2 min reading; 4 stations for international applicants)
Post-interview chance	JCU does not publish an interview-to-offer conversion rate for Medicine.	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	Domestic: a single QTAC January offer round — offers released 14 January 2027, accept or defer by 18 January 2027 (preferences lock 7 January 2027). JCU makes no provisional or conditional offers for Medicine; all decisions rest on actual results with prerequisites met. Accepted Medicine offers may be deferred for one year on request. International offers run earlier and on a separate timeline — check JCU's international capped-courses page.	Direct Entry mid-to-late January (VTAC January Rounds 1 and 2); Graduate Entry early December

ATAR	JCU publishes no ATAR threshold — 'JCU does not have set ATAR thresholds for entry to Medicine, Dentistry or Veterinary Science courses'. Published entry-score range for Semester 1 2026 entry, covering recent secondary students offered a place: Townsville highest 99.95 / median 97.90 / lowest 84.15; Cairns highest 99.95 / median 97.65 / lowest 88.00 — identical with and without adjustments, because no adjustment factors apply to Medicine. JCU notes the table includes deferred offers that may have been assessed against an earlier year's threshold, and that meeting a threshold does not guarantee admission; these are historical lowest-offer figures, not a cut-off to aim at. Non-school-leavers need a minimum unweighted GPA of 5.75/7 for tertiary results to be assessed — JCU explicitly calls this 'not a threshold or benchmark'. Earlier figures in this entry belong to a superseded cycle.	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	-	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	-	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	English, Maths Methods, Chemistry (Units 3/4, C) — all three are true prerequisites that must be completed before an offer is made; JCU issues no conditional offers. Higher maths (e.g. Specialist Mathematics) satisfies the Maths Methods prerequisite, and any Queensland Year 12 English subject (English, EAL, English and Literature Extension, Essential English or Literature) satisfies English. Applicants who did not complete Year 12 in Queensland may still meet the prerequisites and should contact JCU. Applicants who have already finished Year 12 can use the JCU Prep pathway to complete missing prerequisites (not available to students currently in Year 12, and it cannot be used to meet ATAR or GPA requirements). There is no Biology or Physics requirement or recommendation for Medicine — JCU recommends Biology for Dentistry and Veterinary Science only.	-
Place types	Approximately 170 domestic Commonwealth Supported Places across Townsville and Cairns for 2027 entry (~180 in 2026), plus approximately 35 international places in Townsville and ~5 in Cairns, on JCU's own figures. Nationally, 28.5% of commencing medical CSPs must be allocated to the Bonded Medical Program; JCU also reserves a small number of places under the QTAC Rural Access Scheme. Applicants cannot request whether their offer is a bonded or a standard place, and declining a bonded offer means declining the JCU Medicine offer altogether.	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 Selection Pathway — Medicine only (JCU has no equivalent pathway for Dentistry or Veterinary Science, though it encourages applications). To be considered, applicants must complete all four…	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	Bonded places run through the federal Bonded Medical Program: universities must allocate 28.5% of commencing Commonwealth Supported Places in medicine to the Program, in return for a 156-week (3-year)…	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	2027 entry (current cycle): round 1 invites 6 November 2026, interviews 24 November - 1 December 2026; round 2 invites 21 December 2026, interviews 6-7 January 2027. Both rounds occur before any offers are determined. International applicants are interviewed earlier and on a separate timeline — check JCU's international capped-courses page for the current dates.	Direct Entry December-January; Graduate Entry September (2027-entry cycle)
Interview details	JCU does not require UCAT-ANZ or GAMSAT, and states applicants who sit either 'receive no advantage or improved consideration'. Selection sequence for 2027 entry: apply via QTAC AND separately through…	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	Tropical Medicine, Rural and Remote Medicine, Indigenous Health, Pacific Health, General Practice	Rural Medicine, Clinical Research, Global Health, Indigenous Health, General Practice
Established	2000	1961
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	JCU requires neither UCAT-ANZ nor GAMSAT and states that sitting either confers no advantage — unusual in Australia, though not unique: Bond University also requires neither, substituting its own onli…	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.jcu.edu.au/courses/bachelor-of-medicine-bachelor-of-surgery	https://www.monash.edu/medicine/medical-school

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