Question 1

What admission tests do Melbourne and Monash use?

Accepted Answer

Melbourne uses GAMSAT and MCAT. 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 Melbourne vs Monash?

Accepted Answer

Melbourne — Minimum 50 in each of the three sections. Ranking formula uses GAMSAT at 25% post-interview (MMI 50%, GPA 25%, GAMSAT 25%). Pre-interview shortlisting weights GPA and GAMSAT equally (50/50). UoM does not publish accepted or cut-off GAMSAT scores for any cycle, and because it ranks on the three sections weighted equally rather than on ACER's overall score, an 'average accepted GAMSAT' is not a figure its process produces. No Tier-1 source confirms one. 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 Melbourne vs Monash?

Accepted Answer

Melbourne — 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 Melbourne vs Monash?

Accepted Answer

Melbourne — ATAR data not published in the structured AU requirements; see free-text admission requirements on the school page. 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 Melbourne vs Monash?

Accepted Answer

Melbourne — Minimum weighted GPA 5.0/7.0. UoM weighting formula: (Final-2 × 1 + Final-1 × 2 + Final × 2) / 5. A completed PhD — not a Masters — can earn re-ranking in the applicant's favour: it must be in a health-related or biological sciences discipline and completed within 10 years of MD commencement. UoM publishes a quota of up to 10 places for applicants re-ranked on this basis, but states the Selection Committee is not required to fill it and that any unused places are allocated as normal; its current Selection Guidelines add that re-ranking is decided case-by-case each year and that the detail is not disclosed to applicants. 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 Melbourne and Monash?

Accepted Answer

Melbourne uses: Recorded Online Multi Mini-Interview (ROMMI) — 8 stations, ~5 minutes each, recorded and asynchronous with no live interviewer; Rural and North Western pathway applicants additionally sit a 3-station real-time online MMI. 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: September (2027 intake: rural-pathway MMIs online in the week of 7 September 2026; standard domestic and international MMIs online in the week of 14 September 2026. Interview offers go out mid-August for international and rural applicants and late August for domestic applicants) (Melbourne); Direct Entry December-January; Graduate Entry September (2027-entry cycle) (Monash).

Question 7

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

Accepted Answer

Melbourne — 2027 cycle (indicative): 179 CSP + 71 BMP (39 via GEMSAS + 32 via MD Rural Pathway) + up to 105 full-fee places covering domestic AND international full-fee combined ≈ ~355 total. GEMSAS notes these quotas are indicative only and subject to change, and UoM's 2027-intake Admissions Guide independently puts the total at 355, of which 60 are international and 295 domestic. 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 Melbourne and Monash offer?

Accepted Answer

Melbourne — Indigenous MD Student Entry Pathway — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants apply directly through the University of Melbourne Course Application portal (not via GEMSAS) when UoM is their only preference, completing the Graduate Access Melbourne section and supplying a Confirmation of Identity to the faculty's Indigenous admissions team. GAMSAT is not required; minimum GPA 5.0 still applies. Eligible applicants are not ranked and are selected for a Commonwealth Supported Place if they hold a GPA of 5.0 or above and pass the MMI, and are invited to an additional interview with a panel chaired by the Deputy Dean (Indigenous) of the Faculty (or their nominee) and other appropriate representatives. 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 Melbourne or Monash offer bonded / rural-entry places?

Accepted Answer

Melbourne — MD Rural Pathway: 32 bonded CSP places (part of the 71 BMP allocation) — 17 reserved for students of La Trobe University's Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Medical), who must reach a final course WAM of 70% to have a conditional offer confirmed, and 15 open to other rural-origin applicants with a GPA of 5.0+ who are shortlisted for and pass the rural-pathway interview. Applicants apply direct to UoM, not via GEMSAS, and do not sit GAMSAT if the Rural Pathway is their only preference; shortlisting is on GPA alone. Rurality means MM2-MM7 principal residence for 5 consecutive or 10 cumulative years. The rural interview runs in two parts on separate days — a 3-station real-time online MMI on rural motivation, connection and intent to practise rurally, in which a satisfactory score is required in every station, plus the standard 8-station recorded online MMI — and offers are ranked 70% interview / 30% GPA. Separately, at least 30% of all CSPs are offered as priority access to rural-background applicants. 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

Melbourne typically releases medicine offers October-November. 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 Melbourne and Monash use?

Accepted Answer

Melbourne 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. Melbourne specifics: 4-year graduate MD. Year 1 foundations and clinical skills at Parkville. Years 2-3 clinical placements across Royal Melbourne, Austin, Western, St Vincent's, and Rural Clinical School sites (Shepparto 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 Melbourne 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; Melbourne and Monash differ in their selection mechanics, so prepping both adds genuine optionality.

Comparison field	MelbourneParkville	MonashClayton
Quick comparison
Location	Parkville, Australia	Clayton, Australia
Entry pathway	Graduate	Dual (UG + Grad)
Admission tests	GAMSAT + MCAT	UCAT-ANZ + ISAT
GAMSAT	Minimum 50 in each of the three sections. Ranking formula uses GAMSAT at 25% post-interview (MMI 50%, GPA 25%, GAMSAT 25%). Pre-interview shortlisting weights GPA and GAMSAT equally (50/50). UoM does not publish accepted or cut-off GAMSAT scores for any cycle, and because it ranks on the three sections weighted equally rather than on ACER's overall score, an 'average accepted GAMSAT' is not a figure its process produces. No Tier-1 source confirms one.	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	-	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	Recorded Online Multi Mini-Interview (ROMMI) — 8 stations, ~5 minutes each, recorded and asynchronous with no live interviewer; Rural and North Western pathway applicants additionally sit a 3-station real-time online MMI	Multiple Mini Interview, online via Zoom (6 stations × 8 min interview + 2 min reading; 4 stations for international applicants)
Post-interview chance	UoM does not publish interview-to-offer conversion. What is published is the hurdle: an applicant must achieve a satisfactory standard in their overall MMI score AND be above the cut-score in 5 of 8 stations to be eligible for an offer, after which the MMI carries 50% of the final ranking (70% on the rural and North Western pathways). UoM no longer publishes a numeric minimum percentage for the overall MMI score.	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	October-November	Direct Entry mid-to-late January (VTAC January Rounds 1 and 2); Graduate Entry early December

ATAR	-	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	Minimum 50 in each of the three sections. Ranking formula uses GAMSAT at 25% post-interview (MMI 50%, GPA 25%, GAMSAT 25%). Pre-interview shortlisting weights GPA and GAMSAT equally (50/50). UoM does not publish accepted or cut-off GAMSAT scores for any cycle, and because it ranks on the three sections weighted equally rather than on ACER's overall score, an 'average accepted GAMSAT' is not a figure its process produces. No Tier-1 source confirms one.	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	Minimum weighted GPA 5.0/7.0. UoM weighting formula: (Final-2 × 1 + Final-1 × 2 + Final × 2) / 5. A completed PhD — not a Masters — can earn re-ranking in the applicant's favour: it must be in a health-related or biological sciences discipline and completed within 10 years of MD commencement. UoM publishes a quota of up to 10 places for applicants re-ranked on this basis, but states the Selection Committee is not required to fill it and that any unused places are allocated as normal; its current Selection Guidelines add that re-ranking is decided case-by-case each year and that the detail is not disclosed to applicants.	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	-	-
Place types	2027 cycle (indicative): 179 CSP + 71 BMP (39 via GEMSAS + 32 via MD Rural Pathway) + up to 105 full-fee places covering domestic AND international full-fee combined ≈ ~355 total. GEMSAS notes these quotas are indicative only and subject to change, and UoM's 2027-intake Admissions Guide independently puts the total at 355, of which 60 are international and 295 domestic.	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 MD Student Entry Pathway — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants apply directly through the University of Melbourne Course Application portal (not via GEMSAS) when UoM is their o…	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	MD Rural Pathway: 32 bonded CSP places (part of the 71 BMP allocation) — 17 reserved for students of La Trobe University's Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Medical), who must reach a final course WAM o…	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	September (2027 intake: rural-pathway MMIs online in the week of 7 September 2026; standard domestic and international MMIs online in the week of 14 September 2026. Interview offers go out mid-August for international and rural applicants and late August for domestic applicants)	Direct Entry December-January; Graduate Entry September (2027-entry cycle)
Interview details	Melbourne's standard MMI is delivered online and asynchronously — a Recorded Online Multi Mini-Interview (ROMMI) with no live interviewer and nothing on campus. Candidates log into a recorded-intervie…	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	Clinical Research, Oncology, Neuroscience, Global Health, Indigenous Health	Rural Medicine, Clinical Research, Global Health, Indigenous Health, General Practice
Established	1862	1961
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Melbourne runs Australia's flagship 4-year graduate-entry MD anchored across the Parkville biomedical precinct (Royal Melbourne, Royal Children's, Peter MacCallum) and extending to the Austin, Epworth…	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://study.unimelb.edu.au/find/courses/graduate/doctor-of-medicine/	https://www.monash.edu/medicine/medical-school

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