Monash vs Notre Dame Sydney

UCAT-ANZ cut-offs. Monash — Direct Entry only. 2026 entry December round cut-off ~2380/2700 (~94th percentile, post-rebase). 2023 entry on old /3600 scale was ~2990 non-rural / ~2620 rural — not directly comparable due to 2024… Notre Dame Sydney — no published cut-off.

GAMSAT cut-offs. Monash — NOT required. Removed from Graduate Entry selection in 2017; never used for Direct Entry. Notre Dame Sydney — 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.

Timing shapes the choice as much as the score. GAMSAT is graduate-only and sits in March and September; UCAT-ANZ is mostly undergraduate and sits in July. A few schools run their own selection model with no national test at all.

Monash requires Direct Entry: ATAR minimum 90 (competitive typically ≥99.45) + UCAT-ANZ + MMI; VCE English (study score 35 EAL or 30 English) and Chemistry (30) prerequisites.

Graduate Entry: Monash undergraduate degree (Bachelor of Biomedical Science, Pharmacy Hons, Physiotherapy Hons, designated BSc units, or Federation Uni Bachelor of Biomedical Science via Gippsland Partnership) with WAM ≥ 70 + MMI + SJT. No GAMSAT for grad pathway since 2017.

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).

ATAR. Monash — Direct Entry minimum ATAR 90; competitive typically ≥99.45. Notre Dame Sydney — no published cut-off.

Graduate-entry GPA. Monash — Graduate Entry: WAM minimum 70. Lowest accepted WAM (2025 cycle, student-reported) 81.179. Notre Dame Sydney — Minimum 5.2/7.0 weighted from 3 years FTE. 2023 intake average successful GPA 6.70; competitive target ≥6.3.

Read every ATAR figure as a selection rank, not a raw score. Educational access bonuses, rural-origin uplift and Indigenous pathways all adjust it, so the published number is rarely the one that decides your application.

Both Monash and Notre Dame Sydney use MMI interviews, so the underlying prep approach is the same — practise ethics frameworks, Australian health-system topics (Medicare, rural workforce, Indigenous health) and (for MMI) structured station responses against a timer.

That said, the specifics differ slightly: Monash runs multi-mini interview (8 stations × 8 min, 2 min reading); 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: Monash interviews in October-December; Notre Dame Sydney in September-November.

Both schools deliver a Integrated-style curriculum, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar across years 1-3.

Specifics: Direct Entry 5-year MD: years 1-2 foundations and clinical skills at Clayton; years 3-5 clinical placements across Monash Health, Peninsula, and rural 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: Monash — Direct Entry (Clayton): ~264 domestic (234 + 30 ERC). Graduate Entry (Gippsland): ~70 domestic + 30 Rural End-to-End + ~30 international.

Total combined ~390+ (Fraser's Monash MD 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.

Monash: Not publicly disclosed. 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.

Monash: Monash runs a dual-pathway MD: Direct Entry (M6011, 5-year BMedSc+MD at Clayton, UCAT-ANZ + ATAR) and Graduate Entry (4-year MD at Gippsland / Churchill campus). Graduate Entry MD requires Monash undergraduate study (closed to external grads since 2017 GAMSAT removal); no GAMSAT required for the graduate pathway.

The Direct Entry December round uses UCAT-only ranking before ATAR is released; the January round uses combined UCAT + ATAR.

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.