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Newcastle / JMP vs Notre Dame Fremantle

Newcastle / JMP 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. Their A-Level requirements (ATAR vs Bachelor) place them in slightly different academic-strictness tiers.

Side-by-side comparison

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Side-by-side comparison: Newcastle / JMP and Notre Dame Fremantle.
Comparison field	Newcastle / JMPNewcastle	Notre Dame FremantleFremantle
Quick comparison
Location	Newcastle, Australia	Fremantle, Australia
Entry pathway	Undergraduate	Graduate
Admission tests	UCAT-ANZ	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	No published cut-off; first-stage interview selection is essentially 100% weighted on UCAT-ANZ after the ATAR hurdle is met. Lowest recorded UCAT for a JMP interview (non-rural, 2022/2023 cycle) ~95th percentile.	-
ATAR	ATAR hurdle: Standard / metropolitan 94.30; Rural Bonus Scheme 85.00. Once met, ATAR no longer ranks — UCAT and interview drive ranking.	-
Interview format	Multi-Mini Interview (~10 stations)	MMI (asynchronous online via Modern Hire)
Post-interview chance	~35% interview-to-offer.	Not publicly disclosed; aggregator estimate ~200-250 interviewed for ~100 places.
Decision date	December-January	November-December

Newcastle / JMP

Newcastle

Quick comparison

Location: Newcastle, Australia
Entry pathway: Undergraduate
Admission tests: UCAT-ANZ
GAMSAT: -
UCAT-ANZ: No published cut-off; first-stage interview selection is essentially 100% weighted on UCAT-ANZ after the ATAR hurdle is met. Lowest recorded UCAT for a JMP interview (non-rural, 2022/2023 cycle) ~95th percentile.
ATAR: ATAR hurdle: Standard / metropolitan 94.30; Rural Bonus Scheme 85.00. Once met, ATAR no longer ranks — UCAT and interview drive ranking.
Interview format: Multi-Mini Interview (~10 stations)
Post-interview chance: ~35% interview-to-offer.
Decision date: December-January

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

Compare different schools

Newcastle / JMP vs Notre Dame Fremantle - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Newcastle / JMP requires ATAR 94.30+ (lowest selection rank 2025) plus UCAT-ANZ plus Personal Qualities Assessment; rural pathway available with reduced ATAR threshold; 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).. Newcastle / JMP is the stricter A-Level offer; Notre Dame Fremantle is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Notre Dame Fremantle carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

Interview formats

Both Newcastle / JMP 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: Newcastle / JMP runs multi-mini interview (~10 stations); 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: Newcastle / JMP interviews in October-November; Notre Dame Fremantle in September-November.

Curriculum and teaching style

Newcastle / JMP runs a PBL curriculum; Notre Dame Fremantle runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Newcastle / JMP leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Notre Dame Fremantle uses a more traditional lecture-led structure. Specifics: 5-year joint program (BMedSci + MD). Years 1-2 foundations and PBL at Callaghan or Armidale; years 3-5 clinical placements across Hunter New England L 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: Newcastle / JMP — ~170 CSP per year across JMP (UoN + UNE combined), including ~48 BMP. International stream separate (AskUON: How many places are available in the JMP?).; 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

Newcastle / JMP: ~35% 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

Newcastle / JMP: The Joint Medical Program is run jointly by University of Newcastle and University of New England — applicants apply through either institution but the curriculum is shared. JMP has one of the highest proportions of rural-origin and Indigenous students in Australia. Pre-interview ranking uses a personal qualities assessment plus UCAT-ANZ. 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?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Notre Dame Fremantle is the lower-risk academic option. Both schools sit in the same England foundation-programme catchment, so post-graduation training paths overlap heavily. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Newcastle / JMP; if you prefer lecture-led foundations, the other suits better. 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

Newcastle / JMP uses UCAT-ANZ. 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.

Newcastle / JMP — does not publish a GAMSAT cut-off (may not use GAMSAT; check the admission-test question above). 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.

Newcastle / JMP — No published cut-off; first-stage interview selection is essentially 100% weighted on UCAT-ANZ after the ATAR hurdle is met. Lowest recorded UCAT for a JMP interview (non-rural, 2022/2023 cycle) ~95th percentile. Notre Dame Fremantle — does not publish a UCAT-ANZ cut-off (may not use UCAT-ANZ; check the admission-test question above). 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.

Newcastle / JMP — ATAR hurdle: Standard / metropolitan 94.30; Rural Bonus Scheme 85.00. Once met, ATAR no longer ranks — UCAT and interview drive ranking. Notre Dame Fremantle — ATAR data not published in the structured AU requirements; see free-text admission requirements on the school page. 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.

Newcastle / JMP — GPA not published in the structured AU requirements. 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.

Newcastle / JMP — Total CSP across JMP (UoN + UNE combined): ~170/year, including ~48 BMP (~28.5% of CSP under national mandate). International stream separate and smaller. 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.

Newcastle / JMP — Miroma Bunbilla pre-entry program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants; dedicated places not publicly specified. Indigenous applicants exempt from the Personal Qualities Assessment. 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.

Newcastle / JMP — Rural Bonus Scheme (ATAR 85). ~48 BMP places per year. JMP is one of Australia's longest-standing rural-focused programs. Note: Situational Judgement Test excluded for 2026 entry applicants. 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.

Newcastle / JMP runs a PBL curriculum. Notre Dame Fremantle runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Newcastle / JMP specifics: 5-year joint program (BMedSci + MD). Years 1-2 foundations and PBL at Callaghan or Armidale; years 3-5 clinical placements across Hunter New England LHD, Central Coast, and rural clinical schools. 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

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; Newcastle / JMP and Notre Dame Fremantle differ in their selection mechanics, so prepping both adds genuine optionality.

Newcastle / JMP vs Notre Dame Fremantle

Side-by-side comparison

Newcastle / JMP vs Notre Dame Fremantle - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Interview formats

Curriculum and teaching style

Post-interview offer rate

What makes each distinctive

Which is right for you?

Common questions

What admission tests do Newcastle / JMP and Notre Dame Fremantle use?

What GAMSAT score do I need for Newcastle / JMP vs Notre Dame Fremantle?

What UCAT-ANZ score do I need for Newcastle / JMP vs Notre Dame Fremantle?

What ATAR do I need for Newcastle / JMP vs Notre Dame Fremantle?

What GPA do I need for Newcastle / JMP vs Notre Dame Fremantle?

How do interviews differ between Newcastle / JMP and Notre Dame Fremantle?

What place types (CSP / BMP / Full-fee) do Newcastle / JMP and Notre Dame Fremantle offer?

What Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entry pathways do Newcastle / JMP and Notre Dame Fremantle offer?

Does Newcastle / JMP or Notre Dame Fremantle offer bonded / rural-entry places?

When does each school release decisions?

What curriculum style do Newcastle / JMP and Notre Dame Fremantle use?

Should I apply to both Newcastle / JMP and Notre Dame Fremantle?