Skip to main content
NextGen MedPrep logoNextGenMedPrep
Back to Australian Medical School Compare
Australian Medical school comparison

Newcastle / JMP vs Notre Dame Sydney

Newcastle / JMP and Notre Dame Sydney 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

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 Sydney

Sydney

Quick comparison

Location
Sydney, 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.
UCAT-ANZ
-
ATAR
-
Interview format
MMI (asynchronous online via Modern Hire)
Post-interview chance
Not publicly disclosed.
Decision date
November-December
Compare different schools

Newcastle / JMP vs Notre Dame Sydney - 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 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).. Newcastle / JMP is the stricter A-Level offer; Notre Dame Sydney is slightly more forgiving. If your predicted grades are borderline, Notre Dame Sydney carries the lower academic-rejection risk pre-interview.

Interview formats

Both Newcastle / JMP and Notre Dame Sydney 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 Sydney 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 Sydney in September-November.

Curriculum and teaching style

Newcastle / JMP runs a PBL curriculum; Notre Dame Sydney runs a Integrated curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Newcastle / JMP leans on small-group case-based learning from year 1, while Notre Dame Sydney 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 with clinical immersion; years 3-4 hospital and rural placements. Mandatory medical ethics thread runs acros 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 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.

Post-interview offer rate

Newcastle / JMP: ~35% interview-to-offer.. 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.

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 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.

Which is right for you?

For applicants with predicted A-Level grades at the lower end of the AAA-A*AA range, Notre Dame Sydney 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