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Australian Medical school comparison

Notre Dame Fremantle vs Wollongong

Notre Dame Fremantle and Wollongong 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.

Side-by-side comparison

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

Wollongong

Wollongong

Quick comparison

Location
Wollongong, Australia
Entry pathway
Graduate
Admission tests
GAMSAT
GAMSAT
Minimum 50 overall, no section below 50. From 2027 entry, GAMSAT becomes a pure qualifying hurdle — not used to rank after threshold met.
UCAT-ANZ
-
ATAR
-
Interview format
Multi-Mini Interview (~8 stations)
Post-interview chance
~35% interview-to-offer.
Decision date
October

Notre Dame Fremantle vs Wollongong - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

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).. Wollongong requires Bachelor degree with minimum GPA 5.0/7.0; GAMSAT overall 50+; MMI; rural/Indigenous pathways available.. Both demand the same A-Level grade band, so academic prediction is unlikely to differentiate your application between them — provided you meet the required subject combination at each.

Interview formats

Both Notre Dame Fremantle and Wollongong 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: Notre Dame Fremantle runs mmi (asynchronous online via modern hire); Wollongong runs multi-mini interview (~8 stations). Mock practice tailored to each school's exact format is the highest-leverage prep. Interview windows: Notre Dame Fremantle interviews in September-November; Wollongong in August-September.

Curriculum and teaching style

Both schools deliver a Integrated-style curriculum, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar across years 1-3. 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 acro 4-year graduate MD. Years 1-2 foundational and clinical skills at Wollongong campus; year 3 longitudinal integrated clerkship in a regional or rural c Intake size: 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.; Wollongong — 2027 cycle: 37 Unbonded CSP + 30 CSP Rural End-to-End + 27 BMP + 15 International = ~109 total (GEMSAS UOW).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

Notre Dame Fremantle: Not publicly disclosed; aggregator estimate ~200-250 interviewed for ~100 places.. Wollongong: ~35% interview-to-offer.. 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

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. Wollongong: Wollongong was established with an explicit rural and regional workforce mission. Up to 25% of CSP places are reserved for the rural pathway. Year 3 includes a longitudinal integrated clerkship in a regional/rural community.

Which is right for you?

Both schools sit in the same England foundation-programme catchment, so post-graduation training paths overlap heavily. 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

What admission tests do Notre Dame Fremantle and Wollongong use?+
Notre Dame Fremantle uses GAMSAT and CASPer. Wollongong uses GAMSAT. 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.
What GAMSAT score do I need for Notre Dame Fremantle vs Wollongong?+
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+). Wollongong — Minimum 50 overall, no section below 50. From 2027 entry, GAMSAT becomes a pure qualifying hurdle — not used to rank after threshold met. 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.
What GPA do I need for Notre Dame Fremantle vs Wollongong?+
Notre Dame Fremantle — Minimum 5.2/7.0. 2023 intake average successful GPA 6.70 (3-year avg ~6.7); competitive ≥6.3. Wollongong — Minimum 5.5/7.0 at time of interview selection. GPA functions as a hurdle only — not used in offer ranking. 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.
How do interviews differ between Notre Dame Fremantle and Wollongong?+
Notre Dame Fremantle uses: MMI (asynchronous online via Modern Hire). Wollongong uses: Multi-Mini Interview (~8 stations). Different formats reward different skill sets. Plan separate prep streams for each. Interview windows: September-November (Notre Dame Fremantle); August-September (Wollongong).
What place types (CSP / BMP / Full-fee) do Notre Dame Fremantle and Wollongong offer?+
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). Wollongong — 2027 cycle: 37 Unbonded CSP + 30 CSP Rural End-to-End + 27 BMP + 15 International = ~109 total. 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.
What Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entry pathways do Notre Dame Fremantle and Wollongong offer?+
Notre Dame Fremantle — Uncapped Indigenous CSP allocation from 1 January 2026 (Commonwealth policy change). Bespoke Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entry pathway. Wollongong — UOW Indigenous Health pathway via the Health Access Stream and a guaranteed-interview process for eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants. Both schools accept ATSI applicants through the standard pathway as well; the dedicated pathway typically offers adjusted academic thresholds plus wrap-around academic support.
Does Notre Dame Fremantle or Wollongong offer bonded / rural-entry places?+
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. Wollongong — UOW is the only NSW medical school awarded Commonwealth funding in 2024 for a rural end-to-end program. Combined Track (54 places): min. 32 Rural Entry Pathway; End-to-End Track (30 places): min. 17 Rural Entry Pathway; Health Access Stream (10 places): min. 6 Rural Entry Pathway. Eligibility: 5 consecutive or 10 cumulative years in MMM2-7 NSW location. The federal BMP allocates ~28.5% of CSP places nationally; individual schools sit above or below that benchmark depending on their workforce remit.
When does each school release decisions?+
Notre Dame Fremantle typically releases medicine offers November-December. Wollongong releases medicine offers October. 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.
What curriculum style do Notre Dame Fremantle and Wollongong use?+
Notre Dame Fremantle runs a Integrated curriculum. Wollongong runs a Integrated curriculum. Both schools deliver teaching in the same broad style, so day-to-day study habits will feel similar. 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 Wollongong specifics: 4-year graduate MD. Years 1-2 foundational and clinical skills at Wollongong campus; year 3 longitudinal integrated clerkship in a regional or rural community; year 4 specialty rotations. From 2027, G
Should I apply to both Notre Dame Fremantle and Wollongong?+
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; Notre Dame Fremantle and Wollongong differ in their selection mechanics, so prepping both adds genuine optionality.