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Australian Medical school comparison

Notre Dame Sydney vs UNSW

Notre Dame Sydney and UNSW are both Australian medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Both sit in New South Wales, so the state bonus schemes and clinical-placement networks broadly overlap — the differentiation comes from selection, interview and curriculum. Notre Dame Sydney uses GAMSAT and CASPer; UNSW uses UCAT-ANZ.

That mismatch means either preparing two assessments or choosing the school whose test suits you. They also recruit at different stages: Notre Dame Sydney runs graduate entry, UNSW runs school-leaver (undergraduate) entry. The interview formats diverge — MMI vs Panel — and the prep approaches for the two are fundamentally different.

Side-by-side comparison

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

UNSW

Sydney

Quick comparison

Location
Sydney, Australia
Entry pathway
Undergraduate
Admission tests
UCAT-ANZ
GAMSAT
-
UCAT-ANZ
No official minimum; competitive 2024-cycle cut-off ~3060 total on old /3600 scale (~90th percentile) for non-rural local applicants. UCAT-ANZ feeds the pre-interview composite alongside ATAR.
ATAR
Minimum eligibility ATAR 96.00; competitive interview shortlist ~99.55; median offer-holder >99.60. Rural pathway minimum ~91.05.
Interview format
Structured panel interview with two interviewers (academic staff, clinicians or community representatives)
Post-interview chance
~40% of interviewees receive an offer.
Decision date
January
Compare different schools

Notre Dame Sydney vs UNSW - in detail

Admission tests compared

UCAT-ANZ cut-offs. Notre Dame Sydney — no published cut-off. UNSW — No official minimum; competitive 2024-cycle cut-off ~3060 total on old /3600 scale (~90th percentile) for non-rural local applicants. UCAT-ANZ feeds the pre-interview composite alongside ATAR.

GAMSAT cut-offs. 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. UNSW — not used or not published.

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.

ATAR and academic profile

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).

UNSW requires ATAR 96.00+ (lowest selection rank 2025) plus UCAT-ANZ; English and Mathematics or Science prerequisites; MMI.

ATAR. Notre Dame Sydney — no published cut-off. UNSW — Minimum eligibility ATAR 96.00; competitive interview shortlist ~99.55; median offer-holder >99.60. Rural pathway minimum ~91.05.

Graduate-entry GPA. Notre Dame Sydney — Minimum 5.2/7.0 weighted from 3 years FTE. 2023 intake average successful GPA 6.70; competitive target ≥6.3. UNSW — not applicable or not published.

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.

Interview formats

Notre Dame Sydney uses MMI (MMI (asynchronous online via Modern Hire)); UNSW uses Panel (Structured panel interview with two interviewers (academic staff, clinicians or community representatives)). These two formats reward different skills — MMI emphasises breadth, station-recovery and structured answers under time pressure, while Panel rewards depth and consistency.

If your strengths lie in conversational depth, UNSW may suit you more. If you prefer discrete capsule answers under time pressure, Notre Dame Sydney is the better fit.

Interview windows: Notre Dame Sydney interviews in September-November; UNSW in November-December.

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 with clinical immersion; years 3-4 hospital and rural placements. Mandatory medical ethics thread runs acros 6-year integrated MD. Phase 1 (years 1-2): foundations and scientific basis. Phase 2 (years 3-4): clinical practice with rotations. Phase 3 (years 5-6

Intake size: 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).; UNSW — ~189 domestic offers (~135 CSP + ~54 BMP) plus ~40-60 international = ~230-250 total annual cohort (Fraser's UNSW Undergraduate Medicine Guide)..

A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

Post-interview offer rate

Notre Dame Sydney: Not publicly disclosed. UNSW: ~40% of interviewees receive an 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 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.

UNSW: UNSW runs a 6-year direct-from-school MD with two pre-clinical years followed by integrated clinical and research years. The Indigenous Entry Program offers an alternative pathway; rural-origin applicants gain Rural Admission Scheme bonus weighting. Pre-interview ranking weights ATAR (or equivalent) and UCAT-ANZ; the MMI then carries roughly a third of the final composite.

Which is right for you?

Start with the admission test: Notre Dame Sydney needs GAMSAT and CASPer, UNSW needs UCAT-ANZ. Preparing for one well beats splitting your time across two. Both sit in New South Wales, so a local applicant gets the same state bonus at each. They suit different stages too: Notre Dame Sydney is graduate entry, UNSW is school-leaver (undergraduate) entry.

Your preference list should ultimately weight: which admission test you can realistically score well in, whether your state of origin gives you a bonus at either school, and where you'd actually want to live for four to six years.

Common questions

Notre Dame Sydney uses GAMSAT and CASPer. UNSW uses UCAT-ANZ. 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.

Where to go next

Notre Dame SydneyEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in fullUNSWEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

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School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 25 August 2026.