How to get into Notre Dame Sydney Medicine
Your 2027 Entry step-by-step guide
University of Notre Dame Australia (Sydney) School of Medicine in Sydney, NSW runs a graduate-entry medicine program for 2027 entry. Admission tests listed: GAMSAT, CASPer and MCAT. Published hurdles: GAMSAT — minimum total of 52 with at least 50 in each subsection. Notre Dame Sydney holds multiple mini interviews (MMI): September-October (GEMSAS: interview offers released early September 2026).
- Interviews (2027 entry)
- September-October (GEMSAS: interview offers released early September 2026)
- Decisions (2027 entry)
- Late October-early November (main round); additional offers November 2026-January 2027
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Notre Dame Sydney expects a bachelor degree with Bachelor degree with minimum GPA 5.2/7.0 (weighted from 3 years FTE); GAMSAT 52 overall + 50 in each subsection; Casper (mandatory — applicants without a Casper score are not considered; last accepted sitting 11 June 2026 for the 2026-27 cycle); recorded/asynchronous online MMI. for Medicine (MD) and uses MMI (recorded/asynchronous online); live online panel for international applicants for interviews in the 2027 Entry cycle.
Entry is graduate-entry and selection uses GAMSAT, CASPer and MCAT; applications close through GEMSAS or your state TAC (UAC, VTAC, QTAC, SATAC, TISC), and CSP, BMP and full-fee places are all capped, so treat the standard above as a threshold to clear rather than a target to aim at.
This guide is written for 2027 Entry applicants and updated annually before each GEMSAS / UAC cycle. Sources include University of Notre Dame Australia (Sydney) School of Medicine's official course page, GEMSAS, the UCAT-ANZ Consortium, ACER (GAMSAT), and direct conversations with current students. Read time: ~12 minutes.
Compiled from University of Notre Dame Australia (Sydney) School of Medicine's published admissions material and checked for internal consistency. Not independently re-checked against the official course page for 2027 entry — confirm the figures with the school before you rely on them.
Notre Dame Sydney at a glance
| GPA | Minimum weighted GPA of 5.2/7.0 over three FTE years, with GPA years progressively weighted Final-minus-2 x1, Final-minus-1 x2, Final x3 |
|---|---|
| GAMSAT | Minimum total of 52 with at least 50 in each subsection |
| Interview format | MMI (recorded/asynchronous online); live online panel for international applicants |
| Interviews (2027 entry) | September-October (GEMSAS: interview offers released early September 2026) |
| Decisions (2027 entry) | Late October-early November (main round); additional offers November 2026-January 2027 |
Notre Dame Sydney entry requirements
| Pathway | Graduate entry |
|---|---|
| GPA | Minimum weighted GPA of 5.2/7.0 over three FTE years, with GPA years progressively weighted Final-minus-2 x1, Final-minus-1 x2, Final x3. Notre Dame publishes the average GPA of applicants OFFERED AN INTERVIEW at Sydney: 6.68 (2024 entry), 6.76 (2025 entry), 6.74 (2026 entry). These are shortlist averages, not thresholds, and UNDA states they exclude applicants considered on additional criteria including rurality and facilitated interview pathway eligibility. No official source supports a ~6.3 'competitive target' or any 2023 figure. |
| Admission tests | GAMSAT, CASPer, MCAT |
| GAMSAT | Minimum total of 52 with at least 50 in each subsection; UNDA uses the unweighted average of the three GAMSAT sections, not the overall weighted score. Notre Dame publishes the average GAMSAT of applicants OFFERED AN INTERVIEW at Sydney: 67.84 (2024 entry), 68.08 (2025 entry), 68.23 (2026 entry). These are interview-shortlist averages, not the scores of applicants who received a place, and UNDA states they exclude applicants considered on additional criteria including rurality and facilitated interview pathway eligibility. No cut-off is published. |
| CASPer | Required from 2024 entry, weighted at 30% of the interview-shortlist composite, and mandatory — GEMSAS states applicants without a Casper score will not be considered. No quartile threshold is published for general entry. The only explicit Casper hurdle Notre Dame publishes sits in the Priority Entry Pathway, which requires a score no lower than 1 standard deviation below the mean; the facilitated interview pathways set GPA and GAMSAT hurdles but no Casper hurdle. Four 2026 sittings are accepted (12 April, 5 May, 14 May, 11 June), the 11 June 2026 test being the last accepted for domestic applicants in the 2026-27 cycle. |
| Interview | MMI (recorded/asynchronous online); live online panel for international applicants |
| Place types | 2027: 40 CSP + 17 BMP + up to 57 full-fee domestic + up to 35 full-fee international (at most about 149), subject to change; international places are offered direct by UNDA, not through GEMSAS. Offers are made CSP first, BMP second, full-fee third, and once an offer is accepted the fee category is confirmed and cannot be changed for the duration of the program. |
| Indigenous pathway | Dedicated Indigenous entry pathway led by UNDA's Indigenous Health and Medicine team, applied for DIRECTLY to Notre Dame rather than through GEMSAS. With Commonwealth Supported Places uncapped for First Nations students from 1 January 2026, GEMSAS states Notre Dame will offer CSPs to all successful Indigenous applicants over and above the quoted place numbers. Entry criteria: proof of Aboriginality; a three-year FTE undergraduate degree completed within the last 10 years (later tertiary study can restore eligibility); minimum GPA 5.0, with below-5.0 considered case by case; personal statement; CV; and a successful interview. Applications open 1 May, with rounds closing 31 May, 30 June, 31 August and 31 October 2026, and interviews commencing from June. |
| Bonded / rural | 17 Bonded Medical Program places for 2027, listed by GEMSAS as a separate line from the 40 CSPs — not a percentage of them. Separately from bonding, GEMSAS states that the equivalent of at least 28.5% of the University's Commonwealth-supported medical student allocation must be of rural background as defined by the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) Program, and applicants of demonstrated rural background (MM2-MM7) receive bonus points, which sit in the 10% bonus component alongside Higher Degree by Research completion. |
Bachelor degree with minimum GPA 5.2/7.0 (weighted from 3 years FTE); GAMSAT 52 overall + 50 in each subsection; Casper (mandatory — applicants without a Casper score are not considered; last accepted sitting 11 June 2026 for the 2026-27 cycle); recorded/asynchronous online MMI.
A completed bachelor degree (any discipline) with a competitive GPA is the academic gateway; admission-test performance and interview together carry most of the final ranking.
GAMSAT
GAMSAT is a 5.5-hour written test of Humanities & Social Sciences (Section I), Written Communication (Section II) and Biological & Physical Sciences (Section III). Run by ACER twice a year (March and September). Scores remain valid for ~4 years. Most competitive offer-holders score 60+ overall with each section above 50.
Written submissions
Australia has no equivalent of the UK's single UCAS personal statement. GEMSAS graduate-entry applications use GAMSAT + GPA without a written component; most state-TAC undergraduate applications use ATAR + UCAT-ANZ without a written component. The schools that DO require written content (JCU portfolio, Notre Dame Sydney/Fremantle questionnaire, Wollongong short answers, Bond essays) each ask different, school-specific questions. Treat each school's prompt set as a discrete short-answer test - do not recycle a single document across multiple schools.
Limits are school-specific. JCU portfolio responses: typically 250-500 words per question. Notre Dame questionnaire: 250-400 words per response. Wollongong short answers: ~300 words each. Bond essays: 500 words. Read the current cycle's prompt brief for each school carefully - limits and prompts shift cycle-to-cycle.
Five things that win
Four things that lose
Worked-example opener (do not copy — for shape only)
"At 14, watching the geriatrician on my rural placement explain a Goals of Care decision to a frightened daughter, I realised that medicine is as much about clarity in language as it is about clinical knowledge. The conversation lasted nine minutes; the silence afterwards lasted longer. Since then I have spent…"
Notice: a specific scene rather than a cliché, a precise detail (the nine-minute conversation), and a closing sentence that bridges to the next paragraph. We have a step-by-step written-submissions service if you want a tutor to help shape yours.
The MMI interview at Notre Dame Sydney
Notre Dame Sydney uses MMI (recorded/asynchronous online); live online panel for international applicants. For 2027 entry, interviews typically take place in September-October (GEMSAS: interview offers released early September 2026). Final decisions are released Late October-early November (main round); additional offers November 2026-January 2027.
At Notre Dame Sydney, expect the following from the MMI. Multiple Mini Interviews - typically 6-10 stations of 5-8 minutes each, often with reading time before each station. Stations rotate; assessors do not see your performance at previous stations, so a poor station does not derail the rest. Most Australian MMIs run in October-December, in person or via video link (Modern Hire / Zoom).
How the Notre Dame Sydney MMI actually runs
Interview shortlist composite (2024+ cycles): 30% GAMSAT + 30% GPA + 30% CASPer + 10% bonus points. Final offer: 50% shortlist composite + 50% MMI. Interview shortlist composite: 30% GAMSAT + 30% GPA + 30% Casper + 10% bonus points; interviewees are then ranked for a place 50% on that composite and 50% on the interview.
The interview is a Multiple Mini Interview delivered via a recorded (asynchronous) online platform. Neither Notre Dame nor GEMSAS publishes the number of stations, the station timings, or the platform vendor for the 2027 cycle, and GEMSAS warns that any change to the interview process, or substitution of a suitable alternative, will be posted on the Notre Dame website.
International applicants, who apply direct rather than through GEMSAS, sit a live online panel interview instead, with all candidates asked the same questions. Notre Dame retains a Catholic ethics thread woven through the curriculum, but applicants of any faith (or none) are welcomed and adherence is not a selection criterion.
What they assess
What Notre Dame Sydney assessors are scoring: MMI assessors score against a structured rubric for each station - usually a 4-5 point scale per skill (communication, empathy, ethical reasoning, scientific knowledge). You don't need to be perfect; you need to demonstrate you can think on your feet, listen, and reflect honestly.
Common station / question themes
- Motivation for medicine (why this career, why now, why this school)
- Ethical scenarios (consent, capacity, end-of-life care, Medicare resource allocation)
- Role play (often with an actor - break difficult news, support a distressed peer)
- Communication & teamwork (describe a time you led, follow instructions to assemble something)
- Data interpretation (read a graph, justify a clinical decision)
- Personal portfolio / written-submission deep dive at one station
- Awareness of the Australian healthcare system (Medicare, rural workforce, Indigenous health outcomes)
- Reflection on work experience and clinical exposure
Sample questions you might face at Notre Dame Sydney
Why medicine rather than another health-care career?
Describe a time you worked in a team - what was your contribution?
A patient refuses life-saving treatment. How would you respond?
Discuss a current issue affecting rural or remote healthcare in Australia.
Walk me through what you observed during your clinical experience and what you learned.
If you had to choose between two patients for a single ICU bed, how would you decide?
Tell me about a non-academic interest and what it has taught you.
What concerns you about a career in medicine in Australia?
Model-answer guidance: “Why medicine?”
Our MMI prep programme covers ethics frameworks (SPIES, the four pillars), structured behavioural answers (STAR), and live mock interviews with admissions specialists.
Practise the Notre Dame Sydney interview
Rehearse the real format before the day — on demand with our AI interviewers, or live with a tutor.
Sit a mock with photoreal AI interviewers — any time
A timed MMI or panel interview on video — Australian & international voices — with interviewers who listen, react and press with follow-ups. Rubric-scored feedback and a replay the moment you finish.
Live mocks with a tutor who’s been in the room
A full Notre Dame Sydney-style mock with a medic or dentist tutor — honest scoring against real marking criteria, a station-by-station debrief and a written action plan.
Book a mock interviewMonth-by-month timeline for 2027 Entry
The cycle runs roughly January 2025 (start of prep) through GEMSAS preference lock and state-TAC deadlines in September 2026, MMIs in October-December 2026, to first-round offers in December 2026 and course start in late January / early February 2027. Here are the milestones you cannot miss.
Decide and start work / clinical experience
Confirm medicine or dentistry as your career direction. Start banking clinical exposure (hospital volunteering, GP shadowing, aged-care or disability-support roles) and non-clinical experience (research assistant, peer tutoring, leadership). Australian schools weight reflection over hours - track what each placement taught you.
Begin UCAT-ANZ / GAMSAT prep
Open your prep window 6-9 months before the test sitting. UCAT-ANZ candidates focus on the 4 sub-tests (Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning, Situational Judgement). GAMSAT candidates focus on Section I (Humanities), Section II (Written Communication) and Section III (Sciences) - the Section III sciences gap is the most common reason graduates under-perform.
GAMSAT March sitting
ACER GAMSAT March test date. Scores released early May. Most graduate-entry applicants sit GAMSAT in March of their apply year so results are available before GEMSAS preferences open.
UCAT-ANZ registration + GEMSAS portal info
UCAT-ANZ registration opens (test sat in July). GEMSAS portal information released for graduate-entry medicine. ATAR-tracking begins for current Year 12 applicants.
GEMSAS portal opens + UCAT-ANZ booking
GAMSAT March results released (late May). GEMSAS applications open 1 May and close 29 May across the ten consortium schools (ANU, Deakin, Griffith, Macquarie, Melbourne, Notre Dame Fremantle, Notre Dame Sydney, UQ, UWA, Wollongong). Sydney, Flinders and Monash are NOT in GEMSAS and need separate direct applications. UCAT-ANZ booking deadline is 15 May.
GEMSAS preference entry opens
Rank up to 6 preferences across the 8 GEMSAS schools. ACER GAMSAT September registration window opens (a second sitting option for applicants who under-performed in March).
UCAT-ANZ test window
Take UCAT-ANZ between early July and early August. There is one sitting per cycle - no retake until the following year. Results are released to state TACs (UAC, VTAC, QTAC, SATAC, TISC) in October. State TACs (UAC, VTAC, QTAC, SATAC, TISC) accept undergraduate medicine preferences from July onwards.
GEMSAS preferences lock + direct apps close
GEMSAS interview offers issued in early September; consortium interviews run September-October. ACER GAMSAT September sitting - too late for this cycle, results land mid-November. JCU QTAC + JCU-portal applications close 30 September. State-TAC medicine preferences close 25-30 September. (Bond's QTAC round does not open until January.)
MMI invitations issued
Most graduate-entry consortium schools issue MMI invitations through October. Bond runs its structured interview cycle. UCAT-ANZ results released to state TACs for undergraduate ranking. State TAC preference changes typically close late October.
MMIs run + ATAR results
MMIs run across consortium schools, Bond, JCU and Macquarie through October-December. ATAR results released to state TACs for school-leaver undergraduate applicants. GAMSAT September results released for applicants who sat the second window.
First-round offers
First-round offers released by GEMSAS, state TACs and direct-application schools. Acceptance deadlines are typically within 10 days of offer - reply on time or forfeit the place. Some schools release a second offer round in early January.
Late offers + course start
Late-round offers released through January. Deferral requests due. Orientation week is scheduled by most schools for late January or early February, with first-year teaching commencing late January / early February.
What makes Notre Dame Sydney different
Notre Dame retired its selection Portfolio from the 2024 intake and put Casper in its place as the non-academic component; the interview format was not part of that change. Casper is 30% of the pre-interview composite — the same weighting Notre Dame Fremantle uses — while Wollongong leans on Casper harder still, ranking for interview on 50% Casper plus 50% UOW admissions bonuses. 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, extending to Werribee Mercy and St John of God Ballarat in Victoria. Notre Dame also runs entry pathways no other Australian medical school offers: a Priority Entry Pathway reserving MD places for its own Bachelor of Biomedical Science graduates (first Priority Entry in the 2026-27 intake, for students admitted to that degree from 2024 onwards; GPA >=6.0, unweighted GAMSAT >=55, Casper no lower than 1 SD below the mean, Notre Dame preferenced first through GEMSAS), plus facilitated interview pathways reaching the Sydney campus for Notre Dame undergraduate graduates (up to 10 across Fremantle and Sydney), Notre Dame Graduate Diploma or Master of Health and Medical Sciences graduates (up to 25) and ACU Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences graduates (up to 5, Sydney only). Notre Dame's Pre-Medicine Certificate facilitated pathway is a Fremantle pathway and does not apply at Sydney. 2027 cycle: 40 CSP + 17 BMP + up to 57 full-fee domestic through GEMSAS, plus up to 35 full-fee international places that are NOT offered through GEMSAS in 2027 — international applicants must apply direct to Notre Dame's International Admissions Office. GEMSAS notes the numbers are subject to change and that the quota includes the assured and priority pathways.
Notable research areas
Curriculum (Integrated)
4-year graduate MD. Foundation Years 1-2 are delivered principally through Problem Based Learning in small groups led by a clinician; Clinical Years 3-4 run across seven clinical schools in Sydney, Melbourne and rural NSW and Victoria, allocated by ballot with student preferences taken into account but first preferences not guaranteed. Ethics is an explicit part of the program — PHIL6030 Ethical Issues in Professional Life sits in Year Two and 'application of medical ethics to practice' is listed among the degree's essential elements — but UNDA does not describe a mandatory four-year ethics thread.
Location: Sydney, Australia
Founded in 2008. Whether the city suits you matters - five or six years is a long commitment. Visit on an open day if you can; current students will be the most honest assessors of culture and clinical placement quality.
Read the full Notre Dame Sydney course guide — problem-based learning + integrated, 4 years (graduate entry), with placements in Sydney, Melbourne, and rural NSW and Victoria.
Application statistics for Notre Dame Sydney
Notre Dame Sydney intake
2027 cycle: 40 CSP + 17 BMP + up to 57 full-fee domestic (via GEMSAS) + up to 35 full-fee international (direct to UNDA) — at most about 149 places. GEMSAS states the numbers are subject to change and that the quota includes the assured and priority pathways (GEMSAS Medical Schools Admission Guide, Notre Dame Sydney).
How Notre Dame Sydney selects, at a glance
Source: University of Notre Dame Australia (Sydney) School of Medicine admissions data; GEMSAS / state-TAC published statistics; ACER (GAMSAT) and UCAT-ANZ Consortium decile data; recent FOI responses.
Six mistakes that derail medicine applications
Notre Dame Sydney — frequently asked questions
Sources for this Notre Dame Sydney guide
Apply to Notre Dame Sydney with confidence
We have helped hundreds of applicants turn their GAMSAT / UCAT-ANZ, portfolio and MMI prep into offers from Notre Dame Sydney and other Australian medicine schools.