Year 11 and 12 subjects for medicine

Prerequisites come first. QTAC says the first step in selection is to check them, and that applicants who have not met them are not considered.

Minimum scores in a prerequisite use your raw result, not a scaled one. VTAC says minimum study scores refer to the VCE study score you receive from the VCAA, and that scaled scores are only used for the ATAR calculation.

Nine of these 18 routes list no subject you must have, or none specific to medicine. So a student without Chemistry still has real options, including UNSW, Flinders and Newcastle and UNE. A student with English, Chemistry and Mathematical Methods covers every subject named in the table.

Standards differ as well as subjects. JCU asks for a C in Units 3 and 4, Monash set a study score of 30 for 2027 entry, and Curtin set a final scaled score of 50.

Not every route uses the same test either. JCU and Bond are not on the UCAT-ANZ consortium list for 2027 entry, and Griffith's Medical Science entry lists the test as optional. Check the admissions test for each course as well as its subjects.

If dentistry is a serious option, Chemistry plus Mathematical Methods (Mathematics Advanced in NSW) meets the most rules above. La Trobe is the main exception among the routes we checked, with English as its only listed prerequisite for 2029.

Griffith is worth reading closely. Its prerequisites cover only age and an interview, yet its assumed knowledge names English and a science or maths subject, so the teaching assumes you have them.

Take Chemistry if you can do it well. It is compulsory for medicine at Monash, JCU, Curtin and Tasmania, and for dentistry at JCU and UQ. Western Sydney, Charles Sturt and UNSW recommend it, and Griffith and Adelaide University list it among several options.

If Chemistry is a weak subject for you, you can still build a list. UNSW, Western Sydney, Newcastle and UNE, Charles Sturt, Flinders, Bond and UQ's provisional route do not list it as a prerequisite. The cost is that first-year teaching may be harder, and your list will be shorter.

No route in our tables makes Biology the one subject you must have. Adelaide University counts it as one of three options for medicine, and as a second subject for dentistry. JCU and UQ recommend it for dentistry, and UNSW and Charles Sturt recommend it for medicine.

So Biology is a sensible choice if you enjoy it and do well in it, not a requirement to worry about. In WA, Curtin treats Human Biology ATAR and Biology ATAR alike as desirable subjects.

Mathematical Methods is compulsory for medicine and dentistry at JCU and on CQUniversity's pathway. It is one of the options at Adelaide University and assumed knowledge at Griffith. In NSW the equivalent level to look for is Mathematics Advanced, which Charles Sturt assumes for dentistry.

No medicine route in our table requires Specialist Mathematics. Melbourne's dental packages accept Methods or Specialist, and Adelaide University lists Specialist as a dentistry option. It has scaling effects in some states, covered below, but take it because you can do well in it.

Check the wording, not just the subject. Tasmania does not accept English as an Additional Language for this requirement. Monash asked for a higher study score in it for 2027 entry: 35, against 30 for other English studies. QTAC's rule for JCU, UQ and Bond lists English, Literature, English and Literature Extension and English as an Additional Language.

Physics is recommended at Charles Sturt medicine and assumed for Charles Sturt dentistry, and it counts as an option at Griffith and Adelaide University. Psychology and health subjects do not appear in any rule in our tables, so choose them for interest and for your likely result.

The tables in this guide use each state's own names. Mathematical Methods is the Victorian, Queensland and SACE name, Mathematics Advanced is the NSW course, and WA has Mathematics Methods ATAR. If you study outside the state of a university, ask for its equivalent: VTAC has an online tool for interstate and IB subjects that meet Victorian prerequisites, and TISC publishes a comparison for each state.

Rules about what counts also shape your subject mix. In Victoria a fifth and sixth study add only 10% each, and the HSC counts 10 units however many you take. UAC says you cannot assume more units will raise your ATAR.

A high mark can be harder to reach in one subject than another. VTAC says this is not because some subjects are harder in themselves, but because some attract a more competitive group of students.

So each centre looks at how a subject's students perform in their other subjects. If that group is stronger than average, its scores are adjusted up. If it is weaker, they are adjusted down. VTAC, UAC and SATAC all give the same aim: you should be neither advantaged nor disadvantaged by what you choose.

Scaling is worked out after results, from that year's students. UAC says a course's scaling can change from year to year, and TISC says it is not pre-determined. It does not change your subject result: SATAC says your grade stays the same.

Read across the rows as well as down. In 2025 a 40 in Chemistry became 44, and a 40 in Biology became 41, so Chemistry was worth more at the same study score. But a 45 in Biology became 46, which beats a 40 in Chemistry at 44 and a 35 in Chemistry at 39. Between those two sciences, your result moves the number far more than the subject does.

The gap also narrows near the top: a 45 in Biology and a 45 in Physics sit one point apart. Specialist Mathematics looks striking, but VTAC calls it the most difficult maths study, so read that row with care. VTAC's own summary is that students should choose studies they like or are good at without worrying about their ATAR.

The centres are blunt about this. VTAC calls choosing a study you are not good at, simply because it may scale up, a mistake. It says a scaled-down score in a study you did well in is most likely higher than a scaled-up score in one you did not. UAC tells Year 10 students to avoid choosing a course simply because it scales well, and UWA tells future school-leaver applicants to prioritise their highest possible marks.

That advice has one honest limit, and we should name it. The centres are talking about students in general. If two subjects suit you equally and both keep your list open, taking the one that has tended to scale higher is not a mistake. The risk is overconfidence: nobody knows their Year 12 mark in Year 10, so use your results and your teachers' views rather than hope.

The reverse trap is real too. UAC warns against dropping to a lower maths or English course to chase a result, because you will not necessarily get a higher ATAR by studying a lower-level course. Choose the level that suits your ability and your plans.

Australia has no national end-of-Year 10 exam that medical schools ask for. Selection starts with your senior certificate. In Tasmania, for example, TASC says studies done in Year 10 cannot count towards your ATAR.

So the honest job in Years 9 and 10 is to keep doors open, not to collect results. These years matter mainly because they can close a door by accident. If maths or science slips, starting Year 11 Chemistry or Mathematical Methods may get harder.

Parents should note that Year 11 is different. Charles Darwin University asks current Year 12 applicants for their Year 11 reports and first-semester Year 12 report. Curtin obtains a predicted ATAR from TISC, where Year 11 results are provided. UAC says early offer schemes often assess Year 11 results too.

Other results count over more than one year. In WA, scaled scores can accumulate over five consecutive years. In Tasmania, your score can draw on two senior years. In Queensland, QTAC uses Units 3 and 4 only.

Elsewhere, ask the university before you commit. VTAC tells students who miss a prerequisite to ask about pathways, bridging courses or an equivalent tertiary subject. UAC warns that bridging courses are not equivalent to the two-year HSC course and may add a lot to your workload.

Changing subject early in Year 11 is usually easier than fixing a gap later, so raise it with your school soon. If Year 12 does not lead to medicine, graduate entry is a separate route with its own rules.