B of Science or Medical Science (1 Viewer)

[moocow920]

I am currently in Year 12 and I want to do post grad dentistry at UYSD. I doubt I will get into my undergrad first preference, Oral Health, and I am not sure if I should try to get into Science or Medical Science instead. The only prerequisite for Dentistry is one biology subject I could do in either course, and obviously I would need to know content for GAMSAT but I am ok to self teach.

Obviously I think Medical Science would give me a better grounding for GAMSAT, but I have not done chem or 2u maths. I did bio, chem and ext 1 maths in prelim, but in yr 12 I am doing bio, senior science and general, because after moving schools and some circumstances in yr 11 I decided I could not catch up enough to do well in them in Yr 12. Now things have calmed down I definitely think I have the potential to do the subjects, so I am sure I could manage Med Science.

However I am thinking it might be easier to get a good GPA in plain Science rather than competing against all the med hopefuls in Med Science, the GPA requirement for post grad dent being either 5 of 5.5 I think, especially seeing as I will be living in college and there will be a lot of distractions.

So basically can anyone shed any light on whether I would be disadvantaged doing plain science instead of med science (which I don't really want to do) if applying for post grad dent? 2013 atar for med science is 92.1, and I am not sure if I would even get that

 

[Riproot]

Do whatever you're best at.
Then take BIOL1003 (either as a core unit or an elective)

Done.

Afaik MedSc doesn't give you much better standing for GAMSAT because GAMSAT only tests first year science and first year BSc and BMedSc are the same at USyd.

MedSc would only give you the disadvantage of a more competitive 2nd year cohort.
Everything else in MedSc/Sc is practically the same depending on you're major.

But remember, in BSc you are competing against really smart TSP kids as well.

It's hard to get a high GPA in either course

 

[pyjama27]

@Riproot how did you feel after the umat? were u expecting the results you got?

 

[Riproot]

@Riproot how did you feel after the umat? were u expecting the results you got?

i felt shit
I thought section one I did really well
Thought I bombed section two
Thought I did average in section three

And that's what happened. ^_^

 

[moocow920]

Do whatever you're best at.
Then take BIOL1003 (either as a core unit or an elective)

Done.

Afaik MedSc doesn't give you much better standing for GAMSAT because GAMSAT only tests first year science and first year BSc and BMedSc are the same at USyd.

MedSc would only give you the disadvantage of a more competitive 2nd year cohort.
Everything else in MedSc/Sc is practically the same depending on you're major.

But remember, in BSc you are competing against really smart TSP kids as well.

It's hard to get a high GPA in either course

What does TSP mean sorry? Yea I know I need to work hard in either, I think I am capable of getting a credit average, just have to work hard and not get distracted without my parents around to force me

 

[OzKo]

What does TSP mean sorry? Yea I know I need to work hard in either, I think I am capable of getting a credit average, just have to work hard and not get distracted without my parents around to force me

http://sydney.edu.au/handbooks/science/undergraduate/talented_student_program.shtml

 

[moocow920]

http://sydney.edu.au/handbooks/science/undergraduate/talented_student_program.shtml

Ah I'm so stupid, thanks

 

[someth1ng]

Do whatever you're best at.
Then take BIOL1003 (either as a core unit or an elective)

Done.

Afaik MedSc doesn't give you much better standing for GAMSAT because GAMSAT only tests first year science and first year BSc and BMedSc are the same at USyd.

MedSc would only give you the disadvantage of a more competitive 2nd year cohort.
Everything else in MedSc/Sc is practically the same depending on you're major.

But remember, in BSc you are competing against really smart TSP kids as well.

It's hard to get a high GPA in either course

Elaborate.

 

[JohnMaximus]

Elaborate.

B.med science atar requirement significantly higher than standard b.sceince degree.

I do not believe he was referring to science(advanced).

And let's not be naive, a significantly higher atar cutoff will probably reflect a more competitive cohort.

Then again, medscience and science subjects will overlap, so there can only be a few subjects in which the above effect could be apparent...

Of course I'm still a hsc student, so forgive me if anything I'm saying is wrong- it all comes from things I've heard from uni students and what I see on the uni website, no first hand experience yet.

 

[someth1ng]

It really depends which stream you're in. BSc (Adv) is VERY competitive and I would argue that BSc (Adv) would be at least equal in the level of competitiveness as BMedSc.

The reason is that BSc (Adv) would have most students in advanced streams of most subjects like BMedSc would mostly be in regular or fundamentals and occasionally advanced.

 

[Obvious]

Second year medical science units tend to scale down quite significantly, so you might want to take this into consideration if you're gunning for dat HD avg.

 

[moocow920]

I only need a credit average but obviously I want as high as possible. I'm good at biology (currently coming 2nd at a top 30 school) so I would probably major in something to do with biology

 

[Riproot]

Elaborate.

second year units are notorious
they scale down
always
and
you're only up against people who are trying to get into med
so everyone is trying to get the marks you're trying to get
competitive as fuck

B.med science atar requirement significantly higher than standard b.sceince degree.

I do not believe he was referring to science(advanced).

And let's not be naive, a significantly higher atar cutoff will probably reflect a more competitive cohort.

Then again, medscience and science subjects will overlap, so there can only be a few subjects in which the above effect could be apparent...

Of course I'm still a hsc student, so forgive me if anything I'm saying is wrong- it all comes from things I've heard from uni students and what I see on the uni website, no first hand experience yet.

BSc(Adv) has a few advanced units, which are difficult, but the scaling is spread amongst all units from fundies to SSP so like, competition is less of a thing than with the second year BMedSc units.
But it can depend on the units you want to take.
Also, it's not the ATAR cutoff, it's that EVERYONE there is trying to get into med.

It really depends which stream you're in. BSc (Adv) is VERY competitive and I would argue that BSc (Adv) would be at least equal in the level of competitiveness as BMedSc.

The reason is that BSc (Adv) would have most students in advanced streams of most subjects like BMedSc would mostly be in regular or fundamentals and occasionally advanced.

~read the above~

Second year medical science units tend to scale down quite significantly, so you might want to take this into consideration if you're gunning for dat HD avg.

This

 

[lawstu]

Elaborate.

Pooling and policy (grading, scaling, etc.).


Doing a B.Med.Sci. is generally counter-intuitive for most who want to get into a (good) medical school. In fact, it could be said that it is almost good for nothing.

Indeed, if you're stupid or lazy or if you have a fatal combination of the two, it doesn't matter what you do. Think what works best for you after doing due diligence, then do it well.


OP, if you're serious about dentistry, do whatever you want. The 'advantage' that you have by having studied similar content in your undergraduate studies will not necessarily be an advantage as you will have lost an invaluable opportunity to develop some breadth (so much for 'knowing something about everything and everything about something'!). Furthermore, in the interest of fairness and equality, all are equal when it comes to the GAMSAT (which is more about your ability to sit down and practise) and the interview (which is more about your ability to think critically under pressure and time constraints and/or bullshit).

If you want to apply for the Melbourne Dental School, do a B.Sc. and do the pre-reqs. Otherwise, do whatever the hell you want and apply for Sydney and whatever other schools (again, if you're serious and dedicated to dentistry).

I only need a credit average but obviously I want as high as possible. I'm good at biology (currently coming 2nd at a top 30 school) so I would probably major in something to do with biology

FoD is considering upping that, you know.

To game things in your favour, you could do a B.Sc. with some Fac. Arts and Soc. Sci. units. Supposedly, life is not only different but easier for those at the upper campus.