Help with Uni Course Choice (1 Viewer)

[zlum23]

My goal is graduate entry Medicine and I have a couple of options for my undergraduate course. I’m not too sure what to choose and I need help fast.

- Premed at UOW
- Psychology at UOW
- Pharmacy at USYD

I am looking for something that will not have an excessive workload, so a high GPA is manageable, allowing me to work while studying.

Thank you

 

[ZakaryJayNicholls]

My goal is graduate entry Medicine and I have a couple of options for my undergraduate course. I’m not too sure what to choose and I need help fast.

- Premed at UOW
- Psychology at UOW
- Pharmacy at USYD

I am looking for something that will not have an excessive workload, so a high GPA is manageable, allowing me to work while studying.

Thank you

So they’re all going to have quiet a high workload…

USYD pharmacy is probably the most time consuming of the three as pharmacy is accredited, but Premed and Psych at UOW are also going to have a lot going on (especially if the psych program you’re talking about forms part of an APAC sequence).

If your end goal is medicine, it always makes sense to go for premed (that is what the program is for - you should always do something because you find it interesting or because it aligns to your career, not because you think it’ll get you high marks - doing well in a premed program is a clear indicator that you are likely to do well in med).

Full time university study is between 30-50 hours per week (depending on the specific courses you have), so if you intend to work, full time work is highly inadvisable. 80 hour work/study weeks are doable but really awful (I know this first hand, as I did several years of 80 hour work/study weeks during my undergrad).

 

[zlum23]

So they’re all going to have quiet a high workload…

USYD pharmacy is probably the most time consuming of the three as pharmacy is accredited, but Premed and Psych at UOW are also going to have a lot going on (especially if the psych program you’re talking about forms part of an APAC sequence).

If your end goal is medicine, it always makes sense to go for premed (that is what the program is for - you should always do something because you find it interesting or because it aligns to your career, not because you think it’ll get you high marks - doing well in a premed program is a clear indicator that you are likely to do well in med).

Full time university study is between 30-50 hours per week (depending on the specific courses you have), so if you intend to work, full time work is highly inadvisable. 80 hour work/study weeks are doable but really awful (I know this first hand, as I did several years of 80 hour work/study weeks during my undergrad).

I am deadset on Medicine but I am worried that by choosing Premed, I wont have the opportunity to get a job in case I can't get into Medicine the first time. Do you know if this would be the same case if I chose Pharmacy but did not complete the Honours or Masters course? I got accepted into Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours)/Master of Pharmacy Practice. I am really struggling to choose between Premed and Pharmacy, and I only have about a week left to decide.

 

[ZakaryJayNicholls]

I am deadset on Medicine but I am worried that by choosing Premed, I wont have the opportunity to get a job in case I can't get into Medicine the first time. Do you know if this would be the same case if I chose Pharmacy but did not complete the Honours or Masters course? I got accepted into Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours)/Master of Pharmacy Practice. I am really struggling to choose between Premed and Pharmacy, and I only have about a week left to decide.

You really need to choose if you want to be a doctor or a pharmacist, no one can tell you which is better for you, you need to make a decision then stick with it.

The pharmacy program will likely be 5 years full time, you will not be able to exit early and practice as a registered pharmacist as the mandatory professional practice units are included in the 4th and 5th years of the program (you may be able to find work as a student pharmacist, but the money for student pharmacists is often essentially min wage).

If you are dead set on being a doctor (GP) premed is likely a faster and more suitable pathway, as it will likely allow access to MD in 3 years time (given you have good grades).

They are likely both good pathways, so you really just need to choose one and do it. If you are worried about work, you can always try doing a simple health job while studying, like doing a short course in assistant nursing and working as a care worker or applying to work as a general assistant in a hospital, these are suitable intro jobs for someone who wishes to later become a medical professional of some variety.

 

[carrotsss]

You really need to choose if you want to be a doctor or a pharmacist, no one can tell you which is better for you, you need to make a decision then stick with it.

The pharmacy program will likely be 5 years full time, you will not be able to exit early and practice as a registered pharmacist as the mandatory professional practice units are included in the 4th and 5th years of the program (you may be able to find work as a student pharmacist, but the money for student pharmacists is often essentially min wage).

If you are dead set on being a doctor (GP) premed is likely a faster and more suitable pathway, as it will likely allow access to MD in 3 years time (given you have good grades).

They are likely both good pathways, so you really just need to choose one and do it. If you are worried about work, you can always try doing a simple health job while studying, like doing a short course in assistant nursing and working as a care worker or applying to work as a general assistant in a hospital, these are suitable intro jobs for someone who wishes to later become a medical professional of some variety.

It is still absolutely possible to get into undergrad/postgrad med during/following a pharmacy degree, and I would advise against doing premed because medicine entry is never guaranteed, and so they’re much better off going into a degree where they will be happy working if they don’t get in and they will still have a similar chance of getting into medicine

 

[ZakaryJayNicholls]

It is still absolutely possible to get into undergrad/postgrad med during/following a pharmacy degree, and I would advise against doing premed because medicine entry is never guaranteed, and so they’re much better off going into a degree where they will be happy working if they don’t get in and they will still have a similar chance of getting into medicine

Maybe, if they work in a not overly intellectually challenging base level health job while they study (pharmacy assistant, nursing assistant, hospital worker, medical secretary, etc) then they would have a job for life even if they didn't like med or were unable to gain access. Some nursing assistants or hospital workers (working overnight shifts + overtime) can make over 100K+ dollarydoos a year with little/no formal certification, which is pretty good. So, there's always that for people who like the health sector.

 

[carrotsss]

Maybe, if they work in a not overly intellectually challenging base level health job while they study (pharmacy assistant, nursing assistant, hospital worker, medical secretary, etc) then they would have a job for life even if they didn't like med or were unable to gain access. Some nursing assistants or hospital workers (working overnight shifts + overtime) can make over 100K+ dollarydoos a year with little/no formal certification, which is pretty good. So, there's always that for people who like the health sector.

That is definitely an option but I would maintain that pharmacy is a safer pathway

 

[nsw..wollongong]

So they’re all going to have quiet a high workload…

USYD pharmacy is probably the most time consuming of the three as pharmacy is accredited, but Premed and Psych at UOW are also going to have a lot going on (especially if the psych program you’re talking about forms part of an APAC sequence).

If your end goal is medicine, it always makes sense to go for premed (that is what the program is for - you should always do something because you find it interesting or because it aligns to your career, not because you think it’ll get you high marks - doing well in a premed program is a clear indicator that you are likely to do well in med).

Full time university study is between 30-50 hours per week (depending on the specific courses you have), so if you intend to work, full time work is highly inadvisable. 80 hour work/study weeks are doable but really awful (I know this first hand, as I did several years of 80 hour work/study weeks during my undergrad).

Sorry No half of this is false, doing premed has little benefit to postgrad med apart from some help in the gamsat (which ud already be studying for). It is much better to pursue a degree that u can get work opportunities in (eg business or literally anything other than premed). The only jobs u can get in premed are mostly based Arnd research, because you need to take into account the possibility that u DONT get into postgrad med.
if ur gonna do premed anywhere tho, maybe consider a uni pathway option like Notre dame biomed or Macquarie. ANU has a rlly good health science course that saves 30% of its postgrad seats for health sci graduates. Uow doesn’t guarantee u anything apart from an interview, u still need to get a high gpa, sit gamsat AND caspr.

when assessor’s look at candidates for postgrad med, they don’t look at their previous degrees. It has absolutely no impact if u did bach arts or bach premed, they may just choose the person who did arts bc they got a higher gpa than u (makes sense, comparing difficulties of the degrees).
@zlum23

 

[ZakaryJayNicholls]

Sorry No half of this is false, doing premed has little benefit to postgrad med apart from some help in the gamsat (which ud already be studying for). It is much better to pursue a degree that u can get work opportunities in (eg business or literally anything other than premed). The only jobs u can get in premed are mostly based Arnd research, because you need to take into account the possibility that u DONT get into postgrad med.
if ur gonna do premed anywhere tho, maybe consider a uni pathway option like Notre dame biomed or Macquarie. ANU has a rlly good health science course that saves 30% of its postgrad seats for health sci graduates. Uow doesn’t guarantee u anything apart from an interview, u still need to get a high gpa, sit gamsat AND caspr.

when assessor’s look at candidates for postgrad med, they don’t look at their previous degrees. It has absolutely no impact if u did bach arts or bach premed, they may just choose the person who did arts bc they got a higher gpa than u (makes sense, comparing difficulties of the degrees).
@zlum23

Read the program description: "Any student (Domestic or International) in the Bachelor of Pre-Medicine, Science and Health, with a weighted GPA of 6.5 or above, who have met the minimal entry requirements for all other criteria, will be guaranteed an interview for the UOW Doctor of Medicine (MD)." (Source: Bachelor of Pre-Medicine, Science and Health - Course Finder @ University of Wollongong (uow.edu.au) )

 

[nsw..wollongong]

Read the program description: "Any student (Domestic or International) in the Bachelor of Pre-Medicine, Science and Health, with a weighted GPA of 6.5 or above, who have met the minimal entry requirements for all other criteria, will be guaranteed an interview for the UOW Doctor of Medicine (MD)." (Source: Bachelor of Pre-Medicine, Science and Health - Course Finder @ University of Wollongong (uow.edu.au) )

U just repeated what I said.

 

[ZakaryJayNicholls]

U just repeated what I said.

Like, UOW offers a bachelor's degree in Premed, obviously they are going to preference graduates from that program when they are offering positions to their MD. If you disagree, you're not arguing with me, you're arguing with UOWs own department of medicine.

Also, every degree can lead to a whole bunch of jobs if you have a good network of people around you and have a good attitude towards employment, it is a wildly shit piece of advice to say: "like imo if you wanna be a doctor you shouldn't do the undergraduate degree the university recommends, you should like totally do a degree in accounting, because then when you don't get into medicine (because you didn't take a recommended undergrad degree and the interviewers don't regard you as being a sufficiently dedicated candidate), you'll like at least be able to have a job you hate as an accountant!!!"

 

[carrotsss]

Like, UOW offers a bachelor's degree in Premed, obviously they are going to preference graduates from that program when they are offering positions to their MD. If you disagree, you're not arguing with me, you're arguing with UOWs own department of medicine.

Also, every degree can lead to a whole bunch of jobs if you have a good network of people around you and have a good attitude towards employment, it is a wildly shit piece of advice to say: "like imo if you wanna be a doctor you shouldn't do the undergraduate degree the university recommends, you should like totally do a degree in accounting, because then when you don't get into medicine (because you didn't take a recommended undergrad degree and the interviewers don't regard you as being a sufficiently dedicated candidate), you'll like at least be able to have a job you hate as an accountant!!!"

From UOW themselves, you are wrong. The level of arrogance you possess over your random assumption is insane.

 

[jonolad69]

Like, UOW offers a bachelor's degree in Premed, obviously they are going to preference graduates from that program when they are offering positions to their MD. If you disagree, you're not arguing with me, you're arguing with UOWs own department of medicine.

Also, every degree can lead to a whole bunch of jobs if you have a good network of people around you and have a good attitude towards employment, it is a wildly shit piece of advice to say: "like imo if you wanna be a doctor you shouldn't do the undergraduate degree the university recommends, you should like totally do a degree in accounting, because then when you don't get into medicine (because you didn't take a recommended undergrad degree and the interviewers don't regard you as being a sufficiently dedicated candidate), you'll like at least be able to have a job you hate as an accountant!!!"

If a university is going to heavily favour graduates from a particular degree program when admitting students to a graduate program, it seems a bit weird to allow applicants from other backgrounds to apply?? Just doesn't make sense

 

[ZakaryJayNicholls]

View attachment 42147
From UOW themselves, you are wrong. The level of arrogance you possess over your random assumption is insane.

You're just a bit dim and don't understand how the tertiary education system works (typical of anons on Bored of Studies - the reason Bored of Studies is not a reliable resource apart from some past papers with sources).

Obviously, they are going to preference their own departmental candidates. The existence of the degree implies its preference, this is true of every university which has precursor or feeder programs. I would strongly recommend OP call UOW and ask them, they will be told something along the lines of "while MD entry is available to high performing graduates from any undergraduate program, the university has a specific program targeted at students wishing to proceed to the MD - which is the premed bachelor".

 

[jonolad69]

You're just a bit dim and don't understand how the tertiary education system works (typical of anons on Bored of Studies - the reason Bored of Studies is not a reliable resource apart from some past papers with sources).

Obviously, they are going to preference their own departmental candidates. The existence of the degree implies its preference, this is true of every university which has precursor or feeder programs. I would strongly recommend OP call UOW and ask them, they will be told something along the lines of "while MD entry is available to high performing graduates from any undergraduate program, the university has a specific program targeted at students wishing to proceed to the MD - which is the premed bachelor".

"No preference is given to any particular undergraduate degree"

 

[its_ace21]

You're just a bit dim and don't understand how the tertiary education system works

oh!

 

[ZakaryJayNicholls]

"No preference is given to any particular undergraduate degree"

This is what they will say externally, it is not what will happen internally.

 

[jonolad69]

This is what they will say externally, it is not what will happen internally.

oh, so you're saying UOW is lying?????

 

[carrotsss]

The level of arrogance you possess over your random assumption is insane.

You're just a bit dim and don't understand how the tertiary education system works (typical of anons on Bored of Studies - the reason Bored of Studies is not a reliable resource apart from some past papers with sources).

Thanks for proving me wrong!

 

[ZakaryJayNicholls]

oh, so you're saying UOW is lying?????

I literally work alongside academics who determine program requirements at the University of Newcastle, I know many people involved in these processes.

There are the requirements you tell people, then there are the strategic internal requirements (premed programs are quite new in Australia and obviously UOW will want to demonstrate that their premed graduates have a high probability of entry to MD - this will simply happen as it turns out).