Ask a UNSW Medical Student ANYTHING! (1 Viewer)

[PREP4MEDDENT]

Hi everyone! I'm a 1st Year UNSW Medical student, going into 2nd year in 2026. When I was applying to UNSW last year I found it quite difficult to really understand the requirements to get in, when my interview would be, what the course would be like, so if anyone has any questions at all I'm happy to answer them!

 

[jane1820]

my ex tutor said that during his unsw med interview they asked him if you were an animal what animal and why,
may i ask why they tend to ask stupid and irrelevant questions? or is he lying? (he got rejected from unsw med anyways, he does physiology rn)

 

[PREP4MEDDENT]

my ex tutor said that during his unsw med interview they asked him if you were an animal what animal and why,
may i ask why they tend to ask stupid and irrelevant questions? or is he lying? (he got rejected from unsw med anyways, he does physiology rn)

Hi Jane!

I can definitely see that being a UNSW med question, but I personally didn't get that question. The purpose for these types of questions are to show you are a reflective individual and can communicate well under pressure.

1st Year UNSW Medical Student | PREP4MEDDENT

 

[jane1820]

I can definitely see that being a UNSW med question, but I personally didn't get that question.

what, damn, thats crazy
so is there no 'trick' to the interview?

 

[PREP4MEDDENT]

what, damn, thats crazy
so is there no 'trick' to the interview?

Hi Jane,

Not sure what you mean by "trick", but you can definitely prepare for interviews. When I run tutoring or mock interviews with my students I help improve their delivery, body language, structure, and content. Personally I didn't go for tutoring, but I made that deficit up with a lot of preparation. The style of the interview is both conversational and fast paced, so it is tough in the sense that you have to pretty much think on the fly, but my interviewers were very supportive.

1st Year UNSW Medical Student | PREP4MEDDENT

 

[niecoups]

Hi everyone! I'm a 1st Year UNSW Medical student, going into 2nd year in 2026. When I was applying to UNSW last year I found it quite difficult to really understand the requirements to get in, when my interview would be, what the course would be like, so if anyone has any questions at all I'm happy to answer them!

Hey, could i ask what are the general competitive atar/ucat ranges for a unsw med interview? my dream course would be to do med at unsw and I heard the median atar they accepted for some of the past cohorts was 99.75 and I was wondering if you knew anything about this.

Thanks!

 

[PREP4MEDDENT]

I believe 99.55 is the ATAR cut off and the UCAT cut off would be around 92nd percentile.

 

[AAArated]

I believe 99.55 is the ATAR cut off and the UCAT cut off would be around 92nd percentile.

realistically unless you got like 96th percentile and 99.75 ish its unlikely you will make it unless you have a stellar interview

 

[PREP4MEDDENT]

"lmao makes me doubt u actually made it. realistically unless you got like 96th percentile and 99.75 ish its unlikely you will make it unless you have a stellar interview"

 

[niecoups]

I believe 99.55 is the ATAR cut off and the UCAT cut off would be around 92nd percentile.

thanks! Can i also ask what uni life is like and what actually entails the MD course at unsw? What kinds of things do you learn in the course to becoming a doctor? I really wanna get into med but i geniuely don't know what content the course rlly goes over and the only thing id imagine it to be similar to is the infectious and noninfectious modules of the biology syllabus...

Having gone to some of their experience days i've also heard that esp in unsw unlike other courses, for med you do classes back to back for all days of the week and it sounds like a lot of work with no flexibility at all . Have you also felt this was the case?

 

[PREP4MEDDENT]

thanks! Can i also ask what uni life is like and what actually entails the MD course at unsw? What kinds of things do you learn in the course to becoming a doctor? I really wanna get into med but i geniuely don't know what content the course rlly goes over and the only thing id imagine it to be similar to is the infectious and noninfectious modules of the biology syllabus...

Having gone to some of their experience days i've also heard that esp in unsw unlike other courses, for med you do classes back to back for all days of the week and it sounds like a lot of work with no flexibility at all . Have you also felt this was the case?

Hi! So I'm only a 1st Year medical student so I'm going through the 1st year of Bachelor of Medical Studies and haven't started the MD part yet. The whole 6 year degree however is instead split into 3 phases. Phase 1 encompasses Years 1 and 2 and really involves all disciplines like embryology, pathology, histology, microbiology, physiology, but some courses are more heavy in certain disciplines. You'll get clinical skills and hospital sessions which alternate each week. In Foundations and BGDA you'll learn how to take a good history, then in the rest you'll learn different examinations related to the current term. You'll get practicals, tutorials, and scenario group sessions to solidify lecture knowledge.

There's no flexibility in the sense that you can't pick your own courses in 1st and 2nd year, but you can definitely fit your life around med. You'll definitely need to attend 4/5 weekdays which is a trouble for those living far from campus, but it's obviously fine if you live on campus.

1st Year UNSW Medical Student | PREP4MEDDENT

 

[AAArated]

Hi! So I'm only a 1st Year medical student so I'm going through the 1st year of Bachelor of Medical Studies and haven't started the MD part yet. The whole 6 year degree however is instead split into 3 phases. Phase 1 encompasses Years 1 and 2 and really involves all disciplines like embryology, pathology, histology, microbiology, physiology, but some courses are more heavy in certain disciplines. You'll get clinical skills and hospital sessions which alternate each week. In Foundations and BGDA you'll learn how to take a good history, then in the rest you'll learn different examinations related to the current term. You'll get practicals, tutorials, and scenario group sessions to solidify lecture knowledge.

There's no flexibility in the sense that you can't pick your own courses in 1st and 2nd year, but you can definitely fit your life around med. You'll definitely need to attend 4/5 weekdays which is a trouble for those living far from campus, but it's obviously fine if you live on campus.

1st Year UNSW Medical Student | PREP4MEDDENT

surprisingly accurate