Graduate Medicine at Melbourne/ melb or monash

[cyu]

Hi everybody

 I still have not been able to decide between going to Melbourne or monash uni. Just want some opinions

I was thinking of doing bachelor of science at melbourne then try out for med.
But now, since i did get a 95 + atar (yay!), i think i can go for biomed at melbourne.
Although travel wise, monash is closer to me than melbourne.
i also got 2 texts about scholarships to monash. - excellence and equity scholarship & vice chancellors access one.
received a letter in the mail for the excellence and equity one but not the vice chancellors one- is it because i can only take one scholarship?? -
it isnt certain i'll even get these scholarships right...?
my parents prefer me to go monash, so i'm thinking of that.
Just wanted to know if i can apply for medicine at melbourne with a monash undergraduate degree/double degree

[pi]

You can apply for Melbourne MD with a Monash undergraduate degree.

[Pup]

Just keep in mind that you can only apply for medicine in the final year of your degree. So if you're doing a double degree, then you can start to apply in your final year (mostly like your 5th year). You also need to do 2nd year biochemistry, physiology and anatomy to fulfil the prerequisites. 

[sparked]

Just wanted to add congrats on the equity/excellence scholarship!!!

[alondouek]

I was thinking of doing bachelor of science at melbourne then try out for med.
But now, since i did get a 95 + atar (yay!), i think i can go for biomed at melbourne.

Both biomed (and science) courses are very good quality so there's no point in distinguishing between them for academic purposes. If you're interested in applying for grad med when the time comes, it's important to note that while an undergrad biomed or science (if you've done the prereq units) degree from Monash will qualify you for the MD, as of 2017 a UoM undergrad degree won't grant you access into Monash's graduate MBBS. Have a read of the details here: http://med.monash.edu.au/medical/gippsland/mbbs-pathways.html

Although travel wise, monash is closer to me than melbourne.

Travel time is a valid concern, but both UoM and Monash try to make it as easy as possible to access campuses (i.e. UoM's incredible proximity to various tram and train lines; Monash's extensive private shuttlebus network and accessibility by car etc.). Unless you're like 10 minutes away from one university and 1+ hr away from the other, this isn't such a huge problem.

i also got 2 texts about scholarships to monash. - excellence and equity scholarship & vice chancellors access one.
received a letter in the mail for the excellence and equity one but not the vice chancellors one- is it because i can only take one scholarship?? -
it isnt certain i'll even get these scholarships right...?

No, I am a recipient of both of those scholarships. Obviously receiving them is conditional on you accepting an offer from Monash, and once you've done that and set up your student account you can accept offered scholarships via WES (Monash's online Web Enrolment System). If you're unsure about anything, there should be some contact details on the letter you received.

my parents prefer me to go monash, so i'm thinking of that.

I wouldn't advise that you let this influence your choice too much. Given that you'll be spending 3-5 years as an undergrad at one of these universities, I would strongly suggest that you go to open days for both universities and see which fits you best.

Just wanted to know if i can apply for medicine at melbourne with a monash undergraduate degree/double degree

^Pi is correct. Monash's biomed course (and therefore associated double degrees) are composed of core units designed to automatically fulfil MD and MBBS prerequisites. However, if you do a BSc (at either university), it is your responsibility to take the necessary prerequisite units for medicine.


Good luck (and well done on the ATAR)! Let me know if you have any questions.

[cyu]

thank you all for your replies!!
i did head to the career's office today at school.
sighh biomed and science at either of these uni's sound good.

I initially did look at Melbourne because i didnt think i would get a study score above 30 in english.
The breadth subjects sound really appealing at melbourne, but today i was told monash also do have something similar. But i do want to try for graduate med at either melb or monash. Since there is that new rule at monash - maybe ill go monash?
do melbourne give preference to their undergraduates when it comes to selecting graduate med students??
oh and monash, is much closer to my home than melbourne. - 15 mins away

hmm okay- im leaning towards monash biomed more and more now
just going to take a look at what subjects they offer or what they are like, they sort of look the same to the biomed at melb.

thanks again for all your replies!

[vea]

Melbourne has no restrictions on accepting students who did their undergrad degree elsewhere so if you'd want to keep your options open, you should study at Monash so that you can also apply for post grad MBBS at Gippsland campus. While I can't say I've studied biomed at Monash before, I highly doubt that there is much difference in education between biomed at UoM and biomed at Monash. Since you live closer to Monash you will spend less time travelling and more time can be spent studying to make yourself more competetive during the application process. The scholarship on top just seems to make Monash the no-brainer decision for you

[thushan]

Melbourne has no restrictions on accepting students who did their undergrad degree elsewhere so if you'd want to keep your options open, you should study at Monash so that you can also apply for post grad MBBS at Gippsland campus. While I can't say I've studied biomed at Monash before, I highly doubt that there is much difference in education between biomed at UoM and biomed at Monash. Since you live closer to Monash you will spend less time travelling and more time can be spent studying to make yourself more competetive during the application process. The scholarship on top just seems to make Monash the no-brainer decision for you

I haven't heard anything bad about the Monash Biomed course; I've been told that the course is excellent, well organised and put together.

[jeppikah]

I am a Biomed graduate from Melbourne while my boyfriend is a Biomed graduate from Monash. Although I haven't undertaken the Biomed course from Monash myself, I think I have a pretty good insight and I have sat in on lectures etc.

I think the most striking difference between the two courses is the assessments. The end of year exams are almost always more highly weighted at Melbourne compared to Monash. In the first 2 years, I don't think I had an exam worth less than 60% although Monash often has some worth 40-50%. This also means that Monash has a lot more in-semester assessments and assignments compared to Melbourne. I would also argue that the assessments at Monash are more laborious and time-consuming. Sometimes I just need to complete 10 multiple choice questions online to receive 10% of a subject mark while my boyfriend glares while completing his 2000 word assignment worth 6%.

In terms of the exam itself, Melbourne focuses a lot on multiple choice, short answer and the occasional long answer question. I've only written one proper essay in an exam for my entire degree (3rd year selective). Monash Biomed people on the other hand are VERY familiar with writing essays in exams (Biochem exam is literally 5 essays, nothing else).

I've also noticed that Monash has lots of oral presentations while if you consider Melbourne Biomed core subjects, there is only 1. Monash also has regular small classes for subjects known as tutorials where as you pretty much stop having those in Melbourne Biomed after first year.

In terms of content, I believe Monash and Melbourne pretty much covers the same thing.

So basically, Melbourne Biomed is "easier" if you perform well in exams compared to assignments. Monash probably gives you better skills than Melbourne (in research, oral presentations, lab skills) but the content is relatively similar.

[chaoz]

Hi, I just got my atar and im also deciding between monash and melbourne @@
Thanks a lot for all the info.
ahhh, the post on the difference in assessments makes me want to go UoM.

I heard that monash exams r easier, does that mean studying at monash will get me a higher GPA if i wanna apply med/dentistry at UoM?? (sounds weird, dunno if u get what i mean)

[EspoirTron]

Hi, I just got my atar and im also deciding between monash and melbourne @@
Thanks a lot for all the info.
ahhh, the post on the difference in assessments makes me want to go UoM.

I heard that monash exams r easier, does that mean studying at monash will get me a higher GPA if i wanna apply med/dentistry at UoM?? (sounds weird, dunno if u get what i mean)

I'm studying Biomedicine at Monash at the moment and have friends studying at Biomedicine at Melbourne too. Although the in-semester work does become a quite taxing at times, doing well in them is quite advantageous. In first year there are three exams with short answer and multiple choice and three units which have purely multiple choice questions. For example, one unit has a 50% exam and 50% in-semester assignments. Working consistently hard throughout the semester and achieving 40 out 50% of in-semester marks gives you quite a bit of leighway heading into the exam. The higher the exam component, I feel the more pressure there is to perform in the exam. I wouldn't say Monash exams are 'easier'. I've sat exams from both unis and I can't compare the two because the exam style for each is a lot different.

In terms of GPA, I don't think going to Melbourne is going to make it 'easier'. In fact, I'd argue that by going to Monash and doing Biomedicine you'll be accessing more opportunities, as aforementioned, Monash MBBS is open only to Monash graduates with 50 places being reserved for Biomedicine students of Monash. So by coming to Monash you can apply for all three Medical schools in Victoria, whereas by going anywhere else, such as Melbourne, you automatically lock yourself out of one uni, which slims your chances.

The format of assessment shouldn't be a be-all and end-all factor in your decision making. Yes Melbourne has fewer in-semester assessments but at the same time Monash has more labs and hand's on experience.

As for the OP's questions, I hope this helped too.

[alondouek]

Just on the 5-essay exam Jeppikah mentioned above, I can confirm this is true and it's the most bullshit assessment I've ever done or ever will take. You can read my (slightly bitter) subject review for that unit here.

That bit of whinging aside, I definitely prefer more weighting to in-sem assessment than to exams. I personally find it less stressful (even if it is often more voluminous) and therefore easier to manage for 4 units at a time. Exams are generally just a waste of time and an exercise in regurgitating knowledge anyway (in my opinion).

Also - and I'm not sure how widely this preference is shared - but I'd opt for the course with MORE oral presentation work 100% of the time. It's the easiest and quickest of easy marks, as well as being exponentially more fun and engaging that stock-standard written assessment.

[cyu]

O_____O

10 minutes ago I had just decided biomedical sciences at monash.
FIVE ESSAYS?!       That sort of makes me worry about the GPA
But then again, would it be good practice for the gamsat? I heard there was some essay writing in it.
I have no confidence in my english skills.  -.-
But i do like the idea of oral presentations.
Hmm biomed at melbourne sounds okay.
Is Science at melbourne similar? - exams are more weighted?

oh wow.. Thank you for your responses!!

[Fyrefly]

Scholarship > No scholarship

That's the one thing that drove my decision to choose Monash over UoM, and I don't regret it in the slightest. Obviously you need to make your own decision for yourself, but don't underestimate the value of literally tens of thousands of dollars, lol.

[cyu]

Lol haha yeh, the scholarship would really help me financially
Monash is much much closer and i still have heaps of post-graduate options afterwards i suppose. yehh, monash it is. I think im pretty set on it now, despite those big scary essays    -.-
Have melbourne already offerred their access scholarships? Nobody from school has heard from them.