MBBS at UNSW Vs. MBBS at USYD (1 Viewer)

Dragonmaster262

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Assume hypothetically that you have been offered to do combined medicine at USYD with that $10,000 per year scholarship. But you have also been offered to do MBBS at UNSW with scientia. Which is better in your opinion and which would you select?
 

Schoey93

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UNSW because it offers an undergraduate degree in medicine. USyd offers combined medicine, which is a B Med Sci OR B Sci (Adv) and a postgraduate 4-year MB BS.

However, I would prefer to go to UWS or Newcastle University/UNE because they offer 5-year MB BS and B Med degrees respecitively. I'd prefer not to do the extra 1-2 years of study at UNSW or USyd. Also, UWS and Newcastle University/UNE offer degrees that lead to the same jobs as the medicine courses offered by UNSW and USyd. UWS is closer to me, the course is shorter and it has the same end result. Doesn't matter where you go for medicine - practical experience is extensive in all accredited MB BS and B Med degrees within Australia.
 

Kamal15

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UNSW because it offers an undergraduate degree in medicine. USyd offers combined medicine, which is a B Med Sci OR B Sci (Adv) and a postgraduate 4-year MB BS.

However, I would prefer to go to UWS or Newcastle University/UNE because they offer 5-year MB BS and B Med degrees respecitively. I'd prefer not to do the extra 1-2 years of study at UNSW or USyd. Also, UWS and Newcastle University/UNE offer degrees that lead to the same jobs as the medicine courses offered by UNSW and USyd. UWS is closer to me, the course is shorter and it has the same end result. Doesn't matter where you go for medicine - practical experience is extensive in all accredited MB BS and B Med degrees within Australia.
i definitely agree with the reasoning for uws and newcastle/une over the others and thats exactli how im thinking.
out of unsw and usyd
id say usyd simply cos its closer, u get one extra degree for only one more year of work and its a whole lot more fun (from wat ppl tell me)
 

mitchy_boy

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I'd probably be dead from the shock of getting into any of these programs.
 

Lukybear

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i definitely agree with the reasoning for uws and newcastle/une over the others and thats exactli how im thinking.
out of unsw and usyd
id say usyd simply cos its closer, u get one extra degree for only one more year of work and its a whole lot more fun (from wat ppl tell me)
If you go UNCLE, rural medicine will be more of a focus. I dunno if youll be disadvantaged in some ways, cause there are RURAL placements and stuff.

UWS sounds terrific, since its 5 years, but its location is terrible.

UNSW/USYD who cares, your in a med course. Congrats
 

KnifeySpoony

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I'd probably be more inclined to UWS since it's a relatiely new medicine school, which means newer facilities.
 

Dr_Fresh

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new = inexperienced (a lot of tweaks/changes here and there), new stuff
old = crappy facilities, developed course

the USyd program is quite a waste of time imo. 7 years for a medical degree and a useless one. if you want to become a doctor (which i assume most who want to study medicine do), the extra degree is useless. nobody will care if u have a bachelor of music/arts/economics/commerce degree. UNSW would be the better option since you actually get to CHOOSE to do 7 years and get that extra medsci degree.
 

bio_nut

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new = inexperienced (a lot of tweaks/changes here and there), new stuff
old = crappy facilities, developed course

the USyd program is quite a waste of time imo. 7 years for a medical degree and a useless one. if you want to become a doctor (which i assume most who want to study medicine do), the extra degree is useless. nobody will care if u have a bachelor of music/arts/economics/commerce degree. UNSW would be the better option since you actually get to CHOOSE to do 7 years and get that extra medsci degree.
Some people have interests outside of medicine, you know. It's not about usefulness, they just might also want to pursue further study in another area.
 

Dr_Fresh

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of course. but spending 3 years at uni and paying thousands of dollars to do so is not worth it. if you are into something PURELY for interest then self-directed learning would be the better option. you get to pursue the areas you want yourself, at your own pace and no pressure to absorb everything.

e.g. if i were interested in music, i wouldnt go to uni to get a bachelor of music degree to certify its one of my interests. its just pretentious and unneccessary.
 

Schoey93

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If you go UNCLE, rural medicine will be more of a focus. I dunno if youll be disadvantaged in some ways, cause there are RURAL placements and stuff.

UWS sounds terrific, since its 5 years, but its location is terrible.

UNSW/USYD who cares, your in a med course. Congrats
Why is Campbelltown a terrible location for the UWS School of Medicine? There are hospitals near Campbelltown.
 

ssglain

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Assume hypothetically that you have been offered to do combined medicine at USYD with that $10,000 per year scholarship. But you have also been offered to do MBBS at UNSW with scientia. Which is better in your opinion and which would you select?
Keep in mind that the Scientia is only offered to 2 students in the Faculty of Medicine, at the Dean's discretion based on socio-economic considerations.

Back to the original question, I had to make the exact decision two years ago and I chose the Combined Medicine Program at USyd for a number of reasons:
1. I was, and still am, very interested in maths and chemistry. I later discovered computer science, which is now one of my majors. I wouldn't have been able to do that if I'd gone to UNSW. I'm really appreciating having the opportunity to pursue my interests and discover new interests in B Sc (Adv).

2. I really liked the idea of the Faculty of Science's Talented Students Program, which would give me the academic and administrative freedom to be in control of my own learning experience. After being a TSP student for two years, it's one of the BEST things I've ever done - I was able to do a 3rd year maths subject in 1st year and do 4 research projects with experts in different fields (applied maths, astronomy/computer science, neuroscience and medical informatics).

3. The Outstanding Achievement scholarship for $10,000/year, guaranteed. I can't compete with socio-economically disadvantaged med students for two Scientia scholarships at UNSW. I found out after enrolling that I was also awarded a $1000/year Liversidge scholarship for the highest HSC chemistry mark in '07, so that was an added bonus.

4. USyd offers a lot of opportunities (and scholarships) to go on exchange at some of the best universities overseas. Half of my cohort has just come back from exchange at uni like Berkeley, Cornell, Columbia, UCLA in America and Edinburgh, London in Europe. Although I didn't take up this opportunity for personal reasons, I still appreciate having it as an option.

5. USyd is a far more convenient commute for me as it's 10 minutes by train from Burwood to Redfern, with no stops in between. Plus, I'm not a big fan of buses and there is no other way for me to get to UNSW other than train to Central followed by bus.

6. USyd has the most active campus life, with over 200 clubs and societies. I've loved the people and the activities and got involved in everything from Day 1. I'm now the president of SciSoc (Science Society) and I've recently started a new club for all combined medicine students called COMA (Combined Medicine Association).
In fact, I think this pretty much sums up most of the Science/MBBS students. All the Music/MBBS students are exceptional musicians who were torn between pursuing music or medicine exclusively. The combined degree gives them the option of studying everything that they love. A lot of the Arts or Commerce/Economics combined MBBS students are interested in areas like public health policy, where there is an obvious advantage for them to study Arts or Commerce or Economics.

Clearly this does not interest everyone. So for someone who wants no more than to complete a med degree, get out there and start practicing as soon as possible (which is perfectly fine), then the Combined Medicine Program at USyd is probably not right and an undergraduate MBBS program will be better. But the Combined Medicine Program is just perfect for a group of students and it's very unfair to say what we're doing is "pretentious and unneccessary".

So Dragonmaster262, have a think about whether any of the factors I mentioned are of importance and interest to you. You need to make a careful and informed decision about where to study this lengthy MBBS program. You know you will get a well recognised MBBS no matter where you go so the structure of the program and other services and opportunities available at that particular uni become more important. I'm sure you will make the right decision for yourself.
 
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Jackie.bored

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Keep in mind that the Scientia is only offered to 2 students in the Faculty of Medicine, at the Dean's discretion based on socio-economic considerations
Actually, it's based on the highest overall score from UMAT, ATAR and Interview. Socio-economic considerations don't really come into this. Basically, you have to ace every one of the sections because its very competitive.
 

ssglain

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@Jackie.bored: I spoke to Prof Rakesh Kumar at the High Achiever's event in '07 and asked about the "limited Scientia scholarship for students enrolling into medicine", and was told that it was based on socio-economic disadvantages. Maybe things have changed if it's indeed highest combined interview, UMAT and ATAR scores.

@study-freak: Yay! Just a heads up - SciSoc is running a BBQ lunch for all the new science students on every day during Enrolment Week! We've also got a showbag with lots of freebies. Everybody loves freebies! So see you there? :)
 

Dragonmaster262

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Isn't there like a crushing workload if you do Combined Medicine? I'll need plenty of time play games etc.
 

ssglain

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Isn't there like a crushing workload if you do Combined Medicine? I'll need plenty of time play games etc.
The only thing that I can complain about the Combined Medicine Program is that it should really be called Provisional Entry Medicine Program, in the sense that as you spend the first 3 years completing a B Sc (Adv) or whatever, with guaranteed entry into the graduate MBBS program in your 4th year without any applications, interviews or GAMSAT.

So your workload for the first 3 years is just like a normal B Sc (Adv) or whatever student, with the exception that if you're a keen participant in the TSP and a double major like me, then you might find yourself overloading to fit in everything that you want to do. This can lead to something crazy like 35 hours/week, but otherwise it's around 25 hours/week. Plus, hopefully you've learnt how to work smart, not hard to get yourself that ATAR to get into a combined med degree in the first place. I've been spending way too much time lately on L4D and L4D2, but thankfully I'm still sitting pretty on straight HDs. You just need to manage your time well, which I imagine will get harder after you graduate so it's good to figure it out early.
 

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If you get an opportunity to go to UNCLE for med I highly recommend it. People say our program is good but our facilities are crap. It is quite the contrary actually but still with an excellent program. Most of our buildings maybe derlick brick-layed concrete slabs BUT inside its an entire different story.

Also the focus isn't on rural medicine either, because, Newcastle isn't exactly rural :p but we do have scholarship programs like some other universities where after your degree you spend some years in rural areas, but thats about it.

UNCLE FTW!
 

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@Jackie.bored: I spoke to Prof Rakesh Kumar at the High Achiever's event in '07 and asked about the "limited Scientia scholarship for students enrolling into medicine", and was told that it was based on socio-economic disadvantages. Maybe things have changed if it's indeed highest combined interview, UMAT and ATAR scores.

@study-freak: Yay! Just a heads up - SciSoc is running a BBQ lunch for all the new science students on every day during Enrolment Week! We've also got a showbag with lots of freebies. Everybody loves freebies! So see you there? :)
Haha yeah, I'll be there on the 25th then!
 

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ssglain, despite what kumar may have told you, it definitely isn't socio-economic disadvantage. my friend did the hsc in 07, got the scientia and his parents are well-off doctors. it's simply the highest score
 

ssglain

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ssglain, despite what kumar may have told you, it definitely isn't socio-economic disadvantage. my friend did the hsc in 07, got the scientia and his parents are well-off doctors. it's simply the highest score
If that's the case, then I think it sounds a lot fairer. But still, only restricting the number of Scientias within the Faculty of Medicine just sounds like them trying to get out of rewarding high achieving students who deserve a scholarship.
 

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