VCE - Going into medicine

Randomhuman24

Hi all,
I’m currently in year 8, and I am very interested in pursuing medicine. However, I know the requirements are extremely high (hoping to go to university of Melbourne, in which the minimum atar requirement is ₉₉, hence my goal is 99+). Could anybody provide any tips about what I can do to achieve these top marks? For instance; should I be doing extra studying now to get ahead? Should I accelerate a subject in year 10? Is there any specific subjects that I should do (besides chem; the required prerequisite)? I will almost 100% do English (or literature), chemistry, math methods and biology, however I’m not too sure about the last slot/s, possibly: philosophy, specialist, Japanese, or physics, however recommendations are also welcome.

Thank you to everyone who can help!

Christ

Randomhuman24
If you have passion for maths , DO SPECIALIST MATHS.
It is hard, but with a bit of effort, you get double the reward.
Also one of the highest scaling subjects

I'm just a bit hesitant about giving you information overload as your only in year 8 and you may change your decision, however if you stick to your decision here is my advise.

Start doing UCAT practice from year 10.
10-30 minutes a week will do.
If you leave it to the two weeks (like I did) you will find it very tough to juggle between school and UCAT.
For some reasons Universities place a lot of importance on UCAT scores, maybe perhaps it comes out before ATAR does, but anyways having a really good UCAT score can get you invited much earlier to interviews.

Hope this advice helps

beep_boop

Randomhuman24

Hi Randomhuman24!

I wouldn't worry about studying ahead too much since you're only in your junior years. I wish when I was younger I enjoyed my high school years and didn't worry too much about vce. This is coming from someone who is more than halfway done with their exams and getting their atar this year.

For acceleration, I would recommend doing it. It can be just one subject, doesn't have to be a lot. It gives you an idea what vce is like and there would be less of shell shock when you enter year 12.

Heres the link for the unimelb prereqs and atar: unimelb link

Just make sure when the time comes to choose vce subjects, you've looked at the pathways and prereqs carefully. You have plenty of time to figure out what you like and choose what you like. You are much likely to do better and improve in those that you do.

Hope this helped. Feel free to ask more questions if anything else comes up.

beep boop

Randomhuman24

Christ Thank you so much! I do have a strong passion for maths, it’s probably my strongest subject as of now, I am currently doing 10/10A stuff in school. I will probably do specialist, btu I’m just concerned that it will be too difficult for me to comprehend along with my other subjects, do you feel like this is the case?

As for UCAT, I’m not really sure what it is; is it required at the Uni of MELB? If so, what year is it taken in?

Randomhuman24

beep_boop thank you so much for your help! I’m thinking I will probably accelerate biology

Christ

Randomhuman24
OH
UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test) is a test you must take in order to do Medicine straight after school, (requirement of every university)
It is really a skill based rather than memory test.
Get a feel for what it's like https://www.ucat.edu.au/prepare/practice-tests/

Spec 1/2 is a breeze (with a bit of effort)
However 3/4 requires some addition hours but the scaling for spec is nuts.
So I recommend that you do an accelerated, like Biology, and that will spare a subject slot which you can dedicate to spec.

If you are wanting to get 99+ you might want to pick up an easy 3/4 subject like P.E to give you a boost, but that will depend on whether you are able to cope with it.

God

Christ

Physics is also kinda easy if ur good at maths. I feel so good doing those exams compared to spesh

lil N

Just an additional question to anyone as it seems related to this chat, I am currently doing suicide 6. I'm year 10 and doing unit 1 (school does it different). I really like math and want to pursue medicine but currently biology is my 2nd hardest subject (with English being 1st) but I am forced to do English so meh but I don't know if dropping bio is in my best interest however I am not comfortable dropping any other subject except potentially physics (I really like it but if it is for my career than ill drop it). Finally the question is should I drop bio? do I need bio for medicine and if not would pe, or an easier subject for me to chill in be a good idea?

Christ

lil N

Your in a very complicated dilemma.
My advise for you would be that if you are very passionate about going into medicine, sticking with Biology is ideal, because it gives you a set of skills that allow you to examine and analyse articles, data and scenarios in a scientific method. For example you learn the systems that are in play in order to protect us against pathogens and other cellular related content.
Even though Biology does not contain medicine content, it gives you an idea of what it could be like.

If your finding bio hard, please don't pick P.E.
Firstly it gets scaled down by two points because of the fact that its super easy, which you don't want as it may considerably impact your ATAR.
And secondly it is boring.

I'm gonna have to break it to you, but sticking with the harder subjects is more rewarding in the long term. 😅

Hope it helps

Letsdothis

Christ
If you do a subject e.g. Health and Human Development , it is really easy to do well in (If you are good at writing and explaining) - scaling don't matter if you are comfortable at a subject. I believe that the higher you get for a study score, the less in scales down.

I don't score less than a 95% on every SAC.

Regarding Health- it is achievable to get a 45+ study score with not too much time and effort ( in comparison to a subject like 3/4 Chemistry, that tests you in a multitude of ways).
I believe Biology is not a prerequisite for medicine - but it is good to pick if you are interested in that subject.

The best advice is to do subjects you like - not because they scale up or down, but ask yourself if you are willing to keep up with the amount of workload, able to bounce back after setbacks, constant motivation and proper time management.