chocomilkenthusiast

That's all good - it's my pleasure.

I would have to say it's tough but considering you are a rural applicant, I think you have a chance. They specifically prefer rural Queensland applicants and if you preference it first, then I think you have a chance. It's very difficult to say because these are all so subjective things but based on my years of research and following the medicine entrance programs, it would be tough but you have a chance. If you were a non-rural candidate, I would say you definitely cannot because if you have a 95 ATAR, you would need extensive extra-curricular activities or a national or international level sport/music or leadership etc. But with your rurality, if you pull a really good interview and write your application well, I would say you can get in. By far, definitely do NOT give up; try your very best because I have seen literal miracles of people getting into med unis in Queensland with very low UCATs and lower ATARs and NOT rural.

Hope that helped but as I mentioned earlier, it's very arbitrary and vague but I wish you all the best for UCAT and the application. Let me know if you have any other questions!

  • PP

      PhytoPlankton
      Oh right 😂
      I haven't really done anything overseas or third world country 🙁
      Thank you so much for your help so far! I have applied for some volunteer work now, hopefully I get the opportunity to do something!

          doe

          Oh sorry for the bad wording. My parents are originally from a third-world country so we visit there quite often to see relatives and I help around in disadvantaged areas while being there - that's what I meant 😅. I didn't mean that you have to visit there specifically for volunteering 😂.

          Yeah, better late than never so try and do as many things as you can and whether or not it helps you for your application, it always be useful for you.

          • PP

            PhytoPlankton

            Ahh flipsticks, okay, hoping I can get into another committee at the moment, and then hopefully I don't screw up too bad on the ATAR and the UCAT. Do you think I could mention in my application that I was quite literally unable to participate in extra-curricular activities due to living 1 hour away from where I attended school (meaning 2 hours of travel each day?)? And would doing some volunteering work be a good idea? Maybe going bonded for JCU would also help because I think there's a lower ATAR requirement? Thank you once again!

              Study-Hard

              Hey @Study-Hard,

              Again, it is a bit difficult to gauge the actual criteria but from what I've heard around, they do prefer Queensland domestic students over interstate students. But that isn't to say that with enough extras, leadership, service activities etc. and a good ATAR, you can't get in; you definitely can. But good luck!

              Hope that helps!

              • PP
                  16 days later

                  PhytoPlankton
                  Hello, I'm also an interstate applicant for JCU. In yr 10, I got into the Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars Program offered by the University of Melbourne. Do you reckon that's something I could mention in my written application? Selection for that is based on leadership initiatives and academic performance and it runs till the end of yr 12. I'm a bit confused about what else I could write for extracurricular stuff so would you we able to give a few examples? I'm also a rural (ra2) student with a predicted ATAR of around 92-3 - is that too low? Also, are the written applications actually written? Someone told me it was typed? One last question, methods is a prerequisite for med but they don't give an actual study score that you have to get. Does that mean that they just want you to do it?

                  Sorry for bombarding you with questions! Thankyou!

                      Vel1
                      Hey VisVel,

                      Again, these aspects are very vague but what you need to understand is that each aspect of the application process for JCU is like a slider. So the higher the ATAR is on that slider, the lower the other things you need on those sliders and vice versa. To be completely honest, a grade 10 program seems a little old but depending on what it is, it could be useful. I didn't have anything prior to grade 11 in my application but if your scholars' program is something based on incredible leadership activities then it would be useful. The other thing is that if you don't have anything else to write, obviously, you should write that down. You have to prioritise all your activities depending on their significance to leadership/service/rural experience and also their recency then write them on your application in that order.

                      In terms of your ATAR, if you are rural, that could be enough. I've heard that JCU has implemented a bonus point system that gives you bonus points if you are rural for your ATAR (@chocomilkenthusiast). The best thing to do is to call them directly or look on their website for previous year results.

                      If I recall correctly, you can either type or handwrite. I actually completely hand wrote mine since I thought I could write it smaller while maintaining the readability of it. If you are handwriting it, ensure you do two things: type the paragraphs up in a Word doc prior to writing it down (so there are no mistakes and you can see the word count) and secondly, ensure you do your best handwriting for the application (for legibility and impression). But feel free to choose whatever you are more comfortable with.

                      Finally, usually, when they don't say anything, it just means that you have to pass methods and that's it. For example, JCU specifically mentions you only have to get a C (pass) in English, Methods and Chemistry to satisfy their subject entry requirements.

                      That's all good and hope this helps!

                      • PP
                        4 months later

                        PhytoPlankton

                        I applied for JCU med this year. My predicted ATAR was 99, and I had three reference letters. One for rural medicine, one for rural dentistry, and one for a non-profit organisation where I volunteered and helped out the community. I am NOT a rural applicant. I live in Victoria, so I'm an inter-state applicant. I did not get the first-round interview offer. Do you think I might have a chance for the second-round offer? I think my ATAR might range from 96-98.

                        Thanks

                          9 months later

                          @PhytoPlankton
                          Hey! I've been reading a lot of your replies and helpful information to others but was just wondering what ATAR you got in order to still receive an offer to JCU while having it as a pretty low preference. Hopefully you're comfortable sharing this information, if not, all good! 😊

                          -glor

                            glor
                            Hey @glor,

                            No worries at all! So in 2021, interview offers were based on a predicted ATAR (this would be predicted yourself and then signed off by a deputy or principal at your school) and written application (with reference letters). So the predicted ATAR was just general thresholds (so in my case, it was 99+). I know quite a few people who just ticked the 99+ box on the predicted ATAR form, got it signed by the deputy principal and only ended up with a ATAR 96 for example and that's what JCU based the interview offer on. So, I think a lot of the weight was on the written application. However, I believe since last year they have changed the JCU written application to an "academic history" or similar: "JCU will consider your entire academic history within your application, with the highest weighting given to your most recent studies." For JCU intake of medicine 2025, "medicine applicants do not submit written statements OR letters of support at any point during the application, interview or selection process."

                            Hope that helps clarify that but to answer your question and for context, I received an interview offer based on my 99+ predicted ATAR and written application but am unsure as to whether I received a medical offer as I received a higher preference. I ended up with a 99.80 ATAR but as mentioned above, my real ATAR is only considered for the medicine offer; not the interview offer.

                            Sorry if I repeated myself a few times but hope this clears up any confusion up and more than happy to help if you have any more questions!

                            Hope it helps!

                            • PP
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