So I want to be a dermatologist, mainly surgerical, and this obviously would mean I would have to go to MedSchool.
I do Chemistry, Biology, Japanese, Italian, General Maths and English.
Are these subjects good enough for prerequisites? I dropped methods at the start of the year thinking I didn't need it, because I didn't have this epithany of what I wanted to be until around September sadly. I am mainly looking into JCU or UQ and as far as I am concerned JCU has methods as a prerequisite. So how bad is my situation?
Subject prerequisites.
Hey @dollekya!
It’s great to hear you’re interested in dermatology and it’s awesome to see you thinking ahead.
So, the subject prerequisites are definitely important for JCU. Not having Methods could put you out of the running there, as they have pretty strict requirements on that. A bridging course could help cover it if JCU is your top choice. I’d definitely suggest reaching out to JCU about the Methods requirement as soon as possible.
But honestly, the bigger concern I would have is your ATAR and UCAT with your subject selection. These are really what can make or break your application for med school. The competition is high, so a strong ATAR and UCAT score will be critical, probably even more than the exact subjects you've chosen, especially for places like UQ, which is a bit more flexible with prerequisites. To be completely honest with you, my worry is that even if you do quite well in those subjects, I am not entirely sure if your ATAR will be sufficient for entry because they are generally lower scaling which means you either have to do exceptionally well in the UCAT for UQ or try and get the methods prereq for JCU and have some exceptional leadership/service experience etc.
I don't want to sugarcoat as it's not useful for someone like you that wants to get into med but medicine entry is the most difficult aspect of medicine overall haha. So, assuming you are going into grade 12 next year, I would definitely recommend contacting your school first (and ASAP) to see if you can pick up any subjects (especially methods). Of course, I don't have much background with your situation so sorry for the limited advice but let me know if you have any more questions!
Hope this helps—good luck!
- PP
Hello there!
What I've written here is very subjective, but I hope that it will be of some help to you and give you some more potential options and pathways.
Even if one university has mathematical methods as a prerequisite, I wouldn't say that it's a dire situation. There are other places to study medicine at and I don't think that this situation is worth the stress of trying to play catch up this holiday and next year.
Since year 11 methods is the very basis of year 12 methods (at least in VCE), I say don't rush into it, because it's a time-consuming and practice-heavy subject and it lowers the spirit of people who aren't determined, are a little bit behind and/or aren't passionate.
If you think that you won't perform well in methods next year or just really don't like it and don't mind taking one more year to get to where you want to be, there is the option of completing a bridging course or TAFE or UniLearn (places that help fulfill prerequisite subjects) the year after without it impacting performance throughout next year and less stress throughout the holidays.
So my personal approach would be to study what you are confident in for your study scores and ATAR to be the highest you can achieve and to not suffer from the additional stress.
If by one chance you get below what you need for medicine and you want to try the postgraduate pathway and math methods is still necessary for whatever undergraduate coursr you'd like , you can still work it out (transfers, one university math unit, etc). I know that it is really demotivating to be told that one option is to potentially wait a year or so or be unable to immediately jump in and finish university 'on time', but I'm sure that whatever you choose, you will find the path that is for the best!