Cases vary depending on the particular student and their circumstances. Applicants should carefully consider their commitment to pursuing a career in Medicine and their willingness to spend one year repeating the HSC or at least one-year undertaking tertiary studies to attempt admission to UNSW Medicine.
An alternative to repeating the HSC is to enrol in another tertiary program. A challenge is that some students undertake tertiary programs they have no vocational interest in and, having completed one or more years, fail to achieve entry into the first year of UNSW Medicine. Students can find themselves on a degree path they have limited interest in.
No guarantee can be given about your chances of success obtaining entry to UNSW Medicine and students should choose tertiary programs carefully. As a result, if you don't succeed in obtaining a place to study at UNSW Medicine, you'll still be studying in an area of interest and which you can use to pursue an alternate career.
You should also consider the academic component for selection is based on both the ATAR and tertiary results, which are combined at a ratio of 50:50. If a local applicant has an ATAR of less than 93.00, their tertiary results won't ever be sufficient to reach the minimum ATAR of 96.00 required for consideration for entry. Applicants who achieve an ATAR of approximately 98.00 would need high distinctions in some courses and distinctions in the rest to maintain the equivalent ATAR.
Students should note that when electing to undertake tertiary studies in another program with the aim of obtaining a place in UNSW Medicine, they're not restricted to degrees at UNSW. Degrees offered by any Australian university, including Science and Arts-based degrees, are acceptable.
There is a separate admission process for students applying from the Bachelor of Medical Science program at UNSW. You can find more information on the Graduate Entry Stream for UNSW BMedSc Students at Special Admission Schemes.