Ep 19: GEMSAS Medical Schools: What You Need to Know in 2025

Tom Forfa (00:17)
Okay, welcome back everybody to the Nurses Doing GAMSAT podcast. I’m Dr Tom, founder and CEO of Thanks Flip, and I’m joined today by our incredible applications expert, Amlan. Welcome, Amlan!

Amlan (00:32)
Thank you so much for having me. Hello everyone, my name is Amlan. I’m a final year medical student and very excited to join this podcast and hopefully share a little bit about the GAMSAT and GEMSAS experience.

Tom Forfa (00:45)
Yes, yes. So, we’ve got some great things to go through with you guys today. But before we jump into that—Amlan, you’re in fourth year now at Notre Dame. How are you feeling about being an intern next year—excited, nervous, or both?

Amlan (00:55)
Yes. I think both. Med school has definitely been a busy journey, so I’m excited to come to the end of it and start my internship. It’s just one step closer to specialty training and doing what I really want. So it’s exciting, I think.

Tom Forfa (01:16)
Yeah, because I guess everyone listening is wanting to get into medicine, and you’re already in med school—now about to finish—so you’ve kind of been through the whole process. And you’ve spent, I think, the whole time tutoring, coaching, and mentoring people through the GAMSAT—be it essays, CASPer, interviews, applications—which is very cool. But you’re having a little break now after this?

Amlan (01:41)
Yes, I’m flying off tonight to Korea. I’m very excited to have a little bit of a holiday and then planning on going back in December again, once I finish.

Tom Forfa (01:46)
Amazing. So, a couple of weeks in Korea, a bit of a break, and then straight back into medicine. Yeah, awesome. Alright, cool. We’ve got the different backgrounds going today—as you guys probably remember from last month. I like yours, it’s a good one. I’ve got the Riverside one—actually, I’ve got a literal green screen behind me. And then behind that…

Amlan (02:00)
Yes. Yeah, mine’s slightly better, I think.

Tom Forfa (02:19)
…is a friend’s apartment, because we’re getting the asbestos removed from ours today. So I’m doing this remotely.

Amlan (02:23)
Yes, mine is asbestos-free, thankfully.

Tom Forfa (02:29)
Yeah, nice.

Alright, cool. So let’s jump in and talk about GEMSAS. We’re talking about the GEMSAS medical schools today because this is part one of a two-part podcast series. The next one will be about the non-GEMSAS schools (or GAMSAZ, depending on how people pronounce it). In the last episode, we talked about the application process. Now we’re diving a bit deeper.

So why don’t you run us through, Amlan—what is GEMSAS? What does that mean and how do we… yeah, why don’t you just explain it to us?

Amlan (03:04)
Yeah, so GEMSAS is basically the centralised application system for graduate-entry medical schools in Australia. It serves as a bridge between students and universities to help match students based on their metrics and preferences.

Not every postgraduate med school uses GEMSAS, but most do. Across all the states, we have Melbourne and Deakin in Victoria; UWA and UNDF in Perth; Griffith and UQ in Queensland; ANU in Canberra; and Wollongong, Macquarie, and Notre Dame Sydney in New South Wales.

Tom Forfa (03:50)
Yeah, so if you want to apply to any of those medical schools, you need to apply through GEMSAS. And I like to joke that they call themselves a “consortium of medical schools”, which kind of sounds like a drug cartel. They’ve essentially gone, “You know what? This whole application thing is a lot of work. We’re going to delegate it to GEMSAS.” And GEMSAS does it. They collect—well, we’ll talk about the metrics and data they collect from you…

Tom Forfa (04:20)
…and then they give you one interview with one of those medical schools. So you have to organise your preferences. Is it five, Amlan, that you can pick?

Amlan (04:30)
That’s a really good question. You can select a maximum of six out of ten unis. And it’s really important—hopefully we’ll be able to help a bit with how to preference them—because that can actually make or break your application. So it’s six preferences, and I strongly encourage you to put in all six. Don’t leave anything blank.

Tom Forfa (04:53)
Yeah.

Amlan (04:54)
The way the process works is you get matched for an interview from your highest eligible preference. Let’s say your GAMSAT or GPA isn’t high enough for Preference One—they’ll then look at Preference Two. And they keep doing that to try and match you with your highest possible, eligible preference.

Tom Forfa (05:21)
Yeah. And I think the key word there is “eligible,” right? Because sometimes people swing for the fences and put a school first that they may not have the marks for—which can work against them. But there’s a whole strategy to this.

And then—so what’s also interesting about GEMSAS—maybe you can explain this, Amlan—is what happens if you get an interview with a medical school?

Tom Forfa (05:48)
Does that mean you’re going to get an offer from that same medical school?

Amlan (05:52)
Sure. So for clarity, let’s say we label the schools as University A, B, C, and so on. If you get an interview at University B, that means your first preference, University A, has already declined you. That means there’s no chance of getting a final offer from University A.

However, they’ll keep moving your score down your preferences—so from B to C, then to D—to see if you’re eligible for offers at those other schools.

Now, you may have more of an advantage at some universities compared to others, depending on things like whether they use your weighted or unweighted GAMSAT, or whether you get bonuses for certain unis.

For example, my strength was my CASPer. So I knew I’d likely end up at a university like Wollongong or Notre Dame, because they use that metric heavily.

Most unis have about a 1:2 ratio of interviews to offers. But the one with the lowest ratio is Notre Dame Sydney. They interview about 300 people for 120 spots—so that’s about a 1 in 2.5 chance. So if your score isn’t as strong for a particular uni, you might want to prefer a uni that has a better interview-to-offer ratio.

Tom Forfa (07:35)
And what about once the interview is done? You might get an offer from that same medical school, or another one down your list. Some people think that’s kind of weird—but it’s actually known as the GEMSAS “pool.”

Tom Forfa (08:04)
So let’s say you did the interview, but didn’t quite meet the requirements for that particular medical school—you don’t fall out of the running. That’s the great thing about GEMSAS. You get thrown back into the pool, and you might get selected by another medical school.

So although we kind of joke that they’ve delegated all the work to GEMSAS, the system is actually advantageous because it tries to maximise the number of people who get a spot in medicine.

Amlan (08:29)
Yes.

Tom Forfa (08:31)
So then Amlan, why don’t you run us through what are the key metrics that the medical schools are looking at? Then we’ll jump into the medical schools themselves.

Amlan (08:39)
Sure. So GEMSAS considers your GAMSAT score. Most unis use a weighted GAMSAT. The GAMSAT has three sections—Sections 1 and 2 are humanities, and Section 3 is biological and physical sciences.

Most unis weight Section 3 double. But some unis don’t do that. The ones that don’t weight Section 3 double include the University of Notre Dame (both Sydney and Fremantle), Melbourne University, and University of Queensland.

So if you’re stronger in humanities, those unis might be more advantageous for you. That’s something I factored into my own preferences.

Amlan (09:40)
The second metric is GPA. Most universities use a weighted GPA, which means your later years of study count more.

For example, in a three-year degree:

• First year is weighted x1
  
  

• Second year is weighted x2
  
  

• Third year is weighted x3
  
  

All that gets added up and divided by six. I know it’s a bit confusing, so I recommend Googling “GEMSAS GPA calculator”—there are free tools out there. But the best one is the official GEMSAS calculator that’s part of the application process.

Tom Forfa (10:47)
Yeah, GEMSAS have a calculator on their website, and that’s probably the most reliable one.

And then there’s bonuses as well, right?

Amlan (10:50)
Yeah, exactly. Bonuses depend on the uni. Most unis give bonuses if you’ve done a master’s or PhD. Others, like Deakin, give bonuses for rurality, and Wollongong gives bonuses if you’ve worked as a healthcare professional.

So there are uni-specific bonuses, and they can make a big difference.

Tom Forfa (11:40)
Yeah. Just on those bonuses—what we’ve found with our students over the years is that bonuses are kind of the secret sauce. They’re often overlooked, but they can be the deciding factor, especially if your GAMSAT or GPA is borderline. We’ve seen that again and again, year after year. So it’s something you really have to look into in detail and be aware of.

Thanks for breaking that down.

Amlan (12:00)
No worries. And then the next one is CASPer. CASPer is relatively new here, though it’s been used for years in Canada and the US. More Australian med schools are adopting it.

Currently, for postgrad, three universities use it: Notre Dame Sydney, Notre Dame Fremantle, and Wollongong.

I believe Curtin uses it for undergrad as well, but that’s outside of what we’re discussing today.

Tom Forfa (12:50)
Yeah. And if you want to know more about CASPer, we did an in-depth podcast episode on that a couple of episodes ago with Shabby. You should definitely check that out. We cover what CASPer is, how it works, sample questions, and helpful resources.

Amlan (13:08)
Amazing. Yeah, I’d definitely recommend that episode. CASPer is a situational judgment test and it’s actually great preparation for interviews.

If you’re not as confident in your GPA or GAMSAT, CASPer can help neutralise those weaker metrics and make you a stronger, more competitive applicant. I recommend that most people sit it.

Tom Forfa (13:35)
Yes, there’s definitely a strategy to this whole process. It’s not as straightforward as people might think. It’s not just “tick the boxes and get the best outcome.”

We’ve seen people with strong scores miss out because they didn’t take advantage of certain strategic elements. And others with borderline scores get in because they did.

Amlan (14:13)
Exactly. If I were doing this process again, I’d start by writing down a list of all the unis and then think about what my priorities are.

Geographic location is a big one for many people—where do you actually want to live? Med school can be stressful and isolating at times, so being in a location where you feel supported is crucial.

Prestige or ranking? That’s more of a U.S. thing. It’s not something that carries the same weight here.

Tom Forfa (15:02)
Yeah, in Australia, it really doesn’t make that much of a difference.

Amlan (15:06)
No, not at all. And the same goes for your medical school grades—it doesn’t hugely impact your future employability or career outcomes.

Tom Forfa (15:20)
Yeah, we get that question a lot—“Which med school is the best?” The reality is, in Australia, the requirements are so strict that the standards are quite consistent across the board.

What does vary is their niche interests—some focus more on research, some on clinical work, some on rural health, and so on. But the kind of doctor you become depends more on what you put into your studies.

Amlan (15:47)
Exactly. And if you’re interested in certain areas—for example, research—then unis like ANU or Melbourne might be a better fit. If you’re passionate about rural health and can see yourself becoming a rural GP, maybe look at Deakin or Wollongong.

I personally chose Notre Dame over Flinders—even though I got an offer from Flinders—because I wanted a smaller cohort and that more supportive environment.

Would this be a good time to talk about the types of medical school spots? CSP, BMP, FFP?

Tom Forfa (17:43)
Yeah, let’s touch on those quickly, then we’ll move on to the individual medical schools.

Amlan (17:47)
So, for domestic students, there are generally three types of spots:

1. CSP – Commonwealth Supported Places. These are the most desirable. The government subsidises most of your fees, and you pay a small amount—around $10K per year—which can be covered by a HECS-HELP loan. These are the most competitive.
   
   

2. BMP – Bonded Medical Places. Same cost as CSP, but you agree to a 3-year return-of-service obligation in a rural area after graduation. You can do it cumulatively or consecutively, but read the fine print before committing.
   
   

3. FFP – Full Fee Paying. Not every uni offers these. Macquarie, for example, is entirely full fee. So you need to think about whether your financial situation allows for that.
   
   

Tom Forfa (19:12)
Yeah, that’s a really important point. It affects how you rank your preferences. For example, if you can’t afford full fee and Macquarie only offers that, then you shouldn’t rank it high—maybe not at all.

Some people list unis they wouldn’t actually attend, and that just doesn’t make sense.

Amlan (19:43)
Exactly. Be honest with yourself about what you’re willing and able to accept.

Alright, should we start going through the individual universities?

Tom Forfa (20:26)
Yes! But just quickly—some people still ask about portfolios. Do any unis still use them?

Amlan (20:26)
Good question. Wollongong and Notre Dame used to use portfolios. Notre Dame has replaced theirs with CASPer. Wollongong no longer requires a portfolio either, but they now ask for documentation in certain categories that can earn you bonus points.

So, portfolios are gone—but those types of additional considerations still exist, just in a different form.

Tom Forfa (20:42)
Yeah, that was a really interesting development. We actually did a podcast—Episode 17, The Death of GAMSAT—where we talked about the potential implications of this.

Wollongong no longer uses the GAMSAT to rank you—it’s just a hurdle now. You need a minimum of 50 in each section, and that’s it. They don’t care how much more you get. It’s all about the bonuses.

Amlan (20:55)
Yeah, okay. So, should we now talk a little bit about each of the unis?

Tom Forfa (20:59)
Yeah, let’s go through the GEMSAS medical schools that you get to pick from.

Amlan (21:01)
Okay. So the first one is ANU, in Canberra. I don’t personally live there, but if someone does want to live in Canberra, ANU is a prestigious and well-established program.

They use your weighted GAMSAT and GPA for selection, and they offer several bonuses. Bonuses apply to your combined GAMSAT and GPA score and include things like having done honours, a master’s by research, or a PhD. If you have a PhD, that’s a 4% bonus.

However, bonuses do not stack. I wish they did—but unfortunately, they don’t.

Amlan (21:46)
Next is Deakin, based in Geelong. They probably offer the most bonuses out of all the unis.

People often see the cutoff scores and think Deakin is easier—but it’s actually not. The scores get inflated by all the extra bonuses.

They give bonuses if you’re APHRA-registered and have worked as a healthcare professional for at least two years, if you’ve experienced financial disadvantage, if you have specific types of work experience, and if you’re a Deakin graduate.

Tom Forfa (22:33)
Yeah, Deakin’s great for our nurses and healthcare professionals because they get bonus points for their work experience.

They actually did a study a few years ago and found that health science grads—like nurses, physios, pharmacists—perform better in medical school than those from a straight science background, like biomed.

That’s been quite pivotal and probably influenced other unis, like Wollongong, to start adjusting their admissions criteria too.

Amlan (23:24)
Yeah, I didn’t expect to be called out like that! I’m not from a healthcare background, but I completely agree. The nurses in our cohort are so confident in hospital settings because they’ve already done a lot of procedural work. Physios are amazing at physical exams. Pharmacists know the pharmacology inside-out.

So if you’re a healthcare professional pivoting into medicine—absolutely go for it. You bring such a valuable set of skills and experience that can only improve the system.

Tom Forfa (24:10)
Yeah, and Amlan, you’ve clearly put a lot into your own studies and you’re performing really well. Like we’ve said, what you put in is what you get out—but yes, the background can help, especially based on that Deakin study.

Amlan (24:15)
Thanks!

So the next uni is Griffith, based on the Sunshine Coast.

They give automatic straight-7 GPAs to PhD holders, which can really take the pressure off your other metrics like GAMSAT. They also have rural applicant pathways, like most unis do.

In terms of entry, a typical GPA might be around 6.7 with a GAMSAT around 69.

Tom Forfa (25:02)
Yeah, Griffith is a bit of a dark horse. It’s actually quite competitive these days. People don’t always expect it, but Queensland’s a big state and there are only two postgrad med schools—Griffith and UQ.

So Griffith ends up with a very competitive cohort.

Amlan (25:11)
Yeah. And both Griffith and UQ offer both undergrad and postgrad med programs, so postgrad seats are limited due to their existing undergrad cohorts.

Then we’ve got Macquarie, based in Sydney.

People sometimes ask if any unis are easier to get into. I don’t think any of them are easy, but because Macquarie only offers full-fee places, that’s a financial barrier for some applicants. I didn’t apply to Macquarie back in the day for that reason.

Amlan (25:50)
One interesting thing about Macquarie is that in your final year, you might go to India for a clinical cultural immersion placement. That’s around a month or so. Something to think about.

Tom Forfa (26:21)
Yeah, that’s a big point. They really assess how you’ll manage in a different culture.

Personally, I find that fascinating—I love to travel and learn about other cultures. I went to Notre Dame Sydney, and part of the program was doing a social justice project. I went to Vanuatu in second year and helped out, and for my elective in fourth year, I went to Bali and worked in a hospital there.

So you can travel at most unis, but Macquarie builds that international immersion into the degree, which is a cool feature.

Amlan (27:17)
I think it really gives you perspective—seeing how healthcare operates in an under-resourced or underprivileged country is so different to a country like Australia.

So if you’re someone interested in culturally sensitive healthcare, and passionate about social justice and advocacy, Macquarie might be a great fit.

Next is Melbourne University. As I mentioned earlier, Melbourne uses an unweighted GAMSAT score, meaning all three sections are weighted equally.

Instead of traditional bonuses, they have something called the Graduate Access Scheme. It’s less transparent than others—you can submit a paragraph outlining any disadvantages you’ve faced (financial, personal, etc.), along with supporting documentation.

How much weight that carries is kind of a mystery.

Tom Forfa (28:26)
Yeah, if you guys want to know more about this, check the show notes—we’ve got a Med School Info page with all this information and more. You’ll see the medical schools lined up side by side with all their entry requirements, GPA cut-offs, and GAMSAT scores. I’ll put the link in the notes for you.

Amlan (28:46)
Perfect. Next is Notre Dame. For application purposes, Notre Dame Fremantle and Notre Dame Sydney are treated as separate unis.

One question we get a lot is, “Can I swap between them?” Like, if I get an offer from Notre Dame Sydney, can I switch to Fremantle? The answer is: it’s extremely rare. It would require someone else from the other campus to swap with you.

I personally don’t know anyone who’s been able to do that. So only preference the one you’re actually willing to attend.

Amlan (29:22)
Notre Dame Fremantle is in WA. It gives bonuses to Western Australia residents, and has rural and Indigenous pathways. They also give bonuses for master’s and PhD holders. And as mentioned, both Fremantle and Sydney campuses require the CASPer test.

Amlan (29:50)
Now onto the best uni—Notre Dame Sydney! As the name suggests, it’s based in Sydney and uses CASPer as an additional requirement.

In your final year, you can actually complete it in Melbourne or even in Adelaide. They’ve just opened a new clinical school in Adelaide.

Notre Dame places a strong emphasis on social justice. In first and second year, you complete a social justice project involving some kind of volunteering. So if you’ve got a strong background in community service or volunteering, bring that out in your interview.

Amlan (30:45)
Next is University of Queensland (UQ). It’s quite a competitive uni in terms of cut-off scores. I’d encourage you to check out our website for more detailed info.

Tom, did you want to add something here?

Tom Forfa (30:56)
Yeah, I was just going to say that UQ has some hidden preferences. They’ve been favouring rural students—even in their Commonwealth Supported Places.

We’ve had a number of bootcampers tell us that the majority of students getting offers there seemed to be rural applicants. It’s not something they put on their website, but it makes a big difference.

So if you’re not rural and you apply to UQ—when you could have picked Griffith—you might end up missing out.

Same with Notre Dame Fremantle—you get bonuses if you’re a WA resident. These little things aren’t always obvious, but they do matter. That’s why understanding the process and knowing where you have an advantage is so valuable.

Amlan (32:15)
Exactly. When I was going through the process, it was overwhelming. I didn’t know where to find resources like this, so it was really confusing.

Our goal here is to help you feel supported—whether that’s through a mentor or just having clear resources.

Next is UWA, in Perth.

They also offer a GPA of 7 if you have a PhD, and some bonus points for master’s by research. If you’ve done dentistry at UWA, they automatically give you a GPA of 7—likely aimed at people going into maxillofacial surgery.

They also include rural rating in their process.

Tom Forfa (33:39)
Yeah, and UWA is another one of those unis where GPA is the key factor. There are only two postgrad med schools in WA and a lot of applicants—so it becomes very competitive on GPA.

If your GPA is under 6.7, you’re unlikely to get a spot there, even if your GAMSAT is high.

Amlan (34:14)
And finally, Wollongong. Like we mentioned earlier, they treat GAMSAT and GPA as hurdles—just a minimum requirement.

Instead, they focus heavily on CASPer and a wide range of bonus categories. There are about 11 of them. I won’t list them all now, but a few examples:

• Full-time work
  
  

• Healthcare work experience
  
  

• Living in a rural or regional area
  
  

• Living in Wollongong
  
  

Tom Forfa (34:58)
Yeah, if you’re a rural clinician who’s worked full-time for at least two years, you’re going to do really well at Wollongong.

If you want more details, go check out Episode 17—The Death of GAMSAT—where we deep dive into Wollongong and what they’re doing differently.

Amlan (35:19)
Yeah. So maybe we should talk a little bit about some of the key timelines now?

Tom Forfa (35:25)
Yes. So those are all the medical schools. You pick your top six and, yeah, hopefully structure them according to where you’re likely to get in. And now let’s move on to the timeline.

Amlan (35:40)
Okay, so in terms of the deadline, firstly, you don’t really need to mail anything to GEMSAS as long as you’ve completed your degree at an Australian-registered university. They collect transcripts through an automated retrieval system, so they’ll get everything digitally.

What you do need to do is pay and submit your application by the deadline of 30th May at 5 p.m. AEST. I’ll stress this: I strongly encourage people to submit it a few days before. Why? Because historically, the website has crashed or become very slow with everyone trying to apply at the last minute. Save yourself the stress and submit it early.

In terms of other timelines, there isn’t a huge gap between when interview offers are released and when interviews are actually held. If you feel you even have a slight chance of getting an interview, I strongly encourage you to start preparing early. Interview preparation is not something you can cram in two days. It really takes consistent effort and practice—it’s a skill set that takes time to build.

Tom Forfa (37:09)
No.

Amlan (37:09)
Interview offers usually come out towards the end of August, and interviews are typically held in the second to third week of September. Melbourne’s interviews tend to be a bit later.

Tom Forfa (37:32)
Yeah, so you might get only two or three weeks to prepare for an interview that’s worth 50% of whether or not you get into medical school. It’s a big deal, and they don’t give you much time.

Amlan (37:45)
Yeah, and I feel like people neglect the interview. Would you say, in your experience, that even though it’s weighted the most—50%, more than your GPA, GAMSAT, and Casper combined—people still underestimate it?

Tom Forfa (37:56)
Yeah, I agree. I think people get to that point—like, they’ve gotten through the GAMSAT, so they’re like, “Yes!” Then they’ve submitted the application and get an interview—again, “Yes!” And there’s a sense of overconfidence, like, “I’ve got this last step, I’m fine.” But a lot of people don’t got this. Right? The secret advantage is to take the interview seriously, because that is the make-or-break moment.

Amlan (38:16)
Yeah. Yeah.

Tom Forfa (38:31)
And just because someone has clinical experience or they’ve done interviews before doesn’t mean they’ll do well in this specific medical school style of interview. It’s very different to what many people have done.

Amlan (38:45)
Exactly. That’s why getting direction and guidance is invaluable for the interview process. In the interview, they’re not looking at your clinical knowledge—that’s not what it’s for. They have very specific criteria and things they’re marking you on, and you have a very limited time in which to tick those boxes. So it’s important to prepare consistently and early.

Tom Forfa (39:13)
Yeah, it’s like a production line—the interview, especially the MMI style. The buzzer goes, you move to the next one. Then the buzzer goes again, and you’re on to the next. It’s bam, bam, bam. And if you’re not concise and on point, you’re going to fluff around and miss out on the marks. I’ve mentioned in previous podcasts—I’ve gone through two medical school interviews. I messed up the first one. I know what that’s like. I did well on the second one, and then I became an interviewer on the panel.

And once I saw it from the inside, I saw what was going wrong. People weren’t prepared in the right way. So we created a system and process that doesn’t give you canned answers, but shows you how to answer any question reliably and confidently.

We’ve got an Interview Bootcamp that teaches you those techniques, gives you drills and exercises—we call them mini mocks—and immediate feedback from our team. If you want to know more about that, we’ll link it in the show notes. There’s also the Applications Bootcamp, to help you maximise your chances of getting that interview in the first place.

Amlan (40:27)
Yeah, I think that Interview Bootcamp really empowers you with a framework, rather than teaching you to memorise answers. You learn to apply your skills consistently and emulate the real interview experience. I sat two interviews myself—Flinders and Notre Dame—and got offers from both. Each uni has its own slight nuances, so it’s important to prepare for those differences.

Tom Forfa (41:08)
Amazing.

Amlan (41:19)
Okay, so now let’s talk about some of the common mistakes people make in this process. Tom, in your experience working in this space for so long, what would you say is the most common mistake?

Tom Forfa (41:26)
The biggest one is assuming, “I’ll just put my preferences in, tick the boxes, and the best outcome will happen based on my results.” It’s not that simple. Because of how GEMSAS works—as Amlan said earlier—they try to give you your highest eligible preference. What we’ve seen is, if you aim too high and put down a med school first that you don’t have the marks for, and your second choice is one you do have the marks for, you’re unlikely to get that second one. Often, you won’t get anything.

Even Wollongong gives you a bonus if you put them first. So the biggest mistake I see is underestimating the significance of the order of preferences.

Amlan (42:30)
Yeah, I definitely agree. Also, not having a clear idea of what bonus points you’re eligible for and what metrics the universities use. For example, putting down Notre Dame without sitting Casper doesn’t make sense. You also want to check whether the university uses weighted or unweighted GAMSAT, depending on your strengths.

Another mistake is thinking that if I list full-fee places first, I’m more likely to get in. It doesn’t work like that. Put down the spots you are actually willing to accept. Typically, most people prioritise CSP first, then BMP, then full-fee. That’s how I’d do it—just keep in mind CSP is the most competitive.

And lastly, start early. Don’t wait until the last minute to begin your application. If you start it on the 30th of May, it’s going to be a very stressful experience. Give yourself time, prep it early, submit it early.

Tom Forfa (43:35)
Yeah. And again, if you want free resources, go to the show notes. We’ve got everything linked there. And if you want our guidance to take you step-by-step, the Applications Bootcamp is there for that too.

But that’s been fantastic, Amlan. Thank you for taking us through all of that. Any final words of wisdom before we wrap up?

Amlan (44:10)
Thank you, Tom. I’d echo what you said about the Applications Bootcamp. It really can help guide you in more detail through this confusing process. It can feel isolating, so having a mentor or someone to help you strategise your preferences makes a big difference.

In a podcast, we can give advice that’s helpful to most people, but we can’t tailor it to your exact situation. That’s what the Bootcamp does. My final tip is to focus on interview preparation early. That made the difference for me. My GPA was okay—it wasn’t exceptional—but I still got a CSP place because of my interview performance and preparation. So don’t neglect it.

Tom Forfa (45:13)
Amazing. All right, thank you everyone. Next week, we’re going to talk about the non-GEMSAS medical schools. We’re doing that later because their application deadlines are later. But join us next week for that. Thank you again, Amlan. That’s been great.

Amlan (45:30)
Thank you!
Good luck to everyone with their applications.