Uq Class sizes and general comments-finishing first year

[KTWD]

Hey guys,

 

I am just finishing up my first year at the University of Queensland, and I was going through the premed message board and came across a number of comments re the class sizes and some other stuff I thought I should clarify.

 

I am only posting this for those who are debating if they want to come to UQ, and this is not meant for a HUGE debate or a forum for how crap UQ is.

 

The class size at UQ is huge. There is no denying that... but there are a ton of opportunities to work in small groups.

 

It is a huge mix of students; you have the "Twosies" who are younger and have entered after two years of undergraduate; then you have the older aussies who have completed a number of various degrees, and finally the internationals. The twosies are in general brilliant. They are some of the smartest people in our class.

 

As an international student if you tell anyone that you go to UQ for medicine, it is impressive. People in Australia regard UQ as a great school here. If you are an Australian trying to get into UQ it is very very challenging. I respect that the selection process for internationals is easy, if you have the grade, you do get in. That being said, the international students here are very impressive, and deserve to be here. Those who don't, will drop out and won't survive the exams. The exams are hard.

 

You are in a lecture hall with 400 people. But UQ is not a lecture focused school at all. At most we have about 12 hours of lecture a week. But we have 5 hours of PBL time where you are in a group of ten people. You attend PBL with the same people all year and other various clinical communication skill workshops. You then go to clinical coaching for 3.5 hours, where you work in a group of 5 people and learn how to do GIT, Neuro, Physical exams etc. You also have anatomy, physiology and microbiology pracs where you are also in small groups.

 

The school is great at organizing special clinics, where you learn how to suture, plaster, deliver babies etc. There is usually something offered either by the school or by the UQMS ( the student organization) once a week. The second years put together small groups where on a weekly basis you get together to go over key concepts.

 

The school is VERY aware what is going on with each of their students, if you are even .01 below the average of the exam, phil towers the director of the school will meet with you personally to go over why you are struggling. So yes there are 400 students... you could get lost if you choose to, but you could also get lost at U of T. If you want to get lost in the shuffle.. don't go to med school.

 

This thread is meant to tell you both sides.. so now the negatives...

 

The school sucks at getting lectures posted on time. There are times where you will not have lecture notes going into a lecture. Some people don't care others do..

 

The school at times is not organized, our recent exam had some questions on it from future lectures, so stuff we had not covered before. Those questions were then removed from the exam.

 

The anatomy program isn't great, but they are def fixing it. Within the year I have been here there are huge improvements. You do work with cadavers and work in smaller groups.

 

There isn't a ton of direction with what you need to know for the exam, so you do need to know everything. Some of the exam questions are from far left field , and it is unfair, but for all I know that happens back in Canada.

 

In terms of Brisbane, I am from Toronto... when I first got here , I hated it. It is smaller, things shut at 5, and at times it doesn’t feel like there is a ton to do. I also came here right as the flood hit. If you like big cities,.. Brisbane will be a bit of a struggle, but you get used to it.

 

Things are better, I still find it small, and I think as a city I would have loved Sydney, but if cost is a factor forget Sydney. It is so so so expensive. Brisbane is what you make of it. I am personally working, and playing vball outside of school. As an older student I do find their program a bit young, so I had to go outside of the school to meet older people. That being said it is very nice to have friends outside of med school.

 

As an international I am scared about what will happen when I am done. If you are going to go international you need to be flexible. I will be graduating in 3 years, and I am sure things will change. Will they change for the better? I don't know. It could go down hill for sure. It was a chance I was willing to take. I get to live in Australia and live abroad and travel. While I have been here I have gone to Sydney, Thailand, bought a surfboard, and have camped in the rainforest. It has been a great experience, but I am sure it will come with costs. However, once you are a doctor these kind of experiences will be hard to come by. So I am fortunate I get to do them now.

 

If you are flexible about what you want to do and where you want to live, I don't think going international will cause you much grief. It will be a challenge there is no doubt, but you will figure something out.

 

If I think of anything else I will post, please feel free to ask questions on here, and I will try to answer them.

 

K

[alert]

Do you know how does James Cook compare to UQ?

 

Thanks

[KTWD]

No I'm sorry. I got into Melbourne and Sydney, so only know about those two!

[keepontrying]

Why didn't you choose Melbourne or Sydney then?

[leviathan]

Great post, thanks for sharing with us more about UQ.

[KTWD]

Hey!

I didn't choose melbourne because they started up the new MD program when I got in. I didn't want to be a "guinea pig" in a new program. They did a number of changes, and those changes will need to be ironed out. I just saw a lot of headache with it. In your fourth year you also have to a research project. I did my masters so a) didn't think I would benefit, I HATE research, c) felt I would rather work on my clincial skills over my research skills. It is also more expensive.

I would have loved to have gone to sydney but the tuition is substantially more, and so is the cost of living. I just couldn't swing it . Sydney would also distract me with all the stuff you can do there!

[Papyrus]

Thanks a lot for this post - I found it informative, as I am interested in moving to Australia and completing a medical degree. Just out of curiosity, how is the drop rate there among internationals at UQ? According to this "rolling admissions" system, internationals can gain admission with minimal requirements; however, I can't help but assume that those who would be admitted with low grades/mcat would be most likely to drop, as the medical curriculum isn't any different than other schools. Is it right to assume this? Did you notice a large decline in the number of internationals after your first year?

 

Thanks in advance.

[OzTREKK]

The dropout rate among international students, and more specifically Canadian students, is quite low and almost negligible from a statistical perspective.

 

Yes, it is right to assume that because some may gain admission in to the program based on meeting the minimum requirements, they may struggle and are more likely to dropout.

 

The School of Medicine has done a lot of research over many years in relation to entry requirements and successful progression at medical school. The research is updated and tracked every year as well.

 

Based on their research they have found that if you meet the minimum requirements for admission you are able to successfully progress through the course, just like if you had a higher GPA and MCAT score. At the end of the day, you really have to work hard and it comes down to being committed and organised and putting the work in, more than anything else.

 

The University, like all universities across Australia, have both a moral and ethical obligation to each student to only accept them in to a program if they have the academic aptitude to continue and progress through the program.

 

I meet with the Director of the program frequently and she notes that the main reasons for students not progressing through the program are due to personal issues, psychological issues, financial issues and simply put, not putting in the work required.

 

One more thing to note, each medical school in Canada and Australia posts a minimum requirement that you must attain in order to gain admission. That minimum requirement is a requirement which means that you have sufficient academic aptitude to progress through the program. What students actually have in terms of GPA and MCAT to gain admission, especially in Canada, is a different story. In Canada, because the number of places available at medical school is far below the number of students that apply, what students gain admission with is quite high, say a 3.8 CGPA and a 33-35+ MCAT. These entry requirements that students possess do not reflect whether you need this type of academic aptitude to pass the course. This is just the competitive entry requirement needed to gain admission because there are so many students that apply for so few places available. It comes down to supply and demand.

 

Sorry for the convoluted reply.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Matt

[leviathan]

Off topic but is it just a coincidence that you guys are located in Perth, Ontario?

[OzTREKK]

Hey leviathan,

 

It's been a long time, eh?!

 

Yes, crazy, that we are based on Perth, Ontario. Pure coincidence. Beth the Co-founder is actually from the area, and because we can be anywhere, we decided to start the office in Perth, Ontario...no other reason than personal.

 

Hope you are well...sorry I have been out of the community loop for some time.

 

Take care,

 

Matt

[Papyrus]

Thanks for the reply. I'm actually interested in moving to Australia permanently, and so I feel my situation is slightly different from most Canadians who wish to return home after graduating for residency positions. My girlfriend loves the idea of being there, and we've been constantly doing research not only on gaining admission into medicine, but also on the process of becoming a permanent resident, doing residency there, etc. It's a lot to consider, of course. She'll be working full-time while I'm studying (ideally), so her full-time income would help with rent, while a loan would take care of school funds. That's just the basic idea, and while it looks good on paper, I'm sure there are many other factors to consider.

 

Anyway, I've already contacted OzTrekk with a few questions, and will be calling again soon with (many) more. Thanks again for your help! You guys are great.

[leviathan]

Hey leviathan,

 

It's been a long time, eh?!

 

Yes, crazy, that we are based on Perth, Ontario. Pure coincidence. Beth the Co-founder is actually from the area, and because we can be anywhere, we decided to start the office in Perth, Ontario...no other reason than personal.

 

Hope you are well...sorry I have been out of the community loop for some time.

 

Take care,

 

Matt

 

Thanks Matt.

[OzTREKK]

Thanks for the reply. I'm actually interested in moving to Australia permanently, and so I feel my situation is slightly different from most Canadians who wish to return home after graduating for residency positions. My girlfriend loves the idea of being there, and we've been constantly doing research not only on gaining admission into medicine, but also on the process of becoming a permanent resident, doing residency there, etc. It's a lot to consider, of course. She'll be working full-time while I'm studying (ideally), so her full-time income would help with rent, while a loan would take care of school funds. That's just the basic idea, and while it looks good on paper, I'm sure there are many other factors to consider.

 

Anyway, I've already contacted OzTrekk with a few questions, and will be calling again soon with (many) more. Thanks again for your help! You guys are great.

 

Hey Papyrus,

 

Great that you have been in touch already.

 

Now, when it comes to staying in Australia, applying for permanent residency, an internship and staying on to complete a medical residency/specialist training in Australia, during the medical licensing seminars which I run in June of each year, I will cover all these topics.

 

So if you can make it to one of the seminars, I will explain the entire process.

 

The seminars are long, about 3 hours in length, but they cover everything you need to know about Australian medical schools, the latest CaRMS data and statistics, latest CaRMS and Canadian residency trends, as well as alternate licensing pathways via the RCPSC and the MCC, the US NRMP and matching in the US, and finally, staying in Australia.

 

There are a number of current Canadians in Oz in your situation, where they have moved to study with partners, with the intent to stay. So again, I can provide you with all the necessary guidance.

 

Hope you are well and anything you need, just let me know.

 

Take care,

 

Matt