Thanks for the response, ringing immigration is seriously painful coz they put you on hold forever grrrr...

seems the sms results from UQ have started coming in. Congratulations to those graduating.

Hi everyone! If anyone is going to Brisbane to study, I have a room up for rent. Please PM me for more details if you are interested. The house is located in Indooroopilly and is a 15min bus ride to uni and next to big shopping centre.

the other way, drop by the Immi office & get yourself assigned a case officer.

Online always take long time; sometimes never forever; a case officer is good way to deal with it.

This post has been edited by KVReninem: Dec 4 2011, 02:37 PM

Hello there.

I'm currently a CIE A-Level student. I took my AS this November (Maths, Chemistry, Biology and Physics).

My target is to study medicine in Australia. But I find 4 subjects in AS is very stressful and I'm not sure I can withstand 4 A2 subjects.

So I'm considering dropping Physics, since the universities only require 3 subjects and I don't really have any interest for Physics.

But according to my teacher, he said 3 subjects is realistically impossible to get admitted into medicine in Australia as a local student (I'm a PR). He said that it's impossible to enter even if 3 A*s are taken. How true is this?

Thanks for any help!

Where's your teacher from, where does he draw his experience from, and how does he know about this?

While admission to Australian universities is not too difficult in general-for both local and international students-certain subjects are very competitive (Medicine and others). I'm not studying Medicine, but the subject I chose needed four A grades at A Level (this is rare, and at undergraduate level the subject I am studying has the highest entry requirements).

Since you're doing A Levels but you did not specify a university, I'm not sure how your results will be judged... some universities have a table or their own interpretation system for A Level results. Neither do I know anything about the A Level requirements for undergraduate Medicine.

You should be aware of the entry prerequisites, and once we are informed, the advice will come. Even before looking, I am certain that 3 subjects would put you at a disadvantage, however great or small.

Which aus unis are you targeting for medicine? There's only a handful of uni offering undergraduate mbbs, and the rest will be on graduate entry. I think there's a site where they tell you how to "convert" your A levels results to ATAR. Perhaps do a google search. If I find it, I will post it up.

He had 12+ years working for the Australian government and he's a graduate of a few Australian universities for a number of degrees if I'm not mistaken.

Well I'm not sure which university I'm targeting but I guess I'm targeting all that are available. I've read in this forum that the medschools choose their applicants, not the other way round so I think I'll be applying to all universities available and see where I can get an offer.

I understand that at least straight A's are needed (3 or more) but my teacher told me that it's impossible to gain entry even with 3 A*'s because there are many other students that have more than 4 A's. However, I thought the universities only consider the best 3 subjects' score. Although that may be the case, I also understand that students with more than 3 A's are in better standing than students with 3 A's/A*'s.

The thing is, I am very stressed dealing with 4 subjects, not to mention I have to deal with Physics which I personally do not have any interest at all. And since to study medicine Physics is not a compulsory subject, I feel even demotivated to study Physics.

That is why I'm considering dropping Physics. At the moment, I just finished my AS-Level examinations and I feel I've done pretty good although it was extremely stressful. I would've done much better in my other subjects if I didn't have to deal with Physics. I mean, if getting 3 A*'s are not even enough to enter medicine school, then why bother studying so hard to fail at the admission even when I've done the best any 3-subject-candidate could possibly achieve?

Anyway, what are you studying?

My plan is to get the best possible results and then apply to all that are offering undergraduate MBBS, since the medschools choose their applicants.

I'm studying Actuarial Science - my school doesn't have undergrad Medicine.

Perhaps you may find relief in the fact that Physics should be seen as a very good subject to have by admissions people... since you are going to do well in it, and dropping it will have negative consequences, rethink a little.

Like I said, try to assess the entry standards.

^the irony when engineering students cling on physics and maths for dear life and hate chemistry/biology to the bones

May I ask what school are you in?

I think I'm doing well in it. The AS results aren't out so I do not know if I actually can perform. But A2 is on another level from AS. When doing 4 subjects in AS, I felt the immense pressure and stress. I personally feel I will perform better on my other 3 subjects if I drop Physics.

But what my Head of A-Level Studies said made me reconsider my position, although I would definitely prefer not taking Physics in A2. A-Level is not as easy as I initially thought it to be. It's difficult and challenging.

It could be you think you'll do better in the other 3 subjects if you drop Physics.

Good AS results will contribute to a good A Level grade, but AS can even be more difficult than A2.

Well, if the time spent studying Physics is spent on the other 3 subjects, it would be much better, right?

How can AS be harder than A2?

Yes, more time to spare would be useful. How confident are you with the other 3 anyway? Just spend a little more time on Physics.

The questions asked can vary, and sometimes they go beyond the syllabus and ask some inspired (and difficult, even unfair) questions... like asking A2 questions in AS. Or, you could get an easy A2 and a hard AS, which happens often.

The other 3 subjects (Chem, Bio and Maths) are much less harder because the explanation for answers can be found relatively easily compared to Physics.

In Physics, sometimes even when shown the answer I don't know how I can get it.

Understandable, many of us who have done it have felt the same. Nevertheless, it is really not hard if you try, you'll be able to get an A or A*. A*A*A*A or better will serve you well for admissions. I think if you have the ability to get A*A*A* in those three, you have no problem achieving that.

It's frustrating when I cannot make sense of how to get the answer and sometimes it demotivates me a lot. It's not like other subjects where the answers are relatively easy to find and understand.

Or should I wait until my AS results are out then only decide if I should drop Physics? Maybe it's better then?

Happens to even top students... no once can explain everything all the time... sometimes one finds a way to justify the answer even if the method is incorrect... you know well that is just a fraction of the entire set of papers, the opportunity to get an A* is still there.

And certainly do not drop it before your AS grade comes out. Some Australian schools don't even count AS Levels.

Haha yes, my friends and I sometimes find weird ways to justify the answers. We have no idea if the method is correct though. So true!

So I'll decide if I need to drop it after AS comes out. Thank you!

Good luck Sure you'll do well.