Flinders 2016

[UncomfortablyNumb]

Pretty late in the application cycle and still no thread!

I applied 5/22 and received an interview invite 7/8. Waiting to hear back for scheduling.

Would be great to hear from others who may possibly attend in 2016!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[mcat_taker]

They don't respond to my emails for some reason! Not sure whats going on with them. I applied months ago.

 

[UncomfortablyNumb]

My email says they are short-listing interviews for August based on weighted GPA and MCAT scores only. Perhaps they will be doing September in August, etc until they are full.

Did you try the International Admissions Coordinator, Bini Parker? There was some issues with my transcripts and they were very quick in responding.

 

[mcat_taker]

My email says they are short-listing interviews for August based on weighted GPA and MCAT scores only. Perhaps they will be doing September in August, etc until they are full.

Did you try the International Admissions Coordinator, Bini Parker? There was some issues with my transcripts and they were very quick in responding.

Yea I have emailed her before along with the general international admissions email with not much luck. I'll probably sit on it until my new scores come out in mid August. The only reason I applied earlier was because they claimed they didn't have MCAT cut offs but I knew I wasn't competitive at the time.

Do you know if they want to see graduate GPA or just undergraduate? Did you send recs?

 

[UncomfortablyNumb]

No Recs.

I hesitate to say ALL but every school I've researched and applied to has used the same standardized criteria for GPA. The only variation I've seen is that they will weigh your GPA backwards 3x senior, 2x junior, 1x sophomore, Freshman isn't included. Flinders and Melbourne did that but Melbourne changed this year to the standard. No one uses any coursework after your undergraduate degree was granted to calculate your GPA. Certain schools will allow you to petition for them to look at your post-bac grades.
(http://www.gemsas.edu.au/).

Melbourne's 2016 International Admission Guide is very helpful and answers a lot of the general questions.

 

[zikitee]

anyone here heard back regarding international interviews?

 

[UncomfortablyNumb]

Nope. Got the invite saying they would follow-up soon with a date and then radio silence.

 

[zikitee]

Has anyone had an interview with Flinders and heard back from them yet? Or know roughly what the status is with the admissions (i.e. are interviews still going on, when to hear back etc.)?

 

[UncomfortablyNumb]

i was given an interview invite around the first week of August, scheduled around the 16th. I ended up withdrawing my application since I accepted UQO before.

 

[fataliz]

for anyone interested, international applicant here. interviewed first week of August, just got the acceptance email this morning

 

[mcat_taker]

for anyone interested, international applicant here. interviewed first week of August, just got the acceptance email this morning

Congrats! I just sent them updated MCAT results that I received this afternoon but otherwise radio silence from them and no interview yet.

 

[UncomfortablyNumb]

for anyone interested, international applicant here. interviewed first week of August, just got the acceptance email this morning

Congrats! Turning down Flinders was a tough choice for me. It's a great school! Are you going to accept?

 

[zikitee]

interviewed 3rd august and received acceptance email literally 2 minutes after my previous post (see post #8) !

 

[HibikiR]

I got accepted to both Flinders and Griffith and now I'm banging my head against the wall trying to decide which one to go with.

I'm a U.S. citizen and I intend to return to the U.S. for my residency, which leads to my main dilemma.

I've heard that Flinders has the more established reputation, but that may or may not mean something to the people in charge of selection for residencies in the U.S.

If asked "Why did you choose to study in Australia?" when applying for a residency in the U.S. I think I can craft a better response with Griffith, but that also may not mean something to the people in charge of selection.

As for location, I prefer the Gold Coast, but I prefer getting a U.S. residency more.

 

[mcat_taker]

I got accepted to both Flinders and Griffith and now I'm banging my head against the wall trying to decide which one to go with.

I'm a U.S. citizen and I intend to return to the U.S. for my residency, which leads to my main dilemma.

I've heard that Flinders has the more established reputation, but that may or may not mean something to the people in charge of selection for residencies in the U.S.

If asked "Why did you choose to study in Australia?" when applying for a residency in the U.S. I think I can craft a better response with Griffith, but that also may not mean something to the people in charge of selection.

As for location, I prefer the Gold Coast, but I prefer getting a U.S. residency more.

Well first off congratulations. Not a bad problem to have being accepted to two schools! Just out of curiosity why didn't you apply to UQ-O as a U.S. citizen? Have you talked to Griffith about coming back to the U.S.? How much support do they give you there for overseas electives and USMLE stuff? Do they have anyone to put you in touch with who has successfully entered a U.S. residency from Griffith? I would be interested in hearing what you've discovered because I applied to Griffith and don't know much about the school or how many people have successfully made it back to the U.S. from it. I think Flinders has more internationals so that may or may not be more comforting to you trying to match back.

 

[UncomfortablyNumb]

If your main objective is to get a US residency and practice in the US, you should really apply to UQ-Ochsner.

Barring that, make a list and compare/contrast. (Disclaimer: I only know about Flinders. This is what I considered when choosing between it and UQ-O)
Price -- Flinders accepts US federal loans and is one of the cheapest options in Au
location -- Adelaide is coastal and one of the cheapest cities, but is also know as "the city of churches." This means exactly what you might think.
cost of living -- With the money you save in Adelaide you could travel
campus -- Flinders is woefully outdated and is currently getting renovated, meaning it's under construction. Watch some Youtube walk throughs

In terms of residency
Does the school offer the ability to complete a US clinical elective? Flinders does not.
Does the school have any US ties? Flinders does not, but they do have ties to other countries.
Does the school offer any assistance with USMLE prep?
How many of their students match?
Many students fall in love with Australia (myself included) and would like to stay instead of completing a US residency. Which school offers the best chance of placement? South Australia ranks internationals higher than Queensland so you'd have a better chance of staying in Au if you went to Flinders.

And, lastly, I know a lot of people consider Australia because they couldn't get into the US; however, I'd stop playing into the American elitism if I were you. It hurts all of us. You should realize that the largest universities in Australia consistently rank in the top 100 universities in the world for clinical medicine. Melbourne, Sydney, and UQ are top 50, ranking ahead of NYU, Georgetown, and UC Davis. Their major cities are also consistently ranked the best places to live in the world -- Melbourne being #1. You're not going to the Caribbean.

I've been asked the question a lot (always by Americans) and in most cases it's a window into the person's ignorance and bias. PLEASE! When you get asked, politely remind them there is a world outside of America that provides equivalent, if not superior training found in the US. They will no longer see you (US!) as some kid who couldn't cut it in the US system.

 

[HibikiR]

Thanks for the responses!

I did try to get into UQ-O, but I think that I screwed myself during the interview so when it came time to score me I didn't have a stellar interview score + MCAT to compensate for my gpa. Got the dreaded email 2 months ago.

I think from what I read Flinders has ~30 internationals while Griffith has ~20 internationals in their respective med programs.

Both schools essentially use the 4-year curriculum developed by Flinders, which doesn't perfectly sync with USMLE Step I so both have student groups and tutors to prep for it. Griffith's program is slightly modified in that the first two years also include time in a practical setting along with lecture hall time.

Cost-wise, Griffith states a total of ~$232000 AUD (increase cap 7.5%) while Flinders states ~$281000 AUD (increase cap ~9%). Griffith doesn't take U.S. Federal loans, but accepts Sallie Mae or other private loans. Flinders takes all of those.

Griffith likes to tout that they completed their $150 million Health center two years ago and that combined with the new hospital across the street will serve as the teaching center for their medical students. Didn't know that Flinders was in the process of their own remodel.

Griffith advertised that overseas placement for clinical rotations is a big part of their program, but they did state that one of the caveats is that the student can't do one of those in their home country with U.S. and Canada being bared for both U.S. citizens and Canadians alike. Flinders says they'll allow a student that did well in year 3 to take some of their year 4 elective rotations anywhere, including in the United States, but they don't mention if they have connections to make it a seamless move.

As for the "Why did you choose to study in Australia?" bit I was referring to any admissions staff for a U.S. residency. As much as I'd like to stop playing into any elitism I can't exactly avoid it when it comes from a guy that's between me and a U.S. residency. From anyone else I completely agree that the question would be absurd.

 

[Mackenzie_li]

Hibiki, do you mind sharing more on what you mean by clinical rotations being barred for americans and canadians?

 

[HibikiR]

Elective rotations, not to be confused with residencies, can be done in countries other than the home country of international students. As an American I cannot do elective residencies back in the U.S. or Canada (too similar I guess) and would have to do them in Australia or other countries like the U.K.

It makes us more worldly I guess, but I could be wrong about everything and strongly urge you to contact Griffith U.

If you thought I meant Americans and Canadians are barred outright then I apologize for the confusion.

 

[Mackenzie_li]

You said "the student can't do one of those in their home country..." I think you get like 3 or 5 electives at Griffith (correct me if I am wrong). So I, a Canadian, could still do a few clinical rotations back here in Canada. I've already spoken with one of the Griffith reps and all he told me was that I could do my clin rotations in Canada, but students have to coordinate the travel and paperwork with the Canadian hospital themselves.

 

[MordantBlack]

Hey all, I will be having an interview with Flinders on the 28th Oct with Professor Tim Neild, any tips or ideas on the kind of questions they'll ask?

 

[lorong]

mind sharing your stats ?

 

[rayjay]

Hey guys
Not sure what the status of your applications are but I urge you to read the latest thread in the Aus forum posted by one of my classmates.

We are all Flinders Med 2015 graduates and have had a very disheartening meeting the the powers that be today (dean, chief medical officer). In summary, there is a very low chance that internationals will get an internship this year in SA.

If you haven't accepted and haven't paid the deposit I strongly urge you to reconsider. I'm not fear-mongering, I'm telling you the truth about what we were told today. There are just under 20 internationals in our year, none of us have gotten jobs in SA yet, 3 have gotten out of state. The rest are all still waiting. We're looking to the private hospitals for positions but those aren't guaranteed.

After $250,000+ in expenses over 4 years, we're all terrified. We all told the dean today we would make it our priority to get on social media and make this a known fact about SA. There are tons of news articles that will support the fact that in 2017 especially, even locals will miss out.

Please reconsider SA.

 

[UncomfortablyNumb]

Hey guys
Not sure what the status of your applications are but I urge you to read the latest thread in the Aus forum posted by one of my classmates.

We are all Flinders Med 2015 graduates and have had a very disheartening meeting the the powers that be today (dean, chief medical officer). In summary, there is a very low chance that internationals will get an internship this year in SA.

If you haven't accepted and haven't paid the deposit I strongly urge you to reconsider. I'm not fear-mongering, I'm telling you the truth about what we were told today. There are just under 20 internationals in our year, none of us have gotten jobs in SA yet, 3 have gotten out of state. The rest are all still waiting. We're looking to the private hospitals for positions but those aren't guaranteed.

After $250,000+ in expenses over 4 years, we're all terrified. We all told the dean today we would make it our priority to get on social media and make this a known fact about SA. There are tons of news articles that will support the fact that in 2017 especially, even locals will miss out.

Please reconsider SA.

Thanks for sharing! I was just reading up on the situations and it seems so absurd to be telling you so late in the game. It's deceitful! Placement was the #1 thing Flinders had going for it. I'm sorry for the position you've been put into, but I'm incredibly relieved I chose Ochsner now. I was having doubts. I hope you find an internship soon and keep spreading the word!

 

[MordantBlack]

Cool thanks rayjay for the advice.

Anyone received letters of acceptance for late applications yet?

 

[mcat_taker]

I got an interview offer for next week but I already was accepted to griffith and paid my deposit. Not sure if flinders is any better.

 

[MordantBlack]

yea, flinders are desperate to take in more students, they're still opening admissions till December..