how is the rigor of the curriculum ? do you feel constantly stressed? what are your thoughts about the move to brisbane? struggled? how is the safety ?
Hi
@drabberbadge , just to amend my previous post that you quoted: the minimum requirements went up again for 2018 and now they are requiring 28 on the old MCAT or 502 on the new MCAT, so clearly they are still reaching their yield even with higher stats, and becoming more competitive in the process.
In terms of your current questions regarding the rigor of the curriculum, yes and no. Yes in that medicine is medicine and it is a challenging subject to study anywhere regardless of the program. In terms of the specific UQ curriculum, there are not too many onerous requirements and if you can manage your time effectively you will have loads of time to study and learn the material. There are lots of great resources out there to help support your learning, especially as an Ochsner studying for step!
I mean this is med school, there is certainly some stress approaching midterms and finals (as is probably typical of any academic course), but because our exams are largely few and far between (after 8 weeks midterm after 16 weeks a final), there are long periods of stress free times where you just have to maintain your own pace to learn (it is not uncommon for students to be heading down to the beach or traveling around on weekends). You also get a study week off before finals start. By semester 4 in phase 1, as an Ochsner you will be ignoring the UQ specific curriculum and largely focusing on just your individual step preparation. So I would say that, largely, there is probably less stress than what a typical medical student in the U.S. would go through due to the slower pace and spread out exams. There are also opportunities to re-sit failed exams (If you need to!) and lots of tutoring groups! I do think the administration does try their best to implement positive changes each semester that make improvements to the course based on student feedback. We recently switched over to all electronic exams where we get feedback and grades must sooner and better quality questions, and the clinical unit space for first years in Saint Lucia was recently renovated with nice common areas and new CBL rooms, for example.
The move to Brisbane isn't too bad. It is a clean, safe, highly livable, english-speaking, mid sized city. Obviously, there is an adjustment for anyone moving to any new city or new country and learning their way around, making friends, finding an apartment etc (which would be typical anywhere). Some younger students who have largely lived at home their entire lives with little independent travel experience will struggle with this move. There are always several students who drop out early because it is simply too challenging for them to be away from their support structure back home, but a vast vast majority of students do fine in the move, and greatly enjoy their chance to live in Australia for 2 years! Remember you are all in the same boat starting out when you move over here, so any of those stressors will be common to the entire cohort
I hope that answers your questions.