Yes, a 90 ATAR can get you into medicine, especially via pathways like Indigenous entry or regional schemes, but for standard direct entry, it's often a minimum eligibility score, with successful applicants usually needing much higher (99+) plus strong UCAT/GAMSAT and interviews; however, a 90 ATAR is great for postgraduate pathways after an undergraduate degree or for certain university schemes.
Some universities have entry pathways to their postgraduate medical course for Grade 12 graduates provided you complete a relevant undergraduate degree at their institution. These places are highly competitive and generally require an ATAR of at least 90.
The minimum ATAR for medicine is typically around 90-95, but competitive scores are often 99+, as it's highly competitive, with factors like the UCAT score and interviews crucial for entry into both direct-entry and postgraduate pathways. While some pathways (like rural entry) can lower the ATAR, expect to need a near-perfect score for top universities, often combined with high UCAT results and strong interview performance.
🤔 What is a good ATAR? However, 85-95 is generally considered good.
High School Prerequisites Subjects/Scores
Although the exact ATAR needed to get into medicine can differ depending on the university, it is crucial to understand that medical schools are amongst the most competitive in Australia. That means that you need to achieve anywhere between 95-99.95 to be accepted in a medical course.
A 3.2 GPA is considered low for medical school, as the average accepted GPA is closer to 3.7+, but it's not impossible; you'd need an exceptional MCAT score, strong clinical experience, research, volunteering, and a significant upward trend in grades to compensate and get accepted into DO programs or some MD programs, especially if you have compelling extracurriculars and personal narrative.
17.3% of the students received an ATAR of 90.00 or above, 34.6% received an ATAR of at least 80.00, 51.3% at least 70.00, and 66.8% at least 60.00. The median ATAR was 70.75, slightly lower than in 2024. The median ATAR for females was 71.60 whereas the median ATAR for males was 69.80.
Competitive ATAR ~99.75 (2025). Requires UCAT ANZ for Medicine, Dentistry, Oral Health. Very competitive (ATAR ~99.95 for standard places). Provisional entry, very high ATARs required.
Score requirements vary between universities and programs, but generally: Standard pathway applicants typically need to score in the 90th percentile or higher (estimated 2250-2300+ for 2025) to be competitive for most medical programs.
Medicine has the lowest offer rate of all areas of study, with approximately one out of every three undergraduate applicants receiving an offer. There are approximately 4,500 places every year across Australia and New Zealand, but bear in mind that these are spread across both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
Entry requirements
How fast can you become a doctor? While there are some 6-7 year combined BS/MD programs, most individuals become a doctor after at least 11 years of training. This includes 4 years of undergraduate studies, 4 years or medical school, and a minimum of 3 years in residency.
Example Breakdown: An ATAR of 90.20 could be achieved with an average scaled study score of 37.5 in the top four subjects and an average scaled study score of 35 in the bottom two subjects. Tip: Achieving an aggregate of 157 is obviously very challenging.
*Admission pathways are open to domestic applicants on the basis of equity or other adjustment factors, including for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants (a minimum ATAR of 90 to be considered) and Regional and Remote Entry Scheme or MySydney applicants (a minimum ATAR of 99.5 to be considered).
15 of the “Easiest” Medical Schools to Get Into in 2025
For non-rural students who do not qualify for any special access schemes, UNSW Medicine has an official ATAR minimum cut-off of 96.00, and no official UCAT ANZ cut-off exists. However, to have a realistic shot, your scores need to be higher than around ATAR 99.50 & UCAT 92%tile.
Yes, an ATAR of 90 means you are in the top 10% of your year level in Australia, indicating excellent performance that opens doors to many university courses, though highly competitive ones like Medicine or Law may need higher scores. The ATAR is a percentile rank, so a 90 means you performed better than 90% of your peers.
Getting a 90 ATAR is challenging but achievable, as it means ranking in the top 10% of students, with roughly 1 in 5 students (around 17-20%) reaching this level or higher, requiring strong performance (around 75%+ in subjects) and smart study strategies, including focus on weaker areas, effective time management, and consistency, though it's harder at more competitive schools.
In the 2025 NSW HSC, 53 students achieved the perfect ATAR of 99.95, including notable students like Jaden Gargya (Sydney Grammar), Jio Yim & Emma Zhang (PLC), James Mao, Murphy Xi, & Nicholas Chen (The King's School), and Rahul Desai (Baulkham Hills High), with James Ruse Agricultural High School producing the most top scorers (9). While many individual names were highlighted in media, the full list isn't centralized, but key performers and schools were celebrated for their extraordinary efforts in the top 0.05% of candidates.
The 32-hour rule for medical school admissions is a policy used by some admissions committees that focuses on an applicant's most recent credit hours of coursework instead of their entire undergraduate GPA.
Can I Get into Harvard with a Low GPA? While it's certainly possible to get into Harvard with a low GPA, as the numbers bear out, it's improbable. For the Class of 2028, a mere 1.28% of admitted students to Harvard had GPAs below 3.5.
A 3.6 GPA is considered strong on the standard 4.0 scale. It usually means you're earning mostly A's with some B's, which places you above the national high school average of about 3.1. More importantly, admissions officers will weigh your GPA alongside the rigor of your classes.