Will a Masters or Grad Dip Actually Boost Your GEMSAS GPA? Use This Free Calculator to Find Out
If you've ever googled "will a Masters improve my GEMSAS GPA" and come away more confused than before, you're not alone. I get asked this all the time, and the answer is complicated because every graduate medical school in Australia calculates GPA differently.
So I made a free Excel calculator that does the maths for you. You can download it below.
Why GPA calculations are so confusing
Most people assume GEMSAS just uses your overall university average. It doesn't. Each university weights your results its own way, and which years of your degree they count, and how much each one counts, varies a lot. I've also made a YouTube video that explains the calculation in more detail.
Here's a quick overview of how each GEMSAS university does it.
| University | Weighting | Years used | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ANU | Weighted (x1, x2, x3) | Most recent 3 FTE years | Minimum GPA of 5.0 to be considered for interview. Final year x3, the year before x2, the year before that x1. |
| Deakin | Weighted (x1, x2, x3) | Most recent 3 FTE years | Final year x3, the year before x2, the year before that x1. 2020 results excluded. Minimum GPA 5.0. |
| Griffith | Unweighted | Most recent 3 FTE years | Minimum GPA 5.0. Ungraded passes of up to 0.5 FTE are ignored. Completed PhDs count as 7.0. |
| Macquarie | Weighted (x1, x2, x3) | Most recent 3 FTE years | Final year x3, the year before x2, the year before that x1. Also accepts a WAM of 65 or above. Minimum GPA 5.0. |
| University of Melbourne | Weighted (x1, x2, x2) | Most recent 3 years of undergrad | Oldest year x1, then x2 and x2. Minimum GPA 5.0. Note the unusual weighting: final year is x2, not x3. |
| Notre Dame Fremantle | Weighted (x1, x2, x3) | Most recent 3 FTE years | Final year x3, the year before x2, the year before that x1. Minimum GPA 5.2. Masters by Research and PhDs aren't counted in your GPA but earn bonus points instead. |
| Notre Dame Sydney | Weighted (x1, x2, x3) | Most recent 3 FTE years | Same as Fremantle. Minimum GPA 5.2. |
| UQ | Not weighted by year (weighted by credit value) | Whole degree | Every subject in your key degree counts, whatever year you took it. Each subject is weighted by its credit value, not by how recent it is. Minimum GPA 5.0. |
| UWA | Unweighted | Most recent 3 FTE years | A simple average of 3 years. Minimum GPA 5.5. Completed PhDs or a UWA Doctor of Dental Medicine count as 7.0. A Masters by Research adds a 0.2 bonus. |
| UOW | Weighted (x1, x2, x3) | Most recent 3 FTE years | Final year x3, the year before x2, the year before that x1. GPA is only a hurdle (minimum 5.5) and isn't used for ranking once you've cleared it. |
The big difference is between weighted and unweighted universities.
Weighted universities (ANU, Deakin, Macquarie, UOW, Notre Dame and Melbourne) multiply your most recent years, usually so your final year counts three times as much as your earliest year. That means if you struggled in first year but did well in your last two, you can still be competitive.
Unweighted universities (Griffith and UWA) just average your last three years equally. There's no multiplier and no bonus for recent years.
UQ does its own thing. It uses your whole degree and weights each subject by its credit value rather than by year.
Why further study can (sometimes) make a big difference
This is the question I get constantly: "My GPA is 5.2. If I do a one-year Graduate Diploma and get a 6.5, will that help?"
It depends on which universities you're applying to and how their weighting treats your new results. At a weighted university, your Grad Dip becomes your new final year and gets multiplied by three, which can move your GPA a lot. At an unweighted university, the change is smaller.
The only way to know for sure is to do the maths, so let's work through an example.
Applicant A did a three-year Bachelor of Science. Their GPA for each year was:
- Final year: 6.5
- The year before: 6
- The year before that: 5.5
- Weighted GPA: 6.25
- Unweighted GPA: 6
With 6.25 weighted and 6 unweighted, they'll need a high GAMSAT score to be competitive.
Here's how their GPA changes with further study.
Option 1: a one-year course (honours, a grad cert, a grad dip, or a one-year Masters by coursework or research)
If they get a GPA of 7, their numbers become:
- Final year: 7
- The year before: 6.5
- The year before that: 6
- Weighted GPA: 6.67 (up 0.42)
- Unweighted GPA: 6.5 (up 0.5)
Option 2: a two-year Masters (by coursework or research)
If they get a GPA of 7 in both years, their numbers become:
- Final year: 7
- The year before: 7
- The year before that: 6.5
- Weighted GPA: 6.92 (up 0.67)
- Unweighted GPA: 6.83 (up 0.83)
With the two-year option they've almost maxed out their GPA and would be very competitive, so further study would be well worth it.
That all assumes they get a 7, though. Postgrad study is hard, first class honours is hard, and you need to be realistic about what you can achieve. Plenty of students have done postgrad study and watched their GPA go down. If you're seriously considering it, pick a degree you know you can get HDs in. Play around with the calculator and see what your GPA would be if you got a 7, a 6.5, a 6 or even a 5.5. You can also put these numbers into the GEMSAS online calculator and let it do the maths.
What if postgrad study won't raise my GPA by much?
This is where it gets tricky. In the example above, one year of postgrad takes the applicant from 6.25 to 6.67, which is competitive. But if your GPA is under 6, you might find that even after postgrad it only goes up to 6.2 or 6.3. If you'll still be below 6.5, is it worth it?
That's a hard question and it depends on your situation. On one hand, any increase helps, and with thousands of people applying each year, a small bump could be the difference between getting an interview and not. On the other hand, two years of postgrad is two years you could spend working and studying for the GAMSAT. Do you put a year into postgrad or a year into GAMSAT prep?
Bonuses make it even more complicated. For example, Deakin gives a 4% bonus to AHPRA-registered health professionals who've worked for a year. Take Applicant B:
- Just graduated from a Bachelor of Nursing (AHPRA registered)
- Final year GPA: 5.8
- The year before: 5.7
- The year before that: 5.7
- Weighted GPA: 5.75
- Unweighted GPA: 5.73
They do a Graduate Certificate and get a GPA of 7. This is what their GPA becomes:
| University | Weighting | Min. GPA | Current GPA | After further study | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANU | Weighted (x3 / x2 / x1) | 5.0 | 5.75 | 6.38 | +0.63 |
| Deakin | Weighted (x3 / x2 / x1) | 5.0 | 5.75 | 6.38 | +0.63 |
| Griffith | Unweighted (simple average) | 5.0 | 5.73 | 6.17 | +0.43 |
| Macquarie | Weighted (x3 / x2 / x1) | 5.0 | 5.75 | 6.38 | +0.63 |
| University of Melbourne | Weighted (x2 / x2 / x1) | 5.0 | 5.74 | 6.26 | +0.52 |
| Notre Dame Fremantle | Weighted (x3 / x2 / x1) | 5.2 | 5.75 | 6.38 | +0.63 |
| Notre Dame Sydney | Weighted (x3 / x2 / x1) | 5.2 | 5.75 | 6.38 | +0.63 |
| UQ | Credit-weighted | 5.0 | 5.73 | 6.17 | +0.43 |
| UWA | Unweighted (simple average) | 5.5 | 5.73 | 6.17 | +0.43 |
| UOW | Weighted (x3 / x2 / x1) | 5.5 | 5.75 | 6.38 | +0.63 |
Their GPA goes up, but the most it reaches is 6.38. That's getting close to competitive but isn't quite there, and again, it assumes they get a 7 in postgrad, which isn't easy.
If they worked for a year instead, they'd get the 4% bonus at Deakin. So which is better: a GPA of 6.38, or a GPA of 5.75 with a 4% bonus? Here's what Deakin's guide says, which honestly isn't very helpful:
Applicants who have completed the equivalent of one year of full-time clinical practice (i.e. a minimum of 36 hours per week for one year consecutively, or a minimum of 1872 hours cumulatively), as an AHPRA registered health professional, or in speech pathology or dietetics, may receive a 4% adjustment (bonus) of the combined GPA and GAMSAT or GPA score.
Unfortunately there's no easy answer, especially when postgrad study is expensive, stressful and not an option for everyone.
Questions to answer before you decide
To help untangle all this, try answering these:
- What's my GPA now?
- If I did postgrad study and got 7s, what's the highest my GPA could be?
- Is that GPA competitive?
- Realistically, what would I get in postgrad study? What would my GPA be then, and is that competitive?
- Is there a degree I honestly think I could get 7s in? (Be honest with yourself.)
- What's my GAMSAT score?
- How much did I study for the GAMSAT? Did I sit it once as a practice run, or did I study for months?
- Do I have the time and money to do a postgrad degree?
Once you've got your answers, email me at hello@gamsattutorials.org and we can book in a time to chat.
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