UMAT Training Courses Slammed By The Australian Medical Students' Association

Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Article Date: 31 Aug 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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Training courses for the Undergraduate Medical Admissions Test (UMAT) are expensive, inequitable and don't improve students' chances of getting into medicine, according to  the Australian Medical Students' Association (AMSA).

The courses, which cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to over $1,700, are purported to improve students' performance in the UMAT and therefore their chances of getting into undergraduate medicine.

AMSA President Michael Bonning said that these courses advertised themselves as providing a significant edge for entry into medical school.

"Clever, suggestive marketing, has led students to believe that these expensive coaching programs are almost mandatory for admission into undergraduate medical courses," Mr Bonning said.

"Newly published evidence actually shows that they provide no significant benefit in the UMAT and may actually hamper some students in the interview component of the admissions process.

"The companies who run UMAT Training Courses capitalise on the fact that getting into medical school is such a high-stakes process that people will pay significant amounts of money to gain an edge," he said.

Furthermore, the preparation courses create another barrier for rural and low socio-economic background students in their quest to access medicine.

"Because of the perception of these courses, students are unable to access them feel as if they are disadvantaged when it comes to gaining entry, and may be deterred from trying in the first place," Mr Bonning said.

"AMSA is also calling for regulation of this industry so that prospective medical students, and their families, can know what they are getting for their money," he said.

Access AMSA's briefing paper on UMAT training courses at http://www.amsa.org.au/umat.

Australian Medical Students' Association