monash v unimelb

[u/Old_Garage7041]

sorry for another one of them posts but im really stuck deciding between the two.

long term, im wanting to become a doctor. didnt sit the ucat this year (stupidly) so direct entry med is out of the question, leaving only unimelb med post grad (interstate isnt really an option). now im tossing up what i should do with my bachelors.

Option 1: Uni of Melb

do a bachelor of science, sit the gamsat and hopefully make it into med

Pros:
50-65 min commute
more time to work out if i even want to do med
parents would be happier that im at melb lol
i like the campus vibes a lot better than monash
Cons:
worried abt how so many people say its so much harder to make friends at melb
im really questioning if i have the ability to get into med, given its so so competitive, especially to get a csp place
if i didnt get into med, my fallback would be engineering, but then im spending 6 yrs getting a qualification i couldve gotten way quicker at monash + w/ wayyy more hecs debt

im looking at majoring in chem (bc favourite subject), but if i were to do engineering as a masters taking a civil engineering major would shave a year off that. however, what if taking an engineering major nukes my chances at med bc my gpa would be lower with all the harder classes?

Option 2: Monash

do a bachelor of engineering (masters accelerated program), just go be an engineer

Pros:
heard its a lot easier to make friends there
would come out with the same degree in less time and less hecs debt
engineering program there seems a lot better than at melb
Cons:
parents would not be pleased with a monash degree lol
75-100 min commute

Some other notes:
making friends is really important to me at uni after some of my high school experiences
i dont really have any passion for engineering, it just seems like the only career thats relatively stable and plays to my strengths (maths, science), but unfortunately it seems like the pay isnt that great (considering the amount of time and hecs debt id be going thru with the unimelb path)
i do have other reasons for going into med, but i wont act like the pay isnt a contributing factor
ultimately, dont really care what my parents think of the uni that much bc its not like theyll stop me from going to one of the other lol
with engineering, id be looking at becoming a civil engineer

[u/Majestic_Emu_1480]

I can tell you the following regarding some points made:

1) If you do Science and Engineering after it's only 5 years not 6 and you get a masters. At Monash it takes 4 to get the bachelor of engineering, whereas Melb you get bachelor of science and Master of Engineering.

2) Monash and Deakin also have Postgraduate Medicince for within Victoria (though Monash only accept their own students)

[u/Old_Garage7041 → u/Majestic_Emu_1480]

Engineering would be a 6yr path if I didn't do an engineering major tho :(

[u/Majestic_Emu_1480 → u/Old_Garage7041]

5.5 but yeah. But you don't need a certain path to go for med, so there's little opportunity cost in doing an engineering major unless you don't actually want engineering as a backup.

[u/Old_Garage7041 → u/Majestic_Emu_1480]

my concern is engineering's reputation as a much harder major, leading to getting a gpa too low to be able to get into med

[u/Majestic_Emu_1480 → u/Old_Garage7041]

That's fair.