The Portfolio Universities: Beating the GAMSAT with a Resume

The GAMSAT Lifeline

You studied for a year. You sat the GAMSAT. You scored a 62. For traditional universities like Melbourne or Queensland, a 62 means instant rejection. You are mathematically eliminated.

But in the GEMSAS system, there are two lifelines: The Portfolio Universities.

The University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA - Sydney & Fremantle)

The University of Wollongong (UOW)

The Portfolio System

These universities do not rank you purely on grades and test scores. They require you to submit a detailed Admissions Portfolio.

The portfolio is a structured resume where you must list your life experiences across specific categories:

Leadership (e.g., Army reserves, student union president)

Service to the Community (e.g., volunteering at a homeless shelter, rural health outreach)

High-level Performance (e.g., playing a sport at a state/national level, published research)

How the Weighting Changes Everything

At a traditional university, the weighting for an interview is usually: 50% GPA / 50% GAMSAT.

At a Portfolio university (like UOW), the weighting is often:

GPA: Hurdle only (e.g., as long as it is over 5.5, it doesn't matter if it's 5.6 or 7.0).

GAMSAT: 50%

Portfolio: 50%

This means if you have an incredible life story—you spent two years volunteering in a remote Indigenous community, or you were an elite athlete—you can score so highly on the portfolio that it completely offsets your average GAMSAT score of 62.

The 'Fake Volunteer' Warning

Do not try to game the portfolio by doing three weekends of "volunteering" right before the application is due.

The universities demand strict verification. You must provide the name and contact details of a supervisor for every activity you claim. The university will call them. If they discover you exaggerated your hours or responsibilities, you will be blacklisted for fraud.

If you have lived a rich, diverse life but struggle with standardized tests, put UOW and UNDA as your 1st and 2nd preferences. Use our GAMSAT Calculator to see if you meet their minimum hurdle requirements.