If you ask ten Year 10 students aiming for medicine which subjects they should take, eight will say "Chemistry, Methods, English, and either Human Biology or Physics." That is not bad guidance. But the question of which scales better, which is required, and which actually helps you in first-year is not the same question, and the answer matters.
Are these subjects required for WA medicine?
The major WA medicine pathways are Curtin's direct-entry MBBS (school leaver), UWA's Doctor of Medicine via the Assured Pathway (school leaver) or graduate entry, Notre Dame Fremantle's Doctor of Medicine via the Bachelor of Biomedical Science Assured Pathway (school leaver) or graduate entry, plus interstate options like JCU MBBS for the rural pathway.
| Pathway | Chemistry required? | Human Bio required? | What is the prerequisite? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curtin MBBS (school leaver, direct entry) | Required (or equivalent) | Desirable, not required | Chemistry ATAR plus minimum 95 ATAR. UCAT ANZ + Casper Test + MMI. |
| UWA MD (school-leaver Assured Pathway via Bachelor of Biomedicine Specialised) | Recommended, not required | Recommended at first-year uni level for graduate entry | Minimum 98 ATAR (HAA/Rural/Broadway); Maths Applications or higher recommended. UCAT ANZ + MMI. GPA 5.5 to progress to MD. |
| UWA MD (graduate entry) | Recommended at university level | Recommended at first-year uni level | Bachelor's degree (any field), GPA 5.5+, GAMSAT 55+ overall. |
| Notre Dame MD (school-leaver Assured Pathway via Bachelor of Biomedical Science) | Helps but not strictly required at Year 12 level | Helps but not required | Minimum 92 ATAR (no adjustment factors), UCAT, interview. GPA 2.5 each semester to progress to MD. |
| Notre Dame MD (standard graduate entry) | Required at the bachelor level for most feeder degrees | No, but useful | Bachelor degree first, with science prereqs. |
| JCU MBBS (rural, interstate) | Required | Strongly recommended | Chemistry ATAR plus competitive ATAR. |
The shape of the answer: Chemistry is required or strongly recommended for all four pathways. Human Biology is required by none, recommended by some.
What about scaling?
Both subjects scale up most years. The TISC scaling reports show Chemistry consistently scaling 7 to 9 marks above the median, and Human Biology scaling 2 to 4 marks above the median.
This means a 75 raw in Chemistry typically scales to around 82 to 84, while a 75 raw in Human Biology typically scales to around 77 to 79. For a student capable of similar performance in both, Chemistry contributes 5 to 6 more scaled marks to the ATAR.
But Human Bio is "easier"
This is the most repeated and most misleading claim. Human Biology is more memorisation-heavy than Chemistry. Chemistry is more calculation-heavy. Whether one is easier than the other depends on how your brain works.
What is true: the WACE Human Biology cohort is larger and more variable than the Chemistry cohort. The mid-band raw marks (60-75) are easier to achieve in Human Biology because the cohort is wider. The top-band raw marks (85+) are roughly as hard in either.
If your goal is "score 85+ raw," both subjects require similar effort. If your goal is "score 70+ raw," Human Biology is the safer choice.
Which actually helps you in first-year medicine?
This is the question almost no Year 10 student asks, and it is the one that matters. First-year university medicine and biomedicine programs assume:
- Chemistry for biochemistry, pharmacology, molecular biology and genetics. Roughly 40% of first year content.
- Human anatomy and physiology for the rest. Human Bio gives you a head start here, but universities teach this from scratch anyway.
- Mathematics for biostatistics. Methods is enough; Specialist is overkill.
Chemistry is the subject that is hardest to "catch up on" at university. Most universities offer bridging chemistry units for students without ATAR Chemistry, but they are intensive and stressful. Doing ATAR Chemistry now means easier first-year units later.
The recommendation
For students aiming at WA medicine pathways, our default recommendation is:
- Take ATAR Chemistry. Required at Curtin and JCU; strongly recommended everywhere else; scales well; helps in first year.
- Take Methods (or Applications minimum). Curtin lists Maths Methods, Applications or Specialist as desirable. UWA recommends "Maths Applications or higher" for the Assured Pathway. Methods is the safer pick because it scales harder and supports first-year biomedicine STEM units.
- Take English. Required for WACE.
- For your fourth ATAR subject, take Human Biology if you score consistently above your other options, or Physics if you are interested in physiology. Human Bio is a slightly safer pick for ATAR-driven students. Physics is a slightly stronger pick for academic-medicine students.
If you already know your interest is in surgery or anatomy-heavy medicine, Human Bio is genuinely useful. If you are uncertain, Chemistry plus a higher-scaling fourth subject (Physics or Specialist) builds a higher ATAR floor.
What about taking both?
You can. Many medicine-bound students take Chemistry, Methods, English, Human Biology and Physics as a 5-subject load. The cost is workload. The benefit is that you can drop your weakest subject for the ATAR top-4 calculation.
This is the safest strategy if your school does not have specialist alternatives, but it is hard work. Plan for 25+ hours of study per week in Term 2 of Year 12.
What to actually do this week
- Open the UWA, Curtin, Notre Dame and JCU medicine admissions guides for 2026 entry. Read the prerequisites section. They are 10 minutes each.
- Use our ATAR calculator to model your projected ATAR with three subject combinations: Chemistry only, Human Bio only, and both. Compare.
- Talk to your school career counsellor about the practical workload of taking both. They have seen the trade-offs.
If your family wants a 30-minute call to map out subject choice for medicine, book a free consultation at our Bentley or Canning Vale centres. Subject choice for medicine is one of the most common reasons families come to us in Term 4 of Year 10.