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Studying Medicine: Otago or Auckland

frootloop

Doctor
Moderator
To elaborate on what catching up is alluding to, uni world rankings have NOTHING to do with undergraduate teaching quality. It's all stuff like research output which doesn't have any real implications for someone in your position.
 

catchingup

Member
uni world rankings have NOTHING to do with undergraduate teaching quality.

Now you've gone and ruined it. I wanted to know what she thought it meant. There is a delightful impression that these league table are like energy ratings on a new fridge. Oh, this one has four and a half stars, it's better than that one with only four stars :)
 
B

blossom

Guest
Otago has somewhere between 290 and 300. Not sure about Auckland.

Although it varies from year to year, ~75% of those places are for undergraduate entrants. ~20% are graduates, and ~5% are for others. Nobody knows how many people actually apply except the admissions office. Although, you must get >70% in every paper (B grade), so anybody who enrols into HSFY and scores below that will immediately be excluded from entry. There are those who sit HSFY papers but are not intending on applying to a professional course (eg BSc students). There are many people who do HSFY but are intending to enter a different professional course to medicine. I would say there are ~1600 people who begin HSFY +/-10%, but probably greater than half of that number either switch to something else, don't make the B grade, or do not apply for medicine.

Otago also have a greater number of places than Auckland that tend to be offered in accelerated entrance schemes: together, we have more Māori, Pacific and Rural students. Accelerated entrance applies across all three entrance pathways. This does make entrance more competitive for general entry, and admission rates for Māori and Pacific are increasing as their academic performance has been greatly increasing over both undergrad and postgrad.

I hope this helps. Much of the numbers I've said are purely speculation, but it's the general impression I've been given over my 5 years down here :)

-LM

Does this mean there are around 200 places for undergrad only?
 

NMW55

Member
Just want to add my two cents here. I'm currently in Auckland and have been accepted into 2016 admission (long story and not important). I was originally from Invercargill, and have studied in Wellington and Christchurch for 4 years between them.
My advice would be to go where you have the biggest/closest support network.
For me Auckland has been too hard. Its lonely, unforgiving and for someone who has always had a solid support system, just plain unfriendly. If you are used to the big city (and everything that comes with it) then this post doesn't apply to you.
My dream hasn't changed, but living here has, so much so I am considering withdrawing my acceptance.
PM me if you want anymore details
 

laserwise

UoA MBChB II
Hello! Sorry in advance for using the thread for very personal circumstances that are probably not of much use to everyone else, but I've been debating this for a while and have exhausted all my other information supplies.

I'm a Year 13 student currently six NCEA subjects (yes maybe I am slightly crazy) and none of them are physics (I do have chem and bio though), have not taken physics since Level 1 and am now slightly regretting that decision, but to make up for it I'm going over the Level 2 course in my own time. In Level 2 I took on seven subjects and got all grades at excellence bar one. My strengths in the UMAT definitely lie in section three, and weakness is 119% in section two. Unfortunately, I missed out on the sign ups for UMAT this year but based on the practice I have done UMAT does not seem to sit in my favour.

In all honesty, I prefer the Auckland programme and entrance scheme. My research about their grading system, UMAT weighting, only having four core papers and interview process seems to have given me the impression that it may be slightly favourable towards me getting into med. My only problem is that I furiously need my independence, hence why Otago is a very tempting option. Something in the back of my mind tells me that finding my feet as an independent adult while trying to get into one of, if not the most competitive degrees is not a good idea. Perhaps getting my driver's licence would help my freedom in Auckland a little, but I have heard that the 'family' atmosphere is not as welcoming in Auckland (but this does not mean to say there isn't one, or maybe I've just been hearing from the wrong people) and that people are hating their studies because they're sticking with their high school mates and not branching out socially. Living in a hall in Otago really does seem like the type of lifestyle I want, and the uni experience is definitely something my heart wants despite this also not being a good idea, so my stubborn little heart is set on Otago. Head is in Auckland, it makes so much more sense and I'd save a lot on living costs.

This is my ultimate cry for help. So here comes the age old question. Auckland or Otago?
 

Kiwiology

MSO Lawyer
If you want my advice; in practical reality, if you are from the North Island, go to Auckland or South, go to Otago.

Auckland and Otago entrance from First Year / HSFY differences I do not think are so significant as to be the deciding factor.

Otago divides their cohort after MBChB III to Dunners, CHC and WLG whereas AKL I don't think is so strictly defined; you just have to do a year outside of AKL which can be Waikato, Tauranga, Whangarei (+/- Pukawakawa) or Rotorua.
 

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frootloop

Doctor
Moderator
As per Kiwiology above, the first year entry pathways are similar enough that for the vast majority of applicants they're not going to make a difference. I reckon that, given the exact same pool of applicants, the two systems would probably only differ in the bottom 5% or so of applicants they'd pick. And it's very hard to know as a year 13 which system would favour you if you fell into that small number. You may feel like an interview would suit you, but remember that you're saying that without any actual knowledge of what Auckland wants to see in an interview candidate, and no objective way of measuring whether you actually possess those traits. It's like saying 'I feel like I'm a logical person and I understand people, so I'll smash UMAT' - I've seen a lot of very intelligent and very empathetic people get trashed by UMAT. Hell, despite academics being the easiest of the selection criteria to predict performance in, I've also seen plenty of straight-excellence NCEA students fall well short of the academic requirements for med (and people who didn't do so well at school dominate HSFY).

My point is that you have no way of accurately predicting which system would suit you better. From your position as a year 13 (and I mean no disrespect when I say that's usually a position of pretty much complete ignorance regarding med entry criteria), that's a very flawed way to pick which school to go to.

The much better question is where would you rather live for 6 years? Auckland, or Dunedin/Christchurch/Wellington? Slight differences in first year programmes may seem like a big deal now, but remember that if you do get in, you then have to spend the next half a decade in one of the locations your chosen school operates in. I'd have a big long think about whether you can financially afford to live in the South Island away from your family for that long, whether you're the kind of person who'd get really homesick, and which city would suit you best.

I know that answer has been trotted out a lot here, but that's because it's the best answer we can give you. Don't pick a school based on the first year of a very long course - you then have to spend the next 5 year at that school.
 
If you haven't already, apply to both of them! Don't limit yourself too early. You still have until January(?) next year to decide. I'm in the same boat as you. My mind is all "Otago is so prettyyyyyyyy" but my head says "Auckland is closer to home" and I think if I get into Auckland, I'll go there because I just want to visit my family (read cat) as often as I can, and I don't think that'll happen that much if I go to Otago because flights are rather expensive. You might enjoy the whole student and being independent experience, but HSFY and OLY1 are probably both a bit draining? It'll be nice to be close to home where you hopefully have good support, which is just my opinion.
Besides, if you live in Auckland already, just go to one of the student hostels if you can afford them. And maybe you might appreciate staying at home for one more year because having your meals cooked and laundry done (hopefully?) would be nice when you have a lot of studying to do
 

colourred

Otago MBChB III
I had the exact same problem - go with what your heart says! Cus then you'll always remember why you made that decision in order to succeed :)
 

laserwise

UoA MBChB II
Long time no see; many thanks to all of you who replied and have given me more insight into this decision making process. Thought I'd wait for scholarship and College offers to be sent out before I reposted.

LIFE UPDATE:
I applied for both the Auckland Top Achiever's Scholarship and the Otago Academic Excellence and unexpectedly have gotten offers for both and have been accepted into both my first choice colleges (O'Rorke and Carrington respectively). My plan was to originally go wherever the scholarships took me (and if I got none I'd stay in Auckland) but that has sort of been thrown out the window. I'm confident I'll be able to survive in the Dunedin cold on my own but none of my close friends are going down; they have also received the Auckland scholarship and will be staying in the halls there. My original feelings haven't changed (in regards to gut feeling, my earlier post which said I preferred Auckland was solely and biasedly based on the entrance scheme); I still like Otago a fair bit more than Auckland but now that I know I'll be staying in a hall either way and Otago isn't the only uni that will be able to provide me with the hall experience it has gotten a bit more complicated.

If anyone could give me insight into either of the colleges or unis/life advice for a naive student trying to figure out what to do with rest of life/memes I would be highly appreciative :)
 
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Kiwiology

MSO Lawyer
I'd stay in Auckland mate. The advantages of having support network/family etc. close by and not having to always fly back up here if you want to visit can't be underestimated. I left home for the first time at 17 and fell apart within 3 months and it was a huge deal to come back.
 
I've been to uni in both Auckland and Dunedin and would say that I personally enjoyed Dunedin more primarily because of the amazing student culture and simply because the city is set up so well for students. In saying that, I moved when I was 19 and turned 20 soon after I arrived so being further from home didn't seem to worry me much. As for Auckland, I was in O'Rorke for my first year and had an awesome time that I most certainly do not regret. In my second year however, I realised that my first year in O'Rorke was a bit of a bubble and found Auckland to be a lot more serious than I would've hoped for as a student - socialising became more difficult especially due to the travel factor between friend's flats and financially things were more of an issue. If I was to go back to 17 and to study medicine, I would choose Dunedin - you get the serious side of things in med school as well as the student culture. Unless you're extremely quiet, I think you'll make plenty of friends and close ones especially after spending years in the same class through medical school. If you can shake off the fact that you are a 2 hour flight away from home and the temperature difference, I think Dunedin is the place to be. That's just my ten cents.
 

Ruth

Maderator
Emeritus Staff
I'd stay in Auckland mate. The advantages of having support network/family etc. close by and not having to always fly back up here if you want to visit can't be underestimated. I left home for the first time at 17 and fell apart within 3 months and it was a huge deal to come back.

Agree support network is important, it's why I chose to stay in Dunedin. But halls are really awesome and you meet tons of people and form close groups - I wish I'd gone to one in first year!

The student culture/life is really amazing in Dunedin, there's a lot of streets which are solely students and when you're a student you really do feel like you own the city because you can't go a block without seeing someone you know (I miss that feeling!)
 

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Hey there! This answer has probably already been answered, but just out of curiosity, which uni has more domestic seats (excluding MAPAS,RRAS, other special category) and how many? Also, what's like the ratio between graduates and first years domestic seats? Thanks :)
 

rustyedges

Moderator
Moderator
Hey there! This answer has probably already been answered, but just out of curiosity, which uni has more domestic seats (excluding MAPAS,RRAS, other special category) and how many? Also, what's like the ratio between graduates and first years domestic seats? Thanks :)
Otago, for the time being I believe. But I think they are wanting to make each school have about 300 students total within the next few years.

Not sure about Auckland, but Otago was something like 70% first year, 25% graduate, 5% other.
 

Avo

Lurker
Hi so recently I got the academic scholarship in Uoa worth 20,000 and has changed to previous years because now for your first year you have to live in the university halls and cost around 14,000 which isn't that convenient because I live in Auckland but the rest is given to you.
However, I also was awarded the top academic scholarship in Otago worth 35,000 over 3 years but of course, it means if I plan to study at Otago i will be paying for accommodation.
I am having trouble choosing which university to go to but at this point financially Auck seems best but in the end, i want to be able to maximise my chances into getting med. Through what some ppl say auck is slightly harder to get into than otago. There is also the interview which is fine but can be quite daunting. I understand its to test your communication which I can do perfectly fine towards people and patients but med interview is risky especially when you have to talk to a person you haven't met before and try to get your point across in a few seconds. I just feel like interviews aren't able, well for me to show my true skills and abilities especially if I get nervous and screw up the whole interview.
I'm split between the two universities because at the end of the day my priority is getting into medicine and the rest like money finance will be dealt with afterwards.

Thank you
 

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