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Auckland MBChB class of 2024

Avatar Aang

UoA MBChB IV
Hey 👋,

Firstly congrats to everyone who made it 😊😊😊. For those on the waitlist, keep hope and all will be well (I know it’s easy to say and hard to do). Through this year I’ve learned a lot about myself and life and iam sure you guys have as well. Something that I’ve learned is that the feeling of despair 😩 that one feels is all self made. We make really high expectations for ourselves while working constantly and consistently towards one goal (med,optom,pharmacy...) and if we don’t get that then the road ahead seems hazy and unclear. This uncertainty makes us feel the feeling of despair. This feeling is even more amplified due to our age where we think it’s the end of the world when anything doesn’t go our way. BUT if we just stop 🛑 having expectations and work towards our goal with the same diligence then anything we get will make us happy 😃 and will not hurt us whether it is a med offer or no offer at all.

Disclaimer: I have yet to master what I have said above but I know if i try then I’ll achieve it one day 🤔.

I was waiting for someone to create this group but no one did it so I thought I’d just do it myself. We’ll use this group to discuss anything and everything about MBChB. We’ll be stuck with each other for another 5+ years lol 😂 so better to get to know each other through this thread 🧵. If you haven’t joined the Facebook group with the same name as this thread then pls do.
 
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Avatar Aang

UoA MBChB IV
Hmm not too sure about tht ^^^, Rob, laserwise, 1997, Jay39, Pump do you guys know?



Do we have to complete anything like the fitness form in the offer email? is there anything else we have to do other than just waiting for the final confirmation email which we will get around 15 January until we can enrol?
 
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1997

Member
Not sure what you mean by fitness form. From memory after getting the acceptance email there was a bit of waiting around for things to happen as it is the end of year holidays etc but everything went smoothly and we were given instructions on what to do.

Freshers is not compulsory - I did not go and I also know some people who did not go because they were out of the country or they just didn't want to. It is a great way to meet your classmates, but don't worry too much because you will meet your class over the first few months of the year anyway.
 

Avatar Aang

UoA MBChB IV
Not sure what you mean by fitness form. From memory after getting the acceptance email there was a bit of waiting around for things to happen as it is the end of year holidays etc but everything went smoothly and we were given instructions on what to do.

Freshers is not compulsory - I did not go and I also know some people who did not go because they were out of the country or they just didn't want to. It is a great way to meet your classmates, but don't worry too much because you will meet your class over the first few months of the year anyway.
Sweet thanks, ya there was a link in the offer email to a form we had to fill out which had questions like do you have any criminal record or mental illness etc and we just had to say yes or no
 

Pump

Regular Member
Hmm not too sure about tht ^^^, Rob, laserwise, 1997, Jay39, Pump do you guys know?



Do we have to complete anything like the fitness form in the offer email? is there anything else we have to do other than just waiting for the final confirmation email which we will get around 15 January until we can enrol?

nah it's not compulsory. I dont know what freshers is like now because it was on Motatapu as a 3 day camp when we did it, but now it's a long bay i believe? I would recommend going, it's a great way to meet your new classmates and should be a fun day for it

but as 1997 say, you'll have decent opportunities in the first few months to meet new people, especially if you go to the social events
 

ProfessorPond

Yahallo!
Hold on, I think they put out an information form about Freshers on the FB page but I can't find it anymore. Can someone link it?
 

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Avatar Aang

UoA MBChB IV
Also to any of you medstudents out there who have done MBCHB 2 in UoA, can you give advice on how things will be in year 2? Right now I feel like that year 2 will be very chill because I don't need to worry about getting A+ for every subject and no UCAT and interview as well. But I know thinking this way will only make me get bad grades and make life even worse.

Also is there a lot of opportunities to make friends or is it like biomed where either you make friends in the first week or two where everyone is new or go rest of the year as a loner lmao.
 

Pump

Regular Member
Also to any of you medstudents out there who have done MBCHB 2 in UoA, can you give advice on how things will be in year 2? Right now I feel like that year 2 will be very chill because I don't need to worry about getting A+ for every subject and no UCAT and interview as well. But I know thinking this way will only make me get bad grades and make life even worse.

Year 2 is not chill. I think this is one of the biggest misconceptions about med school is that you've done the intense biomed/hsc and once you get in, it will be chill. Medicine is biomed roided up: the content is heavier, more conceptually difficult and you have to navigate both theoretical and clinical medicine. HOWEVER, the difference is that like you said, there is no expectation or target like UCAT/interview/grades. This means that you can be less stressed about grades, invest time elsewhere (e.g. personal hobbies, work) and still get through okay.

In saying that, "Cs get degrees" is not a good mentality. If you work hard, you'll get decent grades. If you chill too much, don't be surprised if you get a low grade. I think you should just be prepared to study hard and work hard, but also remember that you now have time to focus on other areas of yourself, like your personal interests.

2nd year itself is a step up from biomed sure. It goes back to being like high school, where you do modules and then sit an end-of-module test. the first module is musculoskeletal and it can be a bit content heavy, with lots of rote learning. The remaining modules are more concept-based and easier to study for. You'll also have lots of labs, tutorials and small group activities that you do alongside your lectures throughout the year as well. It's a lot of work but it's definitely a fun year as you step into med school!

Also is there a lot of opportunities to make friends or is it like biomed where either you make friends in the first week or two where everyone is new or go rest of the year as a loner lmao.

Ehhh depends on who you are I guess. Fresher's is definitely a good opportunity to meet new people. Additionally, the first month or two has quite a few social events packed in, where I'm sure you'll meet the many people not just in 2nd year but in other years too (though most will be just 3rd years). You also have other group stuff in med, like tutorials, which are usually with the same group of people that you are allocated with so that's another opportunity. you could also just sit next to someone random in lectures and introduce yourself. Old fashioned way!
 

1997

Member
I'm a 5th year - 2nd year is chill because there is no pressure to get A+ in every test but it is also not a time to relax. You have tests/exams every 6 weeks or so and the content is harder than 1st year of uni. So you still need to work hard and not fall behind but there is no pressure of getting A+ anymore (unless you want A+).

There are many opportunities to make friends. I would encourage to go to lectures as much as you can in the first weeks as that is when everyone goes and you will have chances to meet people. Also there are heaps of events that you can go to. You wan't be a loner for the year (unless you choose to be). I made friends throughout 2nd year, and it helps that you are put in groups for labs/tutorials which means you get to know a few people better. However, I will say that by the end of 2nd year/3rd year, most people have 'found a friend group' and they tend to hang out with people in that group.
 
How difficult is the 2nd year of MBChB compared to 3rd year biomed/physiology, in terms of the amount of content and the difficulty of the content? Would be good for someone who has actually completed one of these degrees to answer, as you only really know once you've done it.

Just for some background, I found getting A+s in stage 3 physiology challenging, and I had to work my ass off all semester, nonstop. This was because we had fortnightly lab reports due for each MEDSCI paper that took between 10-20 hours each on top of having to learn the lecture material. Some papers such as MEDSCI 312 and MEDSCI 203 contained ridiculous amounts of content, so much so that I and most of the other people I talked to had to skip learning certain lectures for the final exam. I understand that you don't need to complete lab reports in medicine, but I wonder how similar the volume/difficulty of the examinable material is to MEDSCI/BIOSCI papers.
 

Avatar Aang

UoA MBChB IV
Year 2 is not chill. I think this is one of the biggest misconceptions about med school is that you've done the intense biomed/hsc and once you get in, it will be chill. Medicine is biomed roided up: the content is heavier, more conceptually difficult and you have to navigate both theoretical and clinical medicine. HOWEVER, the difference is that like you said, there is no expectation or target like UCAT/interview/grades. This means that you can be less stressed about grades, invest time elsewhere (e.g. personal hobbies, work) and still get through okay.

In saying that, "Cs get degrees" is not a good mentality. If you work hard, you'll get decent grades. If you chill too much, don't be surprised if you get a low grade. I think you should just be prepared to study hard and work hard, but also remember that you now have time to focus on other areas of yourself, like your personal interests.

2nd year itself is a step up from biomed sure. It goes back to being like high school, where you do modules and then sit an end-of-module test. the first module is musculoskeletal and it can be a bit content heavy, with lots of rote learning. The remaining modules are more concept-based and easier to study for. You'll also have lots of labs, tutorials and small group activities that you do alongside your lectures throughout the year as well. It's a lot of work but it's definitely a fun year as you step into med school!



Ehhh depends on who you are I guess. Fresher's is definitely a good opportunity to meet new people. Additionally, the first month or two has quite a few social events packed in, where I'm sure you'll meet the many people not just in 2nd year but in other years too (though most will be just 3rd years). You also have other group stuff in med, like tutorials, which are usually with the same group of people that you are allocated with so that's another opportunity. you could also just sit next to someone random in lectures and introduce yourself. Old fashioned way!
I'm a 5th year - 2nd year is chill because there is no pressure to get A+ in every test but it is also not a time to relax. You have tests/exams every 6 weeks or so and the content is harder than 1st year of uni. So you still need to work hard and not fall behind but there is no pressure of getting A+ anymore (unless you want A+).

There are many opportunities to make friends. I would encourage to go to lectures as much as you can in the first weeks as that is when everyone goes and you will have chances to meet people. Also there are heaps of events that you can go to. You wan't be a loner for the year (unless you choose to be). I made friends throughout 2nd year, and it helps that you are put in groups for labs/tutorials which means you get to know a few people better. However, I will say that by the end of 2nd year/3rd year, most people have 'found a friend group' and they tend to hang out with people in that group.

Thanks 🙏
 

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Mdku22

MBChB III
How difficult is the 2nd year of MBChB compared to 3rd year biomed/physiology, in terms of the amount of content and the difficulty of the content? Would be good for someone who has actually completed one of these degrees to answer, as you only really know once you've done it.

Just for some background, I found getting A+s in stage 3 physiology challenging, and I had to work my ass off all semester, nonstop. This was because we had fortnightly lab reports due for each MEDSCI paper that took between 10-20 hours each on top of having to learn the lecture material. Some papers such as MEDSCI 312 and MEDSCI 203 contained ridiculous amounts of content, so much so that I and most of the other people I talked to had to skip learning certain lectures for the final exam. I understand that you don't need to complete lab reports in medicine, but I wonder how similar the volume/difficulty of the examinable material is to MEDSCI/BIOSCI papers.

The content is generally easier, especially in the way they assess it in exams - IE: mostly short answers as opposed to the essays you might be used to from 311/316 etc (although POM is a little more essay-ish, quite like medsci 202 if you did that).
The catch is that there truly is a lot of content, with very little downtime between modules/exams. But, if you managed the 300 level Medscis, you'll likely do fine with most of MBChB II. You'll also notice quite quickly that you've probably learned a good portion of most modules just through your biomed/physiology degree, which is a HUGE HELP with the amount of content you need to learn.
 
The content is generally easier, especially in the way they assess it in exams - IE: mostly short answers as opposed to the essays you might be used to from 311/316 etc (although POM is a little more essay-ish, quite like medsci 202 if you did that).
The catch is that there truly is a lot of content, with very little downtime between modules/exams. But, if you managed the 300 level Medscis, you'll likely do fine with most of MBChB II. You'll also notice quite quickly that you've probably learned a good portion of most modules just through your biomed/physiology degree, which is a HUGE HELP with the amount of content you need to learn.
That's great thanks for sharing :)
 

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