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Auckland OLY1 chat - archive

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my chances at med at au?

Heya, I just completed biomed at auckland uni. I'm really really stressing out because i didn't get A+ for medsci, and ended up with a gpa of 8 for core papers. I had percentile of 90 in umat, but as they use raw scores I think i'm given a gpa of 2. realistically has my shot at medicine faded with my not-so-great gpa? I know I need like an A in the interview to get in, or that prized exceptional. I would have felt safer with a gpa of 8.25, which is what my med school students said would be alright. I'd like to think i'm the type who excels in interviews as I'm very much a people person. Do you know of many people who got into med with a gpa of 8 and below? Non rompe, non mapas, and UG?
 
dew_angel

To be totally honest, GPA of 8 in the core 4 papers isn't brilliant. Having said that, it sounds like you still have a very decent chance.

Don't worry about the UMAT, Auckland Uni hardly gives a rats *** about UMAT.

Based on the info you have provided, you will get in if you get A in the interview. But even if you get B, you still have a decent chance.

I know quite a few people with core GPA<8. But these people either aced the UMAT or are the type of people who are extremely strong communicators/ people skills etc.
 
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I knoooow i'm gutted that gpa of A is not good enough! but seeing how many people getting A+ is really scary! I'm constantly being told that the interview can either make or break me, I'm hoping i'm articulate enough to get my views across =D but i'm worried I'm lacking the life experience, sure I work and volunteer, but I don't know if that even remotely matches up to what graduate students have to offer.
 
An 8.00 GPA is good enough, it just isn't brilliant.
The interview really is a step that can determine whether or not you are accepted.
You're correct in saying that graduates usually outshine others with their life experiences and convincing motivations for doing medicine, but do keep in mind that only under 1/3 of each year is composed of graduates.
Don't freak out over the interview. I personally found the interview the most enjoyable part of the admission process.
 
skyglow1 said:
Congrats to everyone who got an interview offer and good luck! :D
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oh have the interview offers come out? I know that interviews start today for postgrad students. I might pop in to nose around next week sometime haha
 
I don't think there's anything unlucky about getting a spot on the first day. The questions are slightly different to account for different interview times.
 
blindspot said:
I don't think there's anything unlucky about getting a spot on the first day. The questions are slightly different to account for different interview times.
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nope not true. Only variation is in the ROMPE v non-ROMPE interviews. There are no set questions as such. It's semi-structured and the questions asked depend on where the interview is going
 
lordgarlic said:
nope not true. Only variation is in the ROMPE v non-ROMPE interviews. There are no set questions as such. It's semi-structured and the questions asked depend on where the interview is going
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True, all the interviews are semi-structured, but the way in which questions are asked differs.
For example, earlier candidates are more likely to get "Why do you want to be a doctor", while the later candidates may receive the question as "Give specific examples in your life which suggested that you might want to become a doctor".

I other words, later candidates are often drilled for specifics (perhaps to ensure the answers were not coached and generic).
 
Interview!!

I just got an offer for tuesday! talk about short notice!!! i am sooo freaked out. Just trying to make notes and thinking of events in my life i can use as anecdotes and such. Any other advice? I'm just hoping it's as enjoyable as people say it is =)
 
dew_angel said:
I just got an offer for tuesday! talk about short notice!!! i am sooo freaked out. Just trying to make notes and thinking of events in my life i can use as anecdotes and such. Any other advice? I'm just hoping it's as enjoyable as people say it is =)
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Do exactly that. Brainstorm life experiences which help to back up anything that you say during the interview.
Communicate clearly, accurately, but concisely (very important)! Make sure you come across as friendly, approachable, confident. However, don't rehearse answers. The more you rehearse your answers, the faker your answer will sound. They are not trying to see what answers you can come up with, they are trying to find out about you.

Also, don't lie about anything. Just because the interviewers are smiling politely doesn't mean they don't know it when you lie. One of my consultants who is on the interview board insists that they are trained to catch out any insincere answers. The selection panel cannot afford to admit people who lie their way through interviews when a medical career vehemently demands honesty.
 
I just had my interview today. The interviewers were really nice and kind, and that made a lot less scary. For some reason, talking to other people who had interviews afterward, my questions seemed easier, and of more predictable nature, while some other people had some truly random questions, and tough ethics questions which I didn't get asked at all. So thats got me a bit worried now, why were my questions so easy? Maybe its just my interviewers.
 
oh nice! can't wait to get mine over and done with, yeah I'm reading up on basic medical ethics (ie common sense) but how long was your interview? I hope I get nice interviewers too!
 
Chances are you will get nice interviewers, because everyone afterwards seemed to say their interviewers were nice too. My interview was about 35 minutes, as the invite says. But time goes really quickly. It seemed almost just after we had begun, that the interviewers were asking if I had any questions for them, and then it was all over.

I really don't think they expect too much with ethics, just asking probably to see if you crack under the pressure. Even if you did read about ethics, I would pretend that you had just thought of the answer from common sense haha...Some guy that had his interview before me said the interviewer said that if he actually did what he said he would in answer to a ethics question, that as a doctor he would be fired. But he didnt seem too worried.
 
toaster said:
Does anyone know when offers are due to be made? I hope I don't have too long to wait, refreshing ndeva.
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in the past offers have always been released about 2pm-3pm the day after the last day of interviews. This year I believe that day is 16th December
 
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