Auckland OLY1 chat - archive

[Rotors]

At best looking at 7.25 in core 4 do I bother? honesty appreciated !!! Don't hold back guys

There are a couple posts on here of people getting in with a GPA of 7.25 but I imagine they would have had very high interview scores +/- a killer UMAT (not sure on the UMAT cos it's only 15% at Auckland).

What do you think has set your GPA back?

 

[Favour]

LIFE. 3 kids. Learning to say no to others in my own self interest.

There are a couple posts on here of people getting in with a GPA of 7.25 but I imagine they would have had very high interview scores +/- a killer UMAT (not sure on the UMAT cos it's only 15% at Auckland).

What do you think has set your GPA back?

LIFE. 3 Kids. Saying no to others has been a challenge especially in first semester. Not the best semester for steep learning curves unfortunately.

 

[Lemons]

How important is the MH03 form? Avancetutors are offering workshops for it and the paranoid part of me is wondering if it's a deal-breaker o_o.

 

[Rey]

LIFE. 3 kids. Learning to say no to others in my own self interest.



LIFE. 3 Kids. Saying no to others has been a challenge especially in first semester. Not the best semester for steep learning curves unfortunately.

All potentially great interview topics...

Please do apply if you don't see yourself applying twice as a graduate.

[MENTION=15195]Lemons[/MENTION] Im not sure if you can discuss them because they are kind of like a prep course

I wouldn't go to any workshop personally. If you have any direct concerns contact medical students directly or post here.

 

[Rotors]

How important is the MH03 form? Avancetutors are offering workshops for it and the paranoid part of me is wondering if it's a deal-breaker o_o.

The MH03 form is not, not, not used in any official way to rank medicine applicants

It provides a little background information which may be further probed at the interview

Write succinct, brief bullet points only - see my earlier post about it on this thread

 

[BC mso]

How important is the MH03 form? Avancetutors are offering workshops for it and the paranoid part of me is wondering if it's a deal-breaker o_o.

apologies for any offense, but advance tutors (most "pre-med" tutoring companies) are a bunch of scam artist. they feed of the paranoia of pre-med students and the competition for places, and they take advantage of every little criteria used to judge entry into medicine....sure they may help you out a little with extra revision of course work but in my opinion......absolute waste of time and money....
about the MH03 form, in my interview last year, I was told that it was mainly used to give the interviews a semi-personalised structure as they have it in front of them during the interview....

 

[Lemons]

Thanks guys :]. And I agree BC mso. I find it ironic that many such pre-med tutoring companies are run by med students/former med students, and they're displaying potentially unethical behaviour. Tutoring for papers is okay, but when they start to exploit desperate students for their money... Arrggghhhh.

It's good to know that my MH03 form isn't important :].

 

[Rey]

I don't think he's a scam artist... He certainly knows his stuff and doesn't charge much more than any other private tutor. He's quite knowledgable and does teach quite well but at a level that's just beyond what is needed for first year!

You don't need all the fancy prep though, it's entirely possible to succeed on your own.

 

[AlteredState1]

I went to the introductory session for avance tutors to scope them out. It seemed as though those that ran it were genuinely involved in their student's learning, but there was definitely an element of "the first year is so competitive you will not get in without our help" to it. I did not go back after that session. You can get by on your lonesome, you just have to believe that you can do it, or else it becomes a self-perpetuating cycle of failure and low self-esteem.

 

[Rotors]

I think what we have to keep in mind is that the vast majority of students in OLY/HSFY are 17-18, just out of high school, very naive to the ways of the world and uni especially and are having to juggle 1) making the massive transition from being spoon fed information in an extremely structured environment at school to the independent learning environment of uni, 2) living away from home, 3) having to learn a far greater amount of content than they ever have before at school and 4) doing it in a way that means they get very high grades so dealing with a lot both intrinsic and extrinsic pressure to perform at the top of the class.

For the people in this situation a bit of tutoring (even if it is expensive and unnecessary) is probably not a bad thing.

Now not everybody is like that and some people probably do need the tutoring or they won't get in, one of my mates who is a TI at Auckland only got in because she went to tutoring for chemistry (having not done any chem in Year 13 she fell flat on her face when the first CHEM110 test came around and quickly found a tutor!)

Then there is somebody like me, even tho I am a "mature" student who is motivated and know how to study the thought of attacking CHEM110 and getting A or A+ seems almost impossible because I look at the old exams and it's bloody jibberish wrapped in hieroglyphics as far as I am concerned so I might head along to one of their sessions, who knows ...

While I think a lot of the students who go to them probably do not have a genuine academic need their going is not a bad thing, I am sure that the tutors are not scam artists

Now excuse me, I am going to once again attempt to rotate this damn tetrahedral carbon

 

[BC mso]

i maintain my stance that I mentioned earlier, the tutoring in course work may very well be beneficial to certain people but.....a prep course for "interviews" and for "writing your MH03 form"???? come on.....seriously???!!

 

[Rotors]

i maintain my stance that I mentioned earlier, the tutoring in course work may very well be beneficial to certain people but.....a prep course for "interviews" and for "writing your MH03 form"???? come on.....seriously???!!

I am inclined to agree with you but again, think of the 18 year old who just left school and has zero experience in formal interviews or writing formal documents; they are probably defecating bricks over both of those so a bit of a helping hand is probably not a bad thing for them.

 

[greenglacier]

If tutoring in its various guises was done purely out of a desire to help 1st year students I wouldn't mind it. However, the fact remains that the people behind programmes like avancetutors charge a lot of money and make a lot of money as a result.

Now, in many cases people charge money and still are motivated by a genuine desire to help others. At the same time though, for a 2nd or 3rd year with a good academic record, tutoring is a very easy way to make money, regardless of how useful it is/benevolent the underlying motivations are.

 

[sunny123]

[MENTION=13819]Rotors[/MENTION] are you doing oly1 next year?

 

[Rotors]

@Rotors are you doing oly1 next year?

Overwhelmingly more than likely unless I score a mean as job paying mint cash

 

[AlteredState1]

The only advice one needs for both the MH03 form and the interview is this: 1) Be honest with yourself and your motivations. If you are struggling to understand your motivations (it has taken me 12 months to understand mine), that is fine, because the more time you spend thinking about them, the easier writing your MH03 will be. Talk to family and friends, people you are comfortable with, and ask them to be critical (and be self-critical).

2) Do not try to infer what the interviewers "want" from you. There is no set criteria for being a medical student other than you are passionate about medicine (and are not a complete dunce);

3) Be prepared: read up on NZ health issues; talk to medical professionals; talk to random people you meet about their perceptions of doctors;

and 4) (this is one I tell my friend who has a 9.0 GPA) You're not in till your in, so don't coast on you GPA. No one "deserves" to get in more than any other person; you have to prove it.

I think the major problem people have with the MH03 and the interview is that they take quite a bit of self-reflection, and that can be a painful, exhausting process which is different for everyone. How do you put something so personal into words?

 

[bristol1992]

Hey, so I know that EVERYONE wants to know the answer to this question, but I was wondering if you could shed some light on whether a core gpa of 8.25 is enough for entry. I am starting to freak out, because I am getting A+ grades over everything this semester but found last semester a huge shock, and screwed up my exam technique. It feels like it is too late!! because the 3/4 cores were last semester. And our cohort is better performing than previous years Although they say the interview is really important and I am confident I can do well in this most people do seem to get through on their high gpa's, and I hear people talking from 2nd and 3rd years who only know 8.6-9.0 first year gpa med students. Any thoughts?

 

[Rotors]

Hey, so I know that EVERYONE wants to know the answer to this question, but I was wondering if you could shed some light on whether a core gpa of 8.25 is enough for entry. I am starting to freak out, because I am getting A+ grades over everything this semester but found last semester a huge shock, and screwed up my exam technique. It feels like it is too late!! because the 3/4 cores were last semester. And our cohort is better performing than previous years Although they say the interview is really important and I am confident I can do well in this most people do seem to get through on their high gpa's, and I hear people talking from 2nd and 3rd years who only know 8.6-9.0 first year gpa med students. Any thoughts?

First of all dude, chillax.

Remain focused on getting the highest possible GPA that is reasonable; e.g. staying up until 3am studying and living on amphetamines is not reasonable

If you do a search around these forums people have gotten in with a GPA of 7.5 or 7.25

If you do the statistics a high GPA is helpful but is not the be-all and end-all, you can get binned with a perfect 9.0 GPA because you were a muppet in the interview.

Let's say for example person A has a 9.0 GPA, 15% UMAT and 5/10 interview that is a total of 87.5% then there is you who has an 8.25 GPA, if you get 15% UMAT and an 8/10 interview that gives you a total of 90% so even though you have a lower GPA you can make up for it, and surpass people, based on the interview.

Does that mean you will get in? no but I think if you do well in the interview it is highly likely.

Good luck.

Remember, chillax.

 

[BC mso]

Hey, so I know that EVERYONE wants to know the answer to this question, but I was wondering if you could shed some light on whether a core gpa of 8.25 is enough for entry. I am starting to freak out, because I am getting A+ grades over everything this semester but found last semester a huge shock, and screwed up my exam technique. It feels like it is too late!! because the 3/4 cores were last semester. And our cohort is better performing than previous years Although they say the interview is really important and I am confident I can do well in this most people do seem to get through on their high gpa's, and I hear people talking from 2nd and 3rd years who only know 8.6-9.0 first year gpa med students. Any thoughts?

if someone were to tell you now that 8.25 is not enough for entry, would that really change anything you could do? now that your in the 8th week of semester 2? just try your best no matter what your grades, you cant change last semesters grades...
alas....8.25 is well within the range of securing your place for an interview and being competitive to easily get into med.
As has been said many times on this forum, be very wary in taking what you hear from other regarding their grades seriously, it can just lead to unnecessary nerves and stress.
Good Luck for the rest of the year

 

[hca12]

i agree with rotors. there is absolutely no point stressing/freaking out. make sure you focus on medsci and get the a+ 8.25 is definitely high enough to give you a good chance, plenty have got in with lower. of course people with a higher gpa are at a (slight) advantage, but you should definitely not be ruling yourself out. if you enter the interview room thinking about how many people have higher gpa's than you, you will probably before poorly. i hope that didnt come off as too patronizing sorry basically make sure you give medsci your all, and you'll have a good shot at getting in. best of luck for umat results, should be out sometime this week if last yr is anything to go by