Auckland OLY1 chat - archive

[saq17]

question on Auckland Uni

Hi there lordgarlic,

I have read all the info available on the auckland uni website before hand but did not find anything that was concrete about the interview system but that may be my fault as I might have overlooked that part. Its not the matter of the interview being my "Achilles" heel but rather the fact that I cannot find anything that suggests the interview having a concrete mark. Therefore if the interviewers do not like my responses from their perspective I will be rejected (which others have basically mentioned), no matter my academic or umat marks. That is why I am worrying!!:bored:

One question, how are all the results for the papers and interview released to the students? I am sorry for the lengthy response.

 

[lambchops]

Hi saq17,

From what I remember, the interviews are now graded by two interviewers on a 10-point scale. The auto-entry and auto-reject categories were definitely still in place during selection for 2010 entry. I don't think there are right or wrong answers, but there are wrong ways of answering questions. As long as your responses are thought out and backed up when challenged I think you'll do fine.

Results for papers are released on nDeva (UoA's student management system) in the form of a grade (A+ through to D-). If your application is successful, you will not be able to request feedback for your interview. If you don't get an offer, you may request feedback.

 

[vamsiaus]

Hey guys, just a small question. Doing OLY1 here at Auckland, are we allowed to apply for dentistry at Otago. I understand we can't apply for MbChB at Otago, but does the same rule apply for Dentistry too?

On a side note, these holidays seem to be taking forever to finish. Never did I feel the urge to go to uni.

 

[lambchops]

Hey guys, just a small question. Doing OLY1 here at Auckland, are we allowed to apply for dentistry at Otago. I understand we can't apply for MbChB at Otago, but does the same rule apply for Dentistry too?

On a side note, these holidays seem to be taking forever to finish. Never did I feel the urge to go to uni.

You can't apply for dentistry directly from OLY1. However, you can apply for dentistry after the completion of your second year of university study or later as a graduate.

 

[Cloud]

Medsci 142!!

Hello i've been following this website closely, but this is my first ever post!

Just wondering how y'all studied for MEDSCI142

there's so much to remember! all the enzyme names and diagrams and things...

i hope we don't actually have to draw any diagrams :S

 

[Cloud]

Oh and regarding UMAT... how much influence does this have?
I know it's only 15% but when they're ranking students for entry into MBCHB II, do they still consider UMAT as part of it?

or do they sort of look at the UMAT when they're ranking students for interviews and then leave it at that?

and what's a reasonable UMAT score?
I sat it last year and I got 60 for both section 2 and 3 but 43 on section 1 lol
So i really need to improve section 1 this year....
my overall score was around like 55 which put me in 75th percentile??
Say i got the same score this year but with a 8.75 GPA, would that be ok? or fairly disadvantageous?

Thank you!

 

[lordgarlic]

Hello i've been following this website closely, but this is my first ever post!

Just wondering how y'all studied for MEDSCI142

there's so much to remember! all the enzyme names and diagrams and things...

i hope we don't actually have to draw any diagrams :S

medsci142 is basiclaly a case of brute learning. In fact all of first year is brute learning with very few concepts. Having said that, medsci142 isn't a bad paper at all and it's very enjoyable.

if you are struggling with the content you could always try to get a tutor for an hour or two a week for help with that paper because it is quite critical.

unfortunately there are lots of flow diagrams to learn (~ala 18 marks for renin-angiotensin-aldosterone axis flow chart in exams) - LG's note: I probably couldn't regurgitate every step of the RAAS flow chart now lol - i know enough to get by in medicine

 

[gustavofring]

With regard to UMAT, I'm just saying the obvious..
but anyway
just do as best as you can

It does count for 15% of your final ranking so the higher the better but if you screw it up, it's not the end of the world. There are many people in our year who got in with quite low scores. In contrast, if you do badly in the interview, I think that may have more of an effect whether you get in or not.

 

[underarmnat]

Info

Just asking for advice
I got 3 A's in cores first semester so i trake it my chances will be slim regardless if I get an A+, so I need to ace interview!!!! do many with 8.25s get in,
Secondly do you know if it is possible to go straight into second year engineering from biomed????

 

[Cloud]

So for people who normally get in second year..
What's their average UMAT ??

does it span between say.. raw score 55 - 58 or 58-60 ??

 

[gustavofring]

You can get into 2nd year biomedical? engineering (or whatever it's called) but you need to do some additional papers in summer school. I don't think you can get into the other engineering specialties (e.g. civil) straight from biomed.

3 A's isn't that bad. I know some people in our class who got in with a GPA of 8.25.

 

[Cloud]

I dont know how to delete this post.. haha...

 

[Cloud]

Just asking for advice
I got 3 A's in cores first semester so i trake it my chances will be slim regardless if I get an A+, so I need to ace interview!!!! do many with 8.25s get in,
Secondly do you know if it is possible to go straight into second year engineering from biomed????

I dont think so.. i'm pretty sure engineering has their own papers such as calculus and mechatronics that you have to pass before you can actually move on to second year engineering..

 

[vamsiaus]

You can get into 2nd year biomedical? engineering (or whatever it's called) but you need to do some additional papers in summer school. I don't think you can get into the other engineering specialties (e.g. civil) straight from biomed.

3 A's isn't that bad. I know some people in our class who got in with a GPA of 8.25.

there used to be a document specifically for how biomedical students can get straight into Biomedical engineering(2nd year) on their website, but I think they took that off now. They have changed the site a little from the last time I saw it. I was looking at other options earlier in the year and I found stuff like optometry, BM engineering and Chemical that we can start off from 2nd year. But take it with a grain of salt, I haven't looked that deeply into it. -_-

 

[underarmnat]

Cheers guys will do a bit of research lets hope 8.25 is good enough

 

[dip]

So for people who normally get in second year..
What's their average UMAT ??

does it span between say.. raw score 55 - 58 or 58-60 ??

As I said earlier in the thread, a friend in my class got 38%ile and he is in med. 75th will probably be plenty if you have 8.75 and an above average interview ^_^

 

[olliefoundabeerholder]

As I said earlier in the thread, a friend in my class got 38%ile and he is in med. 75th will probably be plenty if you have 8.75 and an above average interview ^_^

thats true but most people i've heard got over 90 percentile

 

[g.walker]

For those who are thinking of engineering as plan B, here's what i know:

you can get straight into 2nd year engineerimg for ANY specialty if you have > B+ average (theoritically, ie aim for higher) but you will need to do summer school. They have a set number of spaces so there is some competition but for you guys its not a concern seeing how most of you will be well above the rest (non-condesendingly).

For what its worth, biomedical engineering is probably not the best of options because its new at auckland uni, it has limited job security most of which is focused in EU/US and some in AUS, and even then the job opportunities are not "biomedical engineering" as much as they are 3D animation and other stuff

I looked into the topic alot last year, and I was offered a place into 2nd year after biomed (8.0 overall GPA), surprisingly its not a popular option amongst med hopefuls...

 

[Cloud]

What do you guys think about doing Radio Lollipop for second semester??
does that seem too 'interview-directed'?

is it best to save time (bless those children though ) and just stick with the stuff I've already done, or should I go for it?

I do have volunteer work under my belt, but since radio lol's in a hospital environment, maybe I thought they'd think it's better cos you'd actually know what its like in the hospital and stuff...

or... does anyone know where I can just observe a doctor at work or something for weekend?

 

[Cloud]

UMAT arghhhhh

can anyone gimme a realistic picture bout UMAT??

I enjoyed my holidays... far too much and I didnt end up doing any study! good for the stress.. but now the nerves are kicking in and there's only 8 days left till UMAT!!! and I haven't done a thing!!

I did it last year (i sat it without doing any study, just to see how much I could get) and i got 40, 60, 60 for the sections respectively and 75 percentile.

do you guys reckon i could bump it up to 90th percentiles if i work my ASS OFF this week? I mean.. a week is a lot of time right?
and other people told me that you mature alot between year 13 and stage one lol so most people naturally do well anyway? or is that all just talk?

how much practise does one need for umat anyway? in terms of hours/practise questions?

thanks for reading this nonsense question! haha