Hi Stuart (and everyone else on MSO),
Just thought I'd post a little about myself in case there are any other applicants like me who come from a non-hard sciences background and are applying as a graduate to the MBChB at UoA. I've also found the information on this forum invaluable as I navigate my way through the application process so this is my way of contributing something (hopefully) useful.
I finished school in 2011 and have been studying since then; I've always liked the idea of being a doctor, though I never considered it seriously as a career choice as I didn't think I was smart enough (note to past-self: don't not do something because you think you're not good enough) I also loved biology when I did it at school. I've done an undergraduate degree in Creative Writing and Social Sciences and am currently completing my MA in linguistics - my thesis will be done by June this year. Until about a a year-and-a-half ago I thought I'd be a journalist; I love working with people face-to-face and I felt, rather naively, that I could make a positive contribution to people's lives through journalism - that isn't to say you can't still do that, but it's much more difficult in the current climate. So, feeling very frustrated and just totally bewildered I started to review my career choices again. I talked to lots of people and thought very seriously about the kind of qualities I have as a person and what I really want to get out of my career. I knew that whatever job I have will need to be one where I work with people every day and one where I can care for people directly, I also want something that is going to challenge me and allow me to keep learning and researching as my career progresses. Which is when I found myself back at the career that I'd wanted to choose all along...being a doctor.
Initially I was hesitant to commit to this as it's another 5-6 years of study, plus specialising years, plus another $100,000 to my already-exorbitant-loan. I also didn't realise that a lot of med schools overseas only take graduate students and that there are people like me, who initially thought they'd do something non-medical related, who then go on to become doctors. This year I'll be applying to UoA (it's my first choice) but will also try for universities in Australia in the event that I don't get accepted into Auckland; and failing that, I'll apply to the University of Otago in the 'Other' category in 2019. My GPA is by no means 'competitive' at 7.54 (for the latest three years) and will hopefully go up a few decimal places depending on the mark I get for my thesis. However, I'm trying not to let that put me off, I'll just have to do my best on the UMAT and in the interview (if I get one). As someone wise once told me, "all you can do is your best." Good luck to everyone who is applying this year, I wish you all the very best as we move through this sometimes totally terrifying and also totally exciting process.