Otago Halls of Residence

[hibuds]

also (last one i promise!!) what is the tutoring like??
Thanks!

 

[static]

Yes! I was wondering what are the people there like? I know that is a ridiculously generalised question but i'm really loud and not shy at all so I don't want to be in a hall thats like super super serious all the time but at the same time i also want to be able to study hard. I got an excellence endorsement, I'm a prefect and my dad and two of my uncles wen't to selwyn so do you think it would give me a good chance of getting in? also, Is the food good?
sorry for bombarding you so many questions!!
Thanks
also (last one i promise!!) what is the tutoring like??

With regards to people, remember that you will encounter the same sorts of people wherever you go. So as far as people go in Selwyn, there's only ~ 170 of us so you will get to know everyone within a couple of weeks and definitely find someone who's on the same page as you. All in all, if you want a good balance, which it sounds like you do, Selwyn is a great choice.

Selwyn looks for balance in residents - people who give equal amounts of effort to work, sports etc. The prefect thing will help but make sure you show them that you are balanced and can contribute to the community. I'm not sure about how family ties works but there are a few people with older siblings who are exies. I'd say just work on all the stuff I said above and you'll be fine and don't think that just because your dad and uncles went to Selwyn that you'll get automatic entrance.

Many halls do say that their food is the best or whatever but they're just spinning yarns. Food is probably equally good across all the halls - you have days when it's great and days when the food is.. not-so-great. Don't let food influence your choices - it really doesn't matter at the end of the day. The tutoring is pretty good - most of the tutors are med students or ex lab demonstrators. Tutoring is kinda like food, you will have good tutors and the not so good ones - luckily all the ones this year are quite good. There's a dedicated academic team composed of the tutors and two SRs so the academic base is covered very well.

Hope this helps!

[OFFTOPIC] Sorry for the late reply! [/OFFTOPIC]

 

[charmingjam]

Have you ever considered Arana? They say 'Arana is your first choice' for people that hate on us, i'm not saying this because of my pride of being an 'Aranian', but it's a truly great hall, especially for people with brave/loud personalities. It has a good balance between social and study environment, it's 3 min away from the main HSFY lecture theatre. The tutorial system is great (we had med students tutoring us 1-2 times a week on every health sci paper). The success rate of getting into med/dent is not far behind St. Margs considering Arana is full of kiwis students instead of serious/goal-driven Asian students. In my year, there were at least 30+ getting into med and 6 got into dent (myself included) which is pretty high considering only about 40 places in dent were offered to first year students. If you want a good balance between academic and social life, decent food, great location, then you should consider Arana. (sorry if this sounded like an advertisement to promote my hall haha) but each hall has its own advantages and disadvantages.

 

[frootloop]

The success rate of getting into med/dent is not far behind St. Margs considering Arana is full of kiwis students instead of serious/goal-driven Asian students.

Because that's not racist in the slightest.... Just because someone is Asian doesn't make them a power-nerd, or 'not a kiwi'.

 

[musica209]

Have you ever considered Arana? They say 'Arana is your first choice' for people that hate on us, i'm not saying this because of my pride of being an 'Aranian', but it's a truly great hall, especially for people with brave/loud personalities. It has a good balance between social and study environment, it's 3 min away from the main HSFY lecture theatre. The tutorial system is great (we had med students tutoring us 1-2 times a week on every health sci paper). The success rate of getting into med/dent is not far behind St. Margs considering Arana is full of kiwis students instead of serious/goal-driven Asian students. In my year, there were at least 30+ getting into med and 6 got into dent (myself included) which is pretty high considering only about 40 places in dent were offered to first year students. If you want a good balance between academic and social life, decent food, great location, then you should consider Arana. (sorry if this sounded like an advertisement to promote my hall haha) but each hall has its own advantages and disadvantages.

This describes pretty much like, every hall though... St. Margs isn't *that* packed full of asians And neither is Carrington. The only major difference between the halls is probably the distance to the lecture theatres (which isn't even that huge a difference). The rest of it doesn't really matter, cos it's up to you how much you study.

 

[Cathay]

The success rate of getting into med/dent is not far behind St. Margs considering Arana is full of kiwis students instead of serious/goal-driven Asian students.

Consider, for a minute, that there are many more of your so-called 'kiwi students' than there are Asian students in Otago medical school (59% vs 33.3% across all years in 2009, source)...

 

[musica209]

Consider, for a minute, that there are many more of your so-called 'kiwi students' than there are Asian students in Otago medical school (59% vs 33.3% across all years in 2009, source)...

[offtopic]Trust you to have a legitimate source, Cathay! [/offtopic]

 

[charmingjam]

Because that's not racist in the slightest.... Just because someone is Asian doesn't make them a power-nerd, or 'not a kiwi'.

It amazes me how some people can find offence in any given situation. As you can see I am quite a new member who is trying to help out another member by sharing information about what i found during my stay at my particular hall. I think someone is getting a bit insecure here, for all that matters, a goal-driven student who takes study seriously is highly motivated which describes a lot of Asian students who are aiming at getting into a professional course.

Staying at which ever hall doesn't make a difference to the level of competition you're up against but living in a comfortable and supportive environment that suits your style does

 

[frootloop]

It amazes me how some people can find offence in any given situation. As you can see I am quite a new member who is trying to help out another member by sharing information about what i found during my stay at my particular hall. I think someone is getting a bit insecure here, for all that matters, a goal-driven student who takes study seriously is highly motivated which describes a lot of Asian students who are aiming at getting into a professional course.

Staying at which ever hall doesn't make a difference to the level of competition you're up against but living in a comfortable and supportive environment that suits your style does

I am quite aware you're a new member, however 'Don't make racist remarks' is hardly a rule specific to MSO, so I fail to see why you being new here is relevant.

I agree wholeheartedly with your final statement, however I'd suggest that the differences between halls are largely overstated, and most people would be fine in any hall.

 

[Aftermath]

I agree with froot but it probably just came out wrong. Poor choice of words I'm guessing. Also, the way you said it made it come off as racist.

[OFFTOPIC]@frootloop Pretty sure Asians aren't kiwis though Unless you're talking about half-casts or NZ Citizens of course [/OFFTOPIC]

 

[rustyedges]

Is it true that if you are really tall ( I'm 6'6 ) they upgrade you to a bigger room or bed? I heard it at the tour at Knox and I also heard that at Carrington.

I can confirm that if you go to Knox you will get a bigger bed and, consequently, a larger room, as long as you are one of the taller ones. Sometimes I get lost in mine.

I would also like to point out that most halls are pretty much the same, from what I've seen. They're a place for you to eat, sleep and meet people, and it will have little impact on how well you do, etc. Having said that, go to Knox.

 

[Ruth]

I agree with froot but it probably just came out wrong. Poor choice of words I'm guessing. Also, the way you said it made it come off as racist.

[OFFTOPIC]@frootloop Pretty sure Asians aren't kiwis though Unless you're talking about half-casts or NZ Citizens of course [/OFFTOPIC]

[offtopic]I'm not entirely sure what you mean Aftermath, but I'd like to point out that the vast, vast majority of the Asians in health sci are NZ Citizens.[/offtopic]

 

[Sam]

asian invasion yellow fever china coming to take all our medicine spots then leave so we have no doctors left damn imigrants

[OFFTOPIC]winston peters[/OFFTOPIC]

 

[Sam]

[offtopic]I'm not entirely sure what you mean Aftermath, but I'd like to point out that the vast, vast majority of the Asians in health sci are NZ Citizens.[/offtopic]

chinese propaganda from a chinese. don't listen

 

[Voldemort]

[OFFTOPIC]

asian invasion yellow fever china coming to take all our medicine spots then leave so we have no doctors left damn imigrants

[OFFTOPIC]winston peters[/OFFTOPIC]

.....lul wut?[/OFFTOPIC]

 

[static]

I can confirm that if you go to Knox you will get a bigger bed and, consequently, a larger room, as long as you are one of the taller ones. Sometimes I get lost in mine.

I would also like to point out that most halls are pretty much the same, from what I've seen. They're a place for you to eat, sleep and meet people, and it will have little impact on how well you do, etc. Having said that, go to Knox.

No don't - its a 20 minute walk up a hill. Screams inconvenience. In seriousness though, just take in the ambience of each college and go to the one you like most. It's a gut reaction honestly.

 

[musica209]

Is it true that if you are really tall ( I'm 6'6 ) they upgrade you to a bigger room or bed? I heard it at the tour at Knox and I also heard that at Carrington.

Yep, definitely at Carrington. All the taller boys are either in Blackie House/Flat or Pine. The beds tend to be larger, and the rooms have higher ceilings as well

I'm not going to shamelessly promote Carrington, but in the end, it's really how you feel about the 'vibes' of the hall when you visit it. You can visit some halls and just hate it from the start, and other halls, you can just love it. It really depends on you as a person In the end, they're all pretty much the same, and you'll meet great people anywhere you go!

 

[Aftermath]

[offtopic]I'm not entirely sure what you mean Aftermath, but I'd like to point out that the vast, vast majority of the Asians in health sci are NZ Citizens.[/offtopic]

[OFFTOPIC]I know that.. My reply meant something else.. never mind, too hard to explain. [/OFFTOPIC]

 

[KatWyn]

St Margaret's College

Hi, I really want to be accepted into St Margaret's College in 2014. I liked the atmosphere and the dedication of the students to their studies at St Mags. I am planning to take HSFY next year. I would really like to know whether I have a good chance of getting into St Mags. I got 97 E credits at level one and 61 at level two. This year I also seem to be heading towards excellence. I volunteer for Ronald McDonald House and the SPCA, I am a librarian at my school as well as the leader of the book club and have been playing the piano for several years. I also play social netball and take scholarship biology.
What are my chances of getting in? Is there anything in particular that I am missing? Do they look for all round students or students who excel in a specific area?

I know its early, but I am already a little stressed about where I am staying and St Mags felt the most homely to me.

 

[greenglacier]

Hi [MENTION=18655]KatWyn[/MENTION] - I've moved your post here