Otago HSFY chat - archive

[skyglow1]

For those HSFYers who are interested, I have a friend who I'm pretty sure didn't get into med who got 89% average and an 80 percentile UMAT. If we take Otago's word as the truth when they say they use the GPA system instead of simply your paper marks (although the admissions office sometimes contradicts this :/) then it's not surprising seeing as he got 4A+ and 3A. In the GPA system the difference between an A+ and A is quite large, and it doesn't matter what percent you actually got, only the grade. There's actually no difference between a 100% A+ and a 90% A+ in the GPA system, or for that matter, a 89% A and an 80% A.

It's unfortunate that he was just underneath 90% for his papers in which he got an A, so he just missed out on A+ in those papers, which would've cost him quite a bit in his GPA. This is all assuming that Otago used GPA and not the paper marks. He was also confident he was going to get in and wasn't worried, even missing one of his tests! (he got to resit though so he didn't fail terms or anything)

Moral of the story is you should aim as high as possible when it comes to marks, because you can't be sure what system Otago is going to use to rank students, and to never be overconfident. But just to give you an idea of the sort of marks that you'd realistically need, all A+ would be nice to have

 

[Deleted member 4350]

What were his individual marks for each section? Otago med school uses S1: 45%, S2: 45%, S3 10%, right? Maybe he didn't get in cuz his first two sections were low? 89% average is still decent and combined with a UMAT of 80th percentile, it seems highly credible. I'm surprised he didn't get in

 

[skyglow1]

He had a really even distribution across the 3 sections so wasn't disadvantaged or advantaged by the 45/45/10 weighting. 89% is decent, but considering how many students are in the course and the inevtiable distribution of marks, there are a significant number of people with 5, 6 or 7 A+, and the fact that GPA counts for 2/3 of the mark would've really hurt him.

 

[McNerdy]

He had a really even distribution across the 3 sections so wasn't disadvantaged or advantaged by the 45/45/10 weighting. 89% is decent, but considering how many students are in the course and the inevtiable distribution of marks, there are a significant number of people with 5, 6 or 7 A+, and the fact that GPA counts for 2/3 of the mark would've really hurt him.

lol. Med entry is so retardedly hard. Seriously it cracks me up how hard you have to go to get in.

 

[skyglow1]

Sad thing is he was fully capable of getting in without a sweat. I mean he's real bright so he hardly made any notes, hardly paid attention in lectures, casually browsed through lecture slides or other people's notes, did some questions, and was still easily getting A/A+ on every test. He just slacked off waaaay too much in second semester and wasn't prepared for the final.

 

[McNerdy]

Sad thing is he was fully capable of getting in without a sweat. I mean he's real bright so he hardly made any notes, hardly paid attention in lectures, casually browsed through lecture slides or other people's notes, did some questions, and was still easily getting A/A+ on every test. He just slacked off waaaay too much in second semester and wasn't prepared for the final.

He wasn't a scout then.

 

[Arutha]

Sad thing is he was fully capable of getting in without a sweat. I mean he's real bright so he hardly made any notes, hardly paid attention in lectures, casually browsed through lecture slides or other people's notes, did some questions, and was still easily getting A/A+ on every test. He just slacked off waaaay too much in second semester and wasn't prepared for the final.

While I do feel bad for him, I have to say it was his own fault, kinda serves him right. He should've known how many students there were who were desperate to get into med (like me, God, such a desperado >_<) and willing to put 110% in.

I wonder how many students on the waiting list eventually make it into med. Many people would've applied for both dent and med, got accepted into both, and picked dent over med, so just wondering how many med spots that opens up...

 

[Deleted member 4350]

While I do feel bad for him, I have to say it was his own fault, kinda serves him right. He should've known how many students there were who were desperate to get into med (like me, God, such a desperado >_<) and willing to put 110% in.

I wonder how many students on the waiting list eventually make it into med. Many people would've applied for both dent and med, got accepted into both, and picked dent over med, so just wondering how many med spots that opens up...

Good point there Arutha. If he couldn't be bothered studying, then he doesn't deserve entry. It would've been unfair for those who tirelessly studied for hours in the hopes of getting in.

 

[vvvvv]

No chance for Otago med?

I have completed Bachelor of Biomedical Science in Otago this year and my average mark is 87% (GPA:7.86). Can someone please tell me if I still have a decent chance of getting into Otago Med through competitive entry? (I still have to reach my umat threshold ). Thanks alot.

 

[Majohnna]

hey yall thanks for the replies it's nice to think that people have taken part of their time to answer my question -there is hope in this world!
even more questions:

Is the uni gym alright? Does anyone know any yoga studios in Dunedin (I need to keep this up when I go down)?

I counted it up on the calendar and there are 27 formal dinners at SMC, that is a lot. Please tell me that it is fun and not totally borring? 27 different ties/jackets/shirts. OR wear the same ugly suit over and over until someone tells me to change it

I know there is interviews for medicine, but is there interviews for dentistry/pharmacy/phsio/med lab??

btw McNerdy -I just finished reading all of your blog, which is fantastic, great insight into someone about to embark on something special. Just quietly, was the Dr Norris that you said was on the interview panel the same Dr Norris that is warden of St Margarets College? Assuming I've got the same Dr Norris, as he is not a medical doctor, would he have been assesing other aspects of the interview subject like ... can't think of any

thanks

 

[skyglow1]

Only bit I can answer is that dentistry and physio have interviews. From application guidlines for professional courses:

"Oral Assessment/Interview is used as part of the selection criteria for admission to Dentistry and Physiotherapy. This is a structured interview process. All interviewees are given the same basic questions in the same order. These Oral Assessments/Interviews will be held in Dunedin in October/November 2008.

Interviewees will normally be interviewed by one academic staff member and one community representative.
Interview topics are:

• Motivation
• Decision Making
• Communication Skills

Interview scores will NOT be released."

A friend whom I helped prepare for the Dent interview told me the questions he were asked, and they were really standard ones like name your strengths/weakeness, why you want to do Dent, etc. He also got a basic scenario and was asked to explain his decision making process if I remember correctly.

 

[Arutha]

I counted it up on the calendar and there are 27 formal dinners at SMC, that is a lot. Please tell me that it is fun and not totally borring? 27 different ties/jackets/shirts. OR wear the same ugly suit over and over until someone tells me to change it

btw McNerdy -I just finished reading all of your blog, which is fantastic, great insight into someone about to embark on something special. Just quietly, was the Dr Norris that you said was on the interview panel the same Dr Norris that is warden of St Margarets College? Assuming I've got the same Dr Norris, as he is not a medical doctor, would he have been assesing other aspects of the interview subject like ... can't think of any

thanks

Hey
You don't have to go to the formal dinners.

 

[McNerdy]

btw McNerdy -I just finished reading all of your blog, which is fantastic, great insight into someone about to embark on something special. Just quietly, was the Dr Norris that you said was on the interview panel the same Dr Norris that is warden of St Margarets College? Assuming I've got the same Dr Norris, as he is not a medical doctor, would he have been assesing other aspects of the interview subject like ... can't think of any

I was under the impression that Otago Medical School only did interviews for 'other category' students and not for 'competitive graduate entry' or HSFY. Is this correct guys?

As Arutha said, it is the same guy. He takes a certain interest in med students. In my interview he just went through my academic record and made me feel bad about it (not his fault lol). The other questions were posed by lay members of the university community and one medical Dr. But to be honest the questions were about awareness of NZ medical system, our major public health issues and ethical questions like euthanasia and young teen pregnancy. I got the feeling that all of the panel were assessing my answers. Given Dr Norris is an accomplished theologian I think his knowledge of morality and ethics and ability to balance issues would be excellent so I had no qualms about him being present. In fact I thought it was a good idea. The head of the Northern X Regional Ethics committee is a philosopher/ethicist and is apparently excellent when they convene (I know someone on the committee).

Cheers for reading my blog =) Glad you enjoyed reading it.

 

[McNerdy]

testing

 

[Arutha]

I think you are right, McNerdy, about the interviews being only for Other category. Well, I just read the admissions guidelines and they give no indication of having interviews via the competitive graduate.

Lol at your blog entry on the interview, McNerdy -at what you brought up XD.

 

[Deleted member 4350]

HSFY Physics Paper: PHSI191

Hey everyone

I'm in a bit of a dilemma. The last time I did physics was in 4th form SCIENCE! I never knew I had to study physics at University until the start of 7th form I need some advice on what I should do to prepare for this paper. Skyglow has advised me to read up on some AS physics. Do I have any chance of getting into dent/med if I haven't done physics? I don't have the money for summer school, so that's off the list. What should I do????

 

[skyglow1]

Lol chill man, you'll be fine. Did I send you the PHSI checklists btw? If I haven't then I'll send you that. For Dent entry your GPA matters way less anyway, so you don't need to stress. Just need a 65% or higher in every paper and you should have zero problems getting that from the sounds of it. Just work through the stuff in the PHSI checklists using the AS resources and you'll be fine.

 

[Deleted member 4350]

Haha my bad xD I tend to be a bit of a worry wort at times. It's just that this paper has a notorious reputation for being terribly difficult, even for those who have taken level 3 physics. Nevertheless, I'll put my trust in your word. I don't think I have the PHSI checklist, would be a dream if I could get that. Cheeeeers

 

[Random]

Hey people

So I've been stalking this forum for about a month now and finally decided to post.
I'm staying in arana this year and was wondering what the food is like since food is what keeps people going of course.

Also skyglow I saw on another thread you posted about you posted about a physics checklist? My teacher hated me last year and wasnt the best at her profession so if you could send me those it would be appreciated

 

[Majohnna]

hi there, got my NCEA results - so disapointed, i feel so mediocre writing this, all you guys are so smart. (i should stop saying sooooooo so much)
in my principle's rant last year he said that NCEA class of 2008 does not want to look back now and say that "i could have done better." but the thing is, i could not have done better. i was in the freaking prime of my exam preparation, which i had planned for months. maybe i am not good enough for a teriary education
anyway, i passed everything, just not with what i was aiming for. dont worry about me, i'll pick myself up.
so what if i shoot for the stars and end up falling back down to the ground!