Otago HSFY chat - archive

[papermoth]

Hey.

I've fallen madly, deeply, passionately ]) in love with Otago and hope to study HSFY there next year. My parents need swaying though because we live in Auckland and they fail to see the logic behind my plan.

I'm going with the 'it's easier to get in' approach since that's what my career adviser said (she taking a strictly numbers point of view I think and really sold the figures to me). To be honest it's probably the only reason my parents buy as legit. Anyway I'm doubting my position now and was wondering if I'm lying through my teeth or if compared to AuckU my chances are indeed better (even if ever so slightly)?

I sat UMAT this year so I could make a more calculated decision but yeah I'm not at all confident. Anyway my argument is purely for my parents sake. I'm not going to use it as a premise to slack of or anything or to undermine the university (Lord forbid).

Yeah.

 

[patkirtan]

Last year a 94.75 average and Otago weighted UMAT of 43 (which equates approximately to a percentile of 20) would have got you in. Bear in mind that this would have only just gotten you in and the cutoff may well rise this year. Regardless, I would say it would take an absolute disaster in UMAT to rule you out if you can maintain your average.


EDIT - lol, just saw skyglows post above. We're both a little keen me thinks...

I think the cut off will dramatically rise this year , so it's gonna suck for someone who is borderline like me..
Sigh.. UMAT can be really annoying. I guess most people had an issue with the timing with umat.
Squigglypencil, i'm sure you can get in with that average ( it's an amazing score)

 

[ChickenPie]

Hey.

I've fallen madly, deeply, passionately ]) in love with Otago and hope to study HSFY there next year. My parents need swaying though because we live in Auckland and they fail to see the logic behind my plan.

I'm going with the 'it's easier to get in' approach since that's what my career adviser said (she taking a strictly numbers point of view I think and really sold the figures to me). To be honest it's probably the only reason my parents buy as legit. Anyway I'm doubting my position now and was wondering if I'm lying through my teeth or if compared to AuckU my chances are indeed better (even if ever so slightly)?

I sat UMAT this year so I could make a more calculated decision but yeah I'm not at all confident. Anyway my argument is purely for my parents sake. I'm not going to use it as a premise to slack of or anything or to undermine the university (Lord forbid).

Yeah.

From talking to my friends at Auckland, it's easier down here. But either way, pitch it based on lifestyle. Unless you want your parents to pay for it, then it's your decision.

You'll have the time of your life down here. Make up something about wanting to go away, meet new people, learn to be more independent and such.

But as I said, unless you want them to pay for you, then you can do whatever you want!

 

[papermoth]

^^

I'm a first class moocher so yeah I'd probably prefer their monetary support :\

But I'll give that angle a go too. I better get the puppy dog eyes polished.

 

[skyglow1]

From talking to my friends at Auckland, it's easier down here. But either way, pitch it based on lifestyle. Unless you want your parents to pay for it, then it's your decision.

You'll have the time of your life down here. Make up something about wanting to go away, meet new people, learn to be more independent and such.

But as I said, unless you want them to pay for you, then you can do whatever you want!

I would have to agree that it's easier in Otago too. The biggest plus for me was being able to live from away from home, learn how to be independent and sort things out for myself, and meet so many people that I wouldn't've otherwise, as ChickenPie said. It's definitely one of the best decisions I've made, to come down to Otago.

 

[ChickenPie]

If you get a good UMAT score then you've got a great argument- UMAT has a higher weighting down here. Although it's still mostly meaningless as you might know if you've been reading this thread.

 

[greenglacier]

I wouldn't go so far as to call UMAT "mostly meaningless" at Otago given that it can make the difference (at the extremes) between needing a 95 average to get in and an 80 average to get in. I think the point to emphasise is that for most people UMAT doesn't change the rankings that much when compared to the effect that your HSFY marks can have and that a poor UMAT will not disadvantage you nearly as much as you may at first think.

papermoth - personally I would be reluctant to say that it is easier to get in at Otago given that the admissions systems at Otago and Auckland are quite different. I would say that the school where you have the greatest chance of admission depends on what sort of person you are, but if you are the sort of person who can get really high marks on tests (>95%) and you get a decent UMAT then I think you would definitely stand a better chance at Otago. If your UMAT result turns out decent (>80th percentile) then I would use the argument on your parents that you want to go to the med school that will value that good result the most - and UMAT is definitely a lot more important at Otago than at Auckland.

 

[papermoth]

Hey thanks everyone!

I guess come September I'll be in a better position to decide/persuade.

but if you are the sort of person who can get really high marks on tests (>95%)

I wish I could say "dude that's so me!" but from what I've heard NCEA is not comparable with HSFY. A mate of mine said HSFY is just tons (that was her word of choice) of memorisation as apposed to actual 'thinking'. Right, excuse my friend, for she is the queen of ambiguity but I guess I kinda get what she means.

Anyway, where ever I end up exceptional marks will be a must... so I'll be trying hard regardless. I probably just have a lot of misplaced self-esteem but I recon if I try-- like really try, nothing much will stand in my way. (God I sound like a fortune cookie :[).

Yeah. Thanks again :]

 

[skyglow1]

Your friend's right. A lot of the actual work will be bulk memorisation. It pays to be good at this task! The sheer volume of information that you have to stuff into your head catches off a lot of students coming from high school.

 

[papermoth]

That does not sound fun. At all.

Ok, I'll consider myself warned though. I was actually reading something about how vivid pictures and lots of color improve memorisation.

HSFY= advanced Arts and Crafts.

 

[ChickenPie]

LOL, and it's not memorisation at auckland? Either way I don't think it's too much "rote-learning"... Just what I'd call "study" to be honest.

 

[skyglow1]

LOL, and it's not memorisation at auckland? Either way I don't think it's too much "rote-learning"... Just what I'd call "study" to be honest.

Erm, whoever said that it wasn't memorisation at Auckland? :mellow:

If you do biomed at Auckland or HSFY at Otago the vast majority of your time is spent memorising stuff.

 

[the_international]

Umat was interesting..

Just wondering will I be severly disadvantaging myself if I only do the audios and lectures for epi and not the readings.
Also in relation to the various graphs in the lectures, we only need to know about how trends can be affected (i.e. examples of factors that could cause decrease/increase in prevalence of an infectious disease for an example) as opposed to the actual trends themselves correct?

 

[Charmander]

a bit off topic... i'm just wondering if anyone knows if carrington has wireless internet in the bedrooms? And is it a good choice for HSFY? Or is St Margaret's better? Thanks

 

[ChickenPie]

a bit off topic... i'm just wondering if anyone knows if carrington has wireless internet in the bedrooms? And is it a good choice for HSFY? Or is St Margaret's better? Thanks

Both are good halls. Carrington IS getting wireless next year.

St Marg's is a bit... odd. It's a real different culture... Some would say antisocial?

Just to give an example- staff take the name and purpose of all visitors after 5:30pm. You can't enter the hall any other way. Students aren't allowed their own furniture. People get RIDICULOUS fines- talking in the corridor, having a guest 5min after hours, having more than one guest to dinner isn't allowed (unless they're your parents). Nobody talks about test results, EVER.

I live at Carrington and think it's awesome so of cause I'd say that though It's a great all-round hall where you won't be distracted from study.

 

[Charmander]

Thanks for the info, it's really hard to decide especially since I can't go down there and have a look for myself. Just about carrington at night, is it noisy at all? Or generally quiet/ ok for study? Thanks again

 

[squigglypencil]

I think the cut off will dramatically rise this year , so it's gonna suck for someone who is borderline like me..
Sigh.. UMAT can be really annoying. I guess most people had an issue with the timing with umat.
Squigglypencil, i'm sure you can get in with that average ( it's an amazing score)

... Thanks so much for the replies greenglacier and skyglow. How'd you manage to work out the marks? Haha, you guys are doing Med, right? How do you even find the time?! Cheers though, means a lot to hear it from you guys.

Far out UMAT freaked me out, and still continues to freak me out. You're not alone Patkirtan! How'd you do with your exams? Try not to be disheartened by UMAT. Keep working and lift up your average. I'm sure you're fully capable - anyone is if they put in the effort etc. We'll see what happens soon enough though... I guess it's time for me to concentrate :-( How's your course going?

 

[squigglypencil]

Both are good halls. Carrington IS getting wireless next year.

St Marg's is a bit... odd. It's a real different culture... Some would say antisocial?

Just to give an example- staff take the name and purpose of all visitors after 5:30pm. You can't enter the hall any other way. Students aren't allowed their own furniture. People get RIDICULOUS fines- talking in the corridor, having a guest 5min after hours, having more than one guest to dinner isn't allowed (unless they're your parents). Nobody talks about test results, EVER.

I live at Carrington and think it's awesome so of cause I'd say that though It's a great all-round hall where you won't be distracted from study.

lol, St Margs isn't that bad from what I've heard. Depends on how you'd want your first year at University to be. St Margs does have its good tutorials...
Carrington is definitely a good choice though. Arana looks good too. With any hostel there will be noise (and depends on which area within the hostel) - St Margs is very quiet though.

 

[the_international]

Any1 else have heal today too?
The tut was pretty good.

Think I read 3 wrong though, thought it said incorrect did it say correct about surveillance?

In that case its the hospital answer?

 

[patkirtan]

... Thanks so much for the replies greenglacier and skyglow. How'd you manage to work out the marks? Haha, you guys are doing Med, right? How do you even find the time?! Cheers though, means a lot to hear it from you guys.

Far out UMAT freaked me out, and still continues to freak me out. You're not alone Patkirtan! How'd you do with your exams? Try not to be disheartened by UMAT. Keep working and lift up your average. I'm sure you're fully capable - anyone is if they put in the effort etc. We'll see what happens soon enough though... I guess it's time for me to concentrate :-( How's your course going?

Lol, exams went.... hmmm okay. Physics just tore me apart, but hopefully my 8th paper can help me lift my average up >.> Man so many people dropped out of HSFY from my hall ><" I wonder how many people are left this semester?

UMAT results will be surprising. I'm sure for me it'll go to either extremes ... hoping it won't be like 0-20... that means everyones smarter than me haha