haha yea, fully keen on owning UMATS next year that damn thing. Skyglow, I think I'm gonna do what that other crazy guy you told me did last year, how he did 2 hours of UMAT practice everyday and got 100th percentile... or maybe like that girl who did the same thing and got 0-20th percentile... -_-
Well...as long as you understand what things help and what don't.
NZ medical students association is actually conducting a survey looking at med student opinions about UMAT:
[offtopic]Dear Medical Students,
Thank you very much to all of you who have shown an interest in the UMAT: students? perceptions survey.
To recap quickly, the New Zealand Medical Students? Association is conducting a survey about what are students? perceptions on sitting the undergraduate medical aptitude test as part of the selection criteria for entering medical school.
This survey is to determine students? perception of UMAT.
The online survey has now been opened and we would greatly appreciate it if you could please take the time to fill it in. It will take no more than 5 minutes, and anonymity and confidentiality are assured. The survey will be open for the next two weeks.
It can be found at
www.nzmsa.org.nz/umat/umat.htm
(
https://www.nzmsa.org.nz/umat/umat.htm) .
We recommend the use of Internet Explorer or Google Chrome for best access to this survey. If you have any questions about the survey process then please send an email to
[email protected]. Furthermore, if you would like to re-read the details of this study as per our last email, please find them below.
Title of the research:
UMAT: A Student Survey of an Aptitude Test used in selecting Medical Students
Assoc Prof Phillippa Poole (Head, Medical Education Division, School of Medicine, University of Auckland), Prof Tim Wilkinson (Chair, Curriculum Committee, Medical Education Unit, University of Otago) Divya Dhar (Vice President of the New Zealand Medical Students? Association), William Perry (President of the New Zealand Medical Students? Association) and Sylvia Ross (BSc graduate and fourth year medical student at the University of Otago) would like to invite you to participate in the evaluation of the Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test, you would have all sat as part of your prerequisite to applying for medical school.
New Zealand medical schools selection process has changed considerably in the last decade. The University of Otago and Auckland introduced the undergraduate medical aptitude test (UMAT) in 2003 and 2004 respectively as part of the selection criteria. The sole use of cognitive tests such as the GPA is not ideal, as it lacks distinguishing ability as more and more applicants gain a near perfect score. Besides, the problem of indistinguishable GPA scores, medical schools are under increasing pressure to select students that will best reflect the social, ethnic and cultural backgrounds of society. High academic thresholds may be a barrier for those from disadvantaged groups. Medical schools aim to attract students that can withstand the rigorous academic standards of an undergraduate medical education as well as become doctors displaying excellent clinical competence and professionalism. The UMAT test has been designed to take these concerns into account and improve distinguishing ability. Till date, no studies have looked at its impacts on student welfare. The New Zealand Medical Students? Association would like to conduct this survey to determine students? perceptions of UMAT.
This study will be helpful in determining:
a) the financial impact of sitting UMAT on an applicant
b) the level of stress perceived in sitting UMAT
c) what students perceptions are about the overall value of using UMAT in medical school selection criteria.
This anonymous questionnaire is designed to gather some information on your perceptions around the impacts and value of the UMAT assessment.
For all these questions there are no right or wrong answers - an answer is correct if it is true for you. We are most interested in your own opinion. Please choose the response that best fits with your circumstances.
All of the information you give us is anonymous and will be used only for the purposes of the study. You are able to withdraw from the survey up until you press the final submit button. Once the anonymous questionnaire has been submitted in no information can be withdrawn. It is anticipated that findings from this research will be published in a peer reviewed journal and presented to the admissions committees of both medical schools. A summary of the result could be made available to you if at the end of the survey you indicate that you would like to receive this. Electronic analysis of the data will be stored on the university server. Only Assoc Prof Phillippa Poole. Prof Tim Wilkinson, Divya Dhar, Sylvia Ross, William Perry and a nominated university statistician will have access to the electronic files. After six years electronic records will be deleted.
While we hope you will take the time (approximately 5 minutes) to complete this evaluation it is your choice to participate in this evaluation or not. Neither Assoc Prof Phillippa Poole, Prof Tim Wilkinson, Divya Dhar, William Perry or Sylvia Ross will know whether or not you have completed the evaluation. Funding for a summer studentship grant will be applied to the New Zealand Medical Association.
For Ethical concerns contact: The Chair, The University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee, The University of Auckland, Level 3, 76 Symonds Street, Private Bag 92019, Auckland. Tel: 3737599 extn. 83711.
Thank you for considering participation in this evaluation.
Many thanks,
The UMAT Survey Team
Divya Dhar, Sylvia Ross, William Perry, Assoc Prof Phillippa Poole and Prof Tim Wilkinson[/offtopic]
