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UoO Graduate Entry Chat/Enquiry

Hi,

I hope that this is appropriate to post here.

I’m not aspiring for med or dentistry (I’m wanting to do physio) but I was wanting some general advice around doing PXXS (and whether it would be beneficial or not for me in terms of admission).

My weighted academic score after receiving Semester 2 results would be 5.03 (basically confirmed but will be made certain this Friday). Now the cut offs for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021 have been 5.63, 4.58 and 4.95 respectively.

So I was pondering if I should take a PXXS paper to increase my GPA and not leave admission to chance. Or should I just leave it and hope for the best with my current score (taking into account the previous cut off scores).

I am leaning more towards the first option stated.

Also, for reference I've applied under the two or more years of university study category:)
 

Fili

Dentist 🦷
Moderator
Hi,

I hope that this is appropriate to post here.

I’m not aspiring for med or dentistry (I’m wanting to do physio) but I was wanting some general advice around doing PXXS (and whether it would be beneficial or not for me in terms of admission).

My weighted academic score after receiving Semester 2 results would be 5.03 (basically confirmed but will be made certain this Friday). Now the cut offs for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021 have been 5.63, 4.58 and 4.95 respectively.

So I was pondering if I should take a PXXS paper to increase my GPA and not leave admission to chance. Or should I just leave it and hope for the best with my current score (taking into account the previous cut off scores).

I am leaning more towards the first option stated.

Also, for reference I've applied under the two or more years of university study category:)

Don't leave it to chance and take PXSS.
If you get in, well done. If you don't get in but still did PXSS, at least you know you gave it your best shot.

However, if you didn't get in without doing PXSS, you'll probably regret and always wonder if doing that last paper could have been the make or break for you.
 
Don't leave it to chance and take PXSS.
If you get in, well done. If you don't get in but still did PXSS, at least you know you gave it your best shot.

However, if you didn't get in without doing PXSS, you'll probably regret and always wonder if doing that last paper could have been the make or break for you.
Thats exactly what I was thinking. Atleast I'll have done my best by taking it. Thank you :))
 

DrDrLMG!

Resident Medical Officer
Administrator
I agree with Fili. There’s often a lot of the admissions process that is completely outside of our control (regardless of the degree pathway we are on), so it’s good to recognise the points where we do have some control. This is one of those points.

Good luck!
 
Hello,
Would anybody (fili or bootleg or anyone) be able to double check my calculations for my weighted GPA? I can't message because my score is too low so if you would be happy to help please inbox me :)
Thank you!
 

S1eAx2

Lurker
Hi guys, I'm wondering what the view is on perhaps taking five papers in one semester. I'll be in my 2nd year of my Bsc next year and I'm thinking of taking two 200 level papers and three 300 level papers. I'm doing this because I'm very comfortable with one of the 200 level papers I'll be doing.
 

Bootleg

Regular Member
Hello,
Would anybody (fili or bootleg or anyone) be able to double check my calculations for my weighted GPA? I can't message because my score is too low so if you would be happy to help please inbox me :)
Thank you!
Absolutely, I have sent you a DM.
 

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ScarlettK

Member
Hi guys, I'm wondering what the view is on perhaps taking five papers in one semester. I'll be in my 2nd year of my Bsc next year and I'm thinking of taking two 200 level papers and three 300 level papers. I'm doing this because I'm very comfortable with one of the 200 level papers I'll be doing.
Hey, just wondering what your logic is for taking three 300 level papers when you say you will be in your 2nd year?
In general it would be preferable to take as many 200 level papers as possible to then knock out your 100 level papers as in theory you could apply with 14x 200 level papers and 0x 100 level papers. You can only include 7x 300 level papers in your application which I am guessing you will be sitting in your third year?
 

S1eAx2

Lurker
Hey, just wondering what your logic is for taking three 300 level papers when you say you will be in your 2nd year?
In general it would be preferable to take as many 200 level papers as possible to then knock out your 100 level papers as in theory you could apply with 14x 200 level papers and 0x 100 level papers. You can only include 7x 300 level papers in your application which I am guessing you will be sitting in your third year?
Oh yeah it's gonna be the third year of my degree, I just meant this would be my 2nd year as a post-grad when writing that message. I've already done the bulk of my 200 level papers this year.
 

Blitzfrog

Lurker
Ranked Score GPA Calculator written in R:


Alternatively you can copy and paste the code below if you're worried about malware:
Code:
```{r setup, include=FALSE}
knitr::opts_chunk$set(echo = TRUE)
#IF IT ISN'T RUNNING PLEASE INSTALL TIDYVERSE
#Copy&Paste in Console the following 2(Without the #)
#install.packages("tidyverse")
#install.packages("knitr")
library(tidyverse)
library(knitr)
```

```{r}
#INSTRUCTIONS - This box is just for reference

#1) Read all the comments

#2) Make sure you run the green arrow for every box INCLUDING the box above this one. It should be run from the top to the bottom in order.

#3) When you are putting in your grades - if you don't have enough papers, use 0 as place holder.

#(Use this for reference):
#e.g. for 300 levels:
#t1 <- 9; t1p <- 18;
#t2 <- 8; t2p <- 18;
#t3 <- 7; t3p <- 18;
#t4 <- 6; t4p <- 18; (Only did 4 300 level papers)
#t5 <- 0; t5p <- 18; (Didn't do, so 0)
#t6 <- 0; t6p <- 18;
#t7 <- 0; t7p <- 18;
#t8 <- 0; t8p <- 18



##GPA REMINDER##
#A+ = 9
#A = 8
#A- = 7
#B+ = 6
#B = 5
#B- = 4
#C+ = 3
#C = 2
#C- = 1
```


```{r}
#List out your top 7 300-levels and their points(Doesn't matter what order)
#If you didn't do 7 300s, put 0 as placeholder
#e.g. t0 <- 9; t0p <- 12 means A+ in a 12 point paper
t1 <- 9; t1p <- 18;
t2 <- 9; t2p <- 18;
t3 <- 8; t3p <- 18;
t4 <- 7; t4p <- 18;
t5 <- 0; t5p <- 18;
t6 <- 0; t6p <- 18;
t7 <- 0; t7p <- 18;
t8 <- 0; t8p <- 18
```

```{r}
#Top 15 200 levels, put 0 if you don't have enough e.g. s10 <- 0; s10p <- 18
s1 <- 9; s1p <- 18;
s2 <- 9; s2p <- 18;
s3 <- 9; s3p <- 18;
s4 <- 8; s4p <- 18;
s5 <- 8; s5p <- 18;
s6 <- 8; s6p <- 18;
s7 <- 8; s7p <- 18;
s8 <- 7; s8p <- 18;
s9 <- 7; s9p <- 18;
s10 <- 0; s10p <- 18;
s11 <- 0; s11p <- 18;
s12 <- 0; s12p <- 18;
s13 <- 0; s13p <- 18;
s14 <- 0; s14p <- 18;
s15 <- 0; s15p <- 18;
```

```{r}
#Same for the 100s, put 0 if you don't have enough e.g. f7 <- 0; f7p <- 18
f1 <- 9; f1p <- 18;
f2 <- 9; f2p <- 18;
f3 <- 7; f3p <- 18;
f4 <- 6; f4p <- 18;
f5 <- 6; f5p <- 18;
f6 <- 6; f6p <- 18;
f7 <- 5; f7p <- 18;
f8 <- 4; f8p <- 18;
f9 <- 0; f9p <- 18;
f10 <- 0; f10p <- 18;
```

```{r}
#Check the table to see if you have entered the GPA correctly
Top300 <- data.frame(cbind(1.5*c(t1, t2, t3, t4, t5, t6, t7, t8), c(t1p, t2p, t3p, t4p, t5p, t6p, t7p, t8p)))
colnames(Top300) <- c("Score", "Points")
V1 <- Top300 %>% arrange(desc(Score))
V1

TopOthers <- data.frame(cbind(
  append(c(s1, s2, s3, s4, s5, s6, s7, s8, s9, s10, s11, s12, s13, s14, s15), 0.5*c(f1, f2, f3, f4, f5, f6, f7, f8, f9, f10)),
  append(c(s1p, s2p, s3p, s4p, s5p, s6p, s7p, s8p, s9p, s10p, s11p, s12p, s13p, s14p, s15p), c(f1p, f2p, f3p, f4p, f5p, f6p, f7p, f8p, f9p, f10p))
))
colnames(TopOthers) <- c("Score", "Points")
V2 <- TopOthers %>% arrange(desc(Score))
V2
```

```{r}
#Run this - not important to read
Rank_Score <- function(V1, V2){
  V1c <- V1 %>% filter(Score != 0)
  V2c <- V2 %>% filter(Score != 0)
  n1 <- length(V1c$Score)
  n2 <- length(V2c$Score)
 
  #Calculate 300
  C1 <- rep(NA, n1)
  P1 <- 0
  for(i in 1:n1){
    if(P1 + V1c[i,2] <= 120){
      C1[i] <- V1c[i,1]*V1c[i,2]
      P1 <- P1 + V1c[i,2]
    }else{
      C1[i] <- V1c[i,1]*(120-P1)
      break
    }
  }
 
  #Calculate The Rest
  Max <- 360 - P1
  C2 <- rep(NA, n2)
  P2 <- 0
  for(i in 1:n2){
    if(P2 + V2c[i,2] <= Max){
      C2[i] <- V2c[i,1]*V2c[i,2]
      P2 <- P2 + V2c[i,2]
    }else{
      C2[i] <- V2c[i,1]*(Max-P2)
      P2 <- Max
      break
    }
  }
  RS <- (sum(C1, na.rm=TRUE)+sum(C2, na.rm=TRUE))/360
  return(RS)
}
```

```{r}
#Gives your rank score
Rank_Score(V1, V2)
```
 

ScarlettK

Member
Oh yeah it's gonna be the third year of my degree, I just meant this would be my 2nd year as a post-grad when writing that message. I've already done the bulk of my 200 level papers this year.
oh yeah that makes sense. It really depends on how you feel with the papers you are choosing whether you want to sit 5 or not. I believe you will need departmental approval of some sort to authorize you doing 5 papers? unsure what you BSc is in, however, from my experience certain 300 level papers required a lot less time that the 200 level papers :)
 

Hello2002

Member
Hey guys,

Does anyone know from experience or from a friend what post-grad entry into med via psych is like? If anyone knows anything about the papers, the experience or difficulty of the psych course itself, or getting into med through this route that would be so great because I've searched through MSO about it, not finding much:)
 

Jeff101

Member
UCAT
Verbal Reasoning: 640
Decision Making: 650
Quantitative Reasoning: 730
Abstract Reasoning: 640
Total Score: 2660

Situational Judgement: 612

Grades
Weighted-GPA: 9.85 (with or without the 5% GPA boost in S1, 2020)

Sub-Category Applied (if applicable)
None

Completed Course
Major: BSci - Physiology
Minor

Programmes Applied/Status
Dentistry: Interview offer
Medicine: Applied
Pharmacy: Applied
Other: Oral Health
How many non A+ papers is that?
 

4eyes

Member
Hi there,
I wanted to ask about your medicine entry as a current health science student at UOA.
I will be going into my third (final) year of the bachelor’s degree and I was wondering if a summer school paper can replace one of your core papers of the degree and be considered for the entry process.
 

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Hey guys I was hoping for some advice on whether I should keep maxing out my papers for Otago entry or instead drop a few to maybe guarantee higher grades for Auckland entry. This year was my second year and I did what's reccomended for Otago entry, maxing out 200 levels and have enrolled for summer school ect and enrolled for another 2 200 in each semester next year. However I didn't do as well as I had hoped this year and realised that I will have to do incredibly well next year (essentially get straight A+) to even have a chance at Otago. However I can apply through the rural category for Auckland (whereas I am not eligible for rural at Otago), and I am now starting to wonder if I should drop some papers ie only do 3 each semester and be able to spread my time across these better and hopefully have a better chance for Auckland. However if I did this I would essentially be ruining my chances at Otago as without the max out 200 level strategy my Gpa alone won't cut it for Otago. I was wondering if anyone had any advice, or is in a similar postion. Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)
 

Bootleg

Regular Member
However I can apply through the rural category for Auckland (whereas I am not eligible for rural at Otago), and I am now starting to wonder if I should drop some papers ie only do 3 each semester and be able to spread my time across these better and hopefully have a better chance for Auckland.
Being rural category under Auckland is a huge advantage, the interview cutoff for rural was 6.5 with the lowest successful GPA being somewhere between 6.2 - 6.5. So if you have a cumulative GPA >7.5 by the end of your degree, you are in a really good position to receive a med offer at UoA - even a mediocre interview should land you an offer.

Whether your decision is to do 3 each semester will depend on your current cumulative GPA. If your current cumulative GPA is >7.0, then I would recommend you take 3 papers each semester to spread our your workload so you maximize your cumulative GPA for Auckland. You can also take stage 1 papers for a even lighter workload - nothing prohibits you from doing so.



However I didn't do as well as I had hoped this year and realised that I will have to do incredibly well next year (essentially get straight A+) to even have a chance at Otago.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but getting A+ for all your papers in each semester next year is an enormous challenge, especially when you add 300 level papers to the mix. I've been calculating GPAs of other MSO users for a while now and I have never encountered anyone getting straight A+s for the whole year (i.e. A+ in all their S1 and S2 papers) - not including FY marks. However with an excellent work ethic, lots of effort, and careful paper selection it might be possible... but its a game of probability.

Also, you don't need to have a insanely high GPA to receive an offer from Otago, the lowest GPA to receive an offer from Otago last year was 8.5, so if that is still achievable with your current marks then I wouldn't rule you out just yet.


Hope this helps!
 
Last edited:
Being rural category under Auckland is a huge advantage, the interview cutoff for rural was 6.5 with the lowest successful GPA being somewhere between 6.2 - 6.5. So if you have a cumulative GPA >7.5 by the end of your degree, you are in a really good position to receive a med offer at UoA - even a mediocre interview should land you an offer.

Whether your decision is to do 3 each semester will depend on your current cumulative GPA. If your current cumulative GPA is >7.0, then I would recommend you take 3 papers each semester to spread our your workload so you maximize your cumulative GPA for Auckland. You can also take stage 1 papers for a even lighter workload - nothing prohibits you from doing so.





I hate to be the bearer of bad news but getting A+ for all your papers in each semester next year is an enormous challenge, especially when you add 300 level papers to the mix. I've been calculating GPAs of other MSO users for a while now and I have never encountered anyone getting straight A+s for the whole year (i.e. A+ in all their S1 and S2 papers) - not including FY marks. However with an excellent work ethic, lots of effort, and careful paper selection it might be possible... but its a game of probability.

Also, you don't need to have a insanely high GPA to receive an offer from Otago, the lowest GPA to receive an offer from Otago last year was 8.5, so if that is still achievable with your current marks then I wouldn't rule you out just yet.


Hope this helps!
this is incredibly helpful, thank you so much for the insight I truly appreciate it :)
 

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