Applying to HKU and CUHK

willcandude said:

i got an interview offer yesterday too from hku. but mine is in june. darn maybe they interview stronger applicants first? i'll be flying all the way form canada

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hi willcandude,

i am also in my last year of a B.Sc. Hons. program from canada. my situation is very similar to yours as i applied for the early decision pool but was not offered an interview in december for HKU. i was wondering when you submitted your application and how they notified you. also, if you don't mind, maybe you could let me know your GPA, MCAT, etc. either in a reply to this public post or a personal message.

i just want to have an idea as i haven't heard back from them yet and i have ~3.8 - 3.9, 30+ MCAT and was student government vice president at one of the better universities in canada. i've also done extensive research in medicine (2 papers pending publication) and have been volunteering at local hospitals for some time. i realize the non-jupas pool is extremely competitive and wanted to gauge my expectations. thanks!

if anyone knows, perhaps you can also respond to my post. how many spots are there at HKU and CU for non-jupas? what kind of marks do they have? what is considered besides marks? do all non-jupas need to have MCAT, if so, what kind of marks?

Hi teaj,

My stats certainly isn't as stellar as yours. My marks and MCAT are not as high. And I do not have any publications. But then I'm in the local Non-JUPAS applicant pool. If you're in the international student pool then it's all different. And I think maybe they are sending out invitations in waves, so maybe you will get one soon!

Btw, did you interview at any Canadian schools?

i have the same opinion too that they're sending out the invitations in waves

if you read wgy posts, he send out his application in dec 06. whereas, HKU notified me that they only receive my application on the last day of jan

so, keep your fingers crosses as i'm keeping mine

p/s; i assume wgy is a he..if you're a she, sorry

willcandude said:

Hi teaj,

My stats certainly isn't as stellar as yours. My marks and MCAT are not as high. And I do not have any publications. But then I'm in the local Non-JUPAS applicant pool. If you're in the international student pool then it's all different. And I think maybe they are sending out invitations in waves, so maybe you will get one soon!

Btw, did you interview at any Canadian schools?

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Hi willcandude,

I'm actually a local non-jupas as well. However, I'm just a little worried b/c I haven't heard from them yet. My status screen says still being considered. Did you get yours in the mail or e-mail?

Yes. I did get interviewed at Canadian schools. I'm actually keeping my fingers crossed for Canadian schools as I'd rather practice medicine in Canada. However, I wouldn't mind going back to Hong Kong to serve the community there either. Either way, it'd be good to know soon. Good luck and I'll keep you updated if I here anything else.

Thanks!

teaj

my status is same like yours

i guess, probably, they haven't even look at my application

eggtart said:

i have the same opinion too that they're sending out the invitations in waves

if you read wgy posts, he send out his application in dec 06. whereas, HKU notified me that they only receive my application on the last day of jan

so, keep your fingers crosses as i'm keeping mine

p/s; i assume wgy is a he..if you're a she, sorry

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Yup, I'm a guy. Sorry to disappoint you. Hahahaha

hi Everyone,

I'm thinking to apply to HKU for medical school; however, i am only completing my second year at the university of ottawa (Biochem). What are the likelihood of getting in when i apply this year (2007)?

I guess i can say i speak fluent Chinese, but i can't write ... (i've been living in Canada since age 4)

I'm just kinda confused as to what the school is looking for b/c they had only state that they require only one year of completion for university students.

Do we have to write the "TOEFL", "MCAT"?

Should i apply to the Chinese University also?
(which one is the better out of them two, or are they equally as good wrt to the faculty of medicine)

I currently have a cGPA of 8.8/10 ~ 3.8/4 (that includes all of the courses that i've taken) Do HKU look at selective courses? and I've got good extracurriculars ...

Thanks for reading my post, if you guys have any advice or can answer some of my questions, it would be a great help if you can post it or reply to me privately (it works both ways)

orthopedic1987 said:

hi Everyone,

I'm thinking to apply to HKU for medical school; however, i am only completing my second year at the university of ottawa (Biochem). What are the likelihood of getting in when i apply this year (2007)?

I guess i can say i speak fluent Chinese, but i can't write ... (i've been living in Canada since age 4)

I'm just kinda confused as to what the school is looking for b/c they had only state that they require only one year of completion for university students.

Do we have to write the "TOEFL", "MCAT"?

Should i apply to the Chinese University also?
(which one is the better out of them two, or are they equally as good wrt to the faculty of medicine)

I currently have a cGPA of 8.8/10 ~ 3.8/4 (that includes all of the courses that i've taken) Do HKU look at selective courses? and I've got good extracurriculars ...

Thanks for reading my post, if you guys have any advice or can answer some of my questions, it would be a great help if you can post it or reply to me privately (it works both ways)

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Hi! As much as people like to think that not having a degree doesn't matter, it really does help to have a degree. Maybe there isn't a category checkbox for "degree holder", but it goes into maturity or experiences and such other things that are also considered. However, if you've got decent marks mid-way through your degree, and assuming your high school marks were great, you should give it a shot. It's just hard for them to assess anything from overseas when there isn't a degree, or at least standardized tests - AP's, A Levels, MCAT's, etc. Hard to give you a direct answer, but I think you can gather what you need from that. Hope that helps.

teaj said:

However, if you've got decent marks mid-way through your degree, and assuming your high school marks were great, you should give it a shot. It's just hard for them to assess anything from overseas when there isn't a degree, or at least standardized tests - AP's, A Levels, MCAT's, etc. Hard to give you a direct answer, but I think you can gather what you need from that. Hope that helps.

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hi Teaj,

Thanks for the reply.

if i were to apply this year (i.e. Jan 2007) i will still have to finish my year 3 of my 4 year program. So i hope i'll be mature by then lol (nono, i'm serious, i am very serious about medical school, and i don't want to waste more time learning things that i would not need for my future career). -- i know i should be taking in the experience that i receive each an everyday of my life, but i've done enough of that, and i just can't wait to do and learn what i want right now

i know that it would be hard for the peeps at HKU and CUHK to assess our capabilities of being a good doctor, but do you think it would be necessary for us to include MCAT scores? And to repeat from my previous question, do we need to take the TOEFL?

I'm planning to register for the online application for both universities after my exams. So should i include my high school transcript plus my university transcript?

And btw have you gotten your response from the two HK universities? Tell me your experiences (any advice to what i should include on my applications etc.)

How was applying for the medical schools in Canada? I'm also planning to write the MCAT this summer. Did you get replies from Queen's, that's my first choice if i were to stay in Canada

If you want, you can reply by using private messaging.

Thanks again for the reply Teaj

isn't toefl an english test? why would you need toefl if you are already studying at an english-institution in an english-speaking country like canada? i hope hku is not stupid enough to do that

i think you should wait and apply for queens, ur first choice school, given ur high gpa.. you can apply to queens when you're in 3rd year... so that's just 1 more year of undergrad...

lol, sorry stupid question (the TOFEL)

Queen's is my first choice if and only if i decide to stay in ottawa; however, my desire right now is definitely to go to hong kong and study there

well either way, you'll have to apply in ur 3rd year because you missed the HKU deadline already. now you can also apply to queens at the same time

Yup, ill have to finish my third year, that is if i get in lol

Though, i'll still be looking at the online application after my exams. ( Just for a head start )

Hey Will, i had pm you. It would be awesome if you can reply to that when you have the time.

Thanks

=

hey hoganwan,

Haha senioritis I would also like to know if we should include our high school transcripts, or is it not necessary since it has been 2 years since my high school years (sooo old )

Sorry hoganwan, i can't answer the competitiveness of your SAT and TOEFL grades, for i haven't taken it and i do not plan to

However, as for your predicted GPA, i would aim for 3.7 or higher so that you can have a higher chance in getting into not only HKU, and CUHK , but to other medi in the US.

Just my two cents

Hi, everyone! I applied to non-jupas medicine in both HKU and CUHK this year too. Went to interview for HKU on 11th of April and I was lucky enough to get a conditional offer which is 4A in Chemistry, Biology, Maths and Further Maths + at least E in Chinese...I'm happy to have got the offer but I'm not 100% confident that I will be able to achieve such high grades...I'm just wondering if any of you guys got any offers yet and is there any former applicants here who can answer this question - if I fail to achieve the conditional offer by 1 grade or so, would they still consider accepting me? Thanks for your help and good luck with everyone

Sometimes I really don't understand how HKU selects its candidates. I've seen people who have completed their degrees at top notch universities with stellar grades plus research experience and yet, they were rejected. Additionally, how could they objectively decide which of the following hypothetic candidates should be admitted when there's no common entrance exam (e.g. UMAT, MCAT, etc) upon which to base their decisions:
1) a graduate from an elite uni (e.g. Harvard, Cambridge) with a 3.0 GPA
2) a graduate from a fairly good uni (e.g. Toronto) with a 3.7 GPA
3) a graduate from an unknown university with a perfect 4.0 GPA
3) a high school graduate who completed STPM, A-levels, SAT, etc.

JustAnthea said:

Hi, everyone! I applied to non-jupas medicine in both HKU and CUHK this year too. Went to interview for HKU on 11th of April and I was lucky enough to get a conditional offer which is 4A in Chemistry, Biology, Maths and Further Maths + at least E in Chinese...I'm happy to have got the offer but I'm not 100% confident that I will be able to achieve such high grades...I'm just wondering if any of you guys got any offers yet and is there any former applicants here who can answer this question - if I fail to achieve the conditional offer by 1 grade or so, would they still consider accepting me? Thanks for your help and good luck with everyone

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Really? How did they notify you? I went to the interview last week too. But, no news from them until now.

wgy589 said:

Really? How did they notify you? I went to the interview last week too. But, no news from them until now.

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They phone me up...but this condition is really high for me

JustAnthea said:

They phone me up...but this condition is really high for me

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Be confident!!! I believe HKU will only offer medic to some of the best international students. Just curious, where're you from?

I got 4A. But, no news from them yet. you must have performed very well in the interview!!!

Anyone else getting news from HKU Medic?

JCYL said:

Sometimes I really don't understand how HKU selects its candidates. I've seen people who have completed their degrees at top notch universities with stellar grades plus research experience and yet, they were rejected. Additionally, how could they objectively decide which of the following hypothetic candidates should be admitted when there's no common entrance exam (e.g. UMAT, MCAT, etc) upon which to base their decisions:
1) a graduate from an elite uni (e.g. Harvard, Cambridge) with a 3.0 GPA
2) a graduate from a fairly good uni (e.g. Toronto) with a 3.7 GPA
3) a graduate from an unknown university with a perfect 4.0 GPA
3) a high school graduate who completed STPM, A-levels, SAT, etc.

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Are you from Malaysia? Otherwise, how come you get to know about STPM?

wgy589 said:

Are you from Malaysia? Otherwise, how come you get to know about STPM?

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Some of my classmates did the STPM prior to med.

=

Hi everyone!

I just got rejected by HKU too - no interview. I'm in my last year of a B.Sc. Honors from a Canadian university in Ontario - 3.7 - 3.8 GPA or so. I was wondering if anyone's heard back from CU yet that's non-jupas and in university. Thx.

wow I'm suprised. 3.8gpa and no interview? hku is a bit strange in the whole selection process. but at least with a 3.8 you have a good shot at the universities in ontario. my friend got into U of ottawa med schl with a 3.6 and he didn't even have to write the mcat. I haven't heard from CU yet, nothing from them. not sure if I could call them up to ask if they even received my application. but the thing is, in recent years, many hk students choose CU over hku for med school. they say CU is better teaching wise while hku is more known for its so-called "fame," depending on what ppl think. so I'd think CU is even more competitive than hku.

really. well, HKU and CU have very different teaching methods. CU uses traditional lecturing method, so maybe because local HK students prefer didactic teaching style, they choose CU over HK? my 2 cents

that's so true! hk students might find pbl difficult cuz they're used to the usual lecture way of learning. but ya, my cousin and a few of his classmates put cu as 1st choice 2 yrs ago when they got the chance for early entrance in f.6. i was quite confused until he told me that cu "teaches" better, in that they learn better from lectures and textbooks rather than having tutorials and seminars...which i personally think is not the way to prep for the clinical setting. that's why i think hku takes a lot of local international school students as well as overseas applicants, who prefer their method of teaching more.

Hello everyone. Regarding CUHK Med application, I have gotten a call from CUHK about an interview in June (I was given a choice of 16 or 17 June). Is there anyone else here who is having CUHK interview in June too?

Hi guys, I also got an interview offer from CUHK today and will attend on the 16 th June. I am a year 4 medical student in Cardiff University School of Medicine in UK, and want to transfer to back to Hong Kong. Because it is so hard to work in HK if you graduate from UK medical schools. Hope to hear about past similar experiences, and good luck to all those going for the interview for the 1st time! Try ur best! Ronald

Hi all!

I just got a call from CUHK last week too! I scheduled for an interview on June 16th as well! This is my 2nd year applying and I had applied to over 25 schools in Canada, US, UK and HK in the past 2 yrs...sadly, this is my FIRST INTERVIEW! This is y I am really REALLY EXCITED about this crazy opportunity...hehe...

I studied @ UBC in Vancouver, BC, Canada and majored in Microbiology & Immunolgy, minored in Commerce and managed to do Co-op as well. I have some volunteering exp in a disabled persons residence, St. John's 1st aid, exec of volunteering dept of a student club, black belt in TKD and taught kids, travelled and volunteered overseas in Australia and Madagascar for 2 summers, taught kids in bible skool and have a GPA of 81% over 5 yrs which is A- or first class honours. To be honest, I am personally surprised that I didn't get ANY interviews in the past 2 yrs...man...aren't medicine HARDCORE AND COMPETITIVE!

neways...my post being an intro to myself b/c I wanted to know more about CUHK and the interview process and if anyone can give me tips and advice in practising medicine in HK or learning in CUHK that would be LOVELY! Plz fee free to comment or criticize on HK, CUHK or me...haha...I love both sides of the story!

CIAO!

Hi all!

I just got a call from CUHK last week too! I scheduled for an interview on June 16th as well! This is my 2nd year applying and I had applied to over 25 schools in Canada, US, UK and HK in the past 2 yrs...sadly, this is my FIRST INTERVIEW! This is y I am really REALLY EXCITED about this crazy opportunity...hehe...

I studied @ UBC in Vancouver, BC, Canada and majored in Microbiology & Immunolgy, minored in Commerce and managed to do Co-op as well. I have some volunteering exp in a disabled persons residence, St. John's 1st aid, exec of volunteering dept of a student club, black belt in TKD and taught kids, travelled and volunteered overseas in Australia and Madagascar for 2 summers, taught kids in bible skool and have a GPA of 81% over 5 yrs which is A- or first class honours. To be honest, I am personally surprised that I didn't get ANY interviews in the past 2 yrs...man...aren't medicine HARDCORE AND COMPETITIVE!

neways...my post being an intro to myself b/c I wanted to know more about CUHK and the interview process and if anyone can give me tips and advice in practising medicine in HK or learning in CUHK that would be LOVELY! Plz fee free to comment or criticize on HK, CUHK or me...haha...I love both sides of the story!

CIAO!

zcbca64 said:

Hi guys, I also got an interview offer from CUHK today and will attend on the 16 th June. I am a year 4 medical student in Cardiff University School of Medicine in UK, and want to transfer to back to Hong Kong. Because it is so hard to work in HK if you graduate from UK medical schools. Hope to hear about past similar experiences, and good luck to all those going for the interview for the 1st time! Try ur best! Ronald

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Hey everyone --

I have a quick question abt transferring -- currently i may go to med school in UK as a first year. But I do really want to transfer to HK if I can like after first or second year. Is there a special criterion you have to meet if you want to transfer? Say course structure? I know grade must be a big factor too right? Any other criteria you must meet?

I applied to CUHK too and I got an interview in April -- but I have not heard from them yet. I am doing a BS in the States and going to graduate this August. Crossing my fingers about september...

Best of luck to everyone!

Hey bluelikejazz,

I guess another important factor to consider for a transfer is whether the UK school that you are going to attend is on a block curriculum as HKU/conventional lectures system as CUHK.

I am just wondering how is the interview in CUHK like? is it a group interview/individual interview? Although I have some experiences of 1 on 1interview with US med schools, I am very inexperienced in group interviews.

Thanks!

did anyone who was interviewed on june5/6 get an offer from HKU?

Hey guys, just wanted to post a few replies to some of the messages above.

To erikah19: I'm not entirely sure that getting into HKU is as hard as you make it out to be. Then again, HKU does have a pretty weird selection process. However, from previous experience - my sister got accepted into HKU - I would say that the real grade requirements are 4 out of 5 As for AS Levels (with the last grade being a grade B in a relatively less important subject like Thinking Skills or General Paper). However, the subjects must be Chemistry, Biology, Maths and Physics or Further Maths. HOWEVER (and this is a big however), I believe that perhaps the confusion arises from the type of A Level that is taken. There are many types of A Levels such as Edexcel, OCR, etc. The main one in Hong Kong (taken by ESF schools) is Edexcel, which is significantly easier than the other A Levels. So this may play a role in the selection process.

Personally, I believe your chances of getting accepted are higher if you're a Hong Kong Resident with an overseas passport. For example, you're a Hong Kong Permanent Resident with a Malaysian Passport, because you can fill both Local and International Quotas.

Changing topics, I wish to mention that one of the medical students in HKU obtained 4 As out of 5 A Levels. The four As are Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Mathematics. The C was in General Paper. She is a Singaporean, which seems to dispel many of the myths about the quota for international students. Then again, perhaps she is atypical.

As for language requirements, English is a must. Chinese is also preferred - but if you show you're capable of learning it quickly, I think it's good enough.

Thanks for reading.

does anyone know when CUHK will release the Non-JUPAS offers?

willcandude said:

does anyone know when CUHK will release the Non-JUPAS offers?

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Hey Will,

i'm thinking after July 17, which is the other choice for the interviews.

someone told me his friend got an offer by phone around 1 week after the interview for cuhk ... its been a week for me and no phone calls

I have asked the admission ladies right after the interview on the 16th, and she told me that they will notify acceptances to students by mail in July. She suggested that only extremely outstanding students will be notified in June. Take it easy man.

GTOPower said:

I have asked the admission ladies right after the interview on the 16th, and she told me that they will notify acceptances to students by mail in July. She suggested that only extremely outstanding students will be notified in June. Take it easy man.

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ok CUHK has an online app status webpage. check there, or contact them. i phoned them and they said that most offers have already been given out. and the offers for the june interviews were already out too.... so..... for me

Sorry this is off-topic.

Would any med students at HKU or CUHK mind sharing their stats at their time of application? Especially those who applied as an undergrad from a Canadian university.

Thanks!

Hope everyone who applied this round receives good news!

clinthargreaves said:

Hey guys, just wanted to post a few replies to some of the messages above.

To erikah19: I'm not entirely sure that getting into HKU is as hard as you make it out to be. Then again, HKU does have a pretty weird selection process. However, from previous experience - my sister got accepted into HKU - I would say that the real grade requirements are 4 out of 5 As for AS Levels (with the last grade being a grade B in a relatively less important subject like Thinking Skills or General Paper). However, the subjects must be Chemistry, Biology, Maths and Physics or Further Maths. HOWEVER (and this is a big however), I believe that perhaps the confusion arises from the type of A Level that is taken. There are many types of A Levels such as Edexcel, OCR, etc. The main one in Hong Kong (taken by ESF schools) is Edexcel, which is significantly easier than the other A Levels. So this may play a role in the selection process.

Personally, I believe your chances of getting accepted are higher if you're a Hong Kong Resident with an overseas passport. For example, you're a Hong Kong Permanent Resident with a Malaysian Passport, because you can fill both Local and International Quotas.

Changing topics, I wish to mention that one of the medical students in HKU obtained 4 As out of 5 A Levels. The four As are Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Mathematics. The C was in General Paper. She is a Singaporean, which seems to dispel many of the myths about the quota for international students. Then again, perhaps she is atypical.

As for language requirements, English is a must. Chinese is also preferred - but if you show you're capable of learning it quickly, I think it's good enough.

Thanks for reading.

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This is erroneous, at least for HKU. The website specifically states an in-depth knowledge of BOTH English and Cantonese is required to study medicine there. They have plenty of stellar applicants who speak Cantonese and English, so there's no reason to accept anyone who can't speak both.

For HKU, you should be able to speak Cantonese, and it doesn't matter if you can't write in English.

Spoken Cantonese is different from Written Chinese.

Sorry, not can't write in English.

It should be can't write in Chinese.

wgy589 said:

Sorry, not can't write in English.

It should be can't write in Chinese.

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That makes more sense

I couldn't imagine having to read a biochemistry text in Cantonese!

I got the interview for non-JUPAS on June 16th. It's now August so I am expecting a notification any time soon...but I heard a lot of other students already got their replies from CUHK...yet I still haven't. I reside in Vancouver, Canada. I just wanna know who else got accepted and what are ur stats and interview performance? When did u guys get the letter of notification? Thanks!

anyone interviewed at cuhk but haven't heard back means he/she is on waitlist. maybe check ur online status.

Meatwad said:

This is erroneous, at least for HKU. The website specifically states an in-depth knowledge of BOTH English and Cantonese is required to study medicine there. They have plenty of stellar applicants who speak Cantonese and English, so there's no reason to accept anyone who can't speak both.

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Sorry Meatwad, but I disagree with you on some of the points you made. For example, you claim that "there's no reason to accept anyone who can't speak both." I can give you a few reasons, if you want:
- your background is very good (i.e. your father works/worked in a University in Hong Kong, your sibling is in the University, you're both local and international - you have a HKID, but you have a passport from somewhere else)
- having plenty of stellar applicants who speak Cantonese and English does not fill the total quota for students
- you can prove that you're capable of learning languages quickly (in my case, I can show my IGCSE Malay grade - I only had two years to learn the language and I got an 'A' grade. Yes!)

In other words, there are plenty of things that the University considers before accepting you. Language is obviously quite important, but how the University chooses the applicants isn't exactly formula.

By the way, on the website, it says All applicants, both local and overseas, are expected to have a good working knowledge of English and Cantonese." (http://www.hku.hk/facmed/03edu_undergrad_mbbs.htm) Note that it says "good working knowledge", and not "in-depth". Thus, you just have to be able to hold up a conversation, perhaps throw in a few English words along the way if you're not sure, and you're good as gold.

Oh, and one last thing, when I said " show you're capable of learning it quickly", I meant that you have to show it by explaining that you have some background in speaking Chinese but that you're not 100% up to par.

x

Dear ermengarde,

Thanks for your info abt non-jupas degree holder and mbbs.

In your msg, you mentioned about the stats of some of your classmates who came from overseas. Do you know exactly how many people who are accepted in your class as degree holders?

Is it possible for you to obtain answers to my questions below?

For your friends who got accepted, when did they get notified about the interviews? when did they have them? and how long after the interviews did they get the acceptance?

For the interview, is it gonna be just individual interview or group interviews?

Does HKCE result matter at all? Is it okay if I just submit my college transcript?

Please share with us if you know anything pertaining to non-jupas application to MBBS as degree holders. I know the number of well-quailified ppl is on the rise these years...


Thanks.