I Need a lot of advice

[farqueue]

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Ok, i have finally decided to choose Medicine as my future career and need a lot of help from you guys out there in order to achieve it! Well, i dont know why.... because i aint really interested in anything else - engineering (no way), architecture (nope), maths and physics careers (definetely not), pharmacy (not really), Research (~ ok but not too keen), Commerce (no no no)



I am currently sitting NCEA Level 3 this year and have a NZ Permanent Residency. But i do have a malaysian citizenship.

If i were to stay in New Zealand, i will have to do a pre-med year before i can get into medicine and there will be 3 pathways to choose from:
1. Health Science at Auckland University (my preffered option)
2. Biomedical Science at Auckland University
3. Health Science First Year at Otago University (most unlikely)

Frankly, entering Medschool at auckland uni is really really tough.
There are a no. of factors. (do correct me if i am wrong, this is what i have heard from many people)

1. Here's a break down from a person i know at auckland uni whos doing med.
Auckland Uni takes 140 place, 20 are reserved for Local Maori, 30 for People who have completed a degree in Biomed and Health Science and would like to retry getting into medicine again. That leaves us with 90 place. Ah, and international students who are going to be filling up 20 places. Now that leaves us with 70 places out of the 1000 students i believe in Biomed and Health Science.

2. You will need to get good grades a B+ (75%) at least to be considered, but it is unlikely that you will get in unless you get an A or A+ (above 95%)
Well, that wouldn't be too difficult if i actually tried to put some effort in it. PS: I am not dumb but my sporting commitments have left me with barely an hour a day of free time.

3. UMAT (arghhh!) They take like the top 10th percentile of people who sit the test i think

4. Some crazy Interview, in which they ask you all sorts of questions to put you in a difficult situation and see how well you can cope with it.

5. Extra-curricular activities to prove that you are a rounded person.

Its too late now to apply for any applications or considerations to get into any australian universities because i didnt take the UMAT test before. I was wondering if there are still any late entry places left for international students in Australia and accept NCEA Level 3 (equivalent to bursary) results, without the requirements for UMAT. I also have a friend who failed to enter Otago Med school and has currently got a place in Ireland. Would someone kindly share some knowledge on Ireland Medical schools. What are their requirements?

Hope you guys can help me. Thanks a lot.

 

[Pianoman]

Hi there. I'm just finishing up my 5th yr at Auckland Med School, and I certainly don't envy your position.

Now, more than ever, it seems that getting into med school is by far the biggest hurdle to becoming a Doc, and unfortunately it seems that luck has a lot to do with it.

From what I understand, what you have said is correct. Very few places for undergrads compared to the number that apply, and high grades are required. Which is a pity because i think getting straight A+s in a basic science course is one of the poorest predictors of who will be an effective Doctor.

I don't have any experience of UMAT - when I applied for medical school we could apply using our Bursary marks from school, and had a short interview in order to get into the 6yr course straight from high school.

I'm not sure about this "crazy interview" you talk about. When I interviewed it was a very relaxed 20 min chat with a couple of acedemics from the med school, basically focused on why I wanted to be a Doctor, basic knowledge about health issues in NZ, and extra-currrricular/community activites. I would doubt that this has changed much.

I can't emphasise the extra-currics enough. Not only do they make you look like a well rounded person, but they are hugely important if you wish to stay sane during the years of training ahead.

With regards to Auckland vs Otago - I have no experience of Otago Uni, but have a number of friends who study there and they all think its fantastic, just for the student lifestyle. I have no idea which med school is easier to get into, i presume they are both as tough as eachother. You may wish to consider whether you want to do you clinical years in Dunedin, Christchurch or Wellington, as these are options only for Otago students.

And with the Health Sci/Biomed option - if you end up not being accepted from first year and have to do a degree first, then Biomed is a better degree to do. Healthsci is a bit of a bull**** course, with about the same value in terms of career prospects as a BA (and that's saying something). It seems to have some value as a conjoint for some people, but I wouldn't waste my time doing it as a standalone course.

Finally, if worst comes to worst, if you get good grades, show interest in medical research and maintain extra-curricular activities during a biomed or health sci degree, then there's a very good chance you would be accepted as a grad entry student. There seems to be a move towards accepting more grad students, simply because they are more mature, well-rounded and probably make better doctors in the end.

Good luck!

 

[jerryjr36]

Hey, I'm currently a first year Biomed student at the University of Auckland. Just thought that I might share some of my opinion.

1. Basically what you said about the admission quota is roughly correct. They do reserve places for Maori and Pacific Isanders as well as rural people. But just for the purpose of clarity, Int'l students DO NOT compete with the locals. e.g. there is a separate allocation of places for them.
This year they take approx 150 students. (10 Int'l , 25 MAPAS, 15 rural i think). So that leaves us about 100 places to compete for. Also, the guy who gave us a presentation said that they are more biased towards undergrad students.

2. I have seen or heard soo many ppl who get A or A+ and still fail to get into med. On the contrary, there are people who only manage a B+ average and get in. So grade does not give any guarantee!

3. UMAT (what a stupid test it is!) doesnt weigh very much at Auckland. e.g. it weighs 15% in Auckland, where as in Otago it weighs 34%!! Personally, I dont think UMAT will be the deciding factor determining whether you get into med or not (only applies to Auckland though)

4. Interview!! it is VERY important. If you perform well in the interview, you are pretty much guaranteed a place!!!! I think the interview system is really good in the sense that it gives the admission ppl a chance to see who will(or more likely) to make a good doc. The interview tends to be based on certain topics. e.g. self-awareness, maturity, knowledge of the society etc. If you prepare well and can communicate efficiently, then you really stand a good chance! Just to mention, extra.C is VERY VERY important. Also some community services will help you too.

By the way, about Otago med. If you are very strong at academia and psychometric test (UMAT, for example), then you should seriously consider Otago because they don't require an interview. But having said that, prepare yourself for some SERIOUS competition down there! you'll have to work your butt off!

Hope that helps!!

Jerry 🙂

 

[pitman]

Hey jerry, just wondering, what's "extra.C"?

 

[farqueue]

Hey jerry, just wondering, what's "extra.C"?

I think he meant Extra Curricular activities.

Thanks for all your info guys.
Yes, i agree with pianoman that healthscience is a Bull**** course.

and what are the chances of me being accepted into australian universities if i do a health science course? Will they give priority to other people who do Biomed or HSFY(otago)?

Cheers

 

[jerryjr36]

and what are the chances of me being accepted into australian universities if i do a health science course? Will they give priority to other people who do Biomed or HSFY(otago)?

Cheers[/QUOTE]

Well, I think provided that you have a REALLY good UMAT score. You definitely will stand a good chance! For your informationn, those students who have done at least 1 year of tertiary study will not be competing in the standard cohort, which is the year 12 entry.

No I dont think oz uni give priority to people who have previously done biomed or health science.

Peace

 

[sjkpark]

Ok, i have finally decided to choose Medicine as my future career and need a lot of help from you guys out there in order to achieve it! Well, i dont know why.... because i aint really interested in anything else - engineering (no way), architecture (nope), maths and physics careers (definetely not), pharmacy (not really), Research (~ ok but not too keen), Commerce (no no no)

Good. I think it's a great job. I had no idea what doctors did when I was your age, but I think I've grown to like it.

1. Here's a break down from a person i know at auckland uni whos doing med. Auckland Uni takes 140 place, 20 are reserved for Local Maori, 30 for People who have completed a degree in Biomed and Health Science and would like to retry getting into medicine again. That leaves us with 90 place. Ah, and international students who are going to be filling up 20 places. Now that leaves us with 70 places out of the 1000 students i believe in Biomed and Health Science.

From my experience, about 200 of those 1000 students will actually have the ability to have the serious go at medicine. (i.e. bright, disciplined, initiated, good communicators, and can think for themselves under pressure and not regurgitating everything like parrots.)

2. You will need to get good grades a B+ (75%) at least to be considered, but it is unlikely that you will get in unless you get an A or A+ (above 95%)
Well, that wouldn't be too difficult if i actually tried to put some effort in it. PS: I am not dumb but my sporting commitments have left me with barely an hour a day of free time.

Again from my experience straight A is not very hard to achieve in biomedical science, as long as you have Y13 chemistry, bio, physics AND you completely devote yourself to being a student during your 1st year. You may have trouble with this is health science because of the smaller size of classes and amount of writing required, considering that English is your 2nd language. (NB: English is my 2nd language too, but it was different times back then.)

4. Some crazy Interview, in which they ask you all sorts of questions to put you in a difficult situation and see how well you can cope with it.

I believe that interview is the most sensitive, specific, and objective way of selecting good communicators. The truth is, the science you learn at med school is not that hard. And most of the clinicians won't even use it. I believe that the most important subject at medical school is ENGLISH. What is difficult is acquiring appropriate communication skills - some people are born with it, some people can acquire with a lot of practice, and there are others who will never "get it". Interview is there to rule out 3rd group of people.

Its too late now to apply for any applications or considerations to get into any australian universities because i didnt take the UMAT test before. I was wondering if there are still any late entry places left for international students in Australia and accept NCEA Level 3 (equivalent to bursary) results, without the requirements for UMAT. I also have a friend who failed to enter Otago Med school and has currently got a place in Ireland. Would someone kindly share some knowledge on Ireland Medical schools. What are their requirements?

Hope you guys can help me. Thanks a lot.

If you are considering this option, you need to be aware of financial implications of it. Acquiring NZ citizenship after you go to Australia would not automatically qualify you for Australian PR rate. Instead you have to compete for a place in PR quota. If you and your family are happy to pay AUS$30,000 a year for 5-6 years, this would be a good option. I envy you if this is a financially viable option for you.

I don't think Australian schools require UMAT from internationals. I know a guy who was interviewed by UNSW with very poor UMAT results.

What about International Medical University in Malaysia? We have about 20 students each year come to Auckland from Y4 to complete their studies here. They get Auckland MBChB.

Good luck

 

[sjkpark]

4. Interview!! it is VERY important. If you perform well in the interview, you are pretty much guaranteed a place!!!! I think the interview system is really good in the sense that it gives the admission ppl a chance to see who will(or more likely) to make a good doc. The interview tends to be based on certain topics. e.g. self-awareness, maturity, knowledge of the society etc. If you prepare well and can communicate efficiently, then you really stand a good chance! Just to mention, extra.C is VERY VERY important. Also some community services will help you too.

From my experience, thinking back, I think having lots of extracurricular is good because you have a lot of interesting things to talk about in the interview, but no more no less. Do NOT sacrifice your 1st year school work for the sake of EC activities. If you have some from high school, great, list them. For my EC I said I help out a lot in running of family business and play musical instruments, but didn't do anything outstanding or interesting or excelled in any of them. But I had a lot of things to talk about during the interview, very relaxed, talked about saxophone and whether my neighbours were annoyed etc.

But then again we had 2 interviews back then, and a group exercise.